Wallhead ignites Nottingham crowd at BAMMA 8

LOUGHBOROUGH fighter Jimmy Wallhead ignited the crowd at Nottingham’s Capital FM Arena on Saturday with a stunning knockout victory.

The Team RoughHouse veteran felled experienced American fighter Joey Villasenior early in round one of their welterweight bout before swarming on him with ground and pound to claim a 48-second stoppage.

It was a short left-hook to the temple that spelled the beginning of the end for Villasenior and sparked wild celebrations in the cage and in the crowd.

An onslaught late in round one left Antony Rea unable to answer the bell, as Jimi Manuwa kept his undefeated record intact in the main event.

The London light-heavyweight was wobbled early on but got stronger as the round went on, staggering Rea with a spinning back fist and felling him with a head kick.

Some ground and pound later had referee Marc Goddard hovvering, but the buzzer saved the Frenchman from more punishment, although the fight was called off before the second round.

Andre Winner’s takedown defence and quick hands gave him the advantage over Sweden’s Diego Gonzalez.

With Gonzalez tiring the RoughHouse striker let loose with his hands and bloodied his opponent, although he couldn’t quite find the finish and had to settle for a decision.

Paul McVeigh and Erik Perez engaged in a lively bantamweight battle with Northern Ireland’s McVeigh ending up on his back twice in round one, courtesy of the Mexican’s takedowns.

In round two McVeigh caught a kick and put his man down but was unable to land any significant blows.

Perez was succesful with another takedown and briefly controlled the Irishman, before connecting with a jumping knee and a beautiful straight right.

Despite taking Perez down twice in the final round and threatening with a choke, McVeigh ended the fight on his back with Perez on top and the judges awarded the Mexican the decision.

Serving paratrooper Jack Marshman showcased his boxing skills in round one of his Lonsdale British Middleweight title fight with Wolfslair fighter Leeroy Barnes.

The champion continually stalked Barnes, forcing his man back against the cage and unleashing combinations of straight punches.

To his credit, Barnes was dangerous with swinging hooks and refused to be overwhelmed in the first two rounds.

And in the final stanza Barnes came alive, dishing out solid leg kicks and backing Marshman up.

The superior boxing of Marshman impressed the judges however and he retained his belt with a unanimous decision.

UFC veteran Curt Warburton dished out some heavy ground and pound from the guard of Tim Newman for the best part of 10 minutes, but in the final round the Welshman turned the fight into a standing brawl.

Several stiff jabs bloodied the face of Warburton, and brutal body shots slowed him down as Newman swung to the final seconds.

The judges saw in favour of Bishop Auckland’s Warburton however, thanks to his dominance in the first two rounds.

Undefeated Doncaster fighter Qasim Shafiq fought through an early guillotine attempt by 19-year-old Tom Breese, himself yet to lose.

The duo battled for positional advantage and although Shafiq got on top, Breese slapped on a tight triangle to pick up the win.

Colin ‘Freakshow’ Fletcher made his way to the cage in a creepy clown mask on a tricycle of sorts, before taking on Welshman David Round.

Round wasted no time in picking up his foe and slamming him to the mat, repeating the feat seconds later before being reversed and having to hunt for an armbar.

But Fletcher was wise to the slam the third time and synched up a guillotine and squeezed a tap out of Round.

BAMMA 8 - Capital FM Arena

Jimi Manuwa bt Antony Rea via TKO (R1)

Jimmy Wallhead bt Joey Villasenior via KO (R1)

Andre Winner bt Diego Gonzalez via unanimous decision

Erik Perez bt Paul McVeigh via unanimous decision

Jack Marshman bt Leeroy Barnes via unanimous decision

Curt Warburton bt Tim Newman via unanimous decision

Colin Fletcher bt David Round via guillotine (R1)

Tom Breese bt Qasim Shafiq via triangle (R1)

Danny Mitchell bt Dean Amasinger via flying triangle (R2)

Brent Crawley bt Mark Platts v RNC (R1)

Bryan Hislop bt Ian Malone via unanimous decision