One of the most devastating knockout artists in UKMMA, BAMMA Lonsdale Lightweight Champion Marc Diakiese has officially signed with the UFC.
Diakiese, 23, is undefeated at 9-0 in his mixed martial arts career and trains out of Atherton Submission Wrestling (ASW) alongside fellow UFC fighter Scott Askham.
The news was confirmed by Diakiese’s manager Carl Messen of Heavy Duty Management on Facebook.
The 155lber rose to prominence after his latest win against bitter rival Kane Mousah in May, 2015. Both Diakiese and Mousah were embroiled in an 18 month feud. This culminated with the Doncaster based fighter starching opponent Mousah in 36 seconds at BAMMA 25, a conclusive end to their bad, bad blood.
With UFC 204 heading to Manchester in October for the proposed Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson Middleweight title match, it looks like that event would likely serve as the debuting platform for the “Bonecrusher.”
However, the Brit’s departure from premier UK organisation BAMMA leaves a huge void at the top of their Lightweight division.
Multiple sources have clarified that Diakiese versus BAMMA Lightweight champion Martin Stapleton was being targeted for the upcoming BAMMA 27 card. Both men had acknowledged the fight, with the Lonsdale Champion even taking a shot at “.50 Cal.” over social media last month.
Soon as stapleton mans up to face me.. https://t.co/YN42TQBTZX
— Marc Diakiese (@Marc_Diakiese) 2 June 2016
A potential filler for this fight could be a rematch between Rochdale’s Stapleton and Damien Lapilus after their BAMMA 25 match ended in a disqualification. The Frenchman Lapilus landed an illegal knee to downed opponent Stapleton, who was not cleared to continue.
Diakiese now moves onto the next chapter of his fight career, becoming only the fourth BAMMA Lonsdale champion to go on and sign for the UFC. He follows Leon Edwards, Stevie Ray and Tom Breese who have all gone on to find relative success in the world’s biggest promotion.
Potentially one of the biggest prospects to come out of the UK in the past few years, Diakiese has all the attributes to be a success. Incredible speed, great wrestling and one-punch knockout power, if he’s built correctly there’s no doubt he can become a driving force in the UFC’s 155lb division.
