BAMMA have today announced a huge addition to their Featherweight division with the signing of Ronnie “Iron” Mann on a multi fight deal.
Mann has bounced around weight divisions during his 33 fight career and joins BAMMA in the 145lbs division.
So with that thought in mind and in classic #WHOATV fantasy style here are five opponents we would like to see welcome Ronnie Mann to the BAMMA cage;
Nad Narimani
Narimani looked like an absolute beast against Jeremy Petley at BAMMA 23, stopping his Canadian opponent in just over two minutes of the first round. What impressed me the most about that performance was that Narimani did not look like a fighter who had been out of action for a year and in my eyes shot straight to the top of the pile of the BAMMA Featherweight division. A fight with Ronnie Mann would be the clear defining fight that in my eyes Narimani deserves and a win for him would all but guarantee him a crack at the Title.
Brendan Loughnane
Loughnane competed just last weekend again a tough David Lee and needed less than five minutes to put him away, proving that he is one of the best Featherweights in Europe. The very close split decision loss to Tom Duquesnoy has clearly given Loughnane a renewed focused to get back to the top of the pile and a fight with Ronnie Man would definitely set both men up for a bright future in the BAMMA Featherweight division. Loughnane needs to be fighting the big names to prove himself and they don’t come much bigger and more experienced that Ronnie Mann, likewise Mann who himself will be looking to make a statement at BAMMA would do himself no harm in fighting a former Title contender.
Alex Enlund
It can be argued that Enlund is one of, if not the best Featherweight in the UK at this moment. Riding a six fight win streak with five stoppages, Enlund picked up the Cage Warriors Title over Nad Narimani prior to the promotion going into hiatus. He looked to stay active in 2015 and defeated Phil Raeburn and Rafael Dias on some smaller shows and is definitely someone who should be fighting top level opponents on the biggest stages in Europe. Ronnie Mann at BAMMA would be a great opportunity for Enlund to get back in front of a big crowd and you could argue that these two could compete for the Title within a fight or so. I’m unsure of the relationship that Enlund has with Cage Warriors and with their return coming shortly, this could affect this one but it’s certainly a fight I would love to see on any European promotion.
Artem Lobov
Ok bear with me on this one. Yes Lobov is still contracted with the UFC at the time of typing this but I genuinely would prefer to see Lobov back on the European scene and a fight against Mann would be a great test for both guys. Lobov would certainly be a draw on any European card irrespective of his record, always bringing s the fight on fight night and has proved throughout his career just how durable he is. Lobov would also have a big size advantage over Mann so would be interesting to see how that dynamic would play out and whether Mann could use his speed to get in and out of Lobov’s striking. Probably the least likely bout to take place on this list but if Lobov does come back to the European scene I think he deserves a crack at the big names and Ronnie Mann is one of those “big names”.
Graham Turner
Graham “Afterburner” Turner is another very credible opponent who would be a very tough test for Ronnie Mann. Turner had a bit of a disappointing 2015 with a number of cancelled bouts and only being able to compete twice throughout the 12 months and its definitely fair to argue that Turner deserves opponents the calibre of Ronnie Mann. Turner did earn himself a shot at the Cage Warriors Featherweight Title against Jim Alers back in 2013 but fell short and will definitely be keen to prove to the world that he is one of the best Featherweights in Europe. A win for either Turner or Mann would definitely solidify both these guys claims at a crack at the gold and would be a very interesting bout between two very experienced fighters.