BAMMA 12 takes place in Newcastle, England on Saturday, March 9th, and is part of a UK MMA doubleheader along with Cage Warriors 52. British fans will be happy to see some of their homegrown talent compete, while western MMA fans simply get to enjoy some quality Saturday afternoon action. The card, which airs on AXS TV will feature Ken Shamrock on the mic next to Michael Schiavello, and we have the opening odds for a trio of interesting fights from across the pond. In the night’s main event, Matt Veach (16-4) looks to bounce back into the win column after losing two of his last three fights against “Judo” Jim Wallhead (23-7), who we last saw in a losing effort against Lyman Good in the opening round of the season 7 Bellator welterweight tournament. Before losing to Good, Wallhead had won nine of ten fights with his sole loss at the hands of Rick Hawn in the quarterfinals of the Bellator season 3 welterweight tournament. Wallhead is 2-0 in Bamma, and has a solid overall game. Look for him to use his size and, naturally, his Judo, to overpower Veach. The former UFC vet in Veach, will try to keep his distance and use his quickness to stifle Wallhead’s gas tank. Veach is an exciting fighter and so is Wallhead, so this should be a closely-contested battle. The difference could be that Veach is moving up from lightweight in this bout, and as such we opened Veach a slight dog at +135, to Wallhead’s at -175. The public had the same idea, and now Wallhead sits all the way up at -280 over at Several Bookmakers. Undefeated at 9-0 with 4 knockouts and 5 submissions is 24-year-old Max Nunes, a UCMMA and BAMMA veteran who is explosively making a name for himself throughout England. Nunes has finished every fight except one in the first round by way of sheer power, hence his nickname. He has an arsenal of flashy maneuvers, and will look to throw kicks, knees and anything else he can think of whilst flying through the air. He almost seems out of control of his own body with the shots he throws with such vitriol. He’s athletic and extremely strong, and is a big light heavyweight. His opponent, Marcin Lazarz (5-0) is also undefeated and is willing to brawl with his opponent. Both men show good chins, and this should be exciting, but Nunes is the real deal, and may be too much for the thus far untested Lazarz. We opened as Nunes the clear favorite, at -275 to Lazarz at +195, and the line sits in the same spot currently. The BAMMA British lightweight title is is up for grabs as Steven Ray (12-3) puts his belt on the line against former UFC fighter Curt Warburton (11-3). Ray holds a three-fight winning streak going into the title fight, while Warburton has bounced back nicely after being cut from the UFC, going 4-0 since that time. Following his release, Warburton has made his mark across England with a stop in Poland, looking rejuvenated and winning handily against all of his opponents (2 SUB wins, 2 DEC). The champion is coming off a dominating decision win over Dale Hardiman at BAMMA 11, where he took down Hardiman with ease and worked his ground game in smothering fashion. Stylistically this should be a fun fight, both men are extremely athletic, and it should be interesting seeing Warburton stave off Ray’s takedowns, or choose to engage him in a grappling battle. Ultimately, Warburton has seen much tougher competition, and has more in his toolbox. The opening odds have him the clear favorite to take Ray’s title at -265 to +185. AXS TV will be airing BAMMA 12 at 4pm, so the die-hard MMA fan will likely have some dual screen action as both BAMMA and Cage Warriors take place at the same time.
