Former BAMMA Bantamweight champion Shay Walsh (14-4) was set to make his Bellator debut against Luiz Tosta (9-2-1) this evening at the 3Arena in Dublin. However, Walsh was informed on Tuesday that Tosta has pulled out of their fight due to a shoulder injury and that a last minute replacement was not possible,
Walsh was gutted by the late withdrawal of his opponent and that his Bellator debut had been scrapped, denying him of the kind of opportunities that every fighter dreams of in MMA.
“I’d been out at Tiger Muay Thai again in Thailand preparing for the fight. Came home last weekend you know, just the last little bits of things to do, last little bits of drilling and cutting weight. Nothing too strenuous and then we found out on Tuesday that my opponent was pulling out with a shoulder injury, apparently.
“He wouldn’t have picked up an injury like that the week of the fight, cause that just poor preparation if he’s done that but like I say, I can second guess exactly what’s happened all I want but end of the day he’s pulled out of fighting on the card this weekend unfortunately.”
Although he was very disappointed at the unforeseen circumstances that he’s the hapless victim of, Walsh decided to still travel to Ireland for the joint Bellator-BAMMA event. Professionalism and networking are two important aspects of being a professional fighter that Walsh was not going to conveniently forget about, despite his fight being cancelled.
“It was important for me to come over and show my face and speak to the guys at BAMMA and Bellator and just let them know that I signed the contract to fight on the date and I’m here, well prepared, ready to go. It’s not worked out this time but hopefully we can find something else. Hopefully, it works for the best in the long run and we get another big opportunity.”
Headlining the BAMMA 27 half of “BAMMATOR” tonight is, Tom Duquesnoy vs. Alan Philpott, in what will be Duquesnoy’s first title defence of the BAMMA Bantamweight championship since defeating Walsh at BAMMA 25 with a first round KO via elbow.
The former champion previewed the title fight between the two Bantamweights and explained why he predicts “FireKid” will win yet again.
“If I’m honest, I can’t see anything but Tom winning. Philpott shown some improvements, he has looked over his last few fights, he seems to have matured a little bit with his attitude and his fighting style. But Tom’s a class act and he’s proved that to me first hand. I just see him holding the advantages, you know the power advantage he can definitely turn round in one or two shots.
“His grappling is excellent as well. I think we could seem Tom looking to utilise his grappling skills a little bit more. Philpott has shown a little bit if weakness there and lost quite a few times by submission and Tom’s smart. I think we could see more grappling in this fight then we usually see from Tom. Either way, Tom’ll be coming out with the win this time.”
However, the consequences and potential adverse effects for Walsh and his family from his Bellator debut being canned with only three days notice have been heavy. So much so that the former BAMMA champion even questioned his long term future in MMA.
“Obviously this week has been a bit of a disappointment with the fight falling through. I’d planned to not only win this fight and to bump up my stock back up. Financially, I was going to be getting money from sponsorship, was expecting a win bonus, was expecting all the ticket sales, money.
“I was expecting al that stuff and my opponent pulling out has taken that away form me. So, yeah thats sucked a bit. I trained my arse off, I was ready to go physically and mentally strong.
“I want a fight, I want a just fight if possible but things like this happening don’t make it easy for me to live that career.”
Uncertain times seem to be facing Walsh and his family over the Christmas holidays regarding his future MMA career. Hopefully, 2017 will present bigger opportunities that follow through for the former BAMMA champion, especially after the disappointment of his Bellator debut vanishing in fight week.
Click here to watch the full video podcast with Shay Walsh.
