Tom Watson (fighter)

Tom "Kong" Watson (born 13 July 1982) is an English mixed martial artist currently competing in the welterweight division of Cage Warriors. A professional competitor since 2006, he is the former BAMMA Middleweight Champion, the former UCMMA Middleweight Champion, and has also competed for the UFC, Cage Rage and the MFC.

Tom Watson
Born (1982-07-13) 13 July 1982
Southampton, England
Other namesKong
NationalityEnglish
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight186 lb (84 kg; 13.3 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Reach73.0 in (185 cm)[2]
StyleMuay Thai, Kickboxing, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kyokushin Karate, Wing Chun, Savate
TeamJaco Hybrid Training Center (Blackzilians)
RankPurple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[3]
Black prajied in Muay Thai
Orange belt in Kyokushin Karate[3]
Green belt in Lau Gar Kung Fu[3]
Black belt with green stripe in Wing Chun[3]
Silver 2 glove in Savate[3]
Years active2006-
Mixed martial arts record
Total26
Wins17
By knockout8
By submission1
By decision8
Losses9
By submission2
By decision7
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Watson began training when he was 16 years old and has an extensive boxing background, winning two awards, Amateur Boxing Standout 2006, a three-time ABA Southern Counties Champion, and Full Contact Unlicensed Boxing Champion.[3] Watson’s nickname comes from his famous ring walks, featuring Watson wearing a gorilla mask.[4]

Mixed martial arts career

Cage Rage and early career

Watson held a 1-0-1 amateur record before turning professional in 1991. 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 Cage Rage 20, and he lost via an armbar 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

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 at 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, a Canadian promotion.[5] 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.[6] 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, after a hard fought battle, Watson defeated John Maguire via TKO at 2:47 of 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 winner Alex Reid for the vacant Middleweight Championship at BAMMA 3 in May 2010.[7] 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.[8] Watson also called him a "clown" and said that it was likely Reid pulled out to avoid an embarrassing defeat.[9] 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 with his superior striking and won via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-47, 49-46) to become the first BAMMA Middleweight Champion.[10]

Initially, Watson maintained that he did not want to waste any more time training for and fighting such a low-level opponent as Reid[11] but the Reid vs. Watson fight was rescheduled for BAMMA 4 on 25 September 2010.[11] Watson won by unanimous decision, as the judges scored the fight 49-46 49-46 49-47.[12]

On 21 May 2011, he faced former EliteXC Middleweight Champion Murilo Rua at Wembley Arena 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.[13]

Watson was set to fight former UFC Welterweight contender and current BAMMA Middleweight, Frank Trigg, for Kong's BAMMA Middleweight Championship. However, Tom has suffered a back injury and was replaced by Jim Wallhead.

Watson defended his title at BAMMA 9 against BAMMA British Middleweight Champion Jack Marshman, winning via TKO in the second round.[14]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After successfully defending his BAMMA Middleweight Championship title three times, Watson signed a contract with the UFC in July 2012.[15][16]

In his debut, Watson fought Brad Tavares on 29 September 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 5.[17] He lost the fight via split decision.

Watson next faced undefeated Stanislav Nedkov on 16 February 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald.[18] 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 on 3 August 2013 at UFC 163.[19] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Watson was expected to face Alessio Sakara on 26 October 2013 at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Munoz.[20] However, he was forced out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Magnus Cedenblad.[21]

Watson fought Nick Catone on 1 February 2014 at UFC 169.[22] He lost the fight via split decision.

Watson faced promotional newcomer Sam Alvey on 16 August 2014 at UFC Fight Night 47.[23] He won the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.

Watson faced Rafael Natal on 31 January 2015 at UFC 183.[24] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[25]

Watson faced Chris Camozzi on 8 August 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73.[26] He lost the fight by unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.[27][28]

Return to BAMMA

On July 25, 2018 it was announced that after a three-year hiatus from fighting, Watson had signed a multi-fight contract with BAMMA.[29] 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.[30] 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.[31]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
26 matches 17 wins 9 losses
By knockout 8 0
By submission 1 2
By decision 8 7
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 17–9 Chris Camozzi Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux August 8, 2015 3 5:00 Nashville, Tennessee, United States Watson was deducted one point in the second round due to repeated illegal groin strikes.
Loss 17–8 Rafael Natal Decision (unanimous) UFC 183 January 31, 2015 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 17–7 Sam Alvey Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. St. Preux August 16, 2014 3 5:00 Bangor, Maine, United States
Loss 16–7 Nick Catone Decision (split) UFC 169 February 1, 2014 3 5:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Loss 16–6 Thales Leites Decision (unanimous) UFC 163 August 3, 2013 3 5:00 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win 16–5 Stanislav Nedkov TKO (knees and punches) UFC on Fuel TV: Barão vs. McDonald February 16, 2013 2 4:42 London, England Knockout of the Night. Fight of the Night.
Loss 15–5 Brad Tavares Decision (split) UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic September 29, 2012 3 5:00 Nottingham, England
Win 15–4 Jack Marshman TKO (punches and elbows) BAMMA 9 March 24, 2012 2 4:50 Birmingham, England Defended the BAMMA Middleweight Championship.
Win 14–4 Murilo Rua KO (head kick and punches) BAMMA 6: Watson vs. Rua May 21, 2011 3 2:06 London, England Defended the BAMMA Middleweight Championship.
Win 13–4 Alex Reid Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 4 September 25, 2010 5 5:00 Birmingham, England Defended the BAMMA Middleweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Loss 12–4 Jesse Taylor Decision (unanimous) MFC 26 September 10, 2010 3 5:00 Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Win 12–3 Matt Horwich Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 3 May 15, 2010 5 5:00 Birmingham, England Won the BAMMA Middleweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win 11–3 Travis Galbraith KO (head kick) MFC 24 February 26, 2010 1 1:56 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Knockout of the Night.
Win 10–3 Denniston Sutherland Decision (split) UCMMA 8: Dynamite October 24, 2009 3 5:00 London, England Defended the UCMMA Middleweight Championship.
Win 9–3 John Maguire TKO (punches) BAMMA 1 June 27, 2009 2 3:47 London, England Knockout of the Night. Fight of the Night.
Win 8–3 Daniel Cubitt TKO (punches) UCMMA 1: Bad Breed December 6, 2008 1 1:57 London, England Won the UCMMA Middleweight Championship.
Win 7–3 Lloyd Clarkson Decision (unanimous) Atlas Fighting Challenge August 9, 2008 3 5:00 Coventry, England
Win 6–3 John Phillips Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 27 July 12, 2008 3 5:00 London, England
Win 5–3 Pierre Guillet KO (upkick) Cage Rage 25 March 8, 2008 1 1:05 London, England
Loss 4–3 Mark Epstein Decision (split) Cage Rage 24 December 1, 2007 3 5:00 London, England
Win 4–2 Ed Smith Decision (unanimous) Cage Rage 22 July 14, 2007 3 5:00 London, England
Loss 3–2 Xavier Foupa-Pokam Submission (triangle kimura) Cage Rage 21 April 21, 2007 2 2:27 London, England
Win 3–1 Dorlan O'Malley KO (slam and punches) Cage Rage Contenders 4 March 3, 2007 1 2:21 London, England
Loss 2–1 Daijiro Matsui Submission (armbar) Cage Rage 20 February 10, 2007 1 0:59 London, England
Win 2–0 Tulio Palhares Decision ZT Fight Night 2 June 25, 2006 3 5:00 London, England
Win 1–0 Michael Watson Submission (guillotine choke) ZT Fight Night 1 February 19, 2006 1 1:11 London, England
gollark: When is the ToD?
gollark: I can catch.
gollark: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
gollark: Seems like it. The hatchlings have basically the same time as the other stuff, sooo...
gollark: Hatchlings show up sorted with the other stuff, I think.

See also

References
  1. "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Teixeira vs. Saint Preux". UFC.com. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  2. "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Bader vs. Saint Preux". UFC.com. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  3. "Tom Watson - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  4. http://sport.bt.com/more-sport-hub/ufc/ufc-fighter-profile-tom-kong-watson-S11363815117369
  5. "Maximum Fighting Championship signs Tom 'Kong' Watson". Aroundtheoctagon.com. 13 January 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  7. "Alex Reid vs Tom Watson". Bamma.net. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  8. "Alex Reid Pulls Out of Controversial Title Fight with Tom Watson". Bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  9. "Cage fighter Tom "Kong" Watson calls Alex Reid 'a clown'". Unrealitytv.co.uk. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  10. BAMMA 3 - Full Review. "BAMMA 3 - Full Review". Blogs.mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  11. "BAMMA: Reid v Watson WILL happen, but not at BAMMA 3". Blogs.mirror.co.uk. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 October 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "BAMMA 6 Results: Tom Watson Retires Murilo 'Ninja' Rua". Mmafighting.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  14. Head, Simon (9 February 2012). "Serving paratrooper Jack Marshman gets BAMMA world title shot". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. "Brits Watson and Manuwa heading to the UFC". ESPN. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  16. YourMMA.tv. "Tom Watson Joins British Legion In UFC". YourMMA.tv. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  17. "UFC: Nottingham Adds Tom 'Kong' Watson vs. Brad Tavares". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  18. "UFC on FUEL TV 7 adds Tom Watson vs. Stanislav Nedkov". mmajunkie.com. 16 December 2012.
  19. "Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson added to UFC 163". themmareport.com. 30 May 2013.
  20. "Watson Draws Sakara In UFC Manchester Stand Up Battle". YourMMA.tv. 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 August 2013.
  21. Tom Watson out, Magnus Cedenblad meets Alessio Sakara at UFC Fight Night 30 | MMAjunkie
  22. Matt Erickson (5 December 2013). "Nick Catone vs. Tom Watson booked for UFC 169 on Super Bowl weekend". MMAJunkie.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  23. Guilherme Cruz (14 June 2014). "Sam Alvey signs with the UFC, meets Tom Watson at UFN 47". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  24. Staff (13 November 2014). "Rafael Natal vs. Tom Watson set for UFC 183 in Las Vegas". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  25. Brent Brookhouse (31 January 2015). "UFC 183 results, photos: Rafael Natal dominates gritty Tom Watson". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  26. Staff (15 June 2015). "Chris Camozzi vs. Tom Watson added to UFC Fight Night 73 in Nashville". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  27. Ben Fowlkes (8 August 2015). "UFC Fight Night 73 results: Chris Camozzi takes unanimous decision over Tom Watson". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  28. Mookie Alexander (1 September 2015). "Report: Dan Miller, Darrell Montague among 13 fighters released from UFC". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  29. Peter Carroll (25 July 2018). "Tom Watson returns to BAMMA after three years on the sidelines". mmafighting.com.
  30. Peter Carroll (6 February 2019). "Tom Watson signs with Cage Warriors". mmafighting.com.
  31. Guilherme Cruz (27 April 2019). "Tom Watson not medically cleared to fight at tonight's Cage Warriors 104". mmafighting.com.
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