The lineup for the inaugural Cage Warriors 125-pound women’s tournament is now complete. Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff will face Brazilian prospect Jennifer Maia in the first semi-final bout at CWFC: Fight Night 4 on March 16th at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Cage Warriors director Graham Boylan confirmed the semi-final bout with MMARising.com today. Gaff returns to the cage after a quick victory over fellow tournament participant Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly in April. Maia steps in on short notice after a rematch with Vanessa Porto was scrapped.
Gaff (9-4-1) has thus far found great success since making the move down to 125 pounds from her former home in the featherweight division. The move came on the heels of a contentious disqualification loss to Cindy “Battlecat” Dandois and a razor-thin decision defeat against Russia’s Milana Dudieva. Gaff needed just 1:42 to dispatch of her first two opponents at her new weight this past year. On February 26th, she knocked out Swedish prospect Hanna Sillen in only eight seconds. Two months later, she defeated Daly with a barrage of knees and punches at Cage Warriors 47. The hard-hitting German is now one win away from the finals of the tournament, where a new champion will be crowned.
Maia (5-1-1), a member of the famed Chute Boxe camp in Brazil, has quickly developed into one of her country’s top female prospects. Despite her strong striking pedigree, the majority of Maia’s wins have come by way of submission, including a recent victory over Tatiane Aguiar at the debut Pink Fight MMA event in January. The win got Maia back on track after her first professional setback at the hands of Vanessa Porto. Maia had expected to compete in a Pink Fight title rematch with Porto on March 10th, but that bout has been scrapped from the card. Instead, Maia now makes her Cage Warriors debut and a victory over Gaff could immediately vault Maia into the top ten at 125 pounds.
The winner of the bout between Gaff and Maia will move on to the finals of the tournament to face the victor of the second semi-final matchup, which pits the aforementioned Daly against top British star Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton. Daly and Sexton will face off in Daly’s home country of Ireland in May, though the exact date of the event has changed and will be officially confirmed in the coming weeks.
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship: Fight Night 4 takes place on March 16th at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
(Photo Credit: nyheter24.se)
Ze Tank is my pick to win this tournament.