On Saturday night at Cage Warriors 59 at Cardiff, Wales’ MotorPoint Arena, the co-main event featured a bout between highly-regarded American prospect Jim Alers and Swedish submission artist Martin Svensson for the Cage Warriors Featherweight Championship. From the word go Alers was looking for the finish, but he was only able to secure the win over the challenger after battling for the full 25 minutes.
I asked Alers if the fight played out how he expected, and he said:
“Yes I knew it would be a tough fight because of his length. I wish I got the finish though; I was so close, but he had a big heart.”
In the first round, Alers, a brown belt from Alliance BJJ Orlando, managed to take Martin Svensson’s back and began to look for a rear naked choke. But unfortunately for Alers, Svensson’s rear naked choke defence was top notch, and he managed to stave off Alers until the end of the round. In the second, Alers kept his furious pace, but suffered a brutal low blow which momentarily led to a stop in the action, but following the resumption of action, Alers took his foe to the canvas and landed peppering until the round ended.
Going into the third round, Alers was well ahead and looking good, and that continued, as from the moment the bell sounded he was moving forward, and immediately took Svensson down. It was more of the same as the preceding rounds, although Svensson did manage to get a late takedown. However, he wasn’t able to do any major damage.
Heading into the championship rounds, both Svensson and Alers were both visibly showing signs of fatigue, but Svensson continued where he left off in the third and secured a takedown early. He maintained top position for the first half of the fourth round before both fighters got back to the feet, and on the feet Alers landed a beautiful kick which hurt Svensson badly just as the round ended. In the fifth, after Svensson slipped while throwing a kick, Alers, ever the opportunist, followed his opponent to the canvas and began to throw punches and elbows. He was obviously eager to get the finish, but Svensson’s indomitable will made this all but impossible, and the fight ended with Alers earning the decision.
After the fight, I talked to Alers about how far he believes he is from reaching his goal of becoming a UFC fighter, and he said:
“I believe I am knocking on their door. I have to be on their radar now with 10 stoppages and 7 straight victories.”
Alers had been booked to face Conor McGregor on numerous occasions throughout his Cage Warriors career. When I asked him if he was still interested in a potential bout with McGregor in the UFC, his response was:
“I pay no attention to him and I will fight anyone. If he is in the way of my dream I will move him.”
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• Jim Alers vs. Martin Svensson – FW Championship: Jim Alers def. Martin Svensson via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47).
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Cage Warriors 59 took place on September 14, 2013 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
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