BAMMA have today announced that they have signed a multi-event television deal with UKTV’s leading entertainment channel Dave, starting with next month’s BAMMA 29, which will be broadcast live by the channel on Friday, May 12.
BAMMA 29 will take place at the Genting Arena in Birmingham on May 12 and is set to be headlined by two huge title fights. English veteran Brett McDermott faces Germany’s Ruben Wolf for the vacant BAMMA heavyweight title in the main event with Yannick Bahati also going head-to-head with Matt Allam for the promotion’s middleweight title earlier in the night.
Covering the night’s action and taking up commentary duties will be former WBA Heavyweight champion David Haye and experienced MMA broadcaster Andy Shepherd, who previously filled the same role for Channel 5’s BAMMA coverage in the past. Also providing additional coverage and presenting throughout the night will be former UFC star Paddy Holohan and comedian Tom Davis.
Currently, the UK’s most watched non-PBS channel with over 27 millions viewers a month, Dave has been adding more original content and live sports to their programming schedule with MMA becoming the latest sport to feature on the channel. In 2016, they successfully moved into the live sports market showing darts, cricket and boxing which included Haye’s return to the boxing ring last year.
“BAMMA events are of the very best quality in terms of both sporting spectacle and sheer adrenaline”, explained director of commissioning for UKTV, Richard Watsham.
“Given the further growth in popularity of MMA and Dave’s continued presence in free to air sport, there’s an excellent opportunity to build on the existing fanbase and introduce new viewers to this highly skilled sport.”
The deal will see a return to television for the promotion who previously held a broadcasting deal in the UK with Channel 5/Spike TV however they will be hoping for better results this time round after suffering from poor promotion during their tenure with the previous networks.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Dave and to continue bringing MMA fans the very best in British Mixed Martial Arts,” said BAMMA CEO David Green. “MMA is one of the most exciting live sports in the world and fans now get the opportunity to watch all the BAMMA action on one of the UK’s best loved channels.”
BAMMA 29 Fight Card
BAMMA Heavyweight Title: Brett McDermott vs. Ruben Wolf
BAMMA Middleweight Title: Yannick Bahati vs. Matthew Hallam
Lonsdale Lightweight Title: Tim Barnett vs. Mario Saeed
Lonsdale Welterweight Title: Terry Brazier vs. Walter Gahadza
Middleweight: Fabian Edwards vs. Mitchell Richards
Featherweight: Ronnie Mann vs. Daniel Crawford
Bantamweight: Chris Miah vs. Jay Butler
Lightweight: Jai Herbert vs. Rick Selvarajah
Welterweight: Josh Plant vs. Daniel Cassell
Middleweight: Pelu Adetola vs. Nathias Frederick
Flyweight: Mike D’Aguiar vs. Sam Halliday
Middleweight: Łukasz Świrydowicz vs. Mick Stanton
Heavyweight: Maciej Sosnowski vs. Mindaugas Gerve
Bantamweight: Shay Walsh vs. Aaron Blackwell
Featherweight: Stephen Martin vs. Daniel Rutkowski
