British Muay Thai contender Andrew Lofthouse will make his long awaited MMA debut on December 16 at BAMMA 27 in Dublin, Ireland.
The Team #OO fighter will feature on the BAMMA 27 undercard against Ireland’s Ian Cleary, which will be the lead-in event for Bellator 169.
The news was exclusively revealed to MMA Plus and has since been confirmed with the Lofthouse camp.
25-year-old Lofthouse’s last high profile Thai fight took place in May on The Tanko Main Event show. The fighter from Greater Manchester battled Shane Farquharson in Bolton but came up short, losing a unanimous decision.
Now, the controversial Muay Thai figure will make the move to MMA after teasing his decision for the past several months.
Lofthouse commented: “I’m just honoured to be given them chance to fight on a huge promotion. I’m looking forward to letting the MMA scene know who I am.”
Cleary trains out of SBG Charlestown and is 3-3 in his professional MMA career. It’s a tall order for Lofthouse in his debut MMA fight, as he travel’s away for his first test in a new sport.
Despite having to fight Cleary on his home turf, Lofthouse; a TeamMcHale representative fighter, showed little apprehension towards the challenge, claiming: “A fight’s a fight and no one is in there to help once the cage door is locked.Let’s put on a show.”
“Lofty” joins a growing culture of Thai Boxers making the jump into MMA, a decision which is constantly becoming more popular. Another name, Muay Thai sensation Panicos Yusuf will make his MMA debut against Ben Dearden on December 3 in Manchester.
