On September 19 BAMMA featherweight champion Tom Duquesnoy (10-1) will take on Ultimate Fighter veteran Brendan Loughnane (10-1) in his latest effort to defend the promotion’s 145lb crown, at BAMMA 22 in Dublin, Ireland.
In a recent interview with MMA Plus, Duquesnoy revealed that he plans on making the drop to 135lbs following his bout with Loughnane and that he aims to become the BAMMA bantamweight champion. The Frenchman revealed that he feels small as a featherweight and does not wish to be caught out by a larger opponent in the future.
Duquesnoy explained: “With my close circle we discussed during a few months about that (dropping to 135lbs), and for the rest of my career we decide I’d go down in the bantamweight category to fight for the belt, and my goal in the future will be to defend this belt.
“The featherweight fighters weigh in generally 180lbs, my normal weight is 165lbs, I think I need to play the game of cutting if I do not want to be disadvantaged for the next fight.”
The BAMMA bantamweight championship is currently occupied by Ed Arthur (6-0) who looks to defend the crown on November 14 against Shay Walsh (13-3) at BAMMA 23 in Birmingham. ‘King Arthur’ stated exclusively to MMA Plus that he believes Loughnane will claim the featherweight title, and that he would be excited to add the name of Duquesnoy to his win column, in addition to Walsh.
“That excites me a lot,” Arthur replied. “Wins over Shay and Tom on my record would be great.”
The undefeated Arthur claimed the vacant bantamweight title with a submission win over Northern Ireland’s Alan Philpott at BAMMA 20 in April. After a difficult opening round Arthur switched tactics and swiftly submitted Philpott early in the second round.
“I’ve got a lot to show this next fight,” he continued, “I fought terrible last fight so after he sees me beat Shay he might want to rethink that.
“I think Brendan beats him this weekend so I’m guessing me vs. Tom will happen next year.”
