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British Association of Mixed Martial Arts.

Following Alex Reid’s performance at Birmingham’s NIA, Saturday September 25 , against BAMMA Middleweight Champion  Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, humble pie is what a lot of people will be eating, who slated him as a fighter.

Reid and Watson both put on an epic performance, in what many fans and pundits alike are calling Britain’s version of  Griffin v Bonnar. Brilliant fight, well done to both fighters and BAMMA for matching them up. Had me on the edge of my seat all the way through.

Now it’s clear to see why he’s called The Reidernator – he takes the punishment but just keeps going like an unstoppable machine.

KNOCKOUT VIEWING FIGURES!

The figures are now in, Reid v Watson was clearly a huge draw for BAMMA and Bravo. Knock-out viewing figures just released show BAMMA 4 gained the highest ever viewing figures for a sporting event on the channel, plus some of the highest viewing figures Bravo has ever seen.

Live coverage of the main event between Tom Watson and Alex Reid at 10pm-11pm on Saturday 25th September delivered the following figures:

A Peak Audience of 835K adults during the live fight

Averaged 598k adults across the entire show

58% 16-34, 33% ABC1 and 61% male / 39% female

During the live fight, BAMMA was listed as a tweet trend on Twitter and even peaked the interest of the current WBA World Heavyweight boxing champion David Haye who tweeted:

“One of the most entertaining fights I’ve seen all year! Huge respect to both warriors, can’t wait for the rematch!!”

MMA Referree Marc Goddard also tweeted:

“I have travelled the World with MMA, but what I witnessed at BAMMA between Tom Watson and Alex Reid will stay with me forever.”

And ex Celebrity Big Brother housemate and MMA fan Dane Bowers added:

“What a great event for UK MMA. BAMMA was amazing!”

BAMMA’s next event, BAMMA 5 at The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on Saturday 4th December will feature the American heavyweight legend Bob “The Best” Sapp, former NFL, PRIDE FC and K1 superstar. BAMMA will also present a further 5 live events at arena sized venues all across the UK throughout 2011.

So it’s onwards and upwards for BAMMA and the UK MMA scene.

duane@bluraymma.com

It was billed as the biggest fight in British MMA history as Tom “Kong” Watson defended his Middleweight title against the darling of the tabloid press Alex Reid in the main event of BAMMA 4, shown this past Friday night on Bravo here in Britain.

The broadcast began with three fights in the lightweight division, beginning with David Round against Harvey Harra.

Fast paced back and forth action was the order of the day here. Both men went for numerous submission attempts in the first round.

They continued the pace into the second, only this time Harra had some success after Round took him down, securing the win with a guillotine to end a very entertaining affair.

Then it was on to Scott Jansen against Stuart Davies.

Another nice back and forth battle saw Jansen going for the ground and pound early on, but Davies wasn’t put off one bit, always working with his legs, always looking to escape.

Halfway through the first round his work paid off as Jansen left himself open for an arm bar, giving Davies the submission win.

A.J. Wenn against Tim Newman followed.

This was another good fight which saw both men put in some good work in the first round. Newman in particular looked very good.

But as the Welshman began to up his game in the second Wenn  suddenly countered, turning a rubber guard into a triangle choke for the very impressive submission win.

Welterweight action in the form of Gunnar Nelson against Eugene Fadiora followed.

Both fighters came into this one undefeated, and the highly regarded Nelson put on another good display of ground fighting, overwhelming Fadiora as soon as they went down.

Fadiora tried to fight back, but it wasn’t enough as the Icelander took his back. Fadiora tried to stand up, but as he did Nelson synched in a neck crank for the great submission win.

It was up to the middleweight division for the next encounter as John Phillips went up against James Zikic.

Given that the majority pf Phillips’ wins had come by TKO it was pretty obvious how this was going to play out.

Phillips went to work with the heavy leather early on, and although Zikic was able to counter with some shots on the inside it was a body shot from Phillips that sent Zikic down. The referee quickly stepped in and called a halt to proceedings as Phillips took home another TKO win.

The highly publicised main event saw Alex Reid challenging Tom Watson for the Middleweight title.

This fight certainly lived up to the hype. Nobody, myself included, thought that Reid had a chance against someone as skilled as Watson.

Reid came forward from the opening bell and rocked the champion a number of times in the first, opening up a cut above Watson’s right eye.

But Kong was able to fight back and as the fight progressed it became clear that Reid wasn’t going to back down.

Reid’s good performance continued throughout the fight, but it wasn’t enough to put Watson away as he slowly asserted his authority, and as the fight entered the fifth and final round Reid’s face was a mess, and his left eye was almost closed.

Watson took control in the firth with a big shot. Brief trips to the ground followed, but neither man could get the job done, especially as the fatigue factor came into play.

So after five outstanding rounds the judges were called into action, with Watson getting the unanimous decision, setting up a future date with John Phillips.

In conclusion – this was British MMA at it’s best, a strong undercard with an outstanding main event between two men who gave their all.

I really can’t speak too highly of this fight, and even though I was critical of Reid getting a title shot, especially has he hasn’t had an MMA fight since 2007 and a win since 2005 he put in a hell of a performance, the best I’ve ever seen from him.

But the main event wasn’t the only big news, as the BAMMA 5 main event for December 4th was announced, with “Crazy Bear” Stav Economu taking on none other than “The Beast” Bob Sapp, and after he pulled out of his last proposed British fight a few years ago let’s hope he actually turns up for this one!

Alex Reid fights back at BAMMA 4.

Alex Reid’s big fight tomorrow, versus Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, live on Bravo, 10pm. I’m staying completely neutral on this one, Reid is from my old manor and Watson is from Southampton just down the road from me.

Weighing it up both fighters have things going against them. Alex Reid: ring rust. Tom ‘Kong’ Watson: coming off a loss.

Reid has the experience advantage I believe, but does he have the stamina required for a 5 round championship contest? All will be answered inside the cage at BAMMA 4, Birmingham NIA, Saturday night.

If you are still undecided which cage-fighter to back, have a shot on The Reidernator’s missus – Jordan walloping Watson herself, according to the Daily Star bookies William Hill are offering odds of 50-1!

Who do they think she is, Scary Sherri? This isn’t WWF pro wrestling!

Don’t forget, later on in the small hours of Sunday morning, UFC 119 live on ESPN. Wow, what a weekend for fight fans.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Alex Reid: Fights Back -- brand new series following The Reidernater in the build to his BAMMA 4 showdown with Tom ‘Kong’ Watson, kicks off tonight on Bravo, 9pm.

Bravo are also advertising a special one off programme -- Alex Reid: One Hell Of A Year, on September 25, to be followed by the live fight with Watson.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

This one seemed to have slipped past me: According to this Bravo promo video for  BAMMA 4 and confirmed at BAMMA.com, the middleweight marquee Championship fight of Alex Reid versus Tom ‘Kong’ Watson fight goes out LIVE on Bravo (channel 123) on September 25.

This is huge news for UK MMA. We don’t usually get treated to live fight cards on home soil, unless it’s the UFC events on subscription channel ESPN. Bravo comes as part of  the standard Sky package. The fight should do good viewing figures, many will be tuning in for the first time to see Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner and husband to Katie Price -- Alex Reid slug it out inside the cage.

Added bonus of being able to watch the fight live is it makes it more fun if you’ve placed a bet on the outcome. Be interesting to see what prices bookmakers are offering on either fighter.

Who’s your pick, The Reidenator or Kong?

Keep an eye on Bravo TV and BAMMA.com - as there are plans to air the rest of the card too, at a later date.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Cage fighter Alex Reid with wife Jordan

Middleweight cage-fighting contender and Celebrity Big Brother winner Alex Reid is back on TV.

Katie & Alex: For Better For Worse follows Alex Reid and Katie Price’s wedding plans, for their blessing following their whirlwind ceremony in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Katie & Alex: For Better For Worse - Wednesday, 9pm, ITV2.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery on Bravo 2

A quick heads up for Strikeforce fans, Bravo 2 are scheduled to air Heavy Artillery. The loaded fight card featuring the heavyweight title bout between defending champ Alistair Overeem against challenger Brett Rogers is listed for Monday 17th May, 10pm-12midnight.

Heavyweight competitor Andrei Arlovski, a face last seen on our screens for Affliction, attempting to dethrone ‘The Last Emperor’ Fedor Emelianenko, faces Antonio Silva.

Seeing as the time slot allocated for the MMA fight card is barely 2 hours, it’s clear the Virgin Media channel won’t show the full event. However here is the list of match-ups originally advertised for the May 15 show from St Louis:

* Champ Alistair Overeem vs. Brett Rogers (for heavyweight title)

* Andrei Arlovski vs. Antonio Silva

* Ronaldo “Souza” Jacare vs. Joey Villasenor

* Roger Gracie vs. Kevin Randleman

* Antwain Britt vs. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante

Hopefully a company here in the UK will win the license to distribute Strikeforce DVD releases in the not too distant future, enabling the fight fans to see the action in full.

Bravo and Bravo 2 are both available on Virgin Media and Sky platforms.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner Alex Reid

From the Sun:

www.thesun.co.uk

- Alex’s Bravo reality show is fun to watch but it appears it may not have been the best preparation leading towards the BAMMA bout, penned in with Tom ‘Kong’ Watson. Here’s hoping BAMMA are able to find Watson a suitable opponent for the May 15th event.

Watch Alex try his hand at Indian wrestling, on the martial arts reality show: Alex Reid – The Fight of His Life, tonight at 9pm, Bravo, Sky channel 123.

UFC & MMA blog by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Katie & Alex The Inside Story

Katie and Alex a tale of heroes and villains, love and betrayal, Bush Tucker Trials and a cross-dressing cage-fighter winning over the Celebrity Big Brother audience.

Every Thursday without fail my wife and I would watch Katie & Peter on ITV2, a programme we would both enjoy together, following the lives of Katie and Peter, post jungle romance. We saw their fun times along with many tense and not so fun times as the cracks emerged in their fairy-tale romance. Little did we know we, the public would be forced to pick sides a kin to a civil war, during the conflict between Team Andre and Team Pricey.

Katie Price’s split with Peter Andre, followed by her fledgling romance  with Alex Reid was undoubtedly one of the biggest stories of 2009. Alison Maloney’s book – Katie & Alex The Inside Story, focusses on Katie and Alex’s romance, giving us the full story quoting all sources. What I like is the positive slant Alison gives us in her writing, rather than the negative way the press splash headlines across the front page in order to increase circulation.

To sum it up,  this paperback would be one to buy for the missus, then sneakily read it yourself. Surely a fight fan wouldn’t admit to reading this? Especially when a good portion of cage-fighting enthusiasts still boo the Aldershot-cockney mixed martial artist known as the Reidernater.

Katie & Alex – The Inside Story from Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, is out now priced £7.99.

To follow the next chapter of Katie and Alex’s story don’t miss What Katie Did Next, ITV2, 9pm Thursdays.

Alex stars in his very own reality show coming soon to Bravo (Sky channel 123), leading towards the middleweight cage clash, against Tom ‘Kong’ Watson on May 15th at ‘BAMMA 3’ taking place at the LG Arena, Birmingham.

Book review by Duane Farr

duane@bluraymma.com

Watch the latest video teaser featuring Celebrity Big Brother 7 winner and BAMMA competitor Alex Reid. Alex Reid -- The Fight of his Life, coming to Bravo soon.

EDIT:

Alex Reid: The Fight Of His Life, starts Monday 12th April, 10pm, Bravo (Sky 123).