Cage Warriors are returning on Thursday evening. This is after putting on a fantastic show last weekend at Cage Warriors 174 in London. Last weekend saw Cage Warriors host their prize fighter tournament. This saw the bantamweight division showcase their class and battled it out for 50,000 and the title shot. This Thursday will see Cage Warriors return for Cage Warriors 175. This is on the same week as the UFC enter Manchester for UFC304. Cage Warriors will be making a stop in Manchester where prospects such as Adam Cullen, Kallum Parker and Damon Donald will look to put on a show for the Manchester crowd. On top of this, the Midway title will be on the lane. Combat Sports UK have been able to speak to fighters ahead of their fights Combat Sport UK was able to speak to Craig Rawlins ahead of his fight on Thursday evening.
Craig Rawlins on His Last Fight
Craig will be coming into this fight looking to prove a point to the fans. Not only that but but also looking to prove to Cage Warriors that he is still able to compete in this division and still not out of the game yet. Unfortunately, last time out Craig Rawlins wasn’t able to get the victory as he was defeated by Tom Nicholson due to a rear naked choke. I was curious to see how Craig saw that fight and what has improved going forward since. Craig Rawlins explained this when he said;
“Yeah I felt like I was getting back into the fight in round 3, i knew i was down and had to go for it and made a mistake and got caught”
Craig Rawlins knew that he was going into that third round needing a finish and he knew he was down on the judge’s scorecards. However, before, going on to lose that fight by a submission, he did feel like he was getting back into that fight. However, he did know he had to go for it and unfortunately, he did make a mistake. Due to this mistake, Craig Rawlins would go on and get caught. However, these things happen when you are trying to chase a fight or trying to force a finish. However, Craig did feel like he was down on the scorecards so that was something that he needed to do.
Craig Rawlins on Success in Last Fight
While he wasn’t able to get the victory that evening, There is still stuff a fighter can go back and be happy with. Craig Rawlins would be able to go back and look at the tape and see what they did successfully. I was curious to see what Craig Rollins took from the last defeat even though he wasn’t able to get the victory. I was curious to find out what he feels he did have success with. Explaining this Craig said;
“fitness was on point, as the fight went on felt great, felt had so much more in the gas tank. was nice calm and relaxed. maybe a little too much.”
Craig believes the biggest success in that fight would be the fitness he had. Craig Rawlins didn’t feel like he was gassed at all during the fight and has been able to take that from the fight. He was able to stay calm and composed and even though he didn’t win the fight he was getting back into it at the very end.
Training Camp
A fighter will go into a training camp to be able to get ready for a fight. During a fight camp, the fighter will be able to go and study tape to be able to find out what to work on. This could be some holes in their opponent’s game. However, there could also be holes in their own game as well. However, while they will be able to go and fix these they do have to make sure they don’t get an injury and have to pull out of the fight. Explaining how his fight camp has gone Craig explained;
“Yeah fight camp been good. Been down range academy with mark weir. Had Phil wells around helping so camp been good. Jordan little getting ready for cage warriors London aswell week before so we’ve been getting pushed together. I leave it too the coaches to see weakness with George.”
Craig believes that fight camp has been very good and he has been able to get pushed towards his limits. He has been able to work with the likes of Jordan Little who was unfortunately not able to win his last fight. This was due to it being a no-contest last time. This was after being hit with an illegal knee after being ruled grounded.
Being able to have fighters in training camp who are also looking to fight and being able to be around will help. This is because having them there to encourage you to keep going and keep pushing on will mean a lot on the days you may be struggling. These fighters will be able to bring out the best in himself and be able to show the world what he is really capable of and he is able to get victory against George.
Who Is Next for Craig Rawlins?
I was curious to see if Craig had anyone on his mind to be able to fight next. However, Craig may just be fully concentrating on George and not thinking about the future. I know that some fighters may have a name on their mind if they can get the victory. They may also have a match-up they want to happen afterwards. This could be because they feel like their opponent is not as good as them. Maybe if they are just fully concentrating on what is in front of them and not getting ahead of themselves that is when mistakes could happen. This is because you are underestimating your opponent speaking about what is next for Craig Rollins after this fight against George Smith Craig explained;
“Na I’ve never been one to call out people, I’m always down to fight anyone, anytime, anywhere.”
Craig doesn’t believe he has anyone that he wants to call out. He has never been a fighter to go out and call anyone out. He will is happy to fight anyone that Cage Warrior’s want him to showing he won’t decline a potential fight. He’s not looking too far ahead of himself because he does realise he does have George Smith in front of him. However he will be able to fight anyone anytime anywhere that Cage Warriors want him to fight or the fans want him to fight as he will not turn them down
Fan Pressure
As MMA fans we are looking for fighters to go into an MMA cage and be able to produce highlight reel finishes every time they enter the cage. This is not in just one or two fights but every fight going in and getting the highlight reel. However, this isn’t always going to be the case this could be because it could just be that they’re looking to hang onto a decision. However, unfortunately, they are unable to get the highlight finishes like the one all the way back to Max Holloway who was able to secure the stoppage against Justin Gathje. I was curious to know how Craig dealt with this pressure from fans.
“I enjoy the week to be fair. Not many people get to fight on the big stage. Also fighting UFC fight week is massive. Really excited again. I never chase the finish, if it comes then it’s a massive bonus.”
Craig Rawlins enjoys the fans’ pressure and enjoys fighting and trying and get it finished for the fans. He also explained how being able to fight on the same weekend at UFC comes to the UK is also massive and brings a lot more attention to him. It will bring a lot more opportunities if he is able to get stoppage, in the factory as well 1 more ice will be on he believes that, unlike some people on the stage, he had never been that way when their attention is on him and everyone is being able to see and be able to get the factory when the time comes.
How Does He See This Fight Going
When a fighter steps into a cage they will always have some kind of an idea how the fight is going to go. Whether that is correct or is to be seen they will always have some kind of idea. This is due to the fighter being able to watch the tape back to find out any strengths and weaknesses of his opponent. Not only that but they can see how they normally like to take the fight and be able to come up with an idea that way. Speaking about how he sees this fight going Craig explained;
“I’m looking forward to the fight, George has been around the block. It’s been mentioned to me on other shows getting matched against each other over the years. So always knew it was going to come one day. I’ve always got respect for people I fight. I know it’s going to be tough fight, it’s cage warriors there no easy fights, just looking forward to going in there and testing myself.”
Craig realises that in Cage Warriors there are no easy fights so anyone he will be facing will be tough. Craig realises he has to be at his best if he is to get the victory and George won’t make it easy for him. He revealed that these two have been talked about fighting each other before so it isn’t the first time they have heard about each however, come Thursday evening he is looking to show that he is the better fighter.
Title Win
Part of Craig’s career has been able to clinch the Rage UK middleweight title. He was able to do that when he was able to get the victory against Matthew Holland. During a fighter’s career, they’ll be able to pick up the regional titles while they try to get themselves into the UFC. Craig will be hoping to be able to collect the Cage Warriors title at some point however he does have a road to get there which does include this fight against George Smith. I was wondering how it felt to be able to clinch that Rage UK title and what it meant for him during his career, Craig said;
“It is was more the fight before the title fight which helped me improved and grow. Went to slovekia and fought a home town boy in his back yard. He had fought on ocktogen a number of times, had a good winning record. so going out there and getting the finish was massive for me, great experience and learnt so much.”
Craig Rollins explains that it wasn’t the title fight which helped him grow most overall. It was the flight to be able to get the title shot and that was. This was because he had to go into Slovakia and go and fight in this guy’s backyard and be able to get the victory. The guy was a very good fighter and he has been able to fight in a lot of recognised organisations. This has included the likes of OKTAGON MMA. Chris was able to use this experience to be able to help him go and clinch the title and be able to bring the title home back to his house.
Things He Has Improved on since Being a Pro
Craig turned Professional 5 years ago and has been able to gain experience. This is due to him being able to have 9 professional fights. Since then he has been able to improve his skills and be able to improve to be able to become the version of himself.
“I feel like I’ve come on leaps and bounds. Striking, grappling and blending it all together. I’ve been lucky enough to share the mats with some of the best coaches and fighters around, I’ve learnt so much from them.”
Craig believes it is his striking which he has been able to improve a lot on this journey in MMA. Rawlins however, does believe it is his whole MMA game which includes grappling and blending it together which has been able to improve the most. Craig believes he has the best coaches and team in the game and he has been able to improve a lot under them.
Weight Change
Throughout his time as a professional Craig has not always competed in the middleweight division. This is due to him once being a welterweight fighter. This being the case I was curious to see if that door was now shut or if we could see him going back into the welterweight division. Speaking about this Craig Rawlins explained;
“Middleweight is perfect. I was cutting way way too much for welterweight and was effecting me. I’ve got a nutritionist now and have done since signing with cage warriors. Liam Williams is class and helped me much.”
Craig Rawlins believes the middleweight division is the perfect division for him to be able to get to the top. Craig is confident this division is the best division for him. Rawlins has also been able to bring in a nutritionist to be able to help him cut the weight and get him in the best shape he can be coming into fight night.
Featured image credits to Embed from Craig Rawlins Instagram
