Three Liverpool-based fighters will be on the leading bill for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at Wembley next February.
Andy Ogle, Terry Etim and Paul Sass fight for Liverpool club Team Kaobon, and all three fighters will be hoping for a chance to redeem themselves, as each comes into the event having lost their last competitive fight.
It will be Newcastle-born Ogle’s eleventh fight to date and he currently holds an 8-2 record.
Ogle, who will turn 24 on the day of the event, lost his last fight against Swede Akira Corassani on a split decision. He will face Josh Grispi.
Speaking to JMU Journalism, Ogle said that he is hoping to make amends for the defeat.
“I am preparing for the most important fight in my career. Every fight is the most important fight when it is in front of you.
“I will invest all of my time and my emotions into this bout, just like every other fight before it.
“I felt robbed of my debut victory. I actually stood in the cage and thought my name was read out wrong,” he said.
Indeed, Ogle also praises the influence that Sass and Team Kaobon coach Colin Heron has had on him, and said that they have become an essential part of his pre-fight build-up.
“When training for my UFC debut, Paul Sass was always there pushing me on at the end of the week when I felt as if I couldn’t move anymore.
“Colin Heron is the greatest coach I have ever had the pleasure to train under.
“Whatever he says, I do. He is the gaffer, the chief, the guy that you fear to let down and strive to impress.
“I couldn’t not go to Liverpool and train under him and he has a load of lads that feel the exactly same way.”
Liverpool native Etim, who was once regarded as one of the hottest prospects in British MMA, will also be making his first appearance in the cage since he lost to Brazilian Edson Barboza in February, by way of a spinning wheel kick.
He will face another Brazilian fighter, Renee Forte, at Wembley.
It will also be fellow Liverpudlian Sass’s first fight since he lost to Matt Wiman in Nottingham in September, which was his first career loss. He is set to face American Danny Castillo.
The three fighters are part of a strong contingent of upcoming British fighters confirmed for the event, with American Michael McDonald facing Renan Barao in the main event.