BAMMA 23 – Origins of the nicknames

With so many fighters popping up across the planet its becoming more and more difficult for fighters to single themselves out and stand out from the crowd as a recognisable face. Obviously their main work is done inside the cage although there are some attributes they can flaunt before even stepping into the cage to help them attract attention from fans/media/promoters etc.

A nickname is a big part of a fighters personality and one thing that really struck me when I received the finalised BAMMA 23 fight card was the amount of standout nicknames featuring on the card. From 50 Cal, King, Warhorse, The Big Bad Wolf, the list is endless and so #WHOATV have dived into this topic to find the origins of the nicknames which will be competing on Saturday night.

Sit back and enjoy;

Gavin “Warhorse” Sterritt

Now initially Sterritt spun me a story that this nickname related to a rather large piece of his anatomy but after a bit more digging we got to the actual origins of the nickname. This one came about from Sterritt’s manager Anthony because of his incredible cardio and his passion for fighting. Sterritt is known for his ability to take on any fight regardless of situation and this weekend will see him come up against possibly his toughest test yet in Martin Stapleton.

Pelu “The Nigerian Diamond” Adetola

Adetola who is making his BAMMA debut this weekend is of Nigerian descent and after a horrible injury he suffered early on in his career, a leg break, Doctors told him that he wouldn’t be able to compete again. But obviously he has proved them wrong and is looking to make a statement at 205lbs against Brett McDermott. The Nigerian Diamond is prepared to be adamas (unbreakable) against the former Light Heavyweight Champion.

Bryan “The Big Bad Wolf” Creighton

This is a great nickname and was passed to Creighton from a friend who said that the “resembled a wolf” when he saw him fighting. The name has stuck with him ever since and from time to time Creighton enters the cage with some little piggies. Whilst the Lion and Tiger may be more powerful, the Wolf does not perform in a circus!

“Dirty” Harry Marple

Dirty Harry may be more well renowned as the 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood, but Harry Marple will be looking to make his own name off the back of Shane Gunfield at BAMMA 23. This nickname originated from a close friend who according to Marple has the broadest Cosley/Dudley accent you will ever hear and the name has since stuck.

Jack “The Pilgrim” McGann

Its on a need to know basis and you don’t need to know!

Jeremy “Ninja” Petley

Now this has to be one of my favourite stories about how a nickname has come about. Prior to Petley’s first martial arts class of his life, Jeremy purchased what he thought was a legitimate martial arts gi. But upon arriving at the class he noticed that everyone else was wearing a thick tidy looking BJJ gi in either blue or white. Petley’s gi was a flimsy (and possibly silk) black gi which made his white belt stand out even more. His coach Luiz started to address him as “Ninja” and from that point onwards the name stuck!

”Super” Bill Beaumont

This nickname came about as a result of a crowd chant that has since stuck with the undefeated fighter. Beaumont made his professional debut on 6th April 2013 at UCMMA 33 and took an army of fans for support, many of whom from his local social club who started a “Super Bill” chant and the rest as they say is history.

Nathaniel “The Prospect” Wood

This nickname came about from a TV show. No folks not Coronation Street or Hollyoaks, but the Sons of Anarchy. During the show they named their apprentices “prospects” and Nathaniel was instantly attracted to it. He looked up the definition of the word and it stated “someone who will achieve greatness in what they do” and from that point onwards his Dad (who plays a huge part in Nathaniel’s career) said “You are The Prospect”.

Shaj “Superman” Hague

Growing up Superman was Shaj’s favourite Superhero (Im more of a Batman kinda guy) and during the early days of his MMA career, him and his sparring partners were branding around various nicknames for each other. One suggested he should use the name “Duracell” because of his cardio but Shaj made the case for adopting “Superman” as he was always fighting bigger, stronger guys. His coach didn’t really agree at the time. Later on in his amateur career he came up against Brent Crawley and was a big underdog in that bout. His team and his coach thought he was crazy taking that one on but aside from a tick in the win column his coach vowed that if he won that night he could keep the “Superman” nickname. Well you can guess how that fight turned out.

Ben “Bad Man” Bennett

Young Bennett is known for being a nice lad away from the cage but his coach has a completely different take on what he is like when the cage door is closed. “Once you spar with him you soon find out, he is a bad bad man.” Bennett will have to be at the top of his game this Saturday night when he kicks off the show against Jai Herbert in his professional debut.

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