One of Europe’s top prospects is officially a free agent and fielding offers ahead of the biggest move of his career.
Now former Cage Warriors welterweight champion Ross Houston announced Tuesday that he has agreed to terms of his release from the European promotion. Houston (8-0) is now negotiating with promotions on opposite sides of the globe before putting pen to paper on a new contract.
Houston’s management initially confirmed his departure from Cage Warriors with MMA Fighting and released a statement to MMA Junkie explaining the situation.
“Ross has been released. The negotiation was between the solicitors and very amicable,” the initial statement read. “The terms of the agreement are covered by a non-disclosure agreement, but both parties have wished each other well.
“Ross is negotiating with three companies at present for an April fight. We are looking for fights outside the U.K. to grow his viral fan base. At present, he isn’t looking at signing with any company that is based in the U.K. or Ireland solely.”
Houston’s team is currently in discussions with a number of promotions, and his manager, Kedu Uchegbu, confirmed to MMA Junkie on Wednesday that they are focusing on taking him overseas in a bid to expose him to a broader audience. They are targeting promotions in the U.S. and Asia as potential landing places.
“Our current preference is to fight in either the USA or in Asia on a main card,” Uchegbu said. “This is key to any negotiations we are undertaking. We want to be fighting for a title within the next three fights. We believe Ross is the No. 1 free agent in the world at the minute, and a clear path with any company has to be defined.”
Discussions are ongoing, and Uchegbu said he expects a deal for Houston to be signed within the next two weeks.
