NIA packs a punch with BAMMA 9

BAMMA, Europe’s leading Mixed Martial Arts promoters, has announced its next big event BAMMA 9, which takes place on Saturday 24th March at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena.

BAMMA 9 will see three preliminary fights culminating in the headline battle for the BAMMA World Middleweight belt: Jack Marshman vs. Tom ‘Kong’ Watson.

Tom Watson is best known for beating Alex Reid in BAMMA 4, as well as a catalogue of other victories over the years. The fighter was forced into retirement after BAMMA 6 due to injury, but is now back and better than ever. He will be competing against serving British Armed Forces Afghan vet Jack Marshman, who is currently undefeated.

The three preliminary fights for the event will be: Andrew Punshon vs. Matt Howard; Jason Ball vs. Colin Fletcher; and Nick Nembhard vs. Leeroy Barnes. The main card games for the event are yet to be announced.

Hailing from Spennymoor, the ‘Durham destroyer’ Andrew Punshon has only ever seen one of his fourteen fights leave the first round. With a record of 10-4-0, Punshon has won most of his fights by rapid submission making him a dangerous prospect for any opponent. But, if there’s any man fit for the challenge, it’s undefeated Rough House warrior, Matt Howard (9-0-0).

Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher will be coming face to face with talented boxer, Jason ‘Daddy Cool’ Ball. This is guaranteed to be an unforgettable match as Fletcher is renowned for his circus clown outfit and entertaining walk-outs. While Ball is not your conventional mixed martial arts fighter, but instead has trained in a number of disciplines including Capoeira, Escrima, Jeet Kune Do and Dog Brothers.

Finally, BAMMA crowd-favourite Leeroy Barnes faces upcoming knock-out artist, Nick Nembhard, who has a background in both Muay Thai and BJJ.

BAMMA Matchmaker, Jude Samuel says, “It’s great to see Tom Watson back in action at BAMMA to defend his title after time out due to injury. It’s a true testament to his gritty and hardworking character that he has stood up to the challenge of Jack Marshman.

“Jack will be looking to take advantage of Tom’s inactivity, but ring rust is something that Watson has never suffered from; while Jack, on the other hand, has been extremely busy over the past 7 months, honing his skills for such a test. This makes for a very interesting and explosive fight as both men are putting so much on the line.”

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Tickets are priced at £150.00, £75.00, £50.00, £35.00 & £25.00 (plus booking and transaction fees). They are available from The Ticket Factory: www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 338 8000.

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