Former UFC star Norman Parke would earn a hard-fought majority decision victory over Paul Redmond but failed to lift the BAMMA lightweight title after failing to meet the weight limit.
BAMMA 28 took place at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Friday night and would be headlined by four massive title bouts for the UK promotion.
Parke dominant but no Lightweight belt on the line
Parke and Redmond would take part in a three-round war of attrition as both men would look to win the fight on the ground. “Stormin'” Norman would have the better of the first round with two accidental groin shots proving the catalyst for him to land his first takedown and take control.
A very scrappy round two saw both men trade dominant periods of ground control but with neither able to grasp the upper hand. Transitions and sweeps were exchanged between the two lightweights before Parke would finish the round on top.
Redmond would have a much better round to finish the fight however could not do enough to take out Parke to win the 155lb title. Enjoying much more success with his ground game, he was unlucky to watch Parke slip some of his submission attempts. The Northern Irishman would hold on and take a majority decision victory much to the relief of his home fans.
Hometown hero Young lifts the interim-Flyweight belt
Also, Belfast fighter Andy Young would give his countrymen something to smile about with a composed performance that seen him win the interim-flyweight title over Dominique Wooding.
A very slow burner of a fight, the Northern Irishman was a step ahead throughout, controlling the pace and the centre of the cage. After a tentative start, Young would settle in and looked the sharper fighter in an uneventful first round.
More of the same followed in round two however Young would start landing the harder and cleaner strikes towards the end of the round. His pressure towards his Angolan-Brit opponent would keep the fans on the edge of their seats and in full voice as you could sense his momentum was building.
Finally the breakthrough came for Young as in the third and final round, he would finally get a takedown over Wooding and quickly locked in the rear-naked choke for the submission win. The SSE Arena would go crazy for their fellow countryman as he paraded his new title around the cage.
Lapilus grinds his way to Featherweight title
In addition, Damien Lapilus would put in a dominant performance as he would grind out and neutralise Ronnie Mann to take a decision victory and be crowned the new BAMMA featherweight champion.
From the get-go, the Frenchman would dictate the pace and happenings of the fight and after two rounds where he could offer no offense, Mann knew he had to step things up going into the final round.
The British fighter would push for a finish in the third round but Lapilus was happy to sit back on his assumed points lead and see out the round. Mann would find top position briefly but he was quickly swept and back to square one until the end of the fight.
Elsewhere, Rhys McKee’s hype train would come to a shuddering halt in his first defence of his BAMMA Lonsdale lightweight title as he lost to challenger Tim Barnett.
Undefeated Barnett would trouble McKee throughout the fight and as the first round drew to a close, the Liverpool man would silence the Belfast crowd as his hard shots got through McKee’s guard and had him in trouble.
McKee could not hold on and there was shock throughout the building as the referee would step in and call an end to the fight with two seconds remaining. The TKO loss is the first time McKee has tasted defeat and far sooner than many expected him to.
Hometown fighter Decky Dalton didn’t have enough to overcome U.S. veteran Jonathan Brookins as the American would show great cage savvy in keeping the fight on the floor.
His vast experience, including a time in UFC, would shine through as he made the local Dalton work within his strengths and would easily pick up the unanimous decision victory.
Further down the card, two Belfast based Pols Daniel Olejniczak and Daniel Rutkowski would both earn TKO victories, in the first and third round respectively, with the home crowd cheering them on.
BAMMA 28: Parke vs. Redmond – Results:
BAMMA Lightweight title: Norman Parke def. Paul Redmond via Decision (Majority) (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
BAMMA Interim-Flyweight title: Andy Young def. Dominique Wooding via Submission (Rear-naked-choke) (Round 3 – 3:06)
BAMMA Featherweight title: Damien Lapilus def. Ronnie Mann via Decision (Unanimous) (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
BAMMA Lonsdale Lightweight title: Tim Barnett def. Rhys McKee via TKO (Round 1 – 4:58)
Jonathan Brookins def. Decky Dalton via Decision (Unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Daniel Olejniczak def. Jonathan Reid via TKO (Punches) (Round 1 – 1:47)
Daniel Rutkowski def. Niall Smith via TKO (Punches) (Round 3 – 2:16)
Will Fluery def. Kyle McClurkin via TKO (Punches) (Round 1 – 2:49)
Paul Hughes def. Adam Gustab via TKO (Punches) (Round 1 – 1:32)
Andrew Murphy def. Stephen Kilfin via TKO (Punches) (Round 1 – 4:58)
Keith McCabe def. Glenn Irvine via submission (heel hook) (Round 1 – 0:39)
