Kingdom MMA speak to Lewis Long ahead of Cage Warriors 59 clash with Tommy Maguire
by Ben Heather @benheather
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| Photo: Cage Warriors |
Earlier today Kingdom MMA caught up with Lewis Long to discuss his fight this weekend at Cage Warriors 59, which takes place at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Wales. Lewis fights on the main card and takes on Tommy Maguire, the brother of former UFC fighter John Maguire.
Ben: For those people reading this that haven't heard of Lewis Long yet or seen you fight before can you tell us a little about yourself and what they can expect to see on Saturday night?
Long: I'm Lewis Long, proud Welshman, true martial artist.
Ben: On Saturday night you will be fighting for the third time at a cage warriors event, cage warriors is widely regarded as the number one promotion in Europe. How does it feel fighting for such a well respected organisation?
Long: Oh it feels damn good, if you want to be seen it's the only place to be. The first event i ever went to was Cage Warriors in Nottingham, and since then it has been the only place I've wanted to be and since that show in Nottingham it's grown five times as big but still has the values that drew me to the promotion in the beginning.
Ben: Both of your previous cage warriors fights have been in wales and you will have the home country advantage fighting in Wales again on Saturday night, from past experience does the crowd spur you on as you walk out to the cage?
Long: The home crowd is awesome, the motorpoint arena is a top venue for MMA. Love hearing the crowd chant "Lewis "Lewis" because that's my name.
Ben: You are fighting Tommy Maguire on Saturday night, what do you know about your opponent and how do you think your skill sets compare?
Long: I know he has "2 Gunz" but unfortunately for him under the unified rules of MMA weapons are banned, so unlucky for him. As for skill set, I believe I am better in all areas.
Ben: How has the training camp gone for this fight and have you done anything different to prepare for the fight with Maguire?
Long: My BJJ coach Rob Taylor got his black belt, so i can say I train with a black belt now. I've taken my nutrition more seriously now too so I'm more prepared come fight night.
Ben: I believe both of your loses have come from submissions and Maguire has won nearly a third of his fights by submission have you focused on submission defence at all for this fight?
Long: He'd have to get me to the floor first and if by a miracle he does then I'm more that prepared you know, don't know if I've mentioned this but i do train with a black belt these days.
Ben: Last time out you defeated Mark Glover who was made famous by his appearance on The Ultimate fighter, how did you rate that performance?
Long: The game plan went perfectly, my boxing was crisp and even though he had the range I managed to get on the inside and get my shots off.
Ben: Is TUF something that would interest you or are you focused on working your way up the ranks within cage warriors and trying to earn a CW title shot?
Long: I applied for the Smashes but didn't hear anything back so didn't attend the trials in London. Then a few of the lads who went up said they called my name out and i wasn't there. If i had been there I would of made the final for certain. But things happen for a reason, my time will come.
Ben: How's the weight at the minute, are you on schedule and where you want to be ahead of the weight cut at the end of the week.
Long: I would like to be at 155lbs by the end of the week and I am on target at present so all good in the hood.
Ben: Finally Lewis, give us a prediction of how you see the fight going on Saturday night and how do you see yourself getting the win?
Long: My prediction would be to stop Tommy making the fight a snooze fest by dishing out my own brand of Lew-jitsu then being announced the winner by Joe Martinez.
Ben: Would you like to thank anyone?
Long: I always forget people but those who have helped me know who they are. Thanks for the interview. Follow my twitter @Lew_Long
Thank you very much to Lewis for taking the time to answer our questions and all the guys at Kingdom MMA wish you all the best on Saturday night.
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