BAMMA Middleweight Champion Tom “Kong” Watson successfully retained his title tonight with a third-round knockout of former PRIDE star Murilo “Ninja” Rua at BAMMA 6 in London, England. Watson wore Rua down with leg kicks and eventually finished him off with a head kick and punches.
In the co-main event, UFC veteran Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg destroyed John “The White Mike Tyson” Phillips with brutal elbow strikes that opened a pair of deep cuts and forced a first-round doctor stoppage. With the victory, Trigg may be next in line to challenge for Watson’s 185-pound belt.
Watson (14-4-0) set the tone of the fight early on, as he flashed out his trademark head kicks and battered Rua (20-12-1) with kicks to the lead leg. Rua circled away and was rocked by a left hook. Watson followed with more punches, but Rua recovered and landed a right cross. Watson continued to throw kicks to the head and leg of Rua, and he avoided a clinch. More quick punches and kicks landed for the champion as the round progressed, but Rua took him down with ten seconds remaining.
A big left hook landed for Watson early in round two, but Rua appeared to be unfazed and looked for a takedown. His eye began to swell from jabs, however, and Watson hurt him with a leg kick. A knee to the body and another leg kick scored for Watson, and Rua limped away. Rua landed a leg kick of his own, but ate two in return. Watson dropped him with a head kick, but Rua got back to his feet. Watson kept him on the defensive for the remainder of the round with a variety of kicks.
Rua looked to clinch to begin the final round and he backed Watson up to the cage. Watson landed a hard knee and Rua continued to try to take him down. Another knee and a series of leg kicks landed for Watson and Rua backed up. Watson staggered him with a head kick and dropped him against the cage with two right hands. The fight was finally waved off.
Winner: Tom Watson by KO (Head Kick & Punches) at 2:06 of round three. He improves to 14-4-0 and remains the BAMMA Middleweight Champion.
Earlier in the evening, Trigg (21-8-0) made short work of Phillips (13-4-0, 1 NC) in the co-main event. He took Phillips down early in the fight and worked from the top in Phillips’s half-guard. Trigg landed short elbows that opened a cut beside Phillips’s left eye. More elbows opened a very deep gash on Phillips’s forehead and he began to bleed badly. The blood flowed into Phillips’s eye and Trigg teed off with more elbows. He moved to side control and continued to strike until time was called to check the cuts on Phillips’s face.
The cageside doctor deemed that Phillips was unfit to continue due to the bad cuts and the fight was stopped, giving Trigg a quick and dominant win.
Winner: Frank Trigg by TKO (Doctor Stoppage) at 2:41 of round one. He improves to 21-8-0.
After his victory, Trigg expressed a desire to challenge for the BAMMA Middleweight Championship. Following his successful title defence, Watson stated that he felt that Trigg was better suited as a welterweight, but would be open to fighting the UFC veteran if fans were interested in the matchup.