BAMMA 23: Night Of Champions – Review

BAMMA closed off their 2015 season on Saturday November 14th with BAMMA 23: Night of Champions. This was, arguably, BAMMA’s best card this year, which includes the promotions successful Irish debut. From top to bottom the fights were highly entertaining.

It seems the MMA gods had the underdog’s backs last night and not just in the main event of UFC 193! There were a few  ‘upsets’ at ‘Night of Champions’ and of course a number of titles were on the line.

To open the evening two exciting bantam weight prospects, Nathaniel Wood and Bryan Creighton, went the distance in a fast paced fight. Wood took a clear decision win after a composed, mature performance in which he determined the pace of the fight and picked Creighton apart over the fifteen minutes. Wood is starting to put together a run, and this win at BAMMA (his first with the promotion) we can expect the promotion to give this exciting young fighter more opportunities in the coming year.

Wolfpack’s Jai Herbert used slick striking and a composed take down defence to finish Ben Bennett at 3:59 in the 2nd. Herbert is a fighter flying under the radar at the moment, an undefeated Amatuer, he is a slick striker whose take down defence and defensive wrestling improve every time he competes. Accurate and patient Herbert doesn’t make many mistakes and will prove to be a handful for any opponent. I believe Herbert will make a run for the Lonsdale Title in 2016 and is one to watch in the future.

Cameron Else made short work of Jay Butler earning the TKO at 2:48 of the 1st in his BAMMA debut. Else, who holds a win over Paddy Pimblett, meant business last night having been away from the cage since February of 2014. If ‘KillaCam’ is able to fight with a little more frequency the BAMMA audience is in for a treat.

UTC Staffordshire fighter Tobias Reid put his disappointing loss last month to Ashley Reece behind him with a grand display of movement and precision to pick apart Craig Clarkson and finish him in the second round. The U.K. lightweight scene is packed full of talent, and Reid is amongst some of the best young fighters in the country and with such a talent rich pool BAMMA are going to be spoiled for choices in terms of future match ups.

‘SuperMan’ Bill Beaumont and Marcin Prostko clashed in an exhausting three round war that went everywhere. Beaumont out worked a game Prostko to earn the decision win. This was a fight that had it all: exchanges on the feet, grappling, submission attempts, reversals and both competitors came close to fight ending moments. Beaumont will have made fans with his heart and drive as will Prostko.

The first upset of the night involved highly touted welterweight ‘Dirty’ Harry Marple and BKK fighter Shane Gunfield. Marple came into the contest a heavy favourite but this did not deter the BCMMA vet. Shane came straight at Marple pressuring from the opening bell. In the first round both fighters had their moments but Gunfield went into the corner at the end of the first clearly 10-9 ahead. Shane secured a takedown in the second trapping Marple against the cage where he rained down shots until the referee stops the fight at the 3:02 mark. This is a huge win for Gunfield and has to propel him a few places amongst the UK welterweights. Despite this being his BAMMA debut Shane put in arguably the finest performance of his young career against his most difficult opponent, and it is a certainty that we will see him in the BAMMA cage again.

Brett McDermott bounced back from his loss to Marcin Lazarz with a big TKO win over Pelu Adetola barely two minutes into the fight. There is no doubt that McDermott has killer power in his hands and his footwork and scrambling is ever evolving. This performance could catapult him back to a LHW Title shot, and will serve notice to the rest of the division. As his wrestling and grappling continue use to evolve McDermott will become a very, very dangerous opponent for any LHW.

In the first Title fight of the evening Stuart ‘He-Man’ Austin continued his impressive run of form, stopping the ever dangerous Tom Denham in the second minute of the second round, to become the first ever BAMMA Lonsdale Heavyweight Champion. Austin, a slow starter by his own admission, had to overcome some heavy shots thrown by the deceptively fast Denham. Denham had Austin down and threw some heavy ground and pound but could not quite get the stoppage. Austin gutted out the tough position and came out rejuvenated in the second round. Both Austin and Denham were originally intended to face different opponents (Paul Taylor and Reuben Wolf respectively) and credit needs to go to both fighters and BAMMA for putting this fight together at short notice. Stuart Austin has now beaten two of the best prospects in the UK’s heavyweight division in Denham and Tom Aspinall in his last two outings and could arguably be on a three fight win streak if not for a debatable split decision loss to Artur Gluchowski at BAMMA 18. As the Lonsdale Champion he is now perhaps only a fight or two away from a  BAMMA World Title shot.

Nad Narimani (7-2) made his, long time coming, BAMMA debut facing against Jeremy Petley (10-6-1). Petley has faced a whose who in the UK’s lightweight division including Andre Winner, Martin Stapleton, and Chris Fishgold and Narimani took CageWarriors Featherweight Champion Alex Enlund to the limit in their enthralling title fight. There was definitely pedigree in the cage. Narimani, made quick work of Petley earning the TKO 2:26 into the first. Narimani is going to turn heads in BAMMA’s featherweight division. He already holds wins over Marcin Wrzosek and Karsten Lenjoint and has never been stopped in his professional career. With the departure of Tom Duquesnoy could Narimani prove to be an opponent for Brendan Loughnane for the Featherweight Title? It is a fight that certainly does make sense.

The BAMMA crowd showed massive respect to French fighter Damien ‘Frankenstein’ Lapilus giving a one minute standing ovation despite beating the highly respected Jack McGann. Lapilus took this fight on short notice, and despite the horrific events that occurred the night before in his homeland, put on a performance that stopped McGann 3:30 into the first with a tight rear naked choke to earn the ovation. The French presence at BAMMA continues to grow, and with news that MMA in France is getting close to being legalised this trend will only continue.

The next fight pitted the reigning Bantamweight Champion Ed Arthur against Tiger Muay Thai’s Shay Walsh. Walsh’s experience and game plan made the difference in this encounter. Arthur proved why he is such a highly considered talent in UKMMA, but Walsh mixed the striking and grappling elements of the game together with a little more panache than Arthur was able to deal with. By no means was the fight one sided  but Walsh took each round on his way to becoming the new Champion. No doubt this was a disappointing loss for Arthur, however, he will bounce back from this fight a more dangerous improved fighter. Shay Walsh, is now a World Champion. A title he intends to keep for a long time.

Germany’s Rany Saadeh successfully defended his World  Flyweight against the ultimate spoiler in Shaj Haque. The first two rounds saw Saadeh employ constant pressure and positioning to secure the points. He did not allow Shaj the time or space to employ his own suffocating style. Shaj did have a few moments in the third landing some big punches but it was too little too late to change the result of the decision. Saadeh may be considering a move to bantamweight in the future and had Tom Duquesnoy not already been matched with Damien Rooney a ‘Superfight’ between he and Saadeh would be a mouth watering encounter.

In the evenings co-main event BAMMA LHW Champion Marcin ‘Bane’ Lazarz faced Scotland’s Paul ‘Bearjew’ Craig. Lazarz had employed a well rounded MMA game to capture the title against Brett McDermott, and it was widely accepted that this was going to be the game plan against Craig. Paul Craig last competed at BAMMA Dublin stopping Karl Moore in what many considered an upset, and had upset on his mind again. Using lightning fast precision he trapped the champion in a beautiful triangle to earn the tap and the title at 3:51 of the first round. Craig is a real character who brings great personality to the cage, with these last two wins it is doubtful he will be considered an underdog again. And, when you consider he has only been training for the past 4 years he has come a long way in a very short time!

The final fight of the evening was for the BAMMA Lightweight Title. The UK’s lightweight division is probably the deepest division in the country and the BAMMA World Lightweight Title marks the owner as the best. Two Bellator veterans faced off the the title when Martin ‘.50 Cal’ Stapleton faced Gavin ‘Warhorse’ ‘Sterritt. Stapleton came into this fight brimming with confidence and an attitude that suggested losing was not an option. What many had anticipated to be a chess match of violence turned into 75 seconds of one way traffic as Stapleton stopped Sterritt with a rear naked choke. Stapleton looked a world beater in this fight, and improves with every performance. Post fight he suggested that a rematch with Saad Awad on this side of the pond would be a fight he’d really relish. No matter who is next, Stapleton is on top of his game at the moment and it will take a special performance to beat him.

BAMMA Lightweight Title
Martin ’50 .Cal’ Stapleton Def. Gavin ‘Warhorse’ Sterritt – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:15 Rd.1

BAMMA Light Heavyweight Title
Paul ‘The Bearjew’ Craig Def. Marcin ‘Bane’ Lazarz – Submission (Traingle Choke)  3:51 Rd.1 

BAMMA Flyweight Title
Rany Saadeh (c) Def. Shaj ‘Superman’ Haque – Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

BAMMA Bantamweight Title
Shay Walsh Def. Ed ‘King’ Arthur – Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Damien ‘Frankenstien’ Lapilus Def. Jack ‘The Pilgrim’ McGann – Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 3:30 Rd.1

Nad Naramani Def. Jeremy ‘Ninja’ Petley – TKO (Strikes) 2:26 Rd.1

Lonsdale Heavyweight Title
Stuart ‘He-Man’ Austin Def. Tom Denham – TKO (Strikes) 1:55 Rd.2

Brett ‘The Spartan’ McDermott Def. Pelu ‘The Nigerian Diamond’ Adetola – TKO (Strikes) 1:57 Rd.1

Shane Gunfield Def. ‘Dirty’ Harry Marple – TKO (Ground and Pound) 3:02 Rd.2

‘Super’ Bill Beaumont Def. Marcin ‘Mad Boy’ Prosko – Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Tobias ‘The Development’ Reid Def. Craig Clarkson – TKO (Strikes) 1:43 Rd.2

Cameron ‘Killacam’ Else Def. Jay ‘The Red Bull’ Butler – Tap Out (Strikes) 2:48 Rd.1

Jai Herbert Def. Ben ‘Bad Man’ Bennett – TKO (Kick) 3:59 Rd.2

Nathaniel ‘The Prospect’ Wood Def. Brian ‘The Big Bad Wolf’ Creighton – Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)

By @SteveCA_MMA