(Jimmy Wallhead, who is now matched for the weekend. Image by David Swann/Cage Warriors)
As our interview with “Judo” Jimmy Wallhead (18-5) revealed earlier in the week, the Rough House man has had an abundance of bad luck and unfortunate incidents in his MMA career. His signing to Bellator FC was seen as the light at the end of a turbulent tunnel but his debut in the welterweight tournament was cancelled when the Icelandic volcano situation was at its peak. In a bid to stay busy, Wallhead was booked to face the tough Mikey Gomez at Cage Warriors 37: Right To Fight this weekend at Birmingham’s NEC arena.
However, after things seemed to be going all too swimmingly for the Leicester man, normal service resumed when Gomez was forced to withdraw with a training injury over the weekend. Cage Warriors matchmaker Ian Dean scrambled to find a replacement and the hard work has paid off. Judo will meet Muay Thai as Wallhead will now take on the durable journeyman Shaun Lomas.
“I’m just really happy to get matched to be honest,” Wallhead told FIGHT! earlier. “I haven’t seen him fight MMA but I’ve seen him fight K-1 a few times and he’s a tough, durable guy that likes to bang! I won’t be taking him lightly.”
Lomas is admired and respected on the combat circuit for his willingness to take on all comers, even competing in an open-weight tournament despite being a natural 77kg fighter. Although his up and down record reflects his hasty approach to fight management, Lomas is no walkover as he has shown his grit and skill set in two winning outings against the Wolfslair’s Tony Moran. Moran was previously undefeated with a set of highlight reel knockouts to his name, but Lomas proved the doubters wrong when he earned a tough decision over the former professional boxer in their inaugural battle. Keen to rectify this, Moran rematched Lomas on Manchester’s UCC but was defeated late on with a guillotine choke.
Of the Lomas vs. Moran battles, Wallhead noted,
“He’s a dude! I know that, I’ve heard about them fights. I’ll have to keep my hands up and my chin down as he likes to throw some big haymakers and a lot of leg kicks.”
At this stage, “Judo” Jim will have plenty of rage to unleash in the cage come Saturday.
“I’ll take my opportunities but I know where his strengths are. I’m not afraid to strike with him at all but sooner or later it’s gonna end up with him on his back and me beating him up.”
Wallhead, normally competing at welterweight, will meet Lomas at middleweight as the bout has been agreed to at this late stage. It adds another interesting clash to an already formidable fight card on May 22nd, details of which can be found here.
Comments are closed.