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Defunct UK-based MMA promotion From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was[1] a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom.[2] It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo.[3] BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and Ireland, KIX in Asia (in Indonesia aired on tvOne), VEQTA Digital Broadcast Sports Network in India, Kwesé Sports in Africa, DAZN in Germany & Russia, FITE TV and UNILAD (Online). BAMMA events stream live on the UNILAD Facebook Page (Prelims) and ITV4 (UK) & Fite.tv (US) (Main Card). BAMMA 29 was shown on free to air channel Dave, and BAMMA 30 was also shown there on 7 July 2017 as was BAMMA 31. BAMMA 33 was shown on ITV4 on December 15 2017. The last BAMMA event was held in London on June 28, 2018.[4]
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Company type | Private |
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Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
Founded | 2009 |
Defunct | 2018 |
Headquarters | , |
Website | http://www.bamma.com |
BAMMA held its first event in London on June 27, 2009. BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership was held in a tournament format, with two semi-finals taking place in the Lightweight, Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. The semi-final winners progressed to the final, which is to take place at a later date.[5] Their next event, BAMMA 2: Roundhouses at the Roundhouse, was held at The Roundhouse and saw BAMMA's first champions crowned. Rob Sinclair defeated Nathan Beer to become the Lightweight Champion, and Alan Omer got the better of Paul Reed for the Featherweight Championship.[6]
After this, BAMMA moved to Birmingham for BAMMA 3: Horwich vs. Watson which hosted three title fights. Originally, tabloid celebrity Alex Reid was set to fight Tom "Kong" Watson for the vacant Middleweight title.[7] However, Reid injured his knee while filming his documentary TV series Alex Reid: The Fight of His Life and was forced to pull out of the fight. This angered Watson, who claimed Reid was disrespecting him.[8] Watson also called him a "clown" and said that it was likely Reid pulled out to avoid an embarrassing defeat.[9] Reid was then replaced by UFC and IFL veteran Matt Horwich for the main event. Watson won the fight by decision and claimed the belt.
In the Featherweight division, Omer lost his belt to Mark Adams via unanimous decision. Also, Daniel Weichel was brought over from Germany to challenge Sinclair's reign as Lightweight Champ. Sinclair, who used the England football anthem "Three Lions" as his entrance music, successfully defended his title by TKOing Weichel in the first round. A number of other big names also filled the card, including Seth Petruzelli and War Machine, and around 5,000 fans were in attendance that night.[10]
At BAMMA 4: Reid vs. Watson, Reid finally got the chance to take on Watson in a championship bout, but "Kong" was able to defend his title by winning via unanimous decision. Also featured on the card that night were three of Europe's most promising welterweights in Eugene Fadiora, Gunnar Nelson and Simeon Thoresen. BAMMA 4: Reid vs. Watson gained a huge TV audience breaking records for Bravo and becoming one of the most watched MMA bouts in UK history. The main event peaked with over 835,000 viewers during the fight, making it the most watched MMA event in UK history.[11]
BAMMA's next event BAMMA 5 was originally planned for December 2010 and was set to be headlined by Bob Sapp vs. Stav Economou.[12][13] However, due to snowstorms in the UK the event was cancelled.[14] It was rescheduled for February 26, 2011, at the MEN Arena in Manchester with Paul Daley taking on Yuya Shirai for the BAMMA Welterweight title[15]
It was announced on January 27, 2011, that BAMMA had signed a 1-year deal with SyFy to broadcast all 5 of their arena events in 2011, completely live on the channel in the UK. This is an unprecedented deal which makes BAMMA the first ever MMA organisation in the UK to deliver totally live coverage on a non-subscription channel.
BAMMA 6 took place at Wembley Arena on May 21, 2011, and featured a title defence by Tom Watson. It was announced on March 16, 2011, that Tom Watson would face Murilo Rua. Rumours began to circulate that wrestler Dave Batista would make his MMA debut at BAMMA 6. However this was not the case, instead UFC veterans Frank Trigg and Ivan Salaverry took part at the event, posting a win and a loss respectively.[16]
At BAMMA 7, they held their first British title fight, where Welsh Middleweight Jack Marshman became the first British Middleweight Champion.[17]
On November 14, 2011, "Inside MMA", announced that HDNet, the network that shows Inside MMA and promotions such as ProElite's and DREAM's live events has signed an agreement with BAMMA to air their events, beginning with BAMMA 8.[18] A few weeks later BAMMA announced that they signed a 10 event deal with Canada's The Fight Network.[19]
In Brazil, TV Esporte Interativo signed an agreement with BAMMA to air their events in 2012[20]
This MMA organisation will partner Rizin Fighting Federation for the RIZIN FIGHTING WORLD GRAND-PRIX event to be held on December 29 and 31 2015. The former Pride FC Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will headline the NYE Rizin FF main event.[21][22]
In a major deal to bring mixed martial arts into the British mainstream, BAMMA announced that they have signed a deal with Channel 5.[23][24] They held their first event under the deal, BAMMA 10, on their sister channel '5*' with Channel 5 televising a highlights package the following week. The main event saw Rob Sinclair successfully defend his Lightweight title against The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom finalist and UFC veteran Andre Winner.[25]
BAMMA announced during mid July that they had renewed their deal with Lonsdale.[26]
In May of 2017, reality TV star Aaron Chalmers debuted with the promotion, using his popularity from Geordie Shore to bring new fans to the promotion's live and televised events. After going 3-0 with the promotion, BAMMA released Chalmers for a one-fight deal with Bellator MMA on a co-promoted card.[27]
Chalmers spoke out about contract wranglings with the company, before eventually signing for Bellator after a "long-winded process" with the UK promotion.[28]
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Host |
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On October 25, 2012, it was announced that, along with Cage Warriors and Ultimate Challenge MMA, that BAMMA have united with The Centre of Health and Human Performance in London to launched SAFE MMA, a nonprofit organization established to improve the safety of MMA fighters in the U.K. Chief among the organization's plans is a centralized and confidential database for fighter medical records. SAFE MMA, which officially launches Jan. 1 2013, also will provide affordable, standardized blood and medical tests for all registered fighters, as well as advice from leading world experts in sports medicine, according to today's announcement.[29][30]
In 2016 BAMMA went one step further and introduced new safety standards for its MMA shows, with the inclusion of pre and post fight MRi & MRA scans, making it the most upscaled medical provision for any UK and European MMA promotion[31]
BAMMA's are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts that were originally established by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and modified by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.[32] These rules have been adopted across the US in other states that regulate mixed martial arts. As a result, they have become the standard de facto set of rules for professional mixed martial arts across the US and for cage-based MMA worldwide.
All BAMMA fights are contested over three, five-minute rounds. There is a one-minute rest period in-between rounds. As per the Unified Rules of MMA, BAMMA only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves (4-6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. The referee has the right to stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position nor working toward one) after a verbal warning.
Matches usually end via:
A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.
The ten-point must system is used for all BAMMA fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or less. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points. The decision is announced at the end of the match but the judge's scorecards are not announced.
The following are considered fouls in BAMMA:
When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.
Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 29 | 0 |
Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) | Vacant | ||
Middleweight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) | Vacant | ||
Welterweight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 34 | 0 |
Lightweight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 36 | 0 |
Featherweight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) | Vacant | ||
Bantamweight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) | Vacant | ||
Flyweight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 32 | 0 |
Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) | Vacant | ||
Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) | Vacant | ||
Middleweight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 19 | 0 |
Welterweight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 29 | 0 |
Lightweight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 34 | 1 |
Featherweight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) | Vacant | ||
Bantamweight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 24 | 1 |
Flyweight | 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) | ![]() | BAMMA 30 | 0 |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Paul Taylor |
BAMMA 21 West Midlands, United Kingdom |
June 13, 2015 |
1. def. RDX champion Stuart Austin at BAMMA 25 on May 14, 2016 |
Godbeer vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2016. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Ruben Wolf |
BAMMA 29 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 12, 2017 | |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Max Nunes |
BAMMA 13 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
September 14, 2013 | |
Jones vacated the title when he signed with UAE Warriors in 2015. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Brett McDermott |
BAMMA 20 West Midlands, United Kingdom |
April 25, 2015 | |
3 | ![]() |
BAMMA 23 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
November 14, 2015 | |
Craig vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2016. |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Matt Horwich |
BAMMA 3 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 15, 2010 |
1. def. Alex Reid at BAMMA 4 on September 25, 2010 |
Watson vactated the title when he left BAMMA for the UFC. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Jorge Luis Bezerra |
BAMMA 13 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
September 14, 2013 |
1. def. Max Nunes at BAMMA Fight Night: Southampton on June 7, 2014 |
Askham vactated the title when he left BAMMA for the UFC. | ||||
3 | ![]() def. Andy DeVent |
BAMMA 21 West Midlands, United Kingdom |
June 13, 2015 | |
4 | ![]() |
BAMMA 24 Dublin, Ireland |
February 27, 2016 | |
Phillips stripped of the title when he missed weight (by 13.2lbs) at BAMMA 26. | ||||
5 | ![]() def. Matt Hallam |
BAMMA 29 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 12, 2017 | |
6 | ![]() |
BAMMA 31 London, United Kingdom |
September 15, 2017 | |
Shipman vacated the title when he left BAMMA for Bellator MMA. | ||||
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Jim Wallhead |
BAMMA 13 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
September 14, 2013 | |
Ellis vactated the title when his contract with BAMMA expired. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Nathan Jones |
BAMMA 31 London, United Kingdom |
September 15, 2017 |
1. def. Richard Kiely at BAMMA 32 on November 10, 2017 |
3 | ![]() |
BAMMA 34 London, United Kingdom |
March 9, 2018 | |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Nathan Beer |
BAMMA 2 London, England |
February 13, 2010 |
1. def. Daniel Weichel at BAMMA 3 on May 15, 2010 |
Sinclair vacated the title when he left BAMMA for Bellator MMA. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Curt Warburton |
BAMMA 13 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
September 14, 2013 |
1. def. Colin Fletcher at BAMMA 14 on December 14, 2013 |
Barnaoui was released from the promotion when he signed with M-1 Global on September 10, 2015.[33] | ||||
3 | ![]() def. Gavin Sterritt |
BAMMA 23 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
November 14, 2015 |
1. def. Damien Lapilus at BAMMA 25 on May 14, 2016 |
Stapleton vacated the title when he left BAMMA for Cage Warriors. | ||||
4 | ![]() def. Mickael Lebout |
BAMMA 33 Newcastle, United Kingdom |
December 15, 2017 | |
Scope vacated the title when he left BAMMA for Bellator MMA. | ||||
5 | ![]() def. Tim Barnett |
BAMMA 34 London, United Kingdom |
March 9, 2018 | |
6 | ![]() |
BAMMA 36 London, United Kingdom |
June 28, 2018 | |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Paul Reed |
BAMMA 2 London, United Kingdom |
February 13, 2010 | |
2 | ![]() |
BAMMA 3 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 15, 2010 | |
Adams was stripped of the title due to inactivity. | ||||
3 | ![]() def. Teddy Violet |
BAMMA 15 London, England |
April 5, 2014 |
1. No contest vs. Ashleigh Grimshaw at BAMMA 16 on September 14, 2014 |
Duquesnoy vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2017. | ||||
4 | ![]() def. Ronnie Mann |
BAMMA 28 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
February 24, 2017 | |
5 | ![]() |
BAMMA 31 London, England |
September 15, 2017 | |
Crawford vacated the title when he left BAMMA for Bellator MMA. | ||||
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Alan Philpott |
BAMMA 20 West Midlands, United Kingdom |
April 25, 2015 | |
2 | ![]() |
BAMMA 23 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
November 14, 2015 | |
3 | ![]() |
BAMMA 25 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 14, 2016 | 1. def. Alan Philpott at BAMMA 27 on December 16, 2016. |
Duquesnoy vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2017. | ||||
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Jody Collins |
BAMMA Fight Night: Liverpool Liverpool, United Kingdom |
August 2, 2014 | 1. def. Shaj Haque at BAMMA 23 on November 14, 2015. 2. def. Andy Young at BAMMA 26 on September 10, 2016 |
Saadeh vacated the title when his contract with BAMMA expired. | ||||
- | ![]() def. Dominique Wooding for interim title |
BAMMA 28 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
February 24, 2017 | |
2 | ![]() def. interim champion Andy Young |
BAMMA 32 Dublin, Ireland |
November 10, 2017 |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Thomas Denham |
BAMMA 23 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
November 14, 2015 | |
2 | ![]() |
BAMMA 25 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 14, 2016 | |
Godbeer vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2016. |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Carl Noon |
BAMMA 7 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
September 10, 2011 |
1. def. Leeroy Barnes at BAMMA 8 on Dec 10, 2011 |
Marshman was stripped of the title on September 14, 2012 when he failed to make weight for his BAMMA 10 title defense. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Andy De Vent |
BAMMA 15 London, United Kingdom |
April 5, 2014 | |
McLeman vacated the title after being released | ||||
3 | ![]() def. Conor Cooke |
BAMMA 19 Blackpool, United Kingdom |
March 28, 2015 | |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Warren Kee |
BAMMA 11 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
December 1, 2012 | |
Breese vacated the title when he left BAMMA. | ||||
2 | ![]() def. Michael Johnson |
BAMMA 14 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
December 14, 2013 | |
3 | ![]() |
BAMMA 15 London, United Kingdom |
April 5, 2014 |
1. def. Shaun Taylor at BAMMA 16 on Sep 14, 2014 |
Edwards vacated the title when he left BAMMA for UFC. | ||||
4 | ![]() def. Walter Gahadza |
BAMMA 29 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
May 12, 2017 | |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Dale Hardiman |
BAMMA 11 Birmingham, England |
December 1, 2012 | |
2 | ![]() |
BAMMA 12 Tyne and Wear, England |
March 9, 2013 | |
Warburton vacated the title when he challenged for the BAMMA World Lightweight title. | ||||
3 | ![]() def. Jack McGann |
BAMMA 19 Blackpool, England |
March 28, 2015 | 1. def. Rick Selvarajah at BAMMA 22 on Sep 19, 2015 2. def. Kane Mousah at BAMMA 25 on May 14, 2016 |
Diakiese vacated the title when he signed with the UFC in 2016. | ||||
4 | ![]() def. Jai Herbert |
BAMMA 27 Dublin, Ireland |
December 16, 2016 | |
5 | ![]() |
BAMMA 28 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
February 24, 2017 | 1. def. Mario Saeed at BAMMA 29 on May 12, 2017 |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Nathaniel Wood |
BAMMA 24 Dublin, Ireland |
February 27, 2016 | 1. def. Aaron Blackwell at BAMMA 26 on Sep 10, 2016 |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() def. Ryan Curtis |
BAMMA 30 Dublin, Ireland |
July 7, 2017 |
# | Event Title | Date | Arena | Location | Broadcast |
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