Rees vs Arthur set to open the show at BAMMA 14

Ben Rees vs Ed Arthur added to BAMMA 14 prelims

BAMMA have today announced the fight which will kick off BAMMA 14 and start the preliminary fights at Decembers event. That fight will be a Bantamweight battle between Ben Rees (1-0 MMA) and Ed Arthur (1-0 MMA). BAMMA 14 is headlined by the return of Paul Daley to BAMMA, he is set to battle Romario Manoel Da Silva in the main event at the LG Arena in Birmingham which takes place on 14th December.

19 year old Ben ‘Flubber’ Rees fights out of East Devon with a record of 1-0-0, having won ‘Submission of the Night’ for his professional debut in June. He also has 9 documented fights at Amateur level.  Described by his coach as a “free fighter”, Rees started training in MMA at the age of 15 and trains solely in MMA at Lion’s Den gym, which is renowned for its military membership and approach. Summarised by ex-army coach, Dave Matthews, as “a good, honest, young fighter who is tough as nails but very humble”, Ben Rees will be taking a big step up as he opens the show at BAMMA 14.

Rees said: “I am really honoured to be competing on BAMMA, as it is the top UK promotion and always has exciting match-ups. To be allowed to showcase my skills is like a dream come true. Ed Arthur is a tough worthy opponent he has a great skill-set and I feel this will be my toughest opponent yet. Who knows how the fight will go: Ed is strong, well rounded, older than me….Remind me why I’m taking this fight again? Also my Coach Dave says he’s possibly better looking. Anyway, the fans can expect a great bout from two of the best looking fighters in the division. It will be entertaining and one not to be missed.”

Opponent, 24 year old Ed Arthur presents a professional record of 1-0-0 and remained undefeated through Amateur level. Half of his fights have been finished in the first round. Fighting out of Hemel Martial Arts with Denniston Sutherland and Josh Bangert as training partners, Arthur is said to be strong in all areas of the fight game.

Arthur said: “I will drag my opponent into the deepest darkest waters and he will have nightmares forever after facing me. The opportunity to fight for BAMMA is one I am really looking forward to. The bigger the stage, the better for me.  I can show the world how good Hemel Martial Arts is. I deserve the win because I train harder, push myself further and mentally I am stronger than anyone out there. I know what it is to be a true mixed martial artist, not just a joker with a punch. This is my time to show everyone what I am about.”

For more on the build up to this fight follow both Ben Rees @1rees_Official and Ed Arthur @edarthurmma on twitter.


BAMMA 14 FIGHT CARD (so far)
More fights are still to be announced

Paul Daley VS Romario Manoel Da Silva (Welterweight)
Colin "Freakshow" Fletcher VS Mansour Barnaoui (World Lightweight title fight)
Scott Askham VS Ion Pascu (World Middleweight title fight)
Wayne Murrie VS Michael Johnson (British Welterweight title fight)
Wendle Lewis VS Leon Edwards (Welterweight)
Zi Shah VS Andy Craven (Featherweight)
Tim Wilde VS Jefferson George (Lightweight)
Tim Menzies VS James Samuda (Welterweight)
Matt Hallam VS Curtis Widner (Middleweight)
Ben Rees VS Ed Arthur (Bantamweight)