(Apr 10th .2012) BAMMA, Europe’s leading Mixed Martial Arts promotion, is proud to announce that BAMMA: Kong vs. Ninja will be broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK on Saturday 14th April, at 23:30 GMT; and follows the boxing broadcast of Tyson Fury vs. Martin Rogan. This will be the first time that a domestic MMA promotion is broadcast on British terrestrial TV and confirms the rapid rise in popularity of MMA in the UK.
Kong vs. Rua will give fight fans the chance to witness the exhilarating Middleweight World title bout recorded live at the flagship UK MMA event at London’s Wembley Arena. The fight sees BAMMA’s World champion, Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, face Brazilian legend, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua, over three rounds of explosive action.
British Tom Watson, returned from the renowned Jackson’s fight camp in the States to make his mark at this event, having attained mainstream recognition for his epic victory against celebrity fighter, Alex Reid, at BAMMA 4, viewed live by a UK TV audience of almost 1 million.
The award winning event marked an iconic moment in UK MMA history as it pitted the cream of domestic talent against renowned international superstars in the capital; and was well attended by celebs that included Cuba Gooding Junior, Idris Alba, Sway, Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters.
BAMMA’s director, David Green, said:
“We are over the moon to see BAMMA lead the way into the UK mainstream with the first ever broadcast of a British MMA event on terrestrial TV. Channel 5 is well known for its cutting edge and entertaining programming; and we are immensely proud to be working with the channel which we believe provides the perfect platform for the sport. The broadcast is a true accolade to the quality of the events BAMMA hosts, the calibre of BAMMA athletes and the hard work put in by all the BAMMA team, not only to deliver flagship events but also to maintain a hallmark of quality. Channel 5 provides the opportunity to present the positive, sporting values of BAMMA to the UK mainstream and to showcase the skill and athleticism of its MMA fighters. With the London Olympics just around the corner, 2012 is an important year for British sport and the steps BAMMA is making for UK MMA are game-changing.”
The Channel 5 broadcast adds to BAMMA’s current TV reach which includes HDNet in the United States, The Fight Network in Canada, Setanta in Africa and Red Media in Russia.
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