UK favourite Tom ‘Kong’ Watson will continue his assault on the middleweight division this September at BAMMA 7, as he defends his 185lb championship against UFC and PRIDE veteran Frank ‘Twinkle Toes’ Trigg in Birmingham, England. Despite talk of an injury that will hinder his training for the bout, ‘Kong’ is predicting a big win.Never one to back away from a fight, Tom Watson has been open to the idea of fighting Frank Trigg from the moment he left the cage following his BAMMA 6 clash with Murillo ‘Ninja’ Rua. I spoke to Tom just moments after the fight, and while he clearly has unfinished business with fellow UK scrapper Matt Ewin, a ‘big name’ like Trigg was too big of an opportunity to turn down.
“Ewin talks a lot of shit, so I don’t mind fighting him for that reason, and Trigg is probably the bigger name, so we’ll see, you know. Maybe it’ll be neither of them, maybe it’ll be someone else! I don’t care, I say this every time, I don’t care…anyone, let’s do it! I don’t pick my fights, never have done…we’ll see who they give me!”
Today’s announcement confirms that they’ve given him Frank Trigg (21-8), a veteran of the international circuit who is 6-2 in his last 8 following a brutal TKO stoppage of John Phillips at BAMMA 6. The Las Vegas native is currently training at Xtreme Couture, and has seemingly reinvigourated his career with a move back to middleweight, where he once held the ICON 185lb championship.
Hoping to ruin Trigg’s career renascence will be US-based British slugger Watson 14-4, who despite struggling through a number of serious injuries of late has put together a promising 10-1 run dating back to 2007, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of UFC veteran Jesse ‘JT$’ Taylor. Watson turned in a career best performance last time out, beating Pride veteran and former Elite XC champion Murillo ‘Ninja’ Rua into retirement with a savage onslaught of kicks and punches. ‘Kong’, equally as famous for his dry wit and cringe-worthy entrances as his skills inside the cage, had this to say…
“It is funny how Frank Trigg see’s on my Twitter that I’m injured and can’t train and then all of a sudden decides he wants the fight. I highly doubt I will even get a week’s worth of solid training in for this bout, but I’m sure a week is enough to beat an old man who calls himself ‘Twinkle Toes’. I apologize to the BAMMA fans in advance that I won’t be able to prepare like I normally do, but it is what it is, a man’s got to eat.”
Whether Watson’s statements are legitimate or simply an attempt to give his opponent false confidence remains to be seen, however despite Trigg’s advanced years, ‘Kong’ will need to be wary of complacency against an experienced opponent who has been in there with the best. For his part, Trigg will be looking to emulate Jesse Taylor’s grinding wrestling performance; whether he can do that against one of the division’s hottest up-and-coming stars and a man who is no stranger to fighting hurt is another matter entirely.
BAMMA 7 goes down on Saturday, September 10th from Birmingham, England. Tickets are available now from BAMMA.com
By Brad Wharton
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