BAMMA 28Feb 21, 2017 by Jim Edwards
BAMMA 28: Dominique Wooding Ready To Spoil The Party In Belfast
BAMMA 28: Dominique Wooding Ready To Spoil The Party In Belfast
Dominique Wooding is in a confident mood ahead of his interim BAMMA 28 flyweight title fight with Andy Young
It's BAMMA 28 fight week and with the BAMMA main card featuring no fewer than four title fights, the stakes are certainly high heading into Friday night.
In the co-main event, there will be an interim BAMMA flyweight title on the line with Northern Ireland's Andy Young taking on Englishman, Dominique Wooding.
Wooding (3-0) walks into the bout with a big opportunity to make a name for himself. Despite having only three professional bouts under his belt, the man from London got plenty of time in the cage as an amateur and built a record of 7-2 on his way to winning the Warrior Fight Series amateur flyweight belt.
With a lack of flyweight opponents currently doing the rounds on the European scene, Wooding found it difficult finding a fight after his last bout. Speaking exclusively to FloCombat this past week, Wooding explained how the fight with Young finally came together after several others fell through.
"I was meant to fight on BAMMA 27 in Dublin, but my opponent pulled out because of an injury," Wooding said. That was a little frustrating of course, but then my manager called me up about another fight three and half weeks ago, but then that fell through as well. At that point, I thought I wasn't going to get on this BAMMA 28 card.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBa25wFsva/?taken-by=realdwooding" hide_caption="0"]
"Thankfully, my manager called me up the next week and told me that BAMMA had lined something else up for me--Ryan Curtis for the BAMMA Lonsdale flyweight title. He (Curtis) wouldn't take the fight though, so I then called out Andy Young because he's one of BAMMA's top flyweights on the roster. There aren't that many flyweights on the roster so I had to do what I had to do and I called out Andy."
Young has won multiple professional flyweight titles across Europe and will have a big experience advantage over Wooding heading into the cage on Friday night, Regardless, Wooding is a man of confidence and while only 20, he has no qualms whatsoever about putting the challenges out there to the best fighters BAMMA has to offer.
"This is a very winnable fight for me stylistically," Wooding said. "He's a great match up for me and It's for a world title so that's what makes it all the more attractive. Andy's a shorter fighter and he's got a shorter reach. Most guys in the weight class are smaller than me at flyweight.
"My style is going to be the big difference here. He's never fought anyone with my type of style before and I've seen previously that he struggles with southpaws and I think that's going to be a big advantage for me."
UFC bantamweight Brad Pickett recently came out in a British newspaper and named Wooding amongst his top-5 fighters to watch in 2017. Pickett knows Wooding well having trained with him in London frequently over the last year and this is something Wooding believes he has really benefitted from.
"Me and Brad we train together and he's been a good person to learn from," Wooding said. "We drill together, spar together and that. Obviously, it's great to have him there because he's fought in the UFC with the best.
"He's got some much experience and a wealth of knowledge to pass on to us up and coming fighters. Having him around the gym, training and schooling us--it's invaluable and it's helped my development a lot."
On Friday night, Young will be entering the SSE Arena Belfast in front of his home fans. Wooding isn't bothered in the slightest he's not the hometown man though and he says he relishing the role of the bad guy.
"Yeah for sure, I'm coming there to spoil the party in Belfast," Wooding said. "He's from the Next Generation gym and I'm coming in there to spoil their party. Norman Parke and Rhys Mckee are going to win, but Andy Young isn't.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPvhEOdFBR_/?taken-by=realdwooding" hide_caption="0"]
"I'm telling you now so prepare yourselves--Andy Young isn't going to win. I'm fighting in enemy territory before, but that doesn't bother me at all. I've done it all before and come out with a win. The pressure is all one him. He's the one with eighteen fights, he's the one with multiple pro titles, and he's the one that has to go in there and deal with me really quick. I'm the worst type of fight for him.
With that said, Wooding had one last final message for Young before the fight.
"I'm 3-0, but I'm hungry man," Wooding said. "This is the best I've ever felt before a fight and I'm looking forward to showcasing my skills. Everyone that's watching is going to witness a clinical performance."
STREAMING: Available only on FloCombat to North American viewers. Sign up today for $20 monthly or $150 yearly. Yearly FloPRO access gets you premium content and events from ALL FloSports sites, including FloWrestling, FloBoxing, and FloGrappling.
In the co-main event, there will be an interim BAMMA flyweight title on the line with Northern Ireland's Andy Young taking on Englishman, Dominique Wooding.
Wooding (3-0) walks into the bout with a big opportunity to make a name for himself. Despite having only three professional bouts under his belt, the man from London got plenty of time in the cage as an amateur and built a record of 7-2 on his way to winning the Warrior Fight Series amateur flyweight belt.
With a lack of flyweight opponents currently doing the rounds on the European scene, Wooding found it difficult finding a fight after his last bout. Speaking exclusively to FloCombat this past week, Wooding explained how the fight with Young finally came together after several others fell through.
"I was meant to fight on BAMMA 27 in Dublin, but my opponent pulled out because of an injury," Wooding said. That was a little frustrating of course, but then my manager called me up about another fight three and half weeks ago, but then that fell through as well. At that point, I thought I wasn't going to get on this BAMMA 28 card.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBa25wFsva/?taken-by=realdwooding" hide_caption="0"]
"Thankfully, my manager called me up the next week and told me that BAMMA had lined something else up for me--Ryan Curtis for the BAMMA Lonsdale flyweight title. He (Curtis) wouldn't take the fight though, so I then called out Andy Young because he's one of BAMMA's top flyweights on the roster. There aren't that many flyweights on the roster so I had to do what I had to do and I called out Andy."
Young has won multiple professional flyweight titles across Europe and will have a big experience advantage over Wooding heading into the cage on Friday night, Regardless, Wooding is a man of confidence and while only 20, he has no qualms whatsoever about putting the challenges out there to the best fighters BAMMA has to offer.
"This is a very winnable fight for me stylistically," Wooding said. "He's a great match up for me and It's for a world title so that's what makes it all the more attractive. Andy's a shorter fighter and he's got a shorter reach. Most guys in the weight class are smaller than me at flyweight.
"My style is going to be the big difference here. He's never fought anyone with my type of style before and I've seen previously that he struggles with southpaws and I think that's going to be a big advantage for me."
UFC bantamweight Brad Pickett recently came out in a British newspaper and named Wooding amongst his top-5 fighters to watch in 2017. Pickett knows Wooding well having trained with him in London frequently over the last year and this is something Wooding believes he has really benefitted from.
"Me and Brad we train together and he's been a good person to learn from," Wooding said. "We drill together, spar together and that. Obviously, it's great to have him there because he's fought in the UFC with the best.
"He's got some much experience and a wealth of knowledge to pass on to us up and coming fighters. Having him around the gym, training and schooling us--it's invaluable and it's helped my development a lot."
On Friday night, Young will be entering the SSE Arena Belfast in front of his home fans. Wooding isn't bothered in the slightest he's not the hometown man though and he says he relishing the role of the bad guy.
"Yeah for sure, I'm coming there to spoil the party in Belfast," Wooding said. "He's from the Next Generation gym and I'm coming in there to spoil their party. Norman Parke and Rhys Mckee are going to win, but Andy Young isn't.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPvhEOdFBR_/?taken-by=realdwooding" hide_caption="0"]
"I'm telling you now so prepare yourselves--Andy Young isn't going to win. I'm fighting in enemy territory before, but that doesn't bother me at all. I've done it all before and come out with a win. The pressure is all one him. He's the one with eighteen fights, he's the one with multiple pro titles, and he's the one that has to go in there and deal with me really quick. I'm the worst type of fight for him.
With that said, Wooding had one last final message for Young before the fight.
"I'm 3-0, but I'm hungry man," Wooding said. "This is the best I've ever felt before a fight and I'm looking forward to showcasing my skills. Everyone that's watching is going to witness a clinical performance."
How to Watch BAMMA 28
ON TV: Now Available on Roku and Apple TV 4STREAMING: Available only on FloCombat to North American viewers. Sign up today for $20 monthly or $150 yearly. Yearly FloPRO access gets you premium content and events from ALL FloSports sites, including FloWrestling, FloBoxing, and FloGrappling.