Press Release – (March 8th.13) The UK’s premier Mixed Martial Arts promotion, BAMMA, is proud to announce the finalised fight card for BAMMA 12 which takes place at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena on Saturday 9th March 2013.
Bola Omoyele was set to face Harry McLeman, following an earlier injury pull out by Wayne Murray. But in a further twist of fate, Omoyele suffered a soft tissue tear 36 hours ago to be replaced by Scott Ashkam, who had been left standing by Kevin Thompson. McLeman now faces Askham in a Catchweight bout matched at 87kgs (192lbs)
Harry McLeman (4-0-0) comes to BAMMA 12 fresh off a win over Sam Mensah via first round Rear Naked Choke. Three of his fight victories have come via the same method and one via Ground and Pound. McLeman fights out of MacMillan’s Martial Arts Academy in Plymouth and has a background in boxing from when he was in the army and also competes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. (Two of McLeman’s Professional fights have not been recorded at Sherdog by the Promotions on which he fought. For fight record information provided by the fighter and being substantiated by BAMMA, see Ends.)
Brett McDermott steps in to replace injured Richi Knox against Thomas Denham at Light Heavyweight. Manchester’s Brett ‘The Spartan’ McDermott presents an Amateur record of 4-1-0, with all wins via TKO in the second or first round. Having captured the Full Contact Contender Amateur Light Heavyweight title at Full Contact Contender 2, he went on to successfully defend it on FCC 3 and FCC 4.
#10 ranked UK Flyweight, Steven “Taz” McCombe replaces Dawid Farycki to fight James McAllister in a Catchweight bout at 63kg (139lbs). Steven McCombe flies in from Northern Ireland and brings with him a record of 16-18 with the majority of his wins scored in the first round by Submission or TKO. Just one of his victories have been achieved in the 3rd. Since debuting in 2004, McCombe has faced a host of impressive British talent
Injury sees Paul McBride withdraw from his fight against Darren Wardle at Middleweight; and Jon Jackson retiring from his scheduled bout with Amas Siraj Mounir. Amas Siraj Mounir and Darren Wardle are no longer fighting at BAMMA 12.
BAMMA 12 fighters have all registered to Safe MMA, with the exception of the card’s latest replacement whose clear test results have been submitted today. At 11:04 hours, the majority of the card had been medically cleared by Safe MMA doctors, with a couple of late applications to be processed.
BAMMA’s Managing Director, Ashley Bothwell, said:
“It’s been an incredibly tough week for our matchmaker, Jude Samuel. Before ink sets on the contract, injury changes the fight yet again. Unfortunately this kind of bad luck can be part of the game; and we wish the injured guys all the best with their recovery. Jude has done an incredible job of unearthing, new exciting replacements to complete the card against all the odds and I’d like to thank the fighters that have stepped up at short notice.
“I’d also like to thank all the fighters, managers, doctors and sponsors who supported our decision to work under Safe MMA; and we can proudly say that we’re on track to having a fully medically cleared fight card under the system. The introduction of Safe MMA has increased the challenges in the last couple of days, as we were unable to find anywhere that could process bloods within 2 days and that was also within reach of potential replacements. However, we felt it was our priority to honour the remarkable effort of the rest of the BAMMA 12 fighters, in registering to Safe MMA, and the extraordinary support the wider community has shown. We’d whole-heartedly like to thank Alexis Coward and Dr. Kreindler at 76 Harley Street for their hard labours to get through the large volume of fighters registering in the last couple of weeks in time for fight night.
“I’m also proud to be able to say that despite the challenges, BAMMA 12 presents a fantastic night of fights, which includes; world class bouts, some of the top names in the UK, must-watch up-and-comers and a highly anticipated battle for the BAMMA Lonsdale British Lightweight title. It is all of this that makes BAMMA 12 a night not to be missed.”
Follow @madmac_mma @SafeMMAUK and @BAMMAUK on Twitter.
BAMMA 12 FIGHT CARD
WELTERWEIGHT BOUT
MATT VEACH VS. JIM WALLHEAD
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
MARCIN LAZARZ VS. MAX “POWER” NUNES
BAMMA LONSDALE BRITISH LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE BOUT
CURT WARBURTON VS. STEVIE RAY
WELTERWEIGHT BOUT
LUKE NEWMAN VS. RYAN SCOPE
CATCHWEIGHT BOUT 87KGS (/192lbs)
SCOTT ASKHAM VS. HARRY MCLEMAN
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT
LEEROY BARNES VS. STEVE WATSON
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
BRETT MCDERMOTT VS. THOMAS DENHAM
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT
CRAIG ROBERTSON VS. LUKE HARRIMAN
BANTAMWEIGHT BOUT
MAHMOOD BESHARATE VS. STEVEN GARDENER
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT
JEFFERSON GEORGE VS. STEPHEN MARTIN
CATCHWEIGHT BOUT 63KGS (/139lbs)
STEVEN MCCOMBE VS. JAMES MACALISTER
About BAMMA:
BAMMA (The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) is a premier European MMA organization that launched in June 2009 with the aim of delivering Mixed Martial Arts events that fully capture the entertainment and sporting prowess on display in the world’s fastest growing sport. To achieve this aim, BAMMA brought together a team of skilled individuals with a wealth of combined experience across Television Production, Event Organisation and Mixed Martial Arts. BAMMA’s combination of arena sized venues, stunning fight cards and exceptional production values has led to BAMMA’s position as one of Europe’s most recognisable MMA brands. With a highly experienced team each BAMMA event always delivers a highly anticipated and unique Mixed Martial Arts experience.
About Lonsdale:
Firmly established as the leading brand of fight sports equipment and clothing, Lonsdale is steeped in over 50 years of fight history. From humble London origins the Lonsdale brand quickly became the hallmark of both boxing and MMA champions throughout the world, with its legendary quality and authenticity.
It is no coincidence fights legends Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, Muhammad Ali, “Marvellous” Marvin Hagler, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton have all trained and fought in Lonsdale.
About Safe MMA
SAFE MMA is a not for profit organisation established to improve the safety of MMA fighters in the UK. Under the Safe MMA banner, the medical centre provides a secure, centralised and confidential database for fighter medical records; and coordinates affordable, standardised blood and medical tests for all registered fighters. Additionally, SAFE MMA members will have access to advice from leading world experts in sports medicine.
UK promotions Cage Warriors, BAMMA and UCMMA united to help found the project and have agreed that from 1st January 1013 all fighters on their cards must be registered to SAFE MMA and undergo annual medical tests and bi-annual blood tests. The promotions have agreed only to use fighters that are deemed medically safe to fight under the SAFE MMA (green light) system and not to use fighters that are suspended due to injuries, such as concussion, or who are overdue for blood tests, for example. Additionally, the promotions have pledged to have medical professionals carry out pre- and post-fight tests with all results to be submitted to the confidential medical database at 76 Harley St. Medical data will never be transmitted to anyone but SAFE MMA will be able to give a rapid and all-hours service to inform authorised promotions of who is medically safe to fight and who needs to be rechecked, at the time of enquiry. Visit www.safemma.co.uk for further information.