BAMMA lock down Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, BAMMA 6 main card begins to take shape

Following the announcement of his blockbuster title defence against Pride veteran Murillo ‘Ninja’ Rua, BAMMA have revealed that BAMMA 6 headliner Tom ‘Kong’ Watson has committed his future to the promotion, as well as adding more names to the upcoming card at Wembley Arena.
BAMMA recently put to bed weeks of rumours surrounding the BAMMA 6 main event, announcing that internationally recognised middleweight Murillo ‘Ninja’ Rua would be the second man to attempt to wrest the middleweight title from the kung-fu grip of Tom Watson. Now it appears that Watson will be around for longer than just this next title defence. ‘Kong’ broke the news in a press release on Thursday.

“I am really pleased to confirm I have signed a three fight deal with BAMMA. They are a great organisation, putting on some great fights and really striving to be one of the best promotions in the world. My next fight against Ninja proves the type of fighters BAMMA are looking to bring over and I can’t wait to fight in the UK for the amazing BAMMA fans once again.”

BAMMA CEO David Green added:

“Tom is a great fighter and we’re incredibly happy to have him on the roster. Tom has fought 3 fantastic fights for us so far and I have no doubt he will continue to raise the bar with his next 3. Kong Vs Ninja is going to be out of this world – there’s nothing more exciting and explosive as watching a fight where both guys are looking for the finish. No lay and pray, no playing for the judges, just war!”

Speaking of war, the promotion also announced details of two mouth-watering fights between a quartet of new and familiar faces. First up, Hyde MMA’s Leigh “The Boom” Cohoon (6-2-0) will look to continue the momentum from his fight of the night performance against Ross Mason at BAMMA 5, as he takes on ZT Fight School’s undefeated prospect Sam ‘The Mangler’ Watling (4-0).
Adding some international flavour to the undercard will be Brazil’s Leonardo Santos (8-3) a world-renowned grappler who gained infamy from a 2005 submission victory over Georges St Pierre at the ADCC submission grappling world championships. The Nova Uniao prospect’s MMA career began with a baptism of fire against former Pride champion Takanori Gomi, which he lost by a close majority decision. Santos’ only other losses in his 11-fight career have come to veteran Jean Silva and Sengoku’s Kazunori Yokota. He is currently riding a two-fight winning streak in the Japanese SRC promotion.
Facing Santos at BAMMA 6 will be the UK’s Jason ‘Daddy Cool’ Ball (18-8). Ball scored a brutal second round knock-out at BAMMA 5 in Manchester by way of a picture-perfect knee to the dome of opponent Peter Duncan. Matchmaker Jude Samuel has added fuel to the fire for this lightweight clash, strongly hinting that the winner of the bout will stand himself in good stead for a shot at the BAMMA lightweight title.
BAMMA 6 takes place at London’s historic Wembley Arena on Saturday, May 21^st and will be live on the Sy-Fy channel in the UK. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster. Stay tuned to MMABay for more details on the fight card as we get them.