Tom Watson (born 13 July 1982) is an English

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

currently competing in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of

Cage Warriors Cage Warriors (CW) is an Irish-owned mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in London, England. The promotion was established in 2001 and staged its first MMA event in London in July, 2002. Many MMA stars have made their names under ...

. A professional competitor since 2006, he is the former BAMMA Middleweight Champion, the former UCMMA Middleweight Champion, and has also competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Cage Rage Cage Rage Championships, also known as Cage Rage, was a United Kingdom-based, mixed martial arts promotion that premiered on 7 September 2002 in London. Cage Rage went into liquidation and is now no longer trading. Cage Rage had been owned and ma ...

and the MFC.

Background

Watson began training when he was 16 years old and has an extensive

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

background, winning two awards, Amateur Boxing Standout 2006, a three-time ABA Southern Counties Champion, and Full Contact Unlicensed Boxing Champion. Watson's nickname comes from his famous ring walks, featuring Watson wearing a gorilla mask. Watson has also competed in

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

at the Snake Pit World Championships.

Mixed martial arts career

Cage Rage and early career

Watson held a 1-0-1 amateur record before turning professional in 2006. He won his first two fights and was then given the chance to fight in the UK's top MMA promotion,

. His first fight was against

Daijiro Matsui is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor since 1998, he has competed for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pancrase, and King of the Cage. As a professional wrestler, Matsui ...

in February 2007 at Cage Rage 20, and he lost via an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

in the first round. He returned to the cage a month later and impressively defeated Dorlan O'Malley via KO after a slam. After this, he was given another chance against a higher profile opponent. He took on UFC veteran 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 into liquidation and he then went to

Ultimate Challenge MMA Ultimate Challenge MMA (also referred to as UCMMA) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It is shown live on London Live in the UK, Fight Now TV in the US and on Viewster in several other countries. History The collapse ...

Ultimate Challenge MMA

Watson's first Ultimate Challenge MMA 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 to win the inaugural Ultimate Challenge UK title. He returned to ''Ultimate Challenge UK: Dynamite'' in October 2009 to take on Denniston Sutherland, and defeated him via split decision.

Maximum Fighting Championship

On 10 January 2010, Watson signed a three-fight deal with the

Maximum Fighting Championship Maximum Fighting Championship was a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC events were broadcast on The Fight Network, AXS TV (formerly HDnet) in North America and most recently TSN2. FC’s former home, in C ...

, a Canadian promotion. His first fight was on 26 February 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 vicious right head kick. This won him knockout of the night and put him at the top of the list for knockout of the year. His second fight for the Canadian promotion took place on the main card of MFC 26 card against

Jesse Taylor Jesse Taylor (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter who last competed in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor from 2006 to 2023, he wa ...

. Watson lost via unanimous decision (30-26, 30–26, 30-26) after being deducted a point for repeatedly grabbing the ropes.

BAMMA

On 27 June 2009, Watson fought at the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts' first event, '' BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership. A''fter a hard-fought battle, Watson defeated John Maguire via TKO at 2:47 in round 3. It was confirmed that Maguire had broken his arm during the fight after a takedown. He was then scheduled to fight

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

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 Matthew Peter Horwich (born October 2, 1978) was an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Horwich has fought in BAMMA, Strikeforce, Bellator, the UFC, and for ...

. After miraculously freeing himself from a rear-naked choke in the first round, Watson went on to dominate the fight with his superior striking and won via unanimous decision (48-47, 49–47, 49-46) to become the first BAMMA Middleweight Champion. Initially, Watson maintained that he did not want to waste any more time training for and fighting such a low-level opponent as Reid but the Reid vs. Watson fight was rescheduled for ''

BAMMA 4 This is a listing of event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts. BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership ''BAMMA 1'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on 27 June 2009 at the Roo ...

'' on 25 September 2010. Watson won by unanimous decision, as the judges scored the fight 49-46 49-46 49–47. On 21 May 2011, he faced former EliteXC Middleweight Champion

Murilo Rua Murilo Milani Rua (; born May 22, 1980), also known as Ninja, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He is the older brother of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio Rua. He was the inaugural EliteXC Middleweight Champion and a ...

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena () (originally the Empire Pool, currently known as OVO Energy, OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, Greater London, England. The 12,500-seat facility is Greater Lond ...

in London, England, defeating the PRIDE FC veteran by KO due to head kick followed up by punches in the third round, and defending his BAMMA Middleweight Title in the process. Watson was set to fight former UFC

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

contender and current BAMMA Middleweight,

Frank Trigg Frank Trigg (born May 7, 1972) is an American retired mixed martial artist, color commentator, pro wrestler, MMA referee and TV host. Trigg is a veteran of the UFC, Pride Fighting Championships, BAMMA, World Fighting Alliance, and has made prof ...

, for Kong's BAMMA Middleweight Championship. However, Tom suffered a back injury and was replaced by

Jim Wallhead Jim Wallhead (born 14 March 1984) is an English former professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator MMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and ...

. Watson defended his title at BAMMA 9 against BAMMA British Middleweight Champion Jack Marshman, winning via TKO in the second round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After successfully defending his BAMMA Middleweight Championship title three times, Watson signed a contract with the UFC in July 2012. In his debut, Watson fought

Brad Tavares Bradley Kaipo Sarbida Tavares (born December 21, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2007, Tavares fought in regional p ...

on 29 September 2012 at

UFC on Fuel TV 5 ''UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic'' (also known as ''UFC on Fuel TV 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 29, 2012, at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, United Kingdom. Background Jörgen K ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Watson next faced undefeated

Stanislav Nedkov Stanislav Nedkov (, born December 9, 1981) is a Bulgarian professional mixed martial artist, political scientist and philosopher. A professional since 2006, he has formerly competed for the UFC, World Victory Road, and Pancrase. Background Nedk ...

on 16 February 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald. He won the back-and-forth fight via TKO in the second round. Both participants earned ''Fight of the Night'' honors for their performance, while Watson also earned a ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus. For his third fight with the promotion, Watson faced

Thales Leites Thales Leites Lourenço (; born 6 September 1981) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist best known for competing in the Middleweight (MMA), middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial art ...

on 3 August 2013 at

UFC 163 ''UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 3, 2013, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The main event was expected to feature current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo taking on fut ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Watson was expected to face

Alessio Sakara Alessio Sakara (born September 2, 1981) is an Italian professional mixed martial artist, former professional boxer and Sanshou kickboxer, currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2002, Sakara has als ...

on 26 October 2013 at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz. However, he was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by

Magnus Cedenblad Magnus Cedenblad (born April 10, 1982) is a retired Swedish mixed martial artist who competed in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, among others. Mixed martial arts career Early career Cedenblad has said that he ...

. Watson fought

Nick Catone Nicholas Catone (born September 1, 1981) is a retired American mixed martial artist. Catone competed from 2009 to 2015 in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Wrestling Catone began wrestling ...

on 1 February 2014 at

UFC 169 ''UFC 169: Barão vs. Faber 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 1, 2014, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The event was released on DVD on May 6, 2014. The DVD was distributed by the label ''Anchor Bay Entertainment ...

. He lost the fight via split decision. Watson faced promotional newcomer

Sam Alvey Sam Alvey (born May 6, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the current Karate Combat Heavyweight Champion. A professional MMA competi ...

on 16 August 2014 at UFC Fight Night 47. He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. Watson faced

Rafael Natal Rafael Natal Diniz Franca () is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 2005 until 2017, he is best known for his 17-fight stint competing for the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Background Natal started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ...

on 31 January 2015 at

UFC 183 ''UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 31, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silv ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Watson faced

Chris Camozzi Christopher Allen Camozzi (born November 20, 1986) is an American professional Glory (kickboxing), Glory kickboxer, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. He currently competes for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ...

on 8 August 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 73 ''UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 73'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 8, 2015, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Background The event was headlined by a light ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Return to BAMMA

On 25 July 2018 it was announced that after a three-year hiatus from fighting, Watson had signed a multi-fight contract with BAMMA. Due to complete lack of events in BAMMA, Watson was announced to have signed with Cage Warriors and will be moving down to welterweight division. Watson was expected to face Aaron Khalid at Cage Warriors 104, but on the fight day he was not medically cleared and was forced off the card.

Championships and accomplishments

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

**BAMMA World Middleweight Championship (One time) ***Three successful title defenses **Fight of the Night (Five times) **Knockout of the Night (Three times) *

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Knockout of the Night (One time) *

**Knockout of the Night (One time) **Knockout of the Year 2010 *

**UCMMA World Middleweight Championship (One time) ***One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 17–9 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. St. Preux , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

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Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 ,

, TKO (knees and punches) , UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:42 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–5 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 ,

Jack Marshman Jack Marshman (born 19 December 1989) is a retired Welsh professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2010, he has competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), BAMMA and Cage ...

, TKO (punches and elbows) , BAMMA 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:50 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 ,

, KO (head kick and punches) , BAMMA 6: Watson vs. Rua , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:06 ,

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, , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Decision (unanimous) , MFC 26 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , BAMMA 3 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Travis Galbraith , KO (head kick) ,

MFC 24 ''MFC 24: HeatXC'' was a mixed martial arts event to be held by the Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) on February 26, 2010, at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta. The main event featured Yves Edwards taking on Derrick Noble in a ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:56 ,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

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, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , John Maguire , TKO (punches) , BAMMA 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:47 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Daniel Cubitt , TKO (punches) , UCMMA 1: Bad Breed , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Lloyd Clarkson , Decision (unanimous) , Atlas Fighting Challenge , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , John Phillips , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Rage 27 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 5–3 , Pierre Guillet , KO (upkick) ,

Cage Rage 25 A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayi ...

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, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–3 , Mark Epstein , Decision (split) , Cage Rage 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Ed Smith , Decision (unanimous) ,

Cage Rage 22 A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayi ...

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, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–2 , Xavier Foupa-Pokam , Submission (triangle kimura) , Cage Rage 21 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:27 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Dorlan O'Malley , KO (slam and punches) , Cage Rage Contenders 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) , Cage Rage 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:59 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tulio Palhares , Decision , ZT Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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References

External links

* *
Top 5 Tom Watson Knockouts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Tom 1982 births Living people English male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Middleweight mixed martial artists English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Southampton Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century English sportsmen British catch wrestlers Mixed martial artists utilizing catch wrestling

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Cage Rage and early career

Ultimate Challenge MMA

Maximum Fighting Championship

BAMMA

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Return to BAMMA

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links