Fight Network Presents Cage Warriors 63 LIVE this Tuesday, Dec. 31, at 4 p.m. ET

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, wraps up a hectic 2013 Cage Warriors schedule with a live New Year’s Eve broadcast of Cage Warriors 63 from The Helix in Dublin, Ireland, this Tuesday, December 31, at 4 p.m. ET.

In the dual main events, Cage Warriors lightweight champion Stevie Ray will make the first defense of his belt against Ivan Buchinger, while Jim Alers puts his featherweight title up for grabs against Graham Turner.

Ray (14-4) captured the title after emerging victorious from CWFC’s four-man lightweight tournament at Cage Warriors 60 in London earlier this month, courtesy of wins over Jason Ball and Sean Carter.

“I’m very excited to be defending my belt on New Year’s Eve at what looks set to be the biggest Cage Warriors event of the year,” said Ray, who has taken 11 of his 14 wins inside the distance.

“I wanted Buchinger next as he should have been in the tournament final, so I want to show everybody that the result would have been the same anyway. I respect him but the belt will be coming back to Scotland with me.”

Buchinger (24-4) had been due to meet Ray in that Cage Warriors 60 tournament decider but was forced to withdraw after sustaining a rib injury during his semi-final triumph over Mick Sinclair.

The 27-year-old Slovak returns to Dublin on New Year’s Eve following a 3-0 streak this year, as he rebounded impressively from his loss to Conor McGregor on the same date at The Helix in 2012.

Buchinger said: “I’m glad to be getting the shot at the belt that I earned at Cage Warriors 60 and I’m looking forward to coming back to Dublin to try to make amends for my last fight there.

“Steven Ray is a deserving champion but I am determined to take that belt from him on New Year’s Eve. I’m very excited about the opportunity.”

Alers (11-1), who’ll be searching for his seventh consecutive Cage Warriors victory, was crowned CWFC featherweight kingpin back in April when he submitted Joni Salovaara in the fourth round of the Cage Warriors 53 main event in Glasgow to clinch a title that had been vacated by Conor McGregor.

A 26-year-old native of Florida, Alers impressively overcame Martin Svensson by unanimous decision in his debut title defence at Cage Warriors 59 in Cardiff earlier this month.

Having taken all 10 of his previous victories inside the distance – eight via submission – Alers also holds notable wins over Matteus Lahdesmaki, Marcio Cesar and Freddy Assuncao.

“I’m excited go give the Cage Warriors fans the matchup they wanted to see,” said Alers. “I want to fight the best fighters in my division and I feel Graham Turner is the top guy at the moment.”

“Turner is a great guy, I like him a lot, but I’m not going to let that get in the way of me beating him up a bit and keeping my belt wrapped around my waist.”

Turner (23-7), a 25-year-old Scotsman with a kickboxing background, holds a 5-1 record under the Cage Warriors banner and – with the exception of Alers – currently holds more CWFC wins than any other featherweight.

A member of Scotland’s renowned Dinky Ninjas camp, Turner has dropped just two losses in his last 17 outings – to the UFC’s Akira Corassani and top CWFC featherweight Matteus Lahdesmaki.

Since the defeat to Lahdesmaki in February 2012, Turner has rebounded in emphatic fashion, with five straight wins, the most recent of which came at the expense of the previously unbeaten Nad Narimani at Cage Warriors 56 in London this past July.

Turner counts 16 stoppage wins on his record – 14 via (T)KO – and has seen off the likes of Ashleigh Grimshaw, Olivier Pastor and Nathan Beer since making his professional debut in 2005.

He said: “This is going to be a very tough fight; I’m pretty sure it’ll be my hardest to date. I’m excited about the challenge and I feel very honoured to be given this opportunity by Cage Warriors.

“I’d love to get my hands on the Cage Warriors world title. I have the utmost respect for Jim as a fighter and I can’t wait for this challenge. I’m also really looking forward to my first visit to Ireland.”

In another anticipated featured contest, John Maguire will take on home favorite Philip Mulpeter in a 161-pound catch-weight bout.

A two-time winner in the UFC, Maguire (18-6) is currently fifth in the UK’s lightweight rankings and is confident of making a successful start to his spell with Cage Warriors.

“Being the Cage Warriors champion is now my aim and this is the first step on the way to that,” said the 30-year-old Englishman. “Philip Mulpeter, you called down thunder; well now you’ve got it.”

Mulpeter (6-3), like Maguire, sees his future in the 155lbs division having previously competed at welterweight. The 24-year-old was quick to offer Maguire his CWFC debut via Twitter after the signing of the UFC veteran was announced last week, and Cage Warriors officials have duly obliged.

A native of Laois in Ireland, Mulpeter began his move to lightweight with a very impressive second-round TKO of Warren Kee at Cage Warriors 56 in London this past July.

Mulpeter said: “I can’t wait to get back in the cage. My last fight was a good win over a tough opponent but I’m looking to improve again. I’m looking forward to getting another win, especially in my capital city.”

In other marquee matchups, Irishman Paul Redmond (8-3) meets Poland’s Mateusz Teodorczuk (10-2) in a welterweight bout, Ireland’s top female star Aisling Daly (13-5) returns from a year-long hiatus for a strawweight encounter with Venezuelan Muay Thai specialist Karla Benitez (11-5-1) and Englishman Sean Carter (7-1) will be keen to get back to winning ways when he goes up against Irishman Myles Price (7-4).

Undercard bouts include Kieran Davern vs. John Redmond, Amanda English vs. Slavka Vitaly, Chris Boujard vs. Sean Tobin, Kevin Booth vs. Rob Leybourne, Gavin Kelly vs. Dylan Sheehan and Mick Brennan vs. Kieran O’Brien.

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