UFC 167 Pro Picks: Twitter Weighs In

UFC 167 Pro Picks: Twitter Weighs In
by Chris Houten - @mrhouts

Everyone from fans to fighter are buzzing for tonight's 20 year anniversary UFC show - UFC 167, and there seems to be a mixed bag of predictions coming out from MMA's elite - GSP or Hendricks, Sonnen or Evans - who you got?

The pros take to twitter and weigh in:

Really looking forward to the fights today.Im going with gsp, sonnen, lawler, koscheck, cerrone. Who you got?
— dean amasinger (@deanamasinger) November 16, 2013

Got my coffee on the ready for tonight. Staying up to watch UFC 167! My picks - GSP, Sonnen, McDonald, Koscheck and Cerrone.
— Brendan Loughnane (@Brendan264) November 16, 2013

My #UFC167 picks: Hendricks (but don't count GSP out), Sonnen, Lawler(I hope), Woodley, Elliott, Cerrone, Leites, Ebersole, Perez.
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) November 16, 2013

Going to try pull an all nighter to watch the fights!! Who u got winning? My picks Kos,McDonald,Sugar,GSP
— Ross Pearson (@RossTheRealDeal) November 16, 2013

@DanHazlehurst GSP, lawyer , rashad
— curt warburton (@curtwarburton) November 16, 2013

Gsp has gota stay away from JH and try control him for 25mins, JH has 25mind to land one punch, I'm goin Hendricks
— Brett Bassett (@Brettbass_MMA) November 16, 2013

@fraz1001 chael and gsp
— Robert Whiteford (@Flyinjudoka) November 16, 2013

@JamesH3aton I think GSP mate
— Davey Grant (@DaveyGrantMMA) November 16, 2013

@CarolinePearce @GeorgesStPierre @JohnyHendricks @ufc @btsport @btsportufc I can't see Gsp getting beat but Hendricks is his biggest threat
— STORMIN NORMAN PARKE (@norman_parke) November 16, 2013

@Mmanarchy GSP, Lawler, Woodley, Evans are my picks mate, not necessarily who I want to win but who I think will.
— Jack Mason (@JackStoneMason) November 16, 2013

@RichieKinsella Big Rig Hendricks - sonnen - and Robbie Lawler :-D why not ha
— Paul Redmond (@RedserMma) November 16, 2013

Think Gsp tonight, (peds will b the diff) wants sonnen but going Evans, McDonald and kos
— rob sinclair (@robc4sinclair) November 16, 2013

“@Garyhop: @bisping who's going to win Hendricks or GSP? #votebisping”Hendricks
— michael (@bisping) November 16, 2013

"@CaptainPlanck: @KelvinGastelum who do you have for this fight? I'm guessing you have sonnen but for the GSP fight"GSP
— Kelvin Gastelum (@KelvinGastelum) November 16, 2013

@TheMMaRanter GSP ,Evans,MacDonald,Woodley,Elliott.

— Mauro Ranallo (@mauroranallo) November 16, 2013

Rob Sinclair Out Of Lightweight Tournament, Ricardo Tirloni Now Set To Face Rich Clementi

Rob Sinclair Out Of Lightweight Tournament with Knee Injury 

A knee injury has forced England’s Rob Sinclair out of the Bellator Season 9 Lightweight Tournament, which takes place September 27th from Portland’s Moda Center on September 27th live on Spike. Sinclair will now be replaced by Bellator veteran Ricardo Tirloni. The Brazilian submission ace was originally scheduled to face Marcin Held in a lightweight feature fight, but will now move into the tournament, while Held will take on Portland native Ryan Healy.

Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting Bellator.com, as well as the Moda Center Box Office. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 6 p.m. PST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 4 p.m. PST.

The full fight card can be found below:

MAIN CARD:

Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal: Mark Godbeer (8-1) vs. Cheick Kongo (18-8-2)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Tiger Sarnavskiy (23-1)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: John Alessio (34-16) vs. Will Brooks (10-1)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Martin Stapleton (12-1) vs. Saad Awad (14-5)
Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Ricardo Tirloni (15-4) vs. Rich Clementi (45-22-1)

PRELIMINARY CARD:

Lightweight Feature Fight: Scott Thometz (6-2) vs. Brent Primus (2-0)
Welterweight Feature Fight: Andy Uhrich (9-3) vs. Nathan Coy (12-4)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Joe Pacheco (6-0) vs. Tyson Jeffries (10-7)
Lightweight Feature Fight: Marcin Held (15-3) vs. Ryan Healy (23-12-1)
Middleweight Feature Fight: Jeremiah Riggs (7-7) vs. Peter Aspinwall (3-3)
Bantamweight Feature Fight: Austin Springer (3-0) vs. Brent Alvarez (1-1)

Brits Rob Silnclair & Martin Stapleton Included in Belllator Season 9 Tournament

Brits Rob Silnclair & Martin Stapleton Included in Belllator Season 9 Tournament

The Toughest Tournament In Sports continues as Portland’s Rose Garden Arena plays hosts to Bellator MMA on Friday, September 27^th. The night will showcase the opening round of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament, as well as stacked preliminary card.

No stranger to the MMA game, Marcus Davis will use his veteran talent as he faces Russian submission artist Tiger Sarnavskiy. Davis is well aware of the opportunity at stake for his future, but will have to hold off Sarnavskiy, who holds an impressive 24-1 professional record.

After spending only 74 seconds in the cage with two first round knockouts last season, but falling to David Rickels in the Season 8 Tournament Final, Saad Awad is ready for redemption. Awad will face UK striker Martin Stapleton, who enters the fight riding an eight fight win streak and brings an impressive 12-1 record to the cage.   

“Bellator always brings top tier athletes from around the world and I'm excited that I get to be a part of this upcoming tournament again,” Awad said. “I’ve added a few things to my arsenal and I can't wait to showcase them and put on a great show.”

Fan favorite Will Brooks will also return to the big stage and battle MMA veteran John Alessio. After suffering just the first loss of his professional career in the Season 8 Lightweight Tournament Semifinal to Saad Awad, Brooks is ready to get back under the bright lights.

“I just want to get back in the winner circle,” Brooks said. “I have some unfinished business from last season and I am going to keep it simple, to the point and devastating for every fight. I need and want the belt and I am going to take it from whoever has it, but I am hoping it will be Michael Chandler.”

Making his Bellator debut, England’s own Rob Sinclair will battle long time veteran Rich Clementi on September 27th. With 27 submission wins in his professional career, Clementi will look to his experience in the cage to take down Sinclair, and put it all on the line for a last tournament run.  

“I am so excited to have the chance to compete again,” Clementi said. “For those who have been following me, I made an official retirement a few months ago and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. The last few years of competing, I’ve been running on four flat tires, but after being under treatment for the last three months and my body is responding well. Fighting is who I am and the thought of not being able to do that was devastating. I am so excited to get back in the cage and show people what I am made of.”

Bellator MMA Main Card:

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Tiger Sarnavskiy (23-1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Will Brooks (10-1) vs. John Alessio (34-16)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Saad Awad (14-5) vs. Martin Stapelton (12-1)

Bellator Lightweight Tournament Opening Round: Rob Sinclair (12-2) vs. Rich Clementi (45-22-1)

Kingdom MMA speak to Rob Sinclair about his UK MMA Expo seminar

Rob Sinclair discusses his seminar at the UK MMA Expo to Kingdom MMA

by Ben Heather @benheather

The UK MMA Expo is now only a week away. The Expo which is taking place in Manchester will happen the weekend of July 20th -21st. As part of the expo not only will you be able to meet some of the best UK MMA fighters but you can also train with some of them too. For all the details on the expo go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

Over the next few days we will be bringing you some interviews with these fighters. The fighters will be discussing what they will be doing in each of the seminars and also how they believe the UK MMA Expo can help to promote the sport of MMA in the UK. We all love MMA and know how great a sport it is and hopefully the UK MMA Expo will go a long to to educating more people in the UK. Guys who come along as a casual fan or with a friend who loves MMA and go away wanting to know more about it, watch a live event or even decide that they would like to take it up as a hobby.

The first in the series of interviews is with Rob Sinclair, the former BAMMA Lightweight world champion who has recently signed for Bellator. I caught up with Rob this week to discuss his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Rob will be hosting a training seminar called "Striking Against Submissions" which takes place on the 20th July at 11am. That seminar is a one hour seminar led by Rob and I recently asked him what will be involved in the seminar.

"The seminar is basically going to cover strikes to beat a BJJ practitioner, safely and effectively. Including working on your posture and using your legs and hips."

 I also discussed with him who the seminar was aimed at, can anybody turn up and take part or do the people buying tickets to take part need some experience in MMA?

"No anyone can take part it is aimed at anybody. Anybody who does MMA and feels uncomfortable at throwing strikes from guard/ half guard or side control will hopefully be able to take a lot away from this seminar."

Finally we spoke about what holding the seminar at the UK MMA Expo means to Rob and how in his opinion the UK MMA Expo is helping the sport of MMA in the UK.

"It was definitely a pleasure being asked to run a seminar at the UK MMA Expo. I think it's a great thing for UK MMA as there's opportunities to meet lots of people, learn new stuff in the seminars and talks, meet new sponsors and compete in the tournaments at the expo. It's going to be a great weekend." 

So there you have it, that's Rob Sinclair giving his opinion of the UK MMA Expo and if you would like to take part the details for his seminar are below.

Rob Sinclair's Striking Against Submissions Seminar
Date - 20th July 11:00AM
Ticket Cost
Seminar Only Entry £20
Seminar + Saturday Expo Entry £25
Seminar + Weekend Expo Entry £30

PLEASE NOTE: Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Pro Picks: UK MMA Cream of the Crop Weigh In on Pendred vs Mills

Pro Picks: UK MMA Finest Weigh In on Pendred vs Mills
By Chris Houten - @kingdomMMAChris 

On Saturday night Cathal Pendred will attempt to defend his Welterweight belt against Che Mills at The Helix, Dublin Ireland in possibly the biggest fight on the European MMA scene this year.

For weeks I have been debating who's going to win the fight, when I convince myself the striking of Mills will prevail, I can't help but remind myself of Pendreds wrestling skills. Over and over, I have decided then changed my mind again, to the point where you could confuse me for the summer weather in Britain.

So I decided to catch up with some of finest fighters in Britain, from Bamma Champions, to a Cage Warriors Champion, to a couple guys in the UFC and more, to see who they think will win on Saturday.

We surveyed 18 of the finest UK fighters..... and our surveys said:

Paul 'Semtex' Daley:
"I thinks it's a very interesting fight between to great UK fighters, both very powerful and athletic. In my opinion Pendred will win this fight with takedowns, dominance in the clinch and ground control."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

John Maguire:
"I Think Che Mills by TKO in the later rounds!"

Pick: Che Mills

Bradley Scott

"I don't think Pendred will be able to get Che down, he's a nightmare. Che will stay by the fence on purpose because he's strong defending takedowns. Pendred's no where near as Good a Riddle at wrestling. Che defo gonna win this."

Pick: Che Mills

Colin 'Freakshow' Fletcher:
"I'm going with Che! It's hard to adjust to the way the UFC do things I do think we saw the best of him in the UFC."

Pick: Che Mills

Jim Alers:
"I have my money in Pendred. I feel that he has what it take to beat anyone in the 170lbs division and have him grinding out a decision."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Rob Sinclair:
"I'm going with Che Mills."

Pick Che Mills

James Brum:
"I will definitely be tuning in to watch this fight. Both Pendred and Mills are very talented and dangerous fighters. I'm a big fan of Pendred so my money is on him. I believe he will be victorious and the Champion will retain his title."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Leeroy Barnes:
"I'm going with Mills."

Pick: Che Mills

Danny Roberts:
"The fight between Mills and Pendred will be a good fight. Mills good stand up and accurate striking where as Pendred  possesses the better grappling, he's more intense and will smother Mills work. Think Mills will start of strong but I can see Pendred capitalising with the pace and grappling taking it to a decision win for Pendred."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Matt Inman
"Pendred all the way for me."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Jack Mason:
"I am a big fan of Che Mills but I honestly think Cathal will just use his constant pressure, takedowns and pushing Che up against the cage to get the decision win and retain his belt."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Martin McDonough:
"My prediction is a decision win for Pendred. Even though I like Mills an he is a good fighter, I have been on the same Card as Pendred twice an he is really good at shutting people's game down and getting the win. I think he is a bit of a cardio machine as well and he is a unit for a welterweight."

Pick: Cathal Pendred 

Jason Cooledge:
"Pendred win decision."

Pick: Cathal Pendred

Matt Ewin:
"I can see Pendred trying to close the distance ASAP and try to bully Che up against the cage and work for the takedown from there, he won't be able to shoot in on Che with Che's reach and great foot work. But saying that Che's far to strong for Pendred and with his excellent striking the only way I can see the fight going is Che stopping Pendred in the first or very early in The second."

Pick: Che Mills

Mike Neun:
"I think Che Mills will win. My gut tells me TKO."

Pick: Che Mills

Jim Wallhead
"I have never watched Pendred fight but I hear good things, but I gotta back Che he is my mate I'm excited to see how it goes."

Pick: Mills

Curt Warburton:
"Pendred on points."

Pick: Pendred

Andrew Punshon:
"Mills to win by decision."

Pick: Che Mills

So there you have you have it 18 asked - 9 picked Pendred, 9 picked Mills... and I'm still none the wiser. All I know is we the fans can expect a hell of a fight on Saturday.
 

Rob Sinclair on new Bellator deal "I know what I'm signing into and I was happy to sign"

Kingdom MMA interview Bellator's new signing Rob Sinclair

by Chris Houten @KingdomMMAChris

Kingdom MMA today had chance to catch up to Bellator's new recruit and former BAMMA champion Rob Sinclair. News broke last week that Rob had been released early from his BAMMA contract to pursue his career and now we had the chance to ask him a few questions. Also at the end of the interview you will find details of how you can meet Rob Sinclair and take part in his seminar at the UK MMA Expo.

Chris: Firstly Rob, congratulations on signing for Bellator, how did that move come about?
Sinclair: Cheers, Well I have been talking with Bellator for a while but I had a contract with BAMMA. When I spoke to Zach Light at Bellator he sold it to me, made me feel welcome and it was pretty much a no brainer after our chat.

Chris: The press release from Bellator says you have signed a "long term deal" are you able to tell us how many fights you have on your Bellator contract?
Sinclair: I think it's 6 fights.

Chris: Feels like overnight Bellator have an impressive stable of Brits to call on. I know previously Bjorn has mentioned he would like to get Bellator on UK TV, has anything been mentioned to you about bringing the product to these shores?
Sinclair: No that's the first I have heard, it would be awesome though.

Chris: When do you think you will make you Bellator debut?
Sinclair: I've heard it's September, I'm still waiting for a date and an opponent.

Chris: Do you expect to be part of one of Bellator's tournament series' from the off, or do you think you will have a couple of fights first?
Sinclair: No I'm straight in the tourney, I wanted a warm up fight because of my injury but I won't be ready until the tourney in September.

Chris: What was the reaction from BAMMA when you said you where leaving for Bellator?
Sinclair: BAMMA were amazing. They have been awesome with me, very supportive and they've given me a great stepping stone to carry on to international shores. I'll never be able to say enough good things about them, after all they even released me from my contract early.

Chris: Are you still the BAMMA champion or have you had to relinquish that belt?  As the tweet from the official BAMMA twitter account said “Hopefully, he will return and defend his BAMMA title again in the future.”
Sinclair: To be honest I'm not sure, I think it will be relinquished. It will give another young fighter the opportunity I had from being with BAMMA.

Chris: Does the contract with Bellator allow you to fight for other promotions similar to what Paul Daley has done? Or will we only see you fighting for Bellator now?
Sinclair: I don't think they will let the new Bellator champion fight elsewhere ;)

Chris: Its well known on the scene you have maintained a full time job with British Gas all through your reign as BAMMA champion, do you plan to continue working full time, now you have joined one of the majors, or does your deal give your the freedom to back away and concentrate more on fight?
Sinclair: Well I have been working full time throughout my time as the British champion and World champion, but now I've stepped up to another level. Maybe it's time to stop letting it being a hobby and take it seriously from now on.

Chris: When Bellator first contacted you did you take any of what was going on with Eddie Alveraz into consideration?
Sinclair: Yeah well I looked into it, and to be honest it's all complicated, I know what I'm signing into and I was happy to sign.

Chris: Lately you have been mentioning big choices to make on twitter when did you actually sign the Bellator contract? I thought personally you was going to sign with Cage Warriors after reading those tweets, as they were sent about the time they signed some big UK names. Did any other promotions try and sign you?
Sinclair: Cage Warriors is an awesome show and it gives fighters opportunities to fight on TV and abroad, but I feel I've done more than most on the UK circuit, so now is the time to move abroad.

Chris: You have had some injury problems in the past, how confident are you that your body will hold up through a hard tournament series, where you will be going from fighting once ever 6 months to once every 6 weeks?
Sinclair: Well this is my first serious injury but I've got the best Physio, Strength and Conditioning coach and gym so I'll be ready. If I'm not I'll just fight at 30% like I usually do. 

Chris: Thank you for your time just one last thing, would you like to thank anyone?
Sinclair: Yeah, I'd like to firstly thank my Physio Emma Fletcher for getting me back from a serious serious injury so fast. Perform centre for getting me the Strength and fitness, Gav at Predators mma, Glenn Slater my main sponsor, Bad Boy, Real Nutrition , Soulmate Foods, Funky Gums, Smuggling Duds, www.thebestvandeals.co.uk, www.fightshop.com, TFL management, BAMMA and Bellator.

Thank you very much for the time and your answers to our questions and we wish you all the best in your Bellator debut.

Also, if any fans want to get the chance to not only meet Rob Sinclair but be in a seminar taught by Rob himself then on the 20th July at 11am you need to be at the UK MMA Expo which will be in Manchester's Event City.

Full details of the Expo itself can be found at http://www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk/ and if you would like to buy tickets for the expo and Rob's seminar then they can be purchased here http://www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk/visiting/tickets/ The cost of the Rob Sinclair seminar is only £20 for just the seminar, £25 for your Saturday Expo ticket and entry to the seminar or £30 for a full weekend Expo ticket and entry to the Rob Sinclair seminar.

Please Note, Seminar only tickets will not get you access into Event City as the seminars are held inside the Expo. All seminar tickets must be bought in conjunction to an Expo ticket to allow entry into Event City. Only buy the option of without Expo entry if you already have an Expo entry ticket for the same day or are also buying Expo entry for the same day with another seminar ticket.

Rob Sinclair, Paul Sass and Martin Stapleton sign for Bellator

Bellator sign up three British lightweights

by Jack Broadey @J3cK_b

Bellator has today released some very exciting news for UK fans. The promotion already boasts Brit fighters Paul Daley, Ronnie Mann and Michael Page in its ranks. Today it swells those numbers to 6. That's right they have signed 3 new British fighters to long term promotional contacts.

Rob Sinclair the current BAMMA lightweight champion. Paul Sass the ex UFC fighter with two submission of the night awards and Martin Stapleton the Ultimate Fighter contestant will all fight in the lightweight division. This news will hopefully help to get Bellator on our TV screens as with 6 British fighters now in the promotion there is a demand to see the live show. A TV deal is needed to help progress the promotion here in the UK and these latest signing will certainly help that.

Sinclair was the Lightweight champion in British promotion BAMMA and it's of great credit to them that they have released Sinclair from his contract with one fight left on it so he can go and fulfil his dream. They have both served each other well and part on good terms. Sinclair was the first ever Lightweight champion and went on to defend his belt 3 times.

Sass was released from his UFC contract in February after losing to Danny Castillo at UFC on fuel 7. He is an exciting Jiu Jitsu fighter who has beaten top competition and holds 2 submission of the night awards to his name.

Martin Stapleton was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter-UK v USA.  Stapleton had a break from MMA shortly after the series due to his commitment with The Royal Marines. In December of 2012 Stapleton entered a Cage Contenders Lightweight tournament. He won all 3 fights on the same night to be crowded winner of the Lightweight competition.

UK MMA EXPO shaping up after the announcement of seminars

Details released about July's UK MMA Expo

by Ben Heather @benheather

On the weekend of July 20th - 21st the UK MMA scene will finally have a expo to be proud of when the UK MMA Expo opens its doors at the Events City venue in Manchester. After the shambles that was the MMA Show Live last May. A lot of people were left devastated last year when with about 5 days notice the MMA Show Live expo was suddenly cancelled with no real explanation as to why.

I for one was absolutely gutted when the MMA Show Live was cancelled as I loved the idea of being able to not only meet some of my favourite MMA fighters but also getting the chance to train with them. As soon as we found about the MMA Show Live myself and John Haigh (who also writes for Kingdom MMA) knew we had to be involved in that expo and got some tickets. But now 14 months later we finally have a legitimate expo which will not disappoint the fans in the way the MMA Show Live did last year.

The UK MMA Expo is not trying to replicate what the MMA Show Live did (or should I say attempted to do) instead it is focusing on the talent we have in the UK and doing its bit to help put some of the names which are less known by the casual fans but loved by the die hard fans. The likes of Rob Sinclair and Ian Freeman have recently had seminars announced over the weekend and you can train with both.

Rob "C-4" Sinclair the current BAMMA Lightweight World Champion will be holding a striking against submissions seminar, as well as Sinclair UK MMA Expo have recently announced that Ian "The Machine" Freeman will also be holding his own training session.

Dave Jackson will also be putting on separate seminar, Jackson a coach from the Wolfslair gym and striking coach of UFC fighters, who has worked with the likes of Michael Bisping and Rampage Jackson. Dave Jackson will be doing a Muay Thai for MMA seminar.

The other seminar which has been announced is a full day "Enforcing Unified Rules" officials seminar which will be led by UFC referee Marc Goddard. Goddard will be doing all he can to help you learn how to judge and referee a MMA fight based on the unified rules of MMA.

The ticket price for the expo can be found below

£10 for a one day ticket
£15 for a weekend ticket
£25 to train with Rob Sinclair on 20th July '13 11:00 - 12:00pm (price includes expo pass for the day)
£25 to train with Dave Jackson on 20th July '13 16:30 - 17:30pm (price includes expo pass for the day)
£30 to train with Ian Freeman on 20th July '13 at 13:30 -15:00pm (price includes expo pass for the day)
£70 to join the Marc Goddard Seminar 21st July '13 10:00 - 17:30pm with an hour lunch break (price includes expo pass for the day)

For full details of the UK MMA Expo including how to purchase tickets please go to www.ukmmaexpo.co.uk

Keep checking Kingdom MMA for all the latest news and updates on the UK MMA Expo.

Kingdom MMA Exclusive: Rob Sinclair "Curt Warburton is next, he deserves his shot"

Kingdom MMA: Exclusive interview with BAMMA Lightweight World Champion Rob C4 Sinclair

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Tuesday 2nd April 2013 BAMMA Lightweight World Champion Rob Sinclair (12-2 MMA) kindly took some time out of his busy schedule and road to recovery to answer some questions for KingdomMMA.co.uk.

Ben: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for Kingdom MMA. It is very much appreciated.

Firstly congratulations on your recent news, how long now until you become a father again? I believe your partner is having a little boy, is this correct and will this be your first son?
Sinclair: Yep, it's a little boy, he's due August 12th so we are past half way now, I'm really excited to see him.

Ben: Were you a fan of MMA before you started training?
Sinclair: To be honest not really, and the reason is I'd never even heard of it. I'd seen a clip on TV when I was partying with the boys in Greece but that's my only experience of it.

Ben: When did you first start training?
Sinclair: I started training around 2006, previously I'd done a little Thai boxing but nothing competitive.

Ben: Why did you start training MMA?
Sinclair: Mainly because my brother did, he got me to go training with him.

Ben: Was there a particular fight that you had seen that made you want to get in to MMA?
Sinclair: No there was no particular fight, I went training with Bisping and he was the first person I saw fight live.

Ben: Had you trained in any martial arts before you started training in MMA? Even if it was as a kid?
Sinclair: Like I say I did a little Thai boxing but nothing competitive, I was more into football to be honest.

Ben: Did you ever have any amateur fights? or did you go straight to pro? If so what was your amateur record?
Sinclair: I had what was once called pro b class, which is strikes to the ground with the 4oz gloves on but no elbows. I lost a split decision and I won my 2nd fight then I went straight to pro.

Ben: You now have a 12-2 MMA record with only 3 fights going the distance, do you pride yourself on the fact you put on exciting fights?
Sinclair: Yeah I guess so, I don't like going the distance and if you look at who i have gone the distance with it's pretty impressive. I'm 2-1 in decisions with the one loss by split decision, I like to get in and out, I really don't like to be in there longer than I have to be.

Ben: One of your losses was against Paul Sass, however you are one of only two people to fight Sass to a decision before losing a split decision. Would you like a rematch to avenge that loss even though I believe you are team kaobon team mates now?
Sinclair: No the fight is gone now and we are friends. I wanted the rematch because I wasn't happy with my performance, but I lived and learnt through the experience and it's made me a better fighter now I believe.

Ben: In your last fight against Andre Winner you went to the championship rounds for the first time and yet still proved you had the cardio to control the fight, against arguably your toughest opponent. How did you rate your performance in the last fight?
Sinclair: I was happy with it when I look back, Winner is a tough guy, great experience and a UFC vet. He was the number one in the UK of fighters outside the UFC, so I was happy. I maybe should of thrown more to try and get the finish but again each fight is a learning curve and Andre Winner doesn't lose many, so I'm happy I got the decision.

Ben: The Andre Winner fight was the first main event on channel 5. How did it feel being honoured to main event such a big moment for BAMMA and British MMA?
Sinclair: Yeah it was a great sporting moment for me, and against such a creditable opponent. We could of probably put on an even greater fight if we would have had proper time to prepare. I know Andre had a knee Injury and I had a bad elbow injury, but it turned out to be a great night for TV, BAMMA and the fans.

Ben: I believe you have just had the all clear following your injury and now returned to full training again, can you explain what injury you had and how it happened?
Sinclair: No I ain't had the all clear yet, I'm doing what I can. I can't run yet or wrestle, it's around 70% fixed thanks to Emma Fletcher and Dave Bell at Perform Centre. I was training at Full Contact Perform Centre in Rochdale and I was jumping on and off a box and my ankle just gave way.

Ben: You have spoken on twitter about applying for TUF twice and not getting in? Would you apply again if they did another lightweights series?
Sinclair: Yeah I applied twice, I went to Vegas for TUF 14 I think and then the smashes try outs. I got to the last 10 on the smashes series, but that was it. If there was another? Hmmm maybe.

Ben: Who would you like to fight next and when? do you think a fight against Curt Warburton will be your next fight and do you think he deserves a shot at your BAMMA World Championship belt?
Sinclair: Yeah it's gonna be Curt Warburton, I was supposed to fight him in march but this injury happened, so the fight didn't happen. I think he does deserve it, it will be a good fight.

Ben: Other than Curt Warburton do you see many more challengers within the British MMA scene that you have not already beat, or do you think the next challenge may lie fighting for a big American organisation?
Sinclair: I don't know, there's some good up and comers. I just focus on 1 fight at a time and at the moment it's getting my ankle better then I'll look to Curt.

Ben: Would you say you had any weaknesses inside the cage that you need to develop?
Sinclair: Weaknesses? Erm yeah definitely, but nobody has figured them out yet ;)

Ben: I think the fact that you are the Bamma lightweight world champion and only do MMA part time is a great achievement. How much better do you think you could be if you trained full time?
Sinclair: You have no idea, I have no idea, the sky's the limit. I don't think my opponents realise how hard I can hit, or how strong I am, or how mentally willed I am. Imagine training full time, like a lot of my past opponents I've beaten.

Ben: Recently BAMMA have started giving fighters exclusive contracts, is this the same for you and if so how many fights have you got left on your BAMMA contract?
Sinclair: I have 1 more fight on my current contract, then we will discuss another contract.

Ben: If you could fight anywhere in the world where would it be?
Sinclair: Manchester M.E.N Arena

Ben: As a fan do you have a favourite fighter?
Sinclair: Yeah I like Fedor and Chuck Liddell

Ben: If you could put together a fantasy fight who would you want to watch fight and why?
Sinclair: It's gonna have to be Anderson Silva vs Jon Jones, both are very dominant...

Ben: Finally do you have any training partners, or sponsors that you would like to thank?
Sinclair: Yeah I'd like to thank my coach Gav Boardman and Dave Bell from Predators MMA and Perform Centre. Emma Fletcher my Physio, Bad Boy, Real Nutrition, Glenn Slater co, Smuggling Duds, Soulmate Foods, Funky Gums, fightshop.com, my brothers Mick and Lewis, my girlfriend and daughter Georgia and Pascha, my unborn baby boy and my family.

Ben: Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you in the cage again fighting for BAMMA.

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