Chris Watts became a well-known member in the United Kingdom MMA world, helping with the growth of BAMMA before his untimely death following a bout with cancer. To honor Watts, BAMMA has decided to honor a fighter with The Chris Watts Award based on hi…
Chris Watts became a well-known member in the United Kingdom MMA world, helping with the growth of BAMMA before his untimely death following a bout with cancer. To honor Watts, BAMMA has decided to honor a fighter with The Chris Watts Award based on his outstanding contribution to the MMA community. Rob Sinclair is the […]
(Danny Castillo comes dangerously close to being Sass’d at UFC on FUEL 7 in February. / Photo via Getty Images)
Ladies and gentlemen, the Sassangle is back in business. After recently losing his UFC contract following back-to-back losses, British lightweight submission specialist Paul Sass (13-2) has been picked up by Bellator; his debut date and opponent are TBA. The promotion announced the signing yesterday, in addition to pickups of two other top British 155-pounders:
– Martin Stapleton (12-1), who you may remember from his stint on TUF 9. After picking up two more wins in his home country following the reality show, Stapleton took nearly three years off due to a commitment with the Royal Marines. He returned in 2012 and went 5-0 that year, including three wins in one night at an eight-man Cage Contender tournament last December, where he out-pointed Tommy Maguire in the finals.
– Rob Sinclair (12-2), the reigning BAMMA lightweight champion who is riding a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins by KO/TKO. Fun fact: Sinclair lost a split decision to Paul Sass in October 2009, becoming the first man to go three rounds against Sass without tapping.
So, will Bellator throw all these guys at each other in an upcoming Bellator: U.K. lightweight tournament? We can’t say for sure, but the latest crop of Brit-signings is no coincidence. As CEO Bjorn Rebney explains:
(Danny Castillo comes dangerously close to being Sass’d at UFC on FUEL 7 in February. / Photo via Getty Images)
Ladies and gentlemen, the Sassangle is back in business. After recently losing his UFC contract following back-to-back losses, British lightweight submission specialist Paul Sass (13-2) has been picked up by Bellator; his debut date and opponent are TBA. The promotion announced the signing yesterday, in addition to pickups of two other top British 155-pounders:
– Martin Stapleton (12-1), who you may remember from his stint on TUF 9. After picking up two more wins in his home country following the reality show, Stapleton took nearly three years off due to a commitment with the Royal Marines. He returned in 2012 and went 5-0 that year, including three wins in one night at an eight-man Cage Contender tournament last December, where he out-pointed Tommy Maguire in the finals.
– Rob Sinclair (12-2), the reigning BAMMA lightweight champion who is riding a five-fight win streak, with four of those wins by KO/TKO. Fun fact: Sinclair lost a split decision to Paul Sass in October 2009, becoming the first man to go three rounds against Sass without tapping.
So, will Bellator throw all these guys at each other in an upcoming Bellator: U.K. lightweight tournament? We can’t say for sure, but the latest crop of Brit-signings is no coincidence. As CEO Bjorn Rebney explains:
“Our talent development team does the best job in MMA by bringing hugely talented fighters to Bellator from around the globe. The No. 1 question I get from fans is, ‘When will a U.K. television deal be completed with Bellator?’ With these three signings, along with a roster already featuring the likes of Paul ‘Semtex’ Daley, Ronnie Mann and Michael Page, we are setting the table for making Bellator an every week televised occurrence in the U.K.”
International expansion would be a great next step for America’s #2 MMA promotion. We just have one question: Do they even haveIndian casinos in England?
Filed under: NewsThe Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero will head across the pond
on Sept. 10 to fight Tim Radcliffe at BAMMA 7 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, the promotion announced Monday, along with lightweight title bout Rob Sin…
The Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero will head across the pond
on Sept. 10 to fight Tim Radcliffe at BAMMA 7 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, the promotion announced Monday, along with lightweight title bout Rob Sinclair vs. Leonardo Santos and welterweight matchup Matt Ewin vs. Valentino Petrescu.
BAMMA 7 is the follow-up to the May 21 event at the Wembley Arena, which featured Frank Trigg, Ivan Salaverry and what turned out to be the retirement fight for Murilo “Ninja” Rua.
Last September, Escudero (16-3) became the second The Ultimate Fighter winner to be handed his release (Travis Lutter was first) after losing to Charles Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 22. The 25-year-old lightweight won three straight following his release before suffering a loss last month against Fabricio Camoes at Tachi Palace Fights 9. Radcliffe (11-4) won both his fights this year against Michael Pastou and Alexandre Izidro and holds six submission victories.
Sinclair (9-2) will be making his second defense of his BAMMA lightweight strap when he faces Sengoku veteran Santos (9-3). In March, Sinclair took a fight with another British promotion, OMMAC, and scored a TKO over Martin Begley. With the crumbling of the Sengoku promotion, Santos debuted for BAMMA in May and defeated Jason Ball via unanimous decision.
Ewin (22-9-1), who missed 2009 and 2010 entirely, defeated Salaverry via unanimous decision at the last BAMMA event. Petrescu (11-2) also won at BAMMA 6, defeating Joao Paulo de Souza via majority decision.
The Ultimate Fighter 8 winner