With UCMMA 28 just around the corner with yet another exciting card, Dave O’Donnell talks to The Fight Lounge about the bouts and the future of the promotion.

May 26^th sees the UK promotion UCMMA return to the Troxy with another action-packed event full of fights that, on paper, look to close to call. The main-event sees the current middleweight champion Jake Bostwick move down to the welterweight division to take on the enigmatic Jamaine Facey.

“Many guys around the world start off at one weight and then move down.” O’Donnell started, “Jake was a heavyweight, light heavyweight and then a middleweight. He is still a small middleweight compared to some of the others, so he is making the move down and going that extra mile.

“Jake is still fairly young so this fight with Facey is a great test and I’m really excited to see what happens. I’m sure it will be a humdinger.”

A title fight takes the co-main status as Nathan Beer gets a chance at regaining the featherweight belt, as he takes on Ashleigh Grimshaw. The title was vacated by Cory Tait when he moved back down, and surprisingly, this fight hasn’t garnered the imagination of fans on forums.

“I have no idea why people haven’t been talking about this one. It could very well be the fight of the night or even the fight of the year.

“Both guys have a fantastic ground game and great stand-up with knockout power. I’m sure people such as Dave Lee, Paul Reed, Robbie Olivier and Dave Hill will be keeping a close eye on this one; fighters who could be next in line.”

If that wasn’t enough, the aforementioned Cory Tait returns to action after his knockout loss to Spencer Hewitt, to take on Huseyin Garabet in a bantamweight battle.

“I love this fight.” O’Donnell continued, “Tait never says no to a fight and, even though he has been an underdog in previous fights, he may come in as the slight favourite here in some people’s eyes. If Huseyin pulls this off, he will have a massive feather in his cap and will walk around like a big chief Indian.

“I think the winner of this fight will definitely be trying out for The Ultimate Fighter trials in June.”

The Fight Lounge has heard many rumours recently that UCMMA are about to pull off a few big deals with some amazing MMA talent from America. O’Donnell didn’t want to go into too much detail.

“I’m not here to make up the numbers and rumours may have been going around. I can say that we are in the process of getting some big American stars over for the August card. I can’t say much more until certain papers have been signed, but rest assured that the readers of The Fight Lounge will hear about it before anybody else.”

If UCMMA wasn’t enough hard work, O’Donnell and crew also have the White Collar events to promote. To improve the overall standard, they have also booked professional female referee and fighter Danielle West to officiate WCMMA 5.

“We are very happy to announce that Danielle West will be officiating WCMMA 5. She has been an excellent fighter for many years and will bring that experience to the table for us. As an equal opportunities company, we can’t be any happier to have her on board.”

UCMMA 28 takes place at the Troxy in London on May 26^th. Get your tickets now!

By Mike Clarke (@fightlounge)