By FCF Staff

The British Association of Mixed-Martial-Arts has confirmed that a back injury to Tom Watson (pictured right) will prevent the middleweight champion from fighting Frank Trigg as scheduled, September 10^th, in Birmingham, England.

“It is with massive regret that I have to postpone my fight with Frank Trigg. As you may or may not know, I recently suffered a back injury. Unfortunately, after several sessions with multiple doctors, I have been informed that I will not be cleared to fight. Two different doctors have said that they cannot clear me to fight in September, meaning that not only would I fail my medical, but also that BAMMA would be putting my health at risk, something they are not willing to do,” Watson was quoted saying in the official announcement.

Stepping into replace Watson will be veteran Jim Wallhead (2-16), who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Rick Hawn at Bellator 35 in March, after winning eight straight fights.

“I’m really grateful BAMMA have given me this chance to fight on such a big card against a high level athlete like Frank Trig,” said Wallhead, who is a teammate of Paul Daley and Dan Hardy. “ It’s a test that I’m looking forward to but I hope he doesn’t think I’m just a late replacement who is there for a quick payday, I’m there to get back to where I belong, at the top, above people like him.”

Trigg (21-8) competed at BAMMA 6 in May, and overwhelmed John Philips with ground-and-pound strikes for the first round, stoppage win (due to cuts).

BAMMA 7, which will be hosted by Birmingham’s The National Indoor Arena, will also feature lightweight champion Rob Sinclair taking on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt Leonardo Santos.