If you’d told poor Joe Harding that Dana White would be tweeting gifs of his fight prior to last night’s BCMMA show, he’d probably have been over the moon. Unfortunately for the former amateur lightweight champion, it wasn’t the highlight reel he was hoping for.
No doubt you’ve seen the gif by now; cocky young fighter channels his inner MVP/Genki Sudo, ends up on the receiving end of an opportunist head kick that puts his lights out instantly. Most won’t have seen any of what went before, nor will they care to. It was a fight that Harding threw away and a lesson he’ll have to learn in the most brutal fashion. Viral videos are fun and games until you’re the reason people are laughing.
All images are courtesy of the excellent Tom Archer of greyhairandglasses.com Check out his work there and over at the Instagram page.
So kudos to Johan Segas for pulling it out of the bag, and here’s hoping Harding can put last night behind him. Perhaps this time he should look to fellow highlight reel victim, Benson Henderson for inspiration; despite being the bouncing body on the end of the ‘showtime kick’, Henderson still went on to be one of the most successful lightweights of all time.
Elsewhere on the card, the main event became the co-main event and the bantamweight title switched hands.
Though she was dropped multiple times, it took a lot to get former champion Kerry Hughes out of there. Luckily for Zarah dos Santos, she had it in her arsenal to stay on the offensive and pry the belt out of Hughes’ grasp.
A tough night for Hughes, but one she’ll no doubt bounce back from. Having dropped a split decision to much-hyped prospect, Sinead Kavanagh in her last outing, dos Santos bounced back in perfect fashion, picking up the BCMMA title.
In what was previously billed as the co-main event, Corrin Eaton picked up the 10th win of his career over Dominic Dillon, but the victory was not without controversy.
Despite looking like the fight could have been stopped already, Eaton eventually put his man away with what appeared to be an accidental knee to the head of the grounded Dillon. Confusion followed as the result was first announced a TKO win for Eaton, then followed much deliberation and Eaton was again declared winner. If the broadcast team are to be believed, the win came by way of technical decision, with Dillon clearly unable to continue after the strike.
Though Eaton would no doubt have preferred the win to have come without the controversy, he’ll surely be relieved that it was adjudged to be accidental and not ruled a DQ. The strike appeared to be nothing more than follow-through momentum, with unfortunate consequences. The UKMMAF were on hand to adjudicate, assisting referee Tommy Maguire in eventually ruling the victory in favour of Eaton.
The reason for schedule bumps was the last fight of the night, the default headliner of Sean Carter vs. Emerik Youmbi.
Our sources inform us that Youmbi missed his flight, causing the delayed arrival and pushing the bout back to the end of the night. The show went on, something Youmbi may have wished hadn’t happened, and a three-round drubbing ensued.
In perhaps the saddest/most touching moment of the night, Youmbi took to the cage sans corner team, electing instead to go it alone with only his wife/girlfriend to keep him company.
We’re assuming the two were romantically involved as, in-between each round, his partner would walk into the cage, plant a kiss on him and then exit again. Touching stuff, but not enough to save him from an eventual third round submission defeat.
Also on the main card was the utterly brutal encounter between Kate Jackson and Bryony Tyrell. An exciting back-and-forth that ultimately ended three minutes into the third round, when the referee granted Tyrell mercy following a series of unanswered elbows and punches from the top.
The resulting damage to Tyrell’s eye was as a good indicator that the fight was definitely over.
There was a successful professional debut for James Webb, as he walked away with a first round submission victory, another impressive performance from reigning amateur flyweight champion Leigh Mitchell in retaining the belt, and a devastating quick KO finish from Charlotte McIntyre.
As already mentioned, all images are courtesy of the excellent Tom Archer of greyhairandglasses.com Go check out his work there and over at the Instagram page. Now.
BCMMA 18 Results:
Bantamweight title: Zarah dos Santos def. Kerry Hughes via TKO at 2:53 of round one
Featherweight: Corrin Eaton def. Dominic Dillon via TKO (strikes) at 3:15 of round two
Strawweight title: Kate Jackson def. Bryony Tyrell via TKO (strikes) at 3:43 of round three
Middleweight: James Webb def. Walid Jabri via submission at 4:23 of round one
Lightweight: Sean Carter def. Emerik Youmbi via submission (arm triangle choke) at 2:35 of round three
Lightweight: Emrah Sonmez def. Sofian Boucherf via TKO in round one
Middleweight: Romain Delort def. Luca Senatore via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:38 of round two
Amateur featherweight title: Johan Segas def. Joe Harding via KO (head kick) at :20 of round three
Amateur lightweight: Mahio Campanella def. Marcin Kocel via submission (guillotine choke) at :41 of round one
Amateur flyweight title: Leigh Mitchell def. Jack Eglin via unanimous decision
Amateur middleweight: Stefano Gheorghe def. Fudhail Kelali via submission (armbar) at 2:36 of round two
Amateur welterweight: Jamie Crisp def. Jonathan Tokoudagba via unanimous decision
Amateur lightweight: Laith Al-Wan def. Frank Arnesen via TKO (punches) at 2:15 of round three
Amateur flyweight: Owen Gower def. Ben Iontton via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:34 of round two
Amateur welterweight: Alex Elsey def. Bradley Wills via submission (rear-naked choke) at :57 of round three
Amateur featherweight: Charlotte McIntyre def. Paula Donnelly via KO in the first round
Amateur strawweight: Charlie Falco def. Luke John via submission (arm triangle choke) at 1:40 of round two
Amateur lightweight: Cameron Hardy def. Ahmed Alash via unanimous decision
Amateur bantamweight: Kyle Hewson def. Niall Rose via submission (guillotine choke) at 2:47 of round two
Amateur featherweight: Joanne Doyle def. Celine Provost via TKO in round one
