A new bout has been added to the BAMMA 11 card as Steve Ray (11-3) faces Dale Hardiman (9-3) for the first BAMMA Lonsdale British Lightweight belt. The event is set to take place at the Birmingham NIA on Dec. 1.

BAMMA officials confirmed the bout earlier this week via official press release.

The following match-ups were also announced for BAMMA 11 earlier this week: Nathan Greyson vs. Bryan Creighton, Marc Allen vs Dyson Roberts, Anth Taylor vs Max ‘Power’ Nunes, Thomas Denham vs. Mike Neun and Andrew Fisher vs. Diego Vital. The event will also feature the return of Alex Reid whose opponent is yet to be announced.

Steve Ray is currently riding a two-fight winning streak, most recently defeating Stu Barrs via second round TKO at Caledonian Combat 1 in July. Prior to that he scored a first round submission victory over Qasim Shafiq at On Top 5 in June. His most recent loss was against Assan Nije at “CWFC – Fight Night 4″ in March, where he lost via second round submission. Steve will no doubt look to extend his winning streak to three with a big win over Hardiman.

Here is what Steve Ray had to say:

“I’m feeling really motivated for this fight as it is a huge opportunity for me fighting for this title. I always put in 100% to my training and this will be no different as I know Dale is a tough fighter. I have recently moved my training base and have joined the new Dinky Ninja gym which has UK stand-outs like Graham Turner, Martin Delaney and James Doolan, so they will be working me hard for this camp. I moved down to Lightweight a few fights ago and feel really strong at that weight. I will be looking to finish the fight at any opportunity. I have various Submission wins on my record and love to knock guys out!”

“My only message for Dale is: I respect you as a fighter but I am not coming down from Scotland to leave empty handed. I am preparing for a war so, I  hope you are.”

Dale Hardiman last fought at CWFC 48 in July, where he picked up a second round KO victory over Ido Pariente. Prior to that he dropped a first round KO loss to Jimmy Immonen at LFN 7 in April, which snapped a two-fight winning streak. Hardiman had picked up big wins over Scott Jansen and Antanas Jazbutis whilst fighting for BAMMA during 2011/2012, and will no doubt look to get back to that form against Steve Ray on Dec. 1.

Here is what Dale Hardiman had to say:

“I’m thrilled that two fighters with the skill and calibre that Dale and Ray have will be representing as England and Scotland collide in a battle for the very first BAMMA Lonsdale British Lightweight title. I expect this fight to be an epic skills showdown between two dynamic athletes who show real mastery of their trade.”

Picking a winner in this fight is like playing a game of party poker, you just don’t know who is going to win?

Tickets for BAMMA 11 start from £25 – Buy tickets here: http://bit.ly/iKuapN

Jay Cee – The MMA Review

@themmareview