On February 21 Tom Duquesnoy successfully defended the BAMMA world featherweight championship when he finished Poland’s Krzysztof Klaczek via TKO in the third round of their headline encounter at BAMMA 18.
Prior to facing Klaczek, the Frenchman sought to defend his crown against experienced English veteran Ashleigh Grimshaw at BAMMA 16 last September, however the fight was halted and declared a ‘no contest’ after just eleven seconds due to an accidental kick to the groin from the champion that rendered Grimshaw unable to continue.
Many anticipated an immediate rematch, but Duquesnoy (10-1-1NC) was matched with Klaczek while Grimshaw (16-8-1-2NC) is set to face Brazilian Orestes Betran in a bout to determine the featherweight division’s number-one contender at BAMMA 19 on March 28.
With an experienced professional record that dates back to 2003, Grimshaw is undefeated in his last seven contests, and accumulated a run of six first round stoppages en route to facing Duquesnoy.
Immediately after his victory on Saturday night, MMA Plus spoke with Duquesnoy and asked ‘The Fire Kid’ if Grimshaw deserves a rematch due to the accidental groin shot which ended their encounter prematurely. Surprisingly, the champion believes that Grimshaw still has to prove his worth.
“I cannot wait to watch his performance in the match, but I wait to see,” stated Duquesnoy. “Maybe after two or three fights he can come back to fight me maybe, but for the moment he has to prove he can be for the headline in BAMMA, so I wait.
“I think he has to make two or three fights. After, he can talk with BAMMA, but for the moment, no, I don’t think so.”
It’s unclear as to what Duquesnoy’s next move will be, the 21-year-old explains that he looks forward to defending the BAMMA title, but the top European featherweight has likely caught the eye of major promotions overseas, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if BAMMA 18 marked his final UKMMA appearance.
For full BAMMA 18 results and post-fight interview click HERE
Photo by Jorden Curran
