Tom 'Kong' Watson
The Ultimate Fighting Championship added two bouts to the upcoming UFC on FUEL TV 5 card, naming three Brits to the upcoming UK event.
Signing on to the middleweight division is reigning BAMMA champion Tom ‘Kong’ Watson (15-4), who takes on TUF 11 alumni Brad Tavares (8-1). While British fighters John ‘The One’ Maguire (18-3) and John ‘The Hitman’ Hathaway (16-1) do battle on their native soil.
Both matches were made official at UFC.com earlier today.
It’s official: UFC has signed British middleweight standout Tom “Kong” Watson to a promotional contract. Southampton’s Watson (15-4) has won 11 of his last 12 bouts, defeating the likes of Murilo “Ninja” Rua, John Maguire, and Matt Horwich in the process.
The British MMA champion will make his UFC debut September 29 in Nottingham, England against Brad Tavares.
Also in Nottingham, top British welterweights have verbally agreed to fight as 18-3 submission specialist John Maguire takes on 15-1 John “The Hitman” Hathaway.
UFC on Fuel TV 5 is expected to take place on September 29, 2012 at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England.
Watson makes his UFC debut on a three fight win streak and is 11-1 in his last twelve matches. The last three matches were all BAMMA middleweight title defenses with the most recent victory in March of this year. The BAMMA 9 victory came over Jack Marshman via second round TKO.
Tavares bounced back from his first pro-loss this past May after a decision victory versus South Korean fighter Dongi Yang. He had been scheduled to fight Tim Credeur at UFC 137 last October, but both men were eventually forced out with injuries. Tavares suffered his first loss one year ago at UFC 132, losing a unanimous decision to Aaron Simpson.
Maguire walks into this fight after seven straight wins, including two inside the Octagon. Most recently he submitted DaMarques Johnson at the UFC on FUEL TV 2 event in Sweden, earning the “Submission of the Night” bonus. Maguire earned a decision over Justin Edwards at UFC 138 in his UFC debut.
Hathaway will look for his third straight win and is 6-1 in the UFC since debuting with the promotion back in January 2009. Hathaway fought last May in New Jersey, winning a decision against Pascal Krauss on the UFC on FOX 3 card. The other win for ‘The Hitman’ came in March of last year with a split decision over Kris McCray.