British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) held its latest event TODAY (May 21, 2011) from the Wembley Arena in Wembley, London, United Kingdom.
And no one gets the Brits more riled up than Tom "Kong" Watson, who headlined the card opposite Murilo "Ninja" Rua in defense of his 185-pound championship.
It wasn't even close.
Watson systematically destroyed his opponent with a combination of superior striking and, when necessary, takedown defense. The story of the evening was ultimately Watson's crushing leg kicks that completely wrecked Rua's left knee.
"Ninja," nearly two months after his younger brother lost the UFC light heavyweight title to Jon Jones, was looking to earn himself a title of his own; however, he basically put in the same performance his sibling did back in March in New Jersey.
He was knocked around the cage and dropped multiple times before he was finally put away for good with a beautifully placed head kick in the third frame.
"Kong" is still the king.
And after the co-main event of the evening, he might have his next challenger all lined up.
Longtime veteran Frank Trigg was back in action in the co-headliner taking on the heavy-handed John Phillips in just his second fight since his second release from the UFC in Feb. 2010.
Old Frankie proved he still has some "Twinkle" in those "Toes," winning a lopsided one-round affair after bull rushing his opponent, dragging him to the mat and utilizing something he's avoiding in the past.
Elbows.
Phillips simply had no defense for Trigg's stifling top game, succumbing to devastating ground and pound after he was busted open in three separate places.
The cageside doctors needed all of 10 seconds to see that Phillips could no longer continue.
At the ripe old age of 39, Trigg may have set himself up to once again contest for a major title, this time with BAMMA against reigning champion Tom Watson. "Kong" feels Frank should head back to welterweight but he'll accept all challengers.
Sounds like we have an accord.
In the opening bout of the main card, Ivan Salaverry, he of crucifix fame, made his return to mixed martial arts competition after three years away from the cage. Coincidentally, his opponent, Matt Ewin, was also making his return after, you guessed it, three years away from action.
It showed ... big time.
Neither fighter looked overly special and both men, at times, acted as though they had better things to do than sling leather inside a cage.
There were several knockdowns throughout the long 15-minutes, despite the timid pace set by the veteran fighters, with Salaverry on the receiving end of all but one of them.
That's really all it took for him to lose a three-round decision.
He commented beforehand that he wanted to close out his MMA career with a victory but he certainly didn't fight that way today. Will we see him back to give it one more go? Maybe. He certainly wasn't blown out of the cage and, all things considered, he actually looked okay.
Stay tuned ... and I know you will.
That's it for us. Time for you to sound off in the comments with your thoughts on BAMMA 6.
For complete results and play-by-play of all the main card action click here.
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