Press Release – (July 27th.12) Europe’s leading Mixed Martial Arts promotion, BAMMA, is proud to announce Leeroy Barnes vs. Denniston Sutherland to the BAMMA 10 card for a Middleweight battle at London Wembley on 15th September.
The event is to be live televised on Fight Network.
Fan favourite and badass Twitter merchant, Leeroy Barnes, has been going from strength to strength in recent times following an impressive onslaught against British champion Jack Marshman at BAMMA 8, in which Barnes pushed the fight the full distance to a decision loss in Marshman’s favour. Barnes went on to defeat the 22-12 UK legend, Matt Ewin, at BAMMA 9 after a late replacement saw Barnes suddenly up against the dramatically more experienced opponent. As his 10-9-0 record illustrates, Barnes has never been afraid to take any fight against any opponent from early on in his career, starting out at Lightweight to eventually find his feet in the Middleweight division. His recent displays at BAMMA have demonstrated impressive development as a fighter and a mindful honing of skills and strengths with experience. From an exciting and dedicated athlete who always brings the fight and takes the risks, fans can always guarantee a tough and entertaining battle from Leeroy Barnes.
Barnes said:
“I’m really looking forward to fighting on BAMMA 10. I think this show will mark a big step for MMA in the UK with the mainstream TV deal. I know the match-maker, Jude Samuel, has worked hard to find a top class opponent for me: Denniston is definitely that, having been a UK top ten mainstay for many years and coming off a dominant victory. I’m very happy with the fight and excited to yet again show the improvements I’ve made in the gym and how seriously I’m taking my career. Denniston is a tough well rounded fighter and I expect a tough test but I don’t believe he will be able to deal with my athleticism and skill at Middleweight. I will win this fight but the real winners will be the fans.
The more experienced Denniston ‘Mad Max’ Sutherland (17-8-0) is another fighter with an interesting trajectory. First falling in love with MMA when he stumbled across it once on television many years ago in Jamaica, Sutherland didn’t come across the sport again until he relocated to the UK in his thirties. Eventually finding his comfortable fight weight at Middleweight, Sutherland debuted professionally against Neil Grove at Heavyweight in 2007 demonstrating a continued and similar trait to Barnes in that he’s never backed down from a tough fight. Sutherland went on to face an army of UK talent to notch up an impressive array of wins by KO, TKO and submission and multiple UK titles. Hovering around the UK top 10 for a few years now and with losses against respectable fighters that include Tom Watson and Claudio Da Silva, Sutherland doesn’t show any sign of slowing down; and with his recent 1st round win against Brett Sizeland he certainly remains a force to be reckoned with.
Sutherland said:
“I’m really looking forward to this fight. I met Leeroy a few years ago when he was Lightweight, before Bisping fought Rashad and I went up there to train with him. I’m interested to see how much he’s changed since then. Physically he’s completely different but I don’t know if he’s technically any better. This is what I’m looking to find out’
BAMMA’s Head of Talent Relations, Jude Samuel, said:
“This fight brings together two very tough fighters who take fights for the opportunity to test their skills against hard opponents and to better themselves. Therefore these guys like to be adventurous and take risks; and neither of them are interested in a ‘safe fight’. In a landscape where fighters are increasingly under pressure to pad their records and clock up the career wins, both Barnes and Denniston embody the raw and traditional spirit of MMA. Bringing depth of experience, a rounded spectrum of skills and massive heart into the cage, I’m proud to have athletes like these representing BAMMA.”