BAMMA 25 Champion Vs Champion takes place in just under two weeks time at the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham, England. The card features four BAMMA Title fights on the main card and a host of talent on the preliminary card with some of Europe’s very best fighters.
So if you are not making the trip to Birmingham why should you go out of your way to catch the fights online? Well the folks at #WHOATV have helped you out and given you five reasons you must watch #BAMMA25;
When weight classes divide
Shay Walsh will put his BAMMA World Bantamweight Title on the line against a man looking to become a BAMMA two weight World Champion, Tom “Firekid” Duquesnoy. Duquesnoy is the Featherweight Champion and after a successful test at Bantamweight against Damien Rooney is now looking to take Walsh’s Bantamweight Title. Duquesnoy has been reigning supreme at 145lbs since joining BAMMA in 2013 and is now an internationally renowned name and on the radar of many promotions worldwide. Standing in his way though is Shay Walsh who himself is looking to put a stop to the Duquesnoy hype train in his first Title defence. Duquesnoy has blown away everyone in his path to get this opportunity but if the Frenchman thinks he will have an easy ride at #BAMMA25 he is in for a rude awakening.
Someone’s 0 has got to go
When Marc Diakese and Kane Mousah meet for the BAMMA Lonsdale Lightweight Title there is more than just a belt on the line. These two 155lbers have a grudge to settle which has been boiling away since their originally scheduled bout at BAMMA 17 and will both put their undefeated records on the line. Diakese comes into the fight off the back of a stunning 24 second knock-out win against Rick Selvarajah, whilst Mousah picked up a decision win over Myles Price after a year long lay-off. The winner of this one will not only claim bragging rights but also put their hat in the mix to compete for the BAMMA World Lightweight Title at a later date.
The Scottish invasion continues
Both Chris Bungard and Graham Turner will make their promotional debuts at #BAMMA25 and both of these Scotsmen are definitely looking to make huge dents in their respective divisions. Bungard who is a training partner of BAMMA World Light Heavyweight Champion Paul Craig, is one of the hottest prospects from the Scottish MMA scene and after years of graft is finally getting his opportunity on the big stage. Graham Turner is a well known name on the #UKMMA scene and after 34 fights across Europe finally gets on to the BAMMA roster. Both these men have huge potential to make a run for the Belts at both Lightweight (Bungard) and Bantamweight (Turner) but first up they both have a tough test at #BAMMA25, but you can guarantee these Scotsmen will be looking to join their fellow countrymen with a BAMMA belt around their waist by the end of 2016.
Former Champ Vs Future Contender
Ed Arthur and Cameron Else will be looking to get their names one step closer to a Bantamweight Title shot when they meet at #BAMMA25. Arthur dropped the Title to Walsh at BAMMA 23 which was the first loss of his career and this is also another interesting aspect to this fight, to see how Arthur responds to that loss. On the other side, Else is coming off of a submission win against Jay Butler and whilst he is ranked below Arthur has a real golden opportunity at getting a win over the former Champion and proving that he can hang with the top guys in the division. There was some history between these two which came to fruition when the fight was originally announced but since then it has certainly tapered off which I think shows that both of these guys are 100% focused on the task ahead and will be both looking to make a name for themselves on fight night.
Preliminary fights with ability to steal the show
This preliminary card can hold its own as a show in itself with some real show stealers. Matt Hallam Vs Alexander Bergman is a cracking fight at Middleweight, Jai Herbert and Tony Morgan put their undefeated streaks on the line in a Lightweight encounter. Brett McDermott Vs Jamie Sloan will be looking to get into the Light Heavyweight Title picture when they clash and not forgetting my tip for FOTN which is Ed Arthur Vs Cameron Else. These bouts all have huge potential to be show stealers and I would not be surprised if we see a future main card fighter breakthrough on the prelim cards.