Cage Warriors 59's Brett Johns ready for whoever tourney puts in front of him

Getting ready for a four-man tournament, all in one night, can be a daunting task.

Not only does a fighter have to prepare for his guaranteed opponent, but he also has to keep the other two possible opponents in the back of his mind, should he move past the first round. For that matter, there are another two reserve fighters to worry about in case one of the two on the other side of the bracket wins and is hurt.

But for Brett Johns (6-0), he may have to think about three opponents, but he’s treating them like they’re one. The Welshman fights in front of his home crowd tonight at Cage Warriors 59 when he meets Sweden’s David Haggstrom (7-1) in the opening round of Cage Warriors’ one-night, four-man bantamweight tournament.

Cage Warriors 59 takes place at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff Wales. The bantamweight tournament opening-round fights are part of the promotion’s Facebook steam on the prelims (2:45 p.m. ET) ahead of the main card that can be seen at MMAjunkie.com at 4 p.m. ET.

“They’re all sort of similar – I think the only one that’s not is myself,” Johns told MMAjunkie.com Radio of the three other fighters in the bracket. “I’m a wrestler. But I know my standup’s going very well. The other three guys, they’re all very good standup and good off their back on the floor. So there wasn’t much change in the camp – just the card and the fitness.”

Along with his fight against Haggstrom, the Cage Warriors 59 prelims feature a semifinal fight between James Pennington and Kris Edwards. The winners meet in the co-main event later on the main card.

For Johns, who is undefeated both as a pro and an amateur in MMA, the hardest part has been wrapping his head around doing two fights in the same night. He doesn’t think his gas tank will be an issue, though.

“It’s a very diff challenge, really, and I’m excited,” he said. “I want to get this week over and done with. I think it’s definitely going to be the hardest fights of my career. The first fight is two five-minute rounds. I can to two rounds quite easily, and my coaches have done a cracking job with my cardio. My pace is very high, anyway, so I think I’ll be fine. My style is aggressive, anyway, and that’s how Ill go out in the first and the second.”

In other words, he won’t be holding anything back against Haggstrom hoping to just inch by to the finals, where he can have plenty left over for the Edwards-Pennington winner.

It’ll be full speed ahead for the young fighter, who just turned pro a little more than a year ago and so far has four stoppages in his six wins, which include a second-round TKO of James MacAlister at Cage Warriors 54 in May.

Right now, though, before fighting in front of his home fans in Wales, he’s got what he believes is the right amount of confidence and healthy nerves.

“I’m 21 years old – I’m very young, I’ve got a good record, I’m going for a world title,” he said. “In that way, I can be very confident. Or it can be the other way – a downfall when you don’t want to lose that ‘zero.’ But I’m a very confident guy. Before a fight, I’m quite nervous – but nerves let you know you’re alive and you’re ready for it.”

Saturday night will tell just how ready, should he advance past Haggstrom to fight again about an hour later.

But bring any of them on, Johns said. It’s all part of his bigger plan.

“If you’re going to be a world champion, you’ve got to be prepared to fight anyone – and I am,” he said. “There’s no guy in that tournament that I don’t want to fight. I want to be the best in the world, and whoever they put in front of me is the way forward.”

For more on Cage Warriors 59, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.

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