Londonist was lucky enough to get our hands on a pair of VIP tickets to the latest BAMMA mixed martial arts event, and reader Ryan Hutchinson snapped them up on the Twitter feed. Here's what he thought about the event:
Not really knowing what to expect, we arrived at the Roundhouse in Camden for BAMMA 2 on Saturday night, to be greeted by throngs of enthusiastic MMA fans queuing in solidarity in the rain. Our seats couldn't have been any better, as we were ushered into the VIP area (Thanks Londonist!), ringside smack bang next to the fight cage.
'I'm going to hate this' was the prediction of our fellow attendee - a prediction that almost looked like coming to pass, as she hid her face in her hands towards the end of the first fight. After all, there were fighters belting the crumpet out of each other in the ring just metres away, faces swollen and bloodied.
However, as the second and third fights progressed through the fight card, and the skills of the fighters improved, she became more and more involved, to the point where we caught her screaming out 'Smash him!' at a crucial moment during one of the later bouts.
In the end it was a grand evening's entertainment. Loads of tension built up between the fights, bright 'Hollywood' style lighting and introductions of the fighters, not to mention the fantastic venue which was well-suited to the circular cage in the middle of the arena.
The crowd was a vocal and interesting mix - clearly many of the spectators had travelled with their respective fighter's club to support them during their hour of need - cheering support for the 'local' fighters, and hooting at those daring to be from further afield. The fights increased in skill and complexity towards the end of the card, and the crowd became more and more involved as the night went on.
MMA wasn't something we'd ever seen a lot of before the BAMMA event on Saturday, but the skill of the combatants, their competitive nature and above all, ability to shake hands at the end with their opponents really impressed us. Thumbs up!
BAMMA 2 airs on Bravo this Sunday, 21 February, at 9pm on Bravo. Details of upcoming events can be found on the official website.
Written by Ryan Hutchinson, Photo provided by BAMMA
