On July 27, 2024, an important occasion within the historical past of British combined martial arts will happen, with traditional British irony, contemplating a lot of the inhabitants is not going to be awake to witness it. Nocturnal actions are, in fact, hardly a novelty for the British fanbase, with the typical UFC expertise reaching its climax because the solar begins to rise.
Fortunately this innocuous scheduling mix-up solely quantities to a small however bitter capsule, inside what’s in any other case a feast of MMA motion, containing the best assortment of expertise, {that a} British occasion has ever seen. This can be a level that may be rapidly hammered residence by evaluating UFC 304 with its centenary predecessor UFC 204, a card which likewise passed off in Manchester and on the time represented the best quantity of UFC gold on UK soil.
The Card
The primary card of 204 contained solely 2 British fighters, the recently- anointed champion Michael Bisping and promising gentle heavyweight Jimi Manuwa, ranked No. 14 going into his bout with No. 11 contender Ovince Saint Preux. Not precisely the makings of a business blockbuster of a PPV, with the rest of the primary card involving a gifted however uninspiring set of Europeans, one other irony contemplating the heights of Euroscepticism in 2016.
Evaluate this to UFC 304, and it turns into crystal clear precisely how far British MMA has risen in that point (each athletically and commercially). Previous to a last-minute swap round, there was a British fighter in every primary card slot, with all however one (Paddy Pimblett) ranked inside the highest 6 of their respective divisions. Extra importantly, and unprecedentedly, the cardboard is headlined by two British champions, each of whom shall be fast to remind you that they gained their belts out of UK gyms, making the welterweight and heavyweight belts, bona-fide British exports.
To know such patriotic fervour, sure questions have to be answered, particularly. What’s the state of British MMA? The place are the home expertise factories? And who has carried the flag for Britain?
Promotions Galore
The primary main occasion to be held in the UK passed off on the Royal Albert Corridor on July 13, 2002. It noticed on the time unchallenged welterweight nice Matt Hughes emphatically defend his title towards Carlos Newton on an evening of devastating primary card finishes. This preliminary expedition throughout the pond proved to be a firing gun signalling a frantic dash to ascertain a UK-based competitor to the UFC, within the wake of the profitable displaying on the Albert Corridor.
In fact, for saner heads this was actually a marathon, with the Cage Warriors promotion in the end successful that contest as each a feeder league for the UFC and real innovator inside the MMA world. Different much less lucky (or foolhardier) promotions included Cage Rage, a counterculture, spectacle-orientated promotion which ran from 2002 to 2008, and its woefully mismanaged successor, BAMMA (British Affiliation of Blended Martial Arts).
These latter promotions definitely had main upsides, each have been dedicated to bringing by way of the following era of UK expertise (Leon Edwards, Paul Daley, Jimi Manuwa, Brendan Loughnane, Tom Aspinall), in addition to attracting worldwide stars equivalent to Anderson Silva and Frank Trigg, to bolster their fledgling status.
Regardless of initially being rewarded with a profitable Sky Sports activities contract, retro presentation and expletive post-fight interviews noticed Cage Rage relegated to the short-lived “Nuts Journal TV”, to dwell out the remainder of its days on the outward tide of early 2000’s lad tradition. Its successor proved equally unfit to problem the UFC, as though it absorbed a lot of the Cage Rage roster, it’s deflated viewership and overpromising to sponsors ensured that it bounced round networks, by no means in a position to actually construct a constant fanbase because of its erratic launch schedule and negligible advertising, a technique which has come again to chew one other promotion involving Scott Coker lately.
A Brilliant Spark
The Cage Warriors promotion was based in 2001 by MMA fanatic Dougie Truman, earlier than holding its first main card on July 27, 2002 within the wake of that fateful night time on the Albert Corridor. Till the flip of the last decade, it limped alongside beneath the burden of its extra high-profile UK opponents and by the point of its 2010 acquisition by Graham Boylan, its belongings stood at “three cardboard packing containers, and matchmaker Ian Dean”.
Boylan’s skill to leverage his enterprise acumen and substantive contacts right into a constant launch schedule noticed the promotion fly over the following few years, as the corporate expanded its affect into Europe and nurtured the largest star that this sport has ever seen in Conor McGregor.
But beneath the floor all was not nicely, with structural points and a finances deficit consuming into promotional income, leading to Cage Warriors closing its doorways for everything of 2015, after Boylan’s dramatic exit as CEO on the finish of 2014.
Thankfully, this determination was short-lived, with Boylan staging a comeback in 2016 propped up by streaming offers with UFC Battle Move and BT Sport. The continuation of such common broadcasting undoubtedly saved Cage Warriors, giving it the platform that all the time evaded BAMMA and Cage Rage, and beneath the refreshed administration, it has since gone on to higher heights, just lately increasing their bonuses system and establishing a global “MMA Battle Academy” within the seek for the following Conor McGregor.
However to understand the leap between UFC 204 and 304, is to understand a scattering of fight sports activities gyms, out of which got here a era of fighters which have taken the game by storm.
MMA Factories
Based in 2013, Renegade health club is on the slicing fringe of European MMA. Its decentralised method to coaching has yielded sturdy outcomes and is likely accountable for the fusion of environment friendly placing and defensive grappling, that has propelled Leon Edwards to the highest of the welterweight division. Sources near the health club converse to the camaraderie of its day-to-day rhythms, with it being public data that they function a zero-tolerance method to disruption, both from hobbyists or promotional superstars.
Such a transparent image of excellence speaks to the improbable work being accomplished at Renegade, regardless of a precarious monetary state of affairs that resulted within the lack of its headquarters at first of the pandemic. But a stable secure of professionals (Arnold Allen, Fabian Edwards, Jai Herbert and Tom Breese) and an enthusiastic native base has seen the health club bounce again in a serious approach, culminating within the best head kick KO in historical past and UFC gold in 2022.
Sadly, such honours proceed to elude the Merseyside- primarily based “Subsequent Technology” academy, one other main expertise manufacturing facility and residential of the notorious Paddy Pimblett-Molly McCann double act. Like Renegade, “Subsequent Gen” has set down deep roots inside its neighborhood, with a variety of lessons focused at Liverpool’s youth and an infectious “geeky environment” that extends from first timers to its skilled roster.
Happening sheer identify worth, Renegade definitely has the sting, as on the time of writing, subsequent gen has solely produced 3 UFC fighters. But a correct examination tells a special story, with the Merseyside health club trying to double its UFC exports because of rising stars like Liam Gittins (Cage Warriors champion), Luke Riley (signed to the Contender Collection) and Shem Rock (touted for an Oktagon primary occasion slot).
The Protagonists
For a very long time, Michael Bisping was the one British fighter that might actually be known as a star. His loudmouth trash speaking, and dogmatic strain boxing wouldn’t win over the worldwide fanbase till his gorgeous win over Luke Rockhold, but when not for “The Rely”, the UFC would have had little motive to ever enterprise to the UK, as he was for thus lengthy the appropriate face of a small however promising market.
Different seminal pioneers embrace the long-underrated Brad Pickett, an explosive inside fighter with notable wins over Demetrious Johnson and Francisco Rivera, and Rosi Sexton, who led the way in which in popularising ladies’s MMA in Nice Britain and deserves to be talked about amongst the worldwide pioneers of the ladies’s recreation.
Golden Age
When Leon Edwards steps into the cage for UFC 304, it will likely be the fruits of a revolution. It spans two turbulent a long time and has been fuelled by numerous fighters, coaches, followers and promoters, all of whom deserve credit score as we step into a brand new age of British MMA.
