Essex’s premier MMA promotion BCMMA hosted their fourth and final event of 2016 this past Saturday, as BCMMA 17 unfolded from their home at the Charter Hall in Colchester.

Sean “Sexycurls” Carter (11-4) got back in the win column with a swift submission stoppage over late replacement Danny Joel (0-11). Carter, who was originally pencilled to fight Jordan Miller (15-18) in the evening’s main event, ran through Joel, latching onto a guillotine as Joel rushed forward with a takedown, before sweeping his opponent and forcing a quick tap with a rear-naked choke, just 50 seconds into the bout.

Also on the main card, Emrah Sonmez (5-1) and Dylan Sheehan (2-2) were both ultra-dominant in their violent first-round TKO’s over Ben Deller-Smith (2-3) and Michael Jones (0-2). Sonmez annihilated Deller-Smith with a savage barrage of unanswered knee strikes against the cage, whilst Sheehan preferred to use an onslaught of ground and pound to brutalize Jones.

The opening main card bout showcased the debut of Wendy McKenna (1-0), who soundly outworked Ella Wu (0-2) over the course of fifteen minutes, to collect a well-earned unanimous decision victory. McKenna had vacated her BCMMA Amateur Strawweight title so her daughter and fellow BCMMA 17 competitor Cory McKenna could challenge for it.

Middleweights James Webb (3-0) and Henrik Lie (2-3) put on the most entertaining scrap of the night, earning the “Fight of the Night” honours. After three tough rounds, Webb – who splits his training between SBG Dublin and BKK Fighters – emerged with the unanimous decision victory and the BCMMA Amateur Middleweight belt.

Bartosz Skrok (3-0) scored the biggest upset of the night, as he swiftly submitted IMMAF World Championship competitor Joe Harding (8-2). Skrok, who had not fought in over a year, caught Harding slacking in guard and secured a triangle choke, forcing the tap a mere 64-seconds into the fight. The win earns Skror the BCMMA Amateur Lightweight crown.

The aforementioned Cory McKenna (6-0) was arguably the night’s brightest star, as she overcame a tough second round to defeat Aleksandra Rola (6-3) of Poland. The 17-year old McKenna started strong, bullying Rola on the mat in opening stanza, before spending the majority of the second round fighting her way out of a deep armbar attempt. During a scramble in the third and final round, McKenna was able to latch onto a rear-naked choke, whilst she could not secure the hooks, McKenna was able to generate enough of a squeeze to force Rola to tap.

Jack Eglin (3-0), 17, also turned in an excellent performance, as he easily dispatched of Frenchman Haga Rabekoto (2-2) inside of two rounds. Eglin, who trains alongside UFC-veteran Brad Scott at Dragonslair, used his fluid striking arsenal to easily out-duell Rabekoto on the feet, before battering his foe from the back to earn the stoppage. The win earned Eglin a ”Performance of the Night” bonus and the BCMMA Interim Amateur Flyweight belt, which he will look to unify in 2017 against current champion Leigh Mitchell (7-2).

After starting his amateur career off with two wins in his first nine fights, the fast-rising welterweight Craig Edwards (7-7) picked up his fifth-straight win on Saturday night to even out his amateur career. Edwards submitted a battle-tested Martin Chester (7-4) with a standing guillotine choke in the second stanza, after fighting through a fully-synched triangle choke in the opening round. The submission earned Edwards the “Submission of the Night” bonus.

Whilst it was James Webb and Henrik Lie who would win the award for “Fight of the Night” there was no shortage of possible contenders; namely the nine-minute brawl between Karolina Wojcik (3-1) and Linda Birkely (0-1) in which hundreds of punches were exchanged, the fun, albeit bizarre contest featuring Ryan Dickson (2-0) and Charlie Falco (0-2), in which Falco fought through a bevvy of deep submission attempts and seemed intent on creating unique entanglements, and there was also the slobberknocker between Laith Al-Wan (1-0) and Phoung Tran (0-1), in which both men were rocked on multiple occasions.

BCMMA 17 Full Results:

Sean Carter def. Danny Joel via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:50 of round one
Emrah Sonmez def. Ben Deller Smith via TKO (knees) at 3:08 of round one
Wendy McKenna def. Ella Wu via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Dylan Sheehan def. Michael Jones via TKO (punches) at 2:30 of round one
James Webb def. Henrik Lie via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bartosz Skrok def. Joe Harding via submission (triangle choke) at 1:04 of round one
Ismar Blagoje def. Matthew Findlay via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Arthur Jacob def. Dalius Sulga via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:48 of round one
Tommy Asabre and Jake Moore fight to a split draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-29)
Cory McKenna def. Aleksandra Rola via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:56 of round three
Jack Eglin def. Haga Rabekoto via TKO (punches) 2:59 of round two
John Parthaugen def. Chaz Marshall via TKO (punches) at 2:24 of round one
Dom Harris def. Oli Troughtman via submission (inverted triangle choke) at 1:34 of round three
Mantas Smailys def. Adam Spalding via submission (armbar) at 0:55 of round two
Craig Edwards def. Martin Chester via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:31 of round two
Eloge-Bofaze Imbula def. Ryan Pink via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Richard Dickson def. Charlie Falco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Karolina Wojcik def. Linda Birkely via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mahio Campanella def. Rebin Rashid via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:26 of round one
Laith Al-Wan def. Phoung Tran via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Ahmed Alash def. Callum Penman via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:10 of round two
Danny Mullins def. Romain Delort via TKO (punches) at 2:09 of round two
Paula Donnelly def. Sophie Newnes via TKO (punches) at 1:15 of round two
Ben Iontton def. Dilawar Nasir via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Fiona Chrystall def. Eivor Hovde Hoff via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Fredrik Jacobsen def. Gergley Juhasz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Adnan Hassan def. Jonathan Tokoudagba via disqualification (knee strike) at 0:23 of round one
Andreas Lodoen def. Kevin Treny via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Phillip Nygard def. Tor-Inge Gloppen via TKO (punches) at 2:10 of round one

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