After a year of brainstorming and planning, Warrior-1 (W-1) is digging their hands into the MMA circuit putting on their first show this Saturday, March 28th, at the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec.
W1 president Jack Bateman describes the organization as a “fighter’s promotion” explaining to PRO MMA (promma.info) correspondent, Christina Sears, that he wants it all to be about the fighters who will be fighting in the organization. He describes the style of the show as Japan meeting North America.
Headlining this weekend’s card is Carlos “The Ronin” Newton (13-13), who is a veteran of the cage and is known for his fights in not only the UFC but also Pride, and K-1. Carlos at one time was a force to be reckoned with but fell off the fight scene after losing three straight, his last fight being against Shunga Oyama in October of 2007 at K-1 Hero’s in Korea.
This will be thirty-two year old Carlos Newton’s first fight in almost two years and the first time in thirteen years fighting in his home country of Canada since his MMA debut in 1996 when he fought Jean Riviere in Montreal.
“Newton is one of the most naturally gifted fighters on the planet and has the ability to defeat any top fighter. He has been at the top of the sport and is hoping to get back to that level. From talking to Carlos, his main goal is to leave an even bigger legacy,” says Alex Caporicci the W1 Matchmaker.
His opponent, Nabil “The Thrill” Khatib (8-4) started fighting in professional mixed martial arts when he was 36 and in that time he has fought some tough guys including Gideon Ray, who like Newton has the experience of fighting within the Octagon.
“Nabil Khatib is a model professional and an asset to any show. Nabil has proved that he is one of the top welterweights in the country and has never shied away from a tough fight. He is a world class striker and a strong purple belt under BTT Canada’s Fabio Holanda” says Caporicci.
Khatib started fighting professionally in MMA because he felt that it was growing a hundred times faster than kickboxing and like many people he had been following it since the early days of the UFC.
With a record of 8-4, 39 year old Khatib feels he has a good chance of defeating Newton. He says he does not feel like the underdog for this fight and is not changing the way he trains because you never know who you’re going to get in the cage, and he likes to be prepared in all aspects.
Khatib will be the home town favorite for this fight and feels it is a great opportunity for him to put on a good fight against a former UFC and Pride star and someone who has been in this sport for a long time and has fought some of the best. He feels that Newton is very skilled on the ground and has good hands but does not use them enough.
“Before he made his MMA debut, one of the first things Nabil mentioned to me was that he would one day like to fight a legend like Carlos Newton. I’m happy to say I helped make that happen for him,” says Caporicci.
If you haven’t got your tickets just yet you can do so on the Warrior 1 website: www.w1mma.com
Warrior-1 MMA: Inception
Carlos Newton vs. Nabil Khatib
Martin Grandmont vs. Mark Holst
Dean Martins vs. Craig Brown
Hosier Bruno vs. Glenn Kulka
Sean Quinn vs. Remi Morvan
Mike Hong vs. Mike Clark
Daryle Pinter vs. Mustafa Khalil
Denis Poirier vs. John Macphearson
Fred Pilon vs. Stephane Bernadel
Tom Waters vs. Christopher Boisvert
Fred Belanger vs. Ian Shirley
Thomas Arrand vs. Xavier Desroches
By: Christina Sears