BAMMA 7 Adds New Bouts including Lightweight Title Fight and TUF Winner Efrain Escudero

Following a very successful show at Wembley Arena in May, Europe’s largest and most prominent mixed martial arts promotion, the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA), is gearing up for another exciting night of fights.

Today three compelling match-ups for BAMMA 7 were revealed, including a championship bout between BAMMA’s world lightweight champion Rob Sinclair and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Leonardo Santos. This will be the second title defense for Sinclair. BAMMA 7 will take place on Sept. 10 at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Jude Samuel, head of talent at BAMMA stated, “Birmingham is definitely our spiritual home so we are bringing BAMMA back in a big way. We push ourselves to make every event better than the last and this is no exception. Mixed martial arts is a global phenomenon and we want to show the U.K. how great the sport really is.”

BAMMA champion Rob Sinclair (10-2-0), claimed BAMMA’s coveted lightweight championship title by defeating Nathan Beer at BAMMA 2. The heavy-handed fighter impressively defended his title for the first time at BAMMA 3, by defeating Daniel Weichel in the first round via TKO. Sinclair is currently riding a three-fight win streak and plans to add another notable win to his record on Sept. 10 by defeating Leonardo Santos. Although his upcoming bout against the highly touted BJJ black belt is arguably his toughest to date, Sinclair is confident that he will emerge with his championship title intact.

Submission specialist Leonardo Santos (9-3-0) has plans of his own. He has one goal, and that is to defeat Sinclair and emerge as BAMMA’s new lightweight champion. As one of the most decorated BJJ fighters of the early 2000's, Santos is regarded by many as the best lightweight BJJ fighter of his generation. Although he has won numerous titles in the BJJ arena, Santos is best known for his 2005 BJJ tournament win over UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. The YouTube video of Santos defeating St-Pierre has generated over 700,000 views to date. In 2006, Santos stopped competing in BJJ to fully dedicate himself to MMA.

Samuel had this to say about the compelling lightweight match up, “This is going to be a very explosive fight. Leo is a world class BJJ fighter, but when he fought Jason Ball, he actually out-boxed a boxer. Rob Sinclair on the other hand is one of the most explosive lightweights I’ve ever seen. Fans can expect some serious fireworks during this match.”

Joining Sinclair and Santos on the BAMMA 7 card will be Ultimate Fighter Season 8 winner Efrain Escudero (15-3-0), who will take on reigning UCMMA lightweight champion Tim Radcliffe (11-4-0), and Gloucester’s Matt Ewin (22-9-1), who will step into the BAMMA cage to face middleweight contender Valentino Petrescu (11-2-0).

BAMMA 7 marks the organization’s third visit to the city of Birmingham. In May 2010, BAMMA 3 at the LG Arena saw Tom Watson defeat Matt Horwich for the BAMMA middleweight title, Mark Adams defeat Alan Omer for the BAMMA featherweight title, and Rob Sinclair successfully defend his lightweight title against Daniel Weichel.

In September of 2010, The National Indoor Arena saw a benchmark hit with BAMMA 4, when Tom Watson defeated celebrity fighter Alex Reid after a five-round war. It is a bout that is widely considered to be one of the best MMA fights on U.K. soil. Over 835,000 people on Bravo watched the fight, making it the most watched MMA show in U.K. history. The organization itself has garnered a great deal of positive attention from the media, as well as from prominent celebrities such as Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr., and BAFTA winner Noel Clarke.

The BAMMA 7 Main Event bout is expected to be announced this week and at least 10 additional bouts will be revealed over the coming weeks.

(Press Release courtesy of BAMMA)