Cage Warriors 133 Main Event: Joshua Jones vs. Kyle Driscoll

San Diego Plays Host to Nontitle Fight at Lightweight in Cage Warriors 133 Main Event on Friday Night

As was the case with Cage Warriors 126 on the night of Aug. 1, 2021 and Cage Warriors 130 on Oct. 17, 2021, Cage Warriors 133 this Friday night on UFC Fight Pass will see the promotion set up shop in southern California, specifically, San Diego’s Del Mar Arena on the Del Mar Fairgrounds for a full 12-fight card, highlighted by a nontitle showcase at 155 lbs in your Cage Warriors 133 main event.

Joshua Jones (11-5 MMA, CWFC debut), a veteran of Bellator MMA, will clash with Dana White’s Contender Series season four alumnus Kyle Driscoll (12-3 MMA, CWFC debut) in an all-American showdown for the Cage Warriors 133 main event, a three-round fight at five minutes per round.

Cage Warriors 133 Main Event Fighter Breakdown

Heading into the Cage Warriors 133 main event on Friday night, Kyle Driscoll, a Tulsa, OK product, stands taller at 5-foot-11, compared to the 5-foot-8 frame of Joshua Jones, who has a “home game” of sorts, as he hails from Long Beach, CA, this weekend.

In addition, Driscoll owns a 5 1/2-inch reach advantage (72 inches even to 66 1/2 inches) over Joshua Jones going into Friday night’s bout.

Joshua Jones Looks to Ride Momentum of Two-Fight Winning Streak Into Cage Warriors 133 Main Event

Joshua Jones comes into the Cage Warriors 133 main event on Friday night having posted a 3-2 record in his last five MMA bouts and is currently on a two-fight winning streak.

Most recently, he scored a second-round knockout due to ground and pound shots against Johnny Cisneros in Bellator 263 last July in Los Angeles at The Forum.

This is the second scheduled fight for Joshua Jones and his camp in the early part of this year, as an earlier fight against Aaron McKenzie back on Jan. 14 during LFA 121’s originally-advertised main event fell apart prior to fight night after he experienced a botched weight cut.

Unlike last time, this Cage Warriors 133 main event will not be a catchweight.

For the Joshua Jones camp, their key going into Friday night’s headlining bout will be twofold:

First and foremost, Jones will have to keep his weight under control if this fight against Kyle Driscoll is to stay on the card as the Cage Warriors 133 main event on Friday night.

Secondly, Joshua Jones has to come out of the gates like a house on fire with a variety of punches against Driscoll in the Cage Warriors 133 main event if he is to steal his momentum on Friday night and get on the plane this Saturday morning with a victory.

Kyle Driscoll Looks to Make Good on Second Chance at a UFC Deal in Cage Warriors 133 Main Event

In the other corner, Kyle Driscoll has gone 5-0 in his last five MMA bouts as part of an ongoing seven-fight winning streak– but he hasn’t fought inside the cage in almost a year and a half.

On Sept. 15, 2020, Driscoll emerged victorious from that night’s Contender Series broadcast via unanimous decision against Dinis Paiva after three rounds, yet he did not score a UFC contract from Dana White at the end of the evening.

Much like his opponent, Kyle Driscoll has seen would-be fights fall apart, as a planned contest on April 30 last year in the LFA never officially materialized with no opponent announced.

After, he was slated to fight JJ Ambrose last October during the aforementioned Cage Warriors 130, but he withdrew from the event prior to the card due to an injury, with Spike Carlyle fighting in his place.

With one of the longest layoffs of his career behind him, Driscoll and his camp have to be viewing the Cage Warriors 133 main event as a second chance at getting a UFC deal from Dana White, but the first few minutes of the fight will tell the tale.

If he has any lingering ring rust from his layoff, this fight could be over in a hurry.

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the Cage Warriors 133 main event on Friday night seems to favor Joshua Jones, a jiu-jitsu fighter, with Kyle Driscoll countering with a kickboxing background.

Jones’ Striking Could Tell The Tale

Joshua Jones’ striking prowess could be the decisive factor in the Cage Warriors 133 main event on Friday night, and one need look no further than the film of the Jones/Cisneros prelim from last summer.

Jones attempted some grappling late in the first round, specifically a failed rear-naked choke and guillotine, before switching to the top mount, from which he landed vicious ground and pound shots on Johnny Cisneros– who almost didn’t make it to the first-round bell.

Round two saw more of the same, as Joshua Jones scored with a double-leg takedown from a level change, eventually improving position before going into mount.

Jones’ fight IQ was on full display in this contest, as he shut down Cisneros’ efforts from every corner before finally ending things with heavy ground and pound shots, leaving referee Mike Beltran no option but to rescue Cisneros from any further damage in a one-sided bout.

If he’s able to pounce on Kyle Driscoll in a hurry with strikes and stifle his momentum by scoring takedowns, the Cage Warriors 133 main event could be done and dusted in a hurry.

Look For Kyle Driscoll to Score Takedowns of His Own

In the other corner, one aspect of Kyle Driscoll’s fight game that jumps out on film is his ability to slow down the tempo of the fight through landing takedowns.

During his 2019 Combate Global fight against Rey Trujillo, Driscoll opened things up by landing a few takedowns and scoring with some ground and pound shots to Trujillo’s head as an attempt to soften him up for a possible submission, thereby opening his gameplan up to wrestle Trujillo, who desperately tried to get back to the feet, but only got as far as the clinch.

From there, Driscoll would take him down again, which would prove to be the story for the balance of the fight, highlighted by him scoring a vicious knockdown thanks to a well-placed and well-timed kick to the head right after the command to fight in round two.

He was able to effectively control the momentum and the clock through the balance of the bout and Rey Trujillo largely had no answer that night, so if Kyle Driscoll is able to land takedowns early on in the Cage Warriors 133 main event, it might turn the tide and give him the momentum he needs to come away a winner.

Final Thoughts

Even though no championship is at stake this Friday night in the Cage Warriors 133 main event, this one is going to be a cracking affair.

If you watch as little as one MMA fight this Friday night, make certain that it’s this one.

Prediction: Kyle Driscoll by Unanimous Decision.

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Featured image credit to Cage Warriors