England, here we come again (Bamma 7: Trigg vs Wallhead)

Next week, I’m heading back to the UK again. It’s Frank Trigg‘s 2nd fight with BAMMA, this time against a tough opponent in Jim Wallhead, who has fought both Cage Warrior and Bellator. Trigg was originally supposed to have fought Tom “Kong” Watson, who I watched ringside giving a Kickboxing 101 lesson to Murilo “Ninja” Rua in his last title defense at BAMMA 6. Tom sent Ninja into retirement and it was difficult for me to watch; Ninja is a great guy, who I’ve had the pleasure to spend time with before (Sweden being one of them, oddly enough). In addition, he’s from the Chute Boxe Academy with Mestre Rafael Cordeiro, who is one of my coaches also. However, Tom is unfortunately injured (I hope he gets well soon), so Wallhead has stepped up to the challenge.

I’m looking forward to being on the road with the boys again (Trigg, Spira, Tim “insane” Lane). You are going to be able to follow some of the stuff going on both on MMANytt (Scandinavia) and StudioMMA (USA). I’m particularly looking forward to going to Birmingham. Not because of it’s beauty (B’ham is horrible for anyone who doesn’t know – the equivalent of Detroit in the U.S.!)   but because I spent 3 years growing up there. And boy did I grow up; moving from sheltered Sweden to Birmingham had a great impact on who I am today. It’s also where I started my Martial Arts Journey. Thus, it’s somewhat nostalgic to go back after some 15 years.

I’m also excited to watch Strikeforce/UFC Paul “Semtex” Daley on the card and some of the other top British prospects. British Fighters are tough MoFos, always bringing it hard. So, come watch some great fights at the NIA Arena in Birmingham!

Ps. If anyone from Birmingham reads this and you know how to get in contact with Kurt Irvine, who played for the Solihull/Coventry Blaze in ice hockey, please let me/him know. We played together and hung out back then – would love to get back in touch with him.