Press Release – 08 Feb 2011: BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) are excited to announce the full fight card for their much hyped February 26th event at Manchester’s MEN Arena.
BAMMA 5 has already created excitement with the announcement of its explosive headlining fight which sees DEEP’s current Welterweight champ, Yuya Shirai face the UK’s contemporary fight legend, Paul Semtex Daley.
An announcement from U.S. fight promotion, Strikeforce, that Daley’s pending title shot is now dependent on a win at BAMMA has added further intensity to an already exhilarating bout; and attracted the eyes of international fight fans and press alike.
Now, prior to Londoner James McSweeney’s anticipated slugfest with former UFC champion Ricco Rodriguez, BAMMA can confirm a hot middleweight match between Swansea’s John Philips and France’s Jean-Francoise Lenogue.
Philips is renowned for his aggressive stand up and knock-out power with his last 5 fights lasting less than 5 minutes. Having previously lost to current BAMMA middleweight champion Tom Watson, Philips is itching for his chance to take the belt. Meanwhile, Lenogue is back on the up after a unanimous decision win over Damir Mihajlovic in November. Another exciting addition to the card is the contest between rising British middleweight Alex Makhonin and ex UFC and Cage Rage star Xavier “Professor X” Foupa-Pokam, with Makhonin looking to add to his 6 fight win streak and Professor X looking to break his 3 fight losing streak. A must win on both counts.
The under-card continues its promise to showcase the cream of British and European talent, with the addition of a welterweight matchup between Leeroy Barnes and Mohsen Bahari. BAMMA can guarantee that this will be one of the strongest MMA cards in UK history.
In the wake of BAMMA’s groundbreaking partnership deal with Universal Networks channel Syfy, not only is the event significant in its line up but also pioneering in its televisation. For the very first time British audiences will be able to access Mixed Martial Arts live on non-subscription TV. With plans for SyFy to screen all five BAMMA events over the course of 2011, Bamma 5 will christen the airwaves at 9PM on Saturday 26th February.
Liam Fisher, Vice President of Business Development at BAMMA comments “Speaking purely as an MMA fan, this is a fantastic card. The return of Paul Daley, Ricco’s 10 fight win streak, big matches for John Phillips and Alex Makhonin, Professor X, The Hammer, the list goes on! Manchester better be prepared!”
BAMMA 5 Full Fight Card:
Paul Daley Vs Yuya Shirai (Welterweight Championship)
Ricco Rodriguez Vs James McSweeney
John Philips Vs Jean-Francois Lenogue
Alex Makhonin Vs Xavier Foupa-Pokam
Under-Card:
Daniel “Denzil” Thomas Vs AJ Wenn
Leeroy Barnes Vs Mohsen Bahari
Rob Mills Vs Leigh Cohoon
Jason Ball Vs Peter Duncan
Paul Cook Vs Tom Maguire
Tim Newman Vs Diego Vital
Costas Doru Vs Liam James
Franky Slater Vs Jeremy Petley
Tickets are priced from £25 and are available via ticketmaster.co.uk