Cage Warriors Welterweight Danny Roberts talks to Kingdom MMA
by Ben Heather @benheather |
| Photo Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors |
Saturday night will see Cage Warriors open business for 2014 and what a way to open the year. The headline bout of the night is the James Pennington vs Cory Tait in a battle of bantamweights which will have serious title implications for the winner. Also on the card are Jake Bostwick, Matt Inman, Nad Narimani and Danny Roberts, who Kingdom MMA caught up with earlier today. Danny Roberts returns to action for the first time since July and he can't wait to get back to action.
Ben: Hi Danny, firstly thanks for your time, we really appreciate it.
It's only recently been announced who you are fighting even though you have been on the poster since the event was announced, do you know the reason for the delay?
Roberts: I don't know must be the name "Hot Chocolate" sends a chill down spines haha. No it's one of them things, I'm looking for top European guys and I'm getting them it can just take a little time getting matched up I guess.
Ben: When did you find out you were fighting Juan Manuel Suarez and have you been able to prepare for his skill set?
Roberts: I found out about two weeks before the fight date. I've had a full fight camp for this match up so training has been as normal and I've had a couple weeks to game plan and tailor some skills towards this fight.
Ben: Suarez has been on a run of 1-5 in his last 6 fights (although a couple of those fights were against guys who did or now fight in the UFC) do you think he is a more dangerous opposition than his recent form on paper?
Roberts: Yes Suarez is no mean feat. This man knows what he's doing and has been around a long time....correct me if I'm wrong but there's 7/8 years MMA experience between us. He will be a tough fight but I will make sure I come out on top and dominate.
Ben: Did you know anything about Suarez before you got the call for this fight? If so, what did you know?
Roberts: No he was unknown to me. All I knew was M1 global veteran and he was Spanish. So I took the time to find out about him, studied him and worked out plans.
Ben: The last time you fought was back in July, what have you been working on since then?
Roberts: I was scheduled to fight December 7th in Newcastle for Cage Warriors and my opponent failed the pre fight medical so it works out it's been 7 months. I've had time to work on things as well as just develop my overall game. This year will see me being active, like I said I want to fight often so this years one to watch.
Ben: Are you excited to be getting back to business on Saturday night?
Roberts: Words can't explain how excited I am to get back in there on Saturday fightings my life if I could if do it every weekend so Saturdays a happy day for me.
Ben: Last time we saw you in action you won in your hometown of Liverpool? Is that one of your career highlights?
Roberts: Yes definitely, it was a massive show and everything was spot on. To be able to fight in Liverpool's biggest arena with all the fans and supporters there, yes I'd say it was one of the highlights of my career.
Ben: How did it feel that night to walkout in the Echo Arena in front of your home crowd. Had you dreamed of being able to do that since the day you started fighting?
Roberts: Fighting in the Echo was a big time for me, co-main event and sold a lot of tickets, I was in good shape and ready to go. It's an amazing city, passionate about the mixed martial arts/ boxing so to be able to fight in the Echo just gave me a little taste of where I want to be in the near future.
Ben: You are currently on a 3-0 run including a win against Jack Mason, do you feel a big performance and a win on Saturday night puts you in title contention?
Roberts: Obviously the win will take me to 4-0 for them against some good guys. Cage Warriors give fighters the opportunity to earn that title shot and I know I'm doing the right things to do that. So when the time comes I'll be waiting and ready to snap it up. To become Cage Warriors world champion.
Ben: How do you predict the fight will go on Saturday night?
Roberts: I can't see it going the distance. Sub/ KO/ TKO just not the distance.
Ben: Cage Warriors welterweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in the promotion, do some of the potential match ups in this division excite you?
Roberts: Yes Cage Warriors welterweight division is stacked. It excited me to know that I've got good level guys in my division signed to the organisation, it will only make me better as a fighter and give me the top level fights I need.
Ben: Would you like to say thank you to anyone?
Roberts: Yes I would like to thank my sponsors Les at Live Wire Dynamic, Pride or Die, Maze Clothing, British Fighter my coaches and Next Generation, No Limits and a big thank you to Ellis Hampstead my main training partner for this fight.
Thank you again Danny for your time and all the best on Saturday night. For any fans who want to follow Danny Roberts on twitter, you can here @DanHotChocolate
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