BAMMA 25 is set to be rocked by a Heavyweight clash that is of particular interest to me.

Two formidable men, that some say are the two best heavyweight athletes on the UK scene, are set to collide in the centre of Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena on May 14.

BAMMA’s world heavyweight title holder, Mark ‘The Hand Of’ Godbeer puts his belt on the line against BAMMA’s Lonsdale heavyweight title holder, Stuart ‘He-Man’ Austin.

Sometimes friendships in MMA have to be put aside – Paul Sutherland

I started following UKMMA, as opposed to the UFC, around 2010 and cut my teeth on BAMMA and Ultimate Impact shows. A consequence of this, is that I have been fortunate enough to watch the careers of these two warriors unfold in front of me. They have a link that traces back to Gloucestershire’s Trojan Free Fighters. Both men were fighting out of the same gym and under the tutelage of head coach Paul Sutherland, when I first started lending my patronage to UKMMA. They are friends and former team mates.

It would be impossible to write about their converging career paths without mentioning these facts.

THE MATCH UP

How this match was made is a story in itself. Back in November, Godbeer was due to face Ruben Wolf, but withdrew to represent BAMMA in a heavyweight tournament in the east at Rizin Fighting Federation. He was replaced by Thomas Denham (whom he had already beaten on his march to the belt). Wolf then pulled out because one of his team had passport problems and he himself was replaced by Austin.

This became a matchup not for the world title, but for the Lonsdale belt.

Austin won the bout and the belt at BAMMA 23 by way of TKO in round two. This then paved the way towards the logical conclusion of Godbeer vs. Austin for the BAMMA heavyweight world title.
I do not know if the Lonsdale belt is on the line here – I’m not sure how that belt works, but it would be cool to see the belts unified. If this is not the case, then it would seem that Godbeer has more to lose than Austin.

I’m going to be showcasing my skills against the best heavyweight in the UK. I want to do big things in this sport – Stuart Austin.

RECORDS

Both men have identical MMA records of 10-2, both have similar career paths, and both have forayed abroad to pit their skills on shows such as Bellator. Stuart has a judo background, whilst Mark has a striking/boxing background, so we should be in for the classic striker vs. grappler match up.

Godbeer cageside while Austin gets his hand raised in the cage
Godbeer cageside while Austin gets his hand raised in the cage

CHAT SHIT, GET BANGED

Times have changed. Mark now fights out of Bridgewater’s All or Nothing gym, and Stuart now harks from London’s Titan.

You won’t see any shit talk from either of them leading up to this fight, you can tell that there is a heap of respect between the two. Indeed, my only worry is that this may lead to a little more respect shown on the night than is necessary, but this is only a slight worry because I’ve seen both men state that they will “let it all go” on the night.

We are friends. Not just as in passing each other and saying ‘Hi’, we trained together for three years, but it is inevitable that this was going to happen. We have to put our friendship aside and get the job done and go from there – Mark Godbeer.

Every now and then, a fight is made between two fighters that you or I are huge fans of. This is the case for me in this fight. I shan’t be predicting a winner beforehand, I want both to win. This is impossible of course, but I don’t want a draw either. This well matched fight makes perfect sense, and so I will be supporting it the best way I can: by getting my arse in a seat and cheering loudly for both men.

So. What happens when two swords are forged in the same furnace?

Buckle up and watch this space.


AUTHOR:

CHRIS SCADDEN

STAFF WRITER

Occasional contributor. Full time fuckwit. Has car, will travel… Sometimes.

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