Cage Warriors are returning on Thursday evening after putting on a fantastic show last weekend at Cage Warriors 174 in London. Last weekend saw Cage Warriors host their prize fighter tournament where the bantamweight division showed 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 Damon Donald ahead of his fight on Thursday evening.
Damon Donald on His Last Fight
Damon Donald is coming into this fight after being able to secure a third-round knockout in his last outing. I was curious and wondering how Damon Donald felt about that victory and what he has improved on since being in the case last time. Explaining about the knockout finish and what he has improved Damon Donald went on to explain by saying;
“I felt very sloppy in that fight and didn’t perform to the best of my ability for personal reasons but 25th of July everyone will see how good and entertaining I really am”
Damon Donald was able to explain how in that fight he didn’t perform to the best of his abilities. However he did explain that was due to personal reasons. Even though he wasn’t able to get the performance he wanted he was still able to get the victory. However, Donald will be looking to put on a show come July 25th when he enters the cage once again. Damon Donald will be looking to put on a better show for the crowd. This is even with the stoppage victory. He will be looking for a better performance and a performance to be able to push him forward to getting that title opportunity
Damon Donald on His Success
Damon Donald may not have put on the best performance that he would’ve wanted in that knockout stoppage victory last time out. However, he was still able to get the victory and that is the important part because he was able to get the victory he will have something in that fight which were successful and worked well compared to his opposition. I was curious wondering what Damon Donald thought he was successful at during that last performance even though the performance may not have been the performance he wanted. I was curious to find out what he thought he was still able to perform well at. Damon Donald explained this when he said;
“I kept taking the fight to him which he didn’t like”
Even though he may not have had the best performance Damon Donald is still able to find success watching the fight back. Damon Donald believes it was his pace-setting and his pressure which worked well in that fight. This was because when Damon was taking the fight to his opponent (Imran Chelhani) Imran wasn’t liking it at all. Even though he may have not liked the performance at least he can still see what went well to be able to learn from the experience and be successful later on.
Meant to Be Fighting in Glasgow
This fight against Matteo was meant to happen back at Cage Warriors 171 in Glasgow. Damon Donald is from Scotland and with Cage Warriors being in Scotland, this would’ve been a dream come true. however, this dream didn’t come true because Matteo was forced to withdraw from the fight leading to Damon Donald not being able to compete on his home country card. The fight against Matteo has been moved to case Warriors 175 so Donald will be able to take out his anger when he enters the cage. I was able to ask Damon Donald about how disappointed he was and missing out on the card and he responded when he said;
“I was gutted I couldn’t fight on the Glasgow card but that isn’t the first pull out I’ve had and also they announced another Scotland card right after it so I know I’ll do everything to get on that one”
Fighting on this card at Cage Warriors 175 would have been a dream come true so Donald was gutted at missing out. However, Donald will be able to put his revenge and place when he enters the cage on Thursday. Damon will be hoping that he can get out of the cage without any major injuries so he can get back into training straight away so he’ll be able to compete in September when Cage Warriors comes back to Scotland.
Training Camp
Being able to prepare for a fight is a crucial step and being able to get the victory. A fighter will go into training camp to be able to improve his ability. Not only that but also being able to find any holes in his opponent’s game. During training camp, a fighter will look back on tape on his own game and on the other fighter’s game to be able to work out the best path to victory and minimise as much damage as he can however a fighter will have to watch out for any injuries which may happen during training and camp and this could rule the fighter out of training. I was curious and asked Donald about how his training camp had gone explaining this Damon Donald said;
“My training camp has been amazing, I’ve had an old coach Nath macdonald come back into my camp and a few team mates have been back up in Aberdeen to train with me for most of the camp so it’s been a good tough one. He’s scrappy and I’m going to show that”
Training camp has been amazing for Damon Donald from what he has said he has been able to get his old coaches back into the camp and be able to go back to his old roots. He also had many of his teammates be able to come back up into his training camp to be able to have all the resources available to him and be able to prepare. Donald believes that with his opponent he is going to be a bit more scrappy and he’s Gonna show that during that during this fight.
Damon Donald on Who Is Next
A fighter may have a specific fighter or a specific event they are targeting to get back in for. This is the case with Damon Donald as he has already mentioned the Glasgow card. However, I asked Damon Donald if there was anyone he wanted to face off with next or any event he wanted to fight at next if he can get the victory. Donald responded by saying;
“You mean when I get the victory. I want to fight anyone anytime any place”
Damon Donald knows without a doubt he is getting the victory when Thursday evening happens. Damon knows that he has prepared as much as he can and will be able to showcase his ability when the bell rings. However, he doesn’t have a specific event or fighter in mind for when he returns back into action after this fight. However, Damon Donald is not a fighter who will turn down a fight and he is willing to face off against anyone anytime, anytime, any place, anywhere.
Improvements since First Fight
It was around 8 years ago when Damon Donald first stepped into the octagon as an amateur fighter. Damon would step into the octagon in the hope of getting into the UFC and becoming the UFC champion. Also hoping to pick up a few other titles along the way. One way a fighter is able to improve is by being in the cage and seeing how a fighter reacts to different scenarios. I was curious to know what skills Damon has been able to learn the most since his first-ever fight. Explaining what he has learned Damon Donald;
“Mostly just staying consistent with your training and take recovery serious when you first get involved or you’ll end up with heaps of injuries later on in your career”
Damon believes the key to being able to improve is to stay as active as possible. However, to make sure you take the recovery seriously as well. This is due to the fact that if you are not taking the recovery seriously then later down the line you will be getting more and more injuries the longer your career goes. More injuries will result in more time outside of training. Not only that but outside the cage so you won’t be improving the skills and eventually they will be starting to decrease the power. If you are able to look out for the recovery and be able to keep an injury-free lifestyle. Then you will be able to perform to the best of your ability.
Fan Pressure
MMA fans want to be able to see highlight reel finishes every time a fighter walks into the cage. However, this can not be the case for multiple different reasons. For one it could be due to the fighter being up 2 rounds to 0 and not wanting to risk it going into the final round. However, it could be due to the fighter not being able to get the other fighter out the octagon. Whatever the reason sometimes a finish isn’t able to happen and I was curious to see how Damon Donald deals with the pressure from fans who are demanding a highlight reel finish every time he enters the cage. Speaking about this Damon Donald explained;
“Theres no pressure at all, I’ve trained my ass off for this and I’m going to shine under the bright lights”
Damon Donald doesn’t believe that there is any pressure because he’s been working his ass off the whole time and has been able to get the skills to be able to put on the finish. He believes this is his time and he’ll be able to perform when the time comes when he is in the cage and be able to put on a show for the fans in attendance and be able to get Daniel off the crowd off their feet.
Weight Change
Fighters have been able to change weight classes to try and gain an advantage in a specific weight. This could be due to a fighter draining too much energy trying to gain weight or believing they can go down a weight class and have a power advantage. We have seen fighters like former Featherweight champion Max Holloway moving from lightweight over to featherweight and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling moving to the featherweight title. Damon Donald has explained if he featherweight is his natural weight class or if he would go back to competing at lightweight in the future. Damon Donald said;
“Yeh featherweight is the best weight class for me for now but like I said I’ll fight anyone and that means any weight too”
Damon Donald believes this weight class of featherweight is the weight class he is saying in. However, while this is the best weight division he is in he did revert back to what he said previously when he said anyone, anytime, any place. This also included any weight so if a matchup was to happen at lightweight which made him interested he wouldn’t go with an automatic no.
UFC Manchester
UFC is coming to Manchester as well this weekend when they have UFC 304. This being the case I was curious if Damon Donald would agree that this fight at Cage Warriors 175 would have more eyes on him. This is due to fans who might have made the trip early and might be wanting some more MMA action. Speaking about whether he believes more eyes will be on him. Damon Donald explained what he thought about the situation when he said;
“Aye the ufc being in Manchester the same week will bring heaps of eyes to cage warriors since they are a feeder to the ufc”
Damon Donald believes Cage Warriors is a feeder for the UFC. This being the case with the UFC being in Manchester this will make more eyes be on the event. Damon Donald believes if he is able to get a stoppage victory come Thursday then he will definitely get more opportunities for the next time he enters the cage. A big victory could help his career a lot . This is because all the eyes on the UFC and hopefully on the Cage Warriors as well.
Featured image credits to Embed from Damon Donald Instagram
