Bolton, Greater Manchester – England – March 19th, 2014 – The North West’s hottest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event, Full Contact Contender (FCC), is proud to release the final card for FCC 9: Loughnane vs Cooledge/Menga vs Kichukov.
Unfortunately a number of fight week withdrawals have forced some significant last-minute changes to the line-up. Ste Nightingale has been removed from the card after his opponent Gaz Pilot withdrew earlier in the week and a suitable replacement/weight could not be agreed upon at short notice.
Promoter Adam Teh said: “It’s always frustrating to have pull-outs so close to an event. The remaining fighter is well into his weight cut, and even if a suitable replacement opponent can be found, it’s often the case that they’re unable to make the weight in time. We sourced a number of opponents for Ste Nightingale (who was already close to being on weight), but none were able to make 135lbs in time for the fight. We respected Ste’s decision not to fight at a catchweight or against a last-minute journeyman after the situation with his previous fight on another promotion. We look forward to having Ste back for FCC 10 in June!”
In the amateur division, Ian Buckley has withdrawn from his welterweight title fight with Callum Brady. With Brady planning a move to middleweight after FCC 9 anyway, the decision has been made for him to vacate his FCC amateur welterweight title and face late replacement Tom Tynan in the middleweight division. Should Callum be victorious, he will compete for the FCC amateur middleweight title at FCC 10.
The welterweight #1 contender bout between Chris Senior and Josh McManus has now been promoted to a fully-fledged title bout to crown the next amateur champion at 170lbs. McManus picked up another amateur welterweight title in his last outing, and will look to add the FCC strap to his collection come Saturday night. Senior is on a three fight winning streak on FCC, and will look to take the title back to the Full Contact Performance Centre.
Late replacement Reese Parker has also been forced out of his FCC amateur lightweight title fight just days after accepting the bout. FCC are currently seeking another late replacement to face champion Ashley Reese. In the likely event that a suitable challenger cannot be found in three days’ time, Reese will compete in a non-title bout on the undercard.
Adam Teh said: “It never rains, but it pours! Ashley Reese may be an amateur fighter, but he’s acted like a true professional despite a number of opponents being forced to withdraw from his first title defence. Ashley has insisted on fighting this Saturday like the true warrior he is, but if a suitable challenger can’t be found in time he will compete in a non-title bout on the undercard. Pull outs are a part of the game, but at FCC 9 we’re lucky to have such a strong bill that even with the late changes, still stacks up as one of the strongest in our history!”
Main Event Double Bill:
FCC Pro Flyweight Title: Pietro Menga vs Sotir Kichukov
FCC Pro Lightweight Title: Brendan Loughnane vs Jason Coolidge
Professional Showcase Bouts:
Ste Nightingale vs Gaz Pilot
Kane Mousah vs Mike Castell
Mick Gerrard vs Aaron Aby
Azi Thomas vs Joe Nazokatov
Unified Amateur Title Bouts:
Heavyweight: Tom ‘The Tank’ Bankevics (c) vs Tom Aspinall
Light Heavyweight: Shaun Hampton (c) vs Andy Clamp
Welterweight: Chris Senior vs Josh McManus
Unified Amateur Bouts
Jack Cartwright vs Jason Jacques
Andreas Tricomitis vs James Duckett
Brett Venables vs Paul Douglas
Liam Burke vs Danny Cullen
Ashley Reese vs TBA
Callum McVey vs Ryan Robinson
Tom Tynan vs Callum Brady
Junior Morgan vs Antonio Sheldon
Aaron Robinson vs Jay Robinson
Craig Kelly vs TBA
Becky Martin vs Gemma Thomas
Neill Smith vs Brent Teirney
