BAMMA: "Semtex" x Shirai, "Suave" x McSweeney Today @ 4PM

Saturday, 26 February 2011 11:18

by Dallas Winston

Saturday the 26th of February is a busy day for MMA -- and a monumental one for the UK.

Amidst the roar of UFC 127's pivotal fights for Michael Bisping, Curt Warburton, and Tom Blackledge of the Wolfslair Academy, along with Team Rough House rep Ross Pearson, the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) organization is streaming a solid card today at 4:00 PM EST.

Headlining the event is top-ten killer Paul "Semtex" Daley, one of the most explosive strikers in the sport, facing DEEP welterweight champion Yuya Shirai. The co-main event features another sharp English kickboxer in former TUF competitor James McSweeney, who takes on old school UFC heavyweight champion Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez. Sticking with the theme of high-level strikers, Xavier Foupa-Pokam, a.k.a. "Professor X", is an established Muay Thai technician from France who made two Octagon appearances. He'll meet Lancaster, England's Alex Makhonin, a rising prospect with an 8-1 record.

If you're in the UK, the show is free and live on the SYFY channel at 9PM. Outside of the Queen's country, you can order the stream today at www.BAMMAtv.com for the following prices: $10 for the live feed, $5 for the replay 24 hours later, and $12 for the live stream plus having the replay available for 7 days.

NOTE: I was told the prices would be cut in half if you ordered before today, but the BAMMA website shows 50% off the prices above at the time this article is being written. Take advantage of a great live card with top talent for a measly $5.00! Click HERE to order.

More on the BAMMA event, some unfortunate circumstances at the weigh-ins, and a few promo videos after the jump.

Daley vs. Shirai has been getting even more press because a "Semtex" victory would affirm a battle with Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz; however, both Daley and Rodriguez missed the mark on the scales yesterday, and whether this will affect a future alignment with Diaz is unknown. Our friends over at CagePotato put together a thorough piece on the BAMMA weigh-in debacle.

In his last 8 fights, the only loss Daley has suffered was the highly publicized smothering courtesy of Josh Koscheck, in which "Semtex" lost his temper and threw a punch after the final bell had sounded. It would be his last left-hook in the Octagon, as the outburst resulted in the termination of his UFC contract. Daley rebounded immediately with a vicious 3rd round elbow versus Chute Boxe vet Daniel Acacio, then snuck by the scrappy Jorge Masvidal by decision at Shark Fights 13, and crushed the lion-hearted Scott Smith on Strikeforce's "Henderson vs. Babalu" card to close out 2010.

Originally a five-round championship fight, the Daley x Shirai affair has been downgraded to three round, non-title bout. Daley issued the following statement to AddictedMMA.com on missing weight yesterday:

"I apologise to Shirai and the fans for missing weight. Although the fight is 3 rounds now I only need 1 round to knock him out. The fans come to see me win the title but I promise them, title or not, I'll win this fight and win it in style. Then I'm going after Diaz and I want to send him out the message that I mean business with my performance tomorrow night.”

There is never such a thing as "a boring Paul Daley fight", so tune in today and observe one of the most talented and exciting strikers in the game.