Northern Ireland’s Alan Philpott (13-6) will have an opportunity to make history this weekend. The talented youngster from Next Gen NI has the chance to become the first representative of Irish MMA to win a BAMMA title.
In recent years the Irish takeover has seen an incredible growth. Multiple fighters captured Cage Warriors titles, Henry Fadipe went down to South Africa to win the EFC welterweight title, Norman Parke (Philpott’s teammate) won TUF: The Smashes, and Conor McGregor has an upcoming UFC title fight this July. One thing that has eluded Irish fighters is success in BAMMA.
Recently we saw Conor Cooke fall short in his British title attempt at BAMMA 19 and Chris Fields lost in surprising fashion in his fight with Cheick Kone in what was said to be considered a major fight in BAMMA’s middleweight division.
Philpott’s opponent is the undefeated Ed Arthur (5-0) who has impressed since turning pro in 2013 after a bustling amateur career. He won his first four fights by finishes, three of which were under the BAMMA banner, before travelling to Sweden to win a fight by decision in the Superior Challenge promotion. If Philpott manages to win this weekend he will have certainly earned it.
This is a superb fight between two of the UK’s finest rising talents.