BAMMA 34 from the SSE Arena in London, England last night provided plenty of talking points and a tremendous back forth thriller finished the evening off in style for the promotion.
Before the ITV 4 camera’s started rolling for the main card, Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher got a much-needed win against Walter Gahadza. The former UFC star is now at the veteran stage of his career, but the win improves his record to 16-9 and gets back in the win column after a loss at BAMMA 34 in December last year.
The Lewis-Parry v Economou contest for the interim BAMMA heavyweight title ended in a no contest, and brings up the argument, is a no contest really the right decision in these circumstances. Economou was unable to continue as a result of two illegal elbows to the back of the head. The issue is should Lewis-Parry have been disqualified, is the argument over accidental or intentional irrelevant. Fighters are in charge of the weapons at their disposal, they know the rules, should they lose the fight if illegal blows make their opponent unable to continue.
The much-fancied Tim Barnett seemed to lose focus and concentration when he suffered eye damage early in the opening round. Barnett looked finished several times before the fight was stopped, Rhys McKee got his revenge for a previous loss and looks a decent prospect. Both fighters only have one defeat on their records, to each other, a 3rd fight between the pair looks a real possibility. McKee had this to say after the fight:
“I’m feeling great, a successful night here in the SEE Arena.
I’m 22 and in my fighting prime, I feel amazing. I said this would happen and it did.
I went in with a fresh slate and it helped my mindset.
I’m well prepared, I’ve got a good team. They said to be relaxed, be assertive and I was.
I’d like to fight in Dublin or Belfast next, to defend.”
The main event between Terry Brazier and Alex Lohore with the BAMMA welterweight title on the line was a mini-classic, both fighters having their moments in a fight which could have gone either way. The result depended on how you scored the opening round, it was a close round, I would have gone for Lohore, two of the three judges disagreed and Brazier got the win and the welterweight title. Brazier made the following comments post fight:
“My mother passed away four days ago so this is for her.
I’m two years professional now but I’ve still got a lot of training to do, a lot of learning.
I’ve got a great team around me.
I thought I won the first two rounds, the third I may have been lazy but i didn’t think it was a split decision.
I love MMA, at the end of the day, you can’t get too big for your roots you have to stay humble. I’m going to be the best I can be.
Alex is a very passionate person, yesterday I offered him my hand and he didn’t take it. Today he did. Maybe he’ll come down to the Academy and train with us.”
Main Card:
- Terry Brazier def. Alex Lohore via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Chi Lewis-Parry vs. Stav Economou declared no contest (accidental foul)
- Rhys McKee def. Tim Barnett via TKO (strikes) at 4:30 of R1
Preliminary Card:
- Fabian Edwards def. Kent Kauppinen via submission (armbar) at 4:52 of R1
- Colin Fletcher def. Walter Gahadza via submission (armbar) at 1:50 of R2
- Steve O’Keefe def. Martyn Harris via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:07 of R1
- Dominique Wooding def. Dominic Dillon via TKO (knee and strikes) at 0:55 of R2
- Nathan Rose def. David Khalsa via unanimous decision ( 30-25, 30-27, 30-27)
- James Reedman def. Jahreau Shepherd via TKO (strikes) at 3:03 of R2
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