Tom Watson
 |
Name | Tom Watson |
| Nickname | Kong | |
| Association | Tristar Gym / Jackson's Submission Fighting | |
| Weight Class | Middleweight (182 lbs) | |
| Height | 6' 0" (183 cm) | |
| Style | Boxing | |
| Birth Date | July 13, 1982 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA | |
| Country | England | |
| Tom Watson Pictures | Official Website |
Tom Watson is a British mixed martial artist who competes as a Middleweight and training at Tristar Gym in Montreal and Jackson's Submission Fighting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Watson is the current BAMMA Middleweight Champion.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 16 - 5 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 8 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 7 Decisions |
| Losses | 0 (T)KOs 2 Submissions 3 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Stanislav Nedkov | TKO (Knee to the Body and Punches) | UFC on FUEL TV 7: Barao vs. McDonald | 2/16/2013 | 2 | 4:42 | Won Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night |
| Loss | Brad Tavares | Decision (Split) | UFC on FUEL TV 5: Struve vs. Miocic | 9/29/2012 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jack Marshman | TKO (Punches) | BAMMA 9: Watson vs. Marshman | 3/24/2012 | 2 | 4:50 | Defended BAMMA Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Murilo Rua | TKO (Head Kick and Punches) | BAMMA 6: Kong vs. Ninja | 5/21/2011 | 3 | 2:06 | Defended BAMMA Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Alex Reid | Decision (Unanimous) | BAMMA: British Association of Mixed Martial Arts 4 | 9/25/2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Defended BAMMA Middleweight Championship |
| Loss | Jesse Taylor | Decision (Unanimous) | MFC 26: Retribution | 9/10/2010 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Matt Horwich | Decision (Unanimous) | BAMMA: British Association of Mixed Martial Arts 3 | 5/15/2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Won first-ever BAMMA Middleweight Championship; Won Fight of the Night Honors |
| Win | Travis Galbraith | KO (Head Kick) | MFC 24: HeatXC | 2/26/2010 | 1 | 1:56 | |
| Win | Denniston Sutherland | Decision (Split) | Ultimate Challenge UK: Dynamite | 10/24/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | John Maguire | TKO (Punches) | BAMMA: British Association of Mixed Martial Arts 1 | 6/27/2009 | 3 | 2:47 | |
| Win | Daniel Cubitt | TKO (Punches) | Ultimate Challenge MMA: Bad Breed | 12/06/2008 | 1 | 1:57 | |
| Win | Lloyd Clarkson | Decision (Unanimous) | AFC: Atlas Fighting Challenge | 8/09/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | John Phillips | Decision (Unanimous) | CR 27: Step Up | 7/12/2008 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Pierre Guillet | KO (Upkick) | CR 25: Bring it On | 3/08/2008 | 1 | 2:05 | |
| Loss | Mark Epstein | Decision (Split) | CR 24: Feel the Pain | 12/01/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ed Smith | Decision (Unanimous) | CR 22: Hard as Hell | 7/14/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Xavier Foupa-Pokam | Submission (Triangle Kimura) | CR 21: Judgement Day | 4/21/2007 | 2 | 2:27 | |
| Win | Dorlan O'Malley | TKO (Punches) | Cage Rage: Contenders 4 | 3/03/2007 | 1 | 2:51 | |
| Loss | Daijiro Matsui | Submission (Armbar) | CR 20: Born 2 Fight | 2/10/2007 | 1 | 0:59 | |
| Win | Tulio Palhares | Decision | ZTFN 2: ZT Fight Night 2 | 6/25/2006 | N/A | N/A | |
| Win | Michael Watson | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | ZTFN 1: ZT Fight Night 1 | 2/19/2006 | 1 | 1:11 | |
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Cage Rage and Early Career
Watson held a 1-0-1 amateur record before going pro in 2006. He won his first two fights and was then given the chance to fight in the UK's top MMA promotion, Cage Rage. His first fight was against Daijiro Matsui in February 2007 at CageRage 20: Born 2 Fight, and he lost via an Armbar in the first round. He returned to the cage a month later and impressively defeated Dorlan O'Malley by slamming him.
After this, he was given another chance against a big-name opponent. He took on Xavier Foupa-Pokam at CageRage 21: Judgement Day in April, 2007, but was submitted again. He fought a further two times that year, and recorded a win and a loss. In 2008, he began to climb the ladder again by beating Pierre Guillet and John Phillips, but Cage Rage went bankrupt and he then went to compete with Ultimate Challenge.
Ultimate Challenge
Watson's first Ultimate Challenge bout came against Daniel Cubitt at Ultimate Challenge UK: Bad Breed in December 2008. He won the fight by knocking his opponent out less than two minutes into the first round. He returned at Ultimate Challenge UK: Dynamite in October 2009 to take on Denniston Sutherland, and defeated him via split decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-28).
BAMMA
On June 27, 2009, Watson fought at the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts' first event, BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership, where he knocked out John Maguire in the second round.
He was then scheduled to fight Celebrity Big Brother winner Alex Reid for the vacant Middleweight Championship at BAMMA 3 in May 2010. However, Reid injured his knee while filming his documentary TV series Alex Reid: The Fight of His Life and was forced to pull out of the fight. This angered Watson, who claimed Reid was disrespecting him. Watson also called him a "clown" and said that it was likely Reid pulled out to avoid an embarrassing defeat. Reid was then replaced by UFC and IFL veteran Matt Horwich. After miraculously freeing himself from a Rear Naked Choke in the first round, Watson went on to dominate the fight and won via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-47, 49-46) to become the first BAMMA Middleweight Champion.
BAMMA have stated that the Reid vs. Watson fight has been rescheduled for BAMMA 4 on September 25, 2010 but Watson has maintained that he didn't not want to waste time training for and fighting such a low-level opponent as Reid.
Maximum Fighting Championship
On January 10, 2010, Watson signed a three fight deal with the Maximum Fighting Championship, a Canadian promotion. His first fight was on February 26, 2010, where he took on Travis Galbraith on MFC 24: Heat XC. In the second minute of the first round, Kong knocked his opponent out with a head kick. This won him knock out of the night and put him at the top of the list for knock out of the year.
His second fight for the Canadian promotion took place on the main card of the MFC 26: Retribution card against Jesse Taylor. Taylor didn't inflict a lot of damage, but kept positional advantage and went after enough submissions to easily pull away from Watson. While his ring entrance electrified the crowd, Watson was unable to unleash his vaunted striking attack under the relentless wear of Taylor's well-executed game plan. All three judges scored the bout 30-26 in Taylor's favour - Watson having been deducted one point in Round One for holding the ropes during takedown attempts.
Watson returned to England to defend his BAMMA Middleweight title September 25, 2010, where he defeated Alex Reid by Decision (Unanimous).
