Reece McEwan 4-1-0 is a Scottish professional Mixed Martial Artist currently competing in the Bantamweight division, representing The Griphouse. He has competed for Evolution of Combat, Rise and Conquer and Cage Warriors.
I’d like to start things off by thanking you for taking the time to speak to me today Reece, and also to congratulate you on your upcoming inclusion to the CW141 20th anniversary card.
“Thank you very much for taking the time to interview me, and taking the time out of your schedule to conduct this interview. It’s an absolute privilege to be fighting on such a massive event, I can’t wait to perform in front of everyone.”
It’s gonna be absolutely huge, the announcements have flown in left right and centre.
“Yeah, there’s a big buzz about the event and that excites me. It’ll definitely be a night to remember, I think there are two title fights for the anniversary. It’s gonna go down in history and I’m glad I’m part of it.”
Unfortunately for me, I’ll be in the crowd and covered in beer by the end of the night haha.
“Hahahahaha, good experience.”
I hope training camp has been going well in the build-up to your highly anticipated return to the cage?
“Yeah, it’s been absolutely excellent, to be honest. It’s very cliché, but I’ve levelled up since my last fight, and I’ve improved massively. I’m excited to put these improvements to the test on the 22nd of July.”
I must say, that was one hell of a debut on your part.
“Thanks mate. Yeah the debut was good it kinda ticked out all the boxes. I had an excellent first round and maybe a not-so-good second round and had to face a lot of adversity from the second to win it in the third. In terms of my performance, the fight ticked all the boxes because I won, most importantly. I did some good things and some very poor things, I made some mistakes and I was able to learn a lot from it. I made some mistakes that I know I’m better than but was able to learn from it and come out of it with a big win and get the performance of the night bonus. I always say it and I’ll never change, I’m going out there to perform to the best of my ability and to steal the show. Getting the performance of the night that tells me that I stole the show.”
And some well-earned cage time also.
“Yeah exactly, I mean the longest I’ve ever fought was 9 minutes. Because of it being amateur. I got the win with 30 seconds to go but in my eyes, I basically fought for 15 minutes. That’s almost double the amount of match time that I’ve got in one fight. Getting three good rounds under my belt benefited me a lot, it gave me a lot to take away from the fight.”
In just over 2 weeks, you take your second walk to the Cage as a fully-fledged warrior of the Cage Warriors roster. After all the phenomenal work leading up to your victory over Sam Spencer on your debut in Manchester, it must be an amazing feeling to once again showcase your skills on the biggest stage in Europe?
“Yeah, It definitely is. When I signed a contract with Cage Warriors, my goal was to become champion by the end of my contract and I just see this as another step towards claiming the title to be perfectly honest. This is where I feel I belong and getting another opportunity, getting another fight it’s just part of the process. It excites me and is just another day for me to focus on.”
Your success across many regional platforms, including your many all-out wars at Evolution of Combat has given fight fans some highlight-reel finishes over the years.
Looking back on what has led you to this high point of your career, will there always be a night in the cage that will forever hold a special place for you?
“I’ve not had that yet, that night will be winning the Cage Warriors World Championship. That’s next on my list, that’s the journey I’m working towards, so my nights not been there yet.”
Looking forward, your next test in the cage will be in the form of Great Britain Top Team’s Kingsley Crawford. A four-year veteran of the CW cage and undefeated in his last 3 outings. It really does show that CW has one of the finest matchmakers in Ian Dean.
What do you make of Kingsley on the build-up to your scheduled meeting at CW141?
“I’ve got to give credit to Ian Dean. He’s a top matchmaker for this fight, my last fight and basically every fight you see on Cage Warriors, you’re always impressed by it. His matchmaking is top-notch so shout-out to Ian Dean for that. In terms of Kingsley Crawford, he’s a good opponent, an experienced opponent and I feel a win over him puts me at the top of the division.”
He is definitely in top contention for the title, a win would certainly put you in the mix.
“I don’t see why not. In my eyes and many others, he’s got to be number one or number two, so a win over him will put me to the top of the division.”
I’m one hundred percent looking forward to this one, I’ll get right to the front of the crowd if possible. Just try not to drench me in blood hahaha.
“Hahahahahahahaha, I’ll try not to.”
Without giving too much away, what steps have you been taking to secure victory over one of the most unstoppable forces on the Cage Warriors roster?
“I’ve been training to be a better martial artist everywhere to be honest. Better striker, better wrestler, better grappler offensively and defensively. The thing is, I’m scheduled to fight Kingsley Crawford on the 22nd but at the end of the day, I have to be prepared to fight any fighter. Orthodox fighter, southpaw fighter, that’s what I’m preparing for. I’m preparing for the best striker, the best grappler and the best all-around MMA fighter that I can in Kingsley Crawford. He comes from a good gym, he’ll be training in all aspects of martial arts. So having that preparation and having that approach, will put me in the right direction and also for every other fight. You’ve always gotta train with the idea that your opponent might change, so you can’t get too opponent-focused. Kingsley has tendencies that I will be looking to exploit and expose, every fighter has tendencies and every fighter has cracks. I feel like we’ve analysed his tendencies and his weaknesses and I’m gonna expose them. But at the end of the day, I’m prepared for anything and anyone, different opponents, different styles that may come out from a new fighter.”
Graham Boylan and his team have left no stone unturned in their quest to make their 20th anniversary a night that fight fans will not soon forget, other than your inclusion on the night are there any matchups in particular that you’re looking forward to witnessing?
“The Flyweight title bout is one that caught my eye because of Dylan Hazan. I think that’s a really good fight to be honest, when I saw that I was like, that’ll be a good one. I watched Dylan’s last fight, he fought the same night as me last time out. I’ve seen him fight a couple of times and I’m impressed with his performances and the same goes for Sam Creasy. That fight definitely caught my eye. The main event is the big one, it is hard to single out any other bouts. I believe there will be a couple of other Bantamweight fights so personally, I’ll have my eye on them also.”
I wish you all the best for the 22nd Reece and I look forward to witnessing you out there.
Last but not least do you have a message for the fans that will be in attendance and anybody you’d like to give a shout-out to?
“I just wanna thank everybody that’s brought a ticket to support me. I’m taking a good crowd down, especially as it will be in London where people have to fly or get a train and stay for a night or two. I really appreciate it, the support has been incredible. A big shout-out to all my sponsors for investing in me and allowing me to make this a full-time job. And a shout-out to all those sending best wishes over social media.”
Tickets are still available, so make sure you’re part of history when Cage Warriors returns to London on July 22nd. This is certainly a night you’ll not soon forget.
Buy tickets for CW141 here 🎟
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