The British Association of Mixed Martial Arts will hold its next event, BAMMA 8, on Saturday, December 10, at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham.
Former UFC number one middleweight contender Nate Marquardt was originally scheduled to make his BAMMA debut on this card, however, his debut has been pushed back until February 11 at BAMMA 9 when he will face Yoshiyuki Yoshida for the BAMMA world welterweight title at LG Arena.
Headlining BAMMA 8 will be undefeated Ultimate Challenge light heavyweight champ Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa (10-0) taking on 35-year-old French fight veteran Antony “Wild Thing” Rea (22-13).
Having never gone the distance, Manuwa, 29, has nine wins via knockout and one via submission. He has knocked out his last four opponents inside the first round. His opponent, Rea, is on a five-fight win streak and is coming off a first round TKO over UFC vet Sean Salmon in September.
In the co-main event, “Judo” Jim Wallhead (22-6) returns to the BAMMA cage after winning a close split decision over Frank Trigg at BAMMA 7 in September. The 27-year-old Brit will face Strikeforce and Pride veteran “Smokin” Joey Villasenor (28-9) in a welterweight showdown.
The 36-year-old Jackson’s MMA fighter rebounded from a three-fight losing streak in October to take home a first round TKO over Chuck Parmalee at Jackson’s MMA Series 6.
BAMMA’s matchmaker, Jude Samuel, commented on the line-up:
“BAMMA 8 is a culmination of all the hard work we have put into the UK fighters over the past year. We see the return of Tom Breese, Tim Newman, Chris Fishgold and Jack Marshman defending his Lonsdale Middleweight title. An early possible fight of the night candidate, the lightweight showdown between Andre Winner and the talented Niko Puhakka, who the BAMMA Lightweight champion Rob Sinclair has had eyes on to fight for a long time. Light Heavyweight prospect Marc Godbeer takes on his toughest test against one of Europe’s most talented Light Heavyweights in Jason Jones. And to top it all off, the UK’s number one Light Heavyweight, undefeated Jimi Manuwa makes his BAMMA debut in front of a live global audience for the very first time as he takes on the Frenchman, Antony Rea.
The complete BAMMA 8 fight card* is as follows:
- (205) Jimi Manuwa vs Antony Rea
- (170) Jimmy Wallhead vs Joey Villasenor
- (155 Title Eliminator) Andre Winner vs Niko Puhakka
- (Lonsdale British 185 Title) Jack Marshman vs Leeroy Barnes
- (135) Paul McVeigh vs Erik Perez
- (155) Curt Warburton vs Tim Newman
- (205) Jason Jones vs Mark Godbeer
- (170) Dean Amasinger vs Danny Mitchell
- (155) Colin Fletcher vs Chris Fishgold
- (170 Title) Tom Breese vs Qasim Shafiq
- (135) Brian Hyslop vs Owen Gayle
*Fight card subject to change without notice.
Tickets for BAMMA 8 at The Capital FM Arena in Nottingham are available through www.theticketfactory.com and www.bamma.com.