It is back to the drawing board for Conor Cooke (6-6) after the Next Gen NI fighter lost his BAMMA British Title fight last night at BAMMA 19 in Blackpool.
The middleweight succumbed to a rear-naked choke inflicted by Andy DeVent (12-9) in the first round of their title fight. This marks the sixth time Cooke has lost by submission.
The two middleweights made headlines after their conflict at the weigh-ins on Friday and many tuned in to see the issue resolved. Cooke failed to make weight and as a result he would not have been able to claim the title had he won the fight but rather he would’ve become the unofficial BAMMA British champ.
The fight itself lasted a little over two minutes and involved a lot of grappling and scrambling and in the end DeVent’s pressure was just too much for Cooke.
Although Cooke remains one of the most exciting fighters currently representing Irish MMA, the lack of consistency is what is letting him down. On his night he is capable of beating extremely tough fighters, as evident by his wins over Liam Shannon & Lee Chadwick, but he also has moments of concentration lapses that allow his opponents sneak submissions on regardless of which way the momentum is going.
Something will have to change for Cooke if he wishes to make a good run on the UK scene before attempting to join his teammate Norman Parke in the UFC, something that could be in the realm of possibility for the high level striker.
You can check out the full BAMMA 19 results here.