Everbody’s Talking About Marc Diakiese

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The unbeaten 23-year-old has been the subject of two viral knockouts in his last two outings for European powerhouse, BAMMA. Shortly after his recent 30-second knockout of fellow British lightweight frontrunner Kane Mousah in Dublin back in February, the talk of him getting a call from the world's flagship promotion quickly gained momentum.

Towards the end of June, word came from the UK that a deal had been struck. Due to the excitement that surrounds the young Unit 7 Gym product, and without any confirmation, many thought the word of an imminent announcement regarding Diakiese was nothing more than wolf tickets, to borrow the Nick Diaz phrase.

Yesterday, the signing of 'The Bonecrusher' was made official, and since then, the UK MMA community has taken to social media threads to voice their excitement about his debut, which is due to take place at UFC's Manchester card—rumored to be taking place in October.

Yesterday, Diakiese himself gave his thoughts on his signing to SevereMMA.com's a few hours it was made official.

Had he not been signed, as BAMMA's British lightweight champion, Diakiese was expected to face the promotion's world champion Martin Stapleton for his title. However, after striking up a deal with UFC, he didn't seem too worried about missing out on a shot at the SBG Manchester man's title.

"I thought I was ready," Diakiese told Steve Cook-Abbott. "I do feel like after what I've done, my two knockouts, they (UFC) wanted me.

"Obviously, I did want to fight for the (BAMMA) world title. (My signing) has come early and I'm happy now that I've got it. Now I can just showcase my skills on the biggest stage."

Changing Perceptions

As hard as it is to believe based on his last two outings, Diakiese has only recently gotten rid of a rather negative label he had attached to his name. Just before his brutal technical knockout of Rick Selvarajah, which also took place in Dublin at BAMMA 22, 'Bonecrusher' showcased his grappling ability when he downed Liverpool boxing ace Jack McGann over three rounds to claim a decision win.

After getting back in the win column after losing to Diakiese, McGann declared no interest in facing his former foe again.

"I have previously stated that fighting Diakiese again is not something I am interested in," he told the Liverpool Echo. "He wouldn't fight before so why would he again."

The win over Selvarajah proved that Diakiese had turned a corner with his style. With a little more clout behind his name, the bout announcement for Diakiese vs Mousah for the Lonsdale title was met with great excitement. With promotional pieces produced by BAMMA showing the two fighters mocking each other, casual fans gained interest in the clash.

Deemed to be a close matchup by many, but not this writer, Diakiese's powerful right hand ended the clash in a little over 30 seconds. Between the Mousah and Selvarajah bouts, it had taken exactly one minute of fight time for Diakiese to announce himself as one of the best unsigned talents in the UK.

The Perfect Launch Pad

The Doncaster man trains in Manchester alongside UFC middleweight Scott Askham, and although his debut has not been made official, it seems as though Diakiese is confident that the bout will take place at UFC Manchester, on the same card the Michael Bisping is set to make his first title defense against Dan Henderson.

Having defeated two men who live in close proximity to the North England city, Diakiese believes that the crowd will be behind him when he makes his first walk to the Octagon.

"Two of the main guys I beat were Jack McGann and Kane Mousah," he told SevereMMA.com. "They're both close to Manchester so I think I've dragged that crowd towards me. I do feel like I'll have a lot of people watching me and I feel there will be a lot of expectation—people will be expecting a lot from me.

"It doesn't matter (who I face). Anyone could be matched with me and it doesn't matter.

He added: "I bring excitement. You won't be disappointed if you watch. I bring excitement, everybody says it. I fight for the crowd. I like to hear the cheering and everyone being happy. If you're not doing that you must be boring."

Having made his name in Europe, and mostly in the UK, the Manchester card could be the perfect international launch pad for the young Brit. Should he continue in the same vein as his recent performances and bank another quick KO in Manchester, there should be a lot more people talking about the Unit 7 man as we make our way into 2017.