The Cage Warriors Fighting Championships is one of the UK's oldest and best known Mixed Martial Arts promotions having promoted over 30 events since July of 2002, and has earned a solid reputation for it's ability to continuously re-invent itself, whilst also being able to unearth and promote up-and-coming stars from across Europe and in same cases Japan, Brazil and the USA. As a result many CFWC veterans have moved on to bigger shows such as the UFC, (the now defunct) Pride FC, K-1 Hero's, BodogFIGHT, and more.

Now Cage Warriors (in conjunction with their US partners) are crossing the pond and hope to repeat their success Stateside with an event that has been nearly 12 months in making. Cage Warriors hope to bring the same values which have seen them become a respected force in the UK to the United States, which in turn will hopefully give even more fighters a chance to showcase their skills in front of an increased audience and create a wider range of exciting match-ups too.

The Cage Warriors team have spent the last six weeks looking for a fight that is worthy of headlining their first US show and after numerous disappointments and withdrawals they are now pleased not only to formally confirm the event but also to announce what should be a mouthwatering clash between two exciting fighters in the Welterweight (77.1kg / 170lbs) division.

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy is one of Europe's finest young MMA talents and is currently ranked second in the European Welterweight rankings. Ever since making his Pro debut in 2004, Hardy has wowed audiences worldwide with his exhilarating fighting style and his never-say-die attitude which has seen him take the fight to his opponent on numerous occasions and strike through the submission skills of the BJJ Black belt Alexandre Izidro, Matt Thorpe and Japanese standouts Daizo Ishige and K-1 Heros veteran Hidetaka Monma.

Over the last 18 months Hardy has been on an impressive win streak which has seen him win 6 of his last 7 bouts, which saw him reach the finals of the Cage Force Welterweight Tournament in Japan. It was his three Japanese appearances which help push Hardy onto the next level as he defeated the former King of Pancrase Daizo Ishige by decision and pounded the K-1 Heros veteran Hidetaka Monma with salvo after salvo of relentless strikes which let to Monma's corner stopping the fight early in round 3.

However in the tournament final Hardy was controversially disqualified after landing an accidental leg kick against Yoshiyuki Yoshida, which led to the Japanese fighter being stretchered out of the arena and gifted the win, in a bout which should have been a No-Contest if held under unified rules.

Nevertheless Hardy bounced back just seven days later at Cage Warriors: Enter The Rough House 5, when he stopped the Spanish all rounder Manuel Garcia midway through round one after flooring him with a well executed knee. Hardy then pounded of the opportunity and landed some well timed methodical ground shots which forced Garcia to tap and put the Nottingham born fighter back on track.

Hardy has since returned to California where he has spent most of 2007 training at Legends MMA and Eddie Bravo's 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu. Hardy will be staying there until he flies into Florida, where he plans to make an impression and secure his first win in the USA after two unsuccessful attempts earlier in his career.

Whilst Chad Reiner returns to Florida looking to avoid going 0-3 in the Sunshine State after losing there twice last year at UFC Fight Night 8 and 10 last year. However this 2 time UFC veteran sports a very impressive (17-3-0) record and has an impressive amateur record to boot. After turning Pro in 2005, Reiner worked his way through the US indie circuit, where he gained experience in such shows at Extreme Challenge and Ring of Fire. Reiner impressed many observers and won his first 12 bouts in just 9 months, with 8 of those wins coming inside the distance.

Although Reiner lost his unbeaten record in August 2006 when he suffered a 7 second KO loss against Dustin Haslett at Extreme Challenge 70, he soon bounced back and defeated the KOTC veteran Victor Moreno at the Victory Fighting Championships on December 9th 2006, which earned him a place in the UFC.

On his UFC debut Reiner faced the talented former collegiate wrester and TUF season 2 participant Josh Burkman. Although Reiner lost that bout via decision, he impressed enough to be called up again by the UFC for their next show in Florida. However disaster stuck for Reiner as he was spectacularly knocked out by last minute replacement Anthony Johnson during the opening exchanges of the first round.

Reiner then took 3 months out before returning to action in September last year and has since racked up 4 wins in quick succession against the likes of Chilo Gonzalez, Mark Moreno and Stephane Dube. Now Reiner will be looking to derail Hardy's hopes of progressing to the upper echelon of the world stage and deny the talented Englishman his first win Stateside when they meet on March 29^th, in what should be a very intriguing main event between two contrasting and talented fighters.

The Cage Warriors USA team hope to announce more bouts over the next few days which feature a mix of local and international talent. The CW team would also like to thank Battlebase, Tom Malloy and the Florida State Boxing Commission for their help and support in making this event happen.