Cage Warriors 139 Main Event: Bailey vs. Trinidad Breakdown

As with all Cage Warriors shows, Cage Warriors 139 will be streamed live inside the United States on the UFC‘s subscription-based streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, beginning with prelim action at 8:45 pm ET/ 5:45 pm PT, followed by the main card at 10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT.

While Muin Gafurov and Herbeth Sousa do battle in Texas in the LFA 134 main event on Friday evening, the Cage Warriors 139 main event sees nontitle action from the lightweight division to close out the night’s action in California.

Late Alteration to Cage Warriors 139 Main Event

Initially, Friday night’s headlining bout in San Diego was to have seen Erick Sanchez (10-7 MMA, CWFC debut) take on Max Rohskopf (7-1 MMA, 2-0 CWFC) in a three-round nontitle lightweight showcase at five minutes per round, but on Tuesday, Cage Warriors announced on its website that the pairing had been scrubbed for the second time.

Previously, the two were scheduled to have fought on March 4 during Cage Warriors 133 in San Diego before the booking was postponed for undisclosed reasons before being attempted to be rebooked here.

Erick Sanchez is presently dealing with COVID-19, leading to Cage Warriors postponing the original main event for Friday evening.

Rohskopf was not given a short-notice replacement upon the original main event’s cancellation.

In its stead, the promotion elevated what was slated to have been the card’s co-headlining bout, a lightweight contest matching Alex Trinidad (5-3 MMA, 0-1 CWFC) with Jordan Bailey (6-5 MMA, 0-1 CWFC) to the Cage Warriors 139 main event on three days’ notice.

This headliner will be an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.

Cage Warriors 139 Main Event Fighter Comparison

Heading into the Cage Warriors 139 main event on Friday evening, both Alex Trinidad and Jordan Bailey stand level in height at 5-foot-9, but it’s in the reach category that these two fighters gain some slight separation.

Alex Trinidad owns a half-inch (69 1/2 inches to 69 inches even) over Jordan Bailey going into the main event.

Alex Trinidad Battle-Tested in More Ways Than One Ahead of Cage Warriors 139 Main Event

Alex Trinidad enters Friday night’s main event having posted 3-2 in his last five MMA fights, most recently losing (unanimous decision) against Brandon Laroco, who is also fighting on Friday in Cage Warriors 139, back in August of last year during Cage Warriors 126.

Counting amateur fights, this contest will mark Trinidad’s 16th career MMA appearance, so one already knows that he’s battle-tested inside the cage, a toughness which has carried over from his past.

Prior to turning his attention to MMA, he served in the United States Navy as a Mine Warfare Specialist and Supervisor to Minemen, before progressing to Chief Petty Officer.

Six years ago, he got his first taste of major MMA when he was booked to appear in Bellator MMA‘s Bellator 160 against Gabe Green, losing via second-round knockout due to punches on the card’s co-featured preliminary.

He’s already been on the major stage once before, and he’s about to return to the biggest stage for MMA inside the United Kingdom, but can he parlay his appearance in the Cage Warriors 139 main event on Friday into a return trip to the major stage in worldwide MMA?

Only time will tell, so tune in and find out this Friday night.

Jordan Bailey Looking to Right the Ship in Cage Warriors 139 Main Event

In the other corner, Jordan Bailey comes into Friday’s headlining contest having gone 1-4 in his last five MMA fights, and therefore, it goes without saying that he’s been struggling inside the cage of late.

At present, Bailey is on a two-fight losing streak, a skid most recently extended by the aforementioned Max Rohskopf two weeks before Halloween on Oct. 17 of last year in Cage Warriors 130, also held at Humphrey’s by the Bay in San Diego.

The lone win in that span came five years ago versus Bren O’Neill in Conquer FC 3 by unanimous decision.

Like his opponent, Jordan Bailey has also gotten a taste of major MMA in the past, having scored a first-round submission by way of a rear-naked choke in November of 2014 during Bellator 131’s undercard against Alex Higley, so will he be able to get back in the win column?

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the Cage Warriors 139 main event on Friday night looks to favor Jordan Bailey, who holds a brown-belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, compared to Alex Trinidad’s wrestling background.

Watch For Alex Trinidad’s Punches

One aspect of Alex Trinidad’s fight game that’s especially evident on film is his ability to score the knockout with vicious punches, which Joseph Williams found out in March of 2015.

During the second round of a scheduled three, after Trinidad took control of the fight late in the first round with serious ground and pound shots, he wasted very little time ending the contest, scoring with a kick to the body to set up a left-handed uppercut from the clinch, folding Williams like an accordion in the process.

Although Trinidad teed off on Williams with another flurry of ground and pound shots after the knockdown, the damage was already done, leaving the referee no other option but to stop the fight in Trinidad’s favor just 15 seconds into the period.

Noteworthy: Counting amateur and professional MMA fights, the contest versus Alex Trinidad was Joseph Williams’ one and only defeat in his career as a fighter.

If Alex Trinidad is able to piece Jordan Bailey up with a kick, it could be the vital opening he needs to land a punch for the knockout on Friday night.

Jordan Bailey Can Be Brutal on the Ground

In the other corner, Jordan Bailey has a decent ground game, as was illustrated in his fight against Anthony Charnell in 2013.

Right from the start of the fight, Bailey was wobbled by a right-handed punch from Charnell, leading to a takedown, with the fight remaining on the mat from there.

Although Bailey was stunned, he was able to quickly recover and seize control of the contest, first attempting a crucifix and taking half-guard, with Charnell briefly regaining momentum by landing some ground and pound elbow shots before scoring with some body shots.

This would prove to be in vain for Anthony Charnell, who found himself on the receiving end of a deep guillotine choke, causing him to tap out less than two minutes into the opening round.

If Bailey finds himself in trouble early, look for him to take the fight to the mat and try to keep it there.

Final Thoughts

As chronicled in the film study, the Cage Warriors 139 main event is a contest between two fighters who have been known to get the job done quickly, but will that ring true coming up on Friday night?

One last note:

Having a fight get elevated to main event status during fight week is a daunting task, so how much will the added pressure of fighting in the main event affect Trinidad and Bailey going into Cage Warriors 139?

Prediction: Alex Trinidad by Unanimous Decision.

Featured image credit to Cage Warriors