71kg K1 rules – Chad Sugden (Suggy’s Gym, Newark) vs Nathan Epps (K-Star, Birmingham)

This bout will see two of the brightest stars on the UK kickboxing stage face off against each other in a fight that has been in the making for over a year. Sugden is the only UK fighter signed to a long-term contract with K-1 Global and defeated Spanish fighter Jorge Falcon in spectacular fashion with a first round knockout in Gran Canaria yesterday. With an amateur record spanning over 100 fights, he made his professional debut on The Main Event in 2012, taking a hard fought win over Joe Roberts. Since then he has gone on to win 11 of his 12 professional contests, beating high profile opponents Ryan Edmunson, Salah Abdulsalem and Costel Paniscuis, and picking up the ISKA oriental rules World Title in the process.
Trained by Steve Logan of K-Star Gym in Birmingham, Epps has notched up 32 victories out of 40 fights and is currently on a 13-fight winning streak. A busy 2013 saw him record stoppage wins over WBC National Champion Mike Egan and Ireland’s Jonno Bracken, as well as a comfortable points win over foreign opposition on his hometown show in September. In October 2012 Epps and Sugden both competed in the 8-Man Grand Prix Tournament in Warrington, with Epps defeating Brad Stanton and Kerrith Bhella in his first two matches while Sugden secured his place in the final with victories over Solomon Wickstead and Peter Tiarks. Injured in the semi-final, Epps was forced to withdraw in favour of Bhella, whom Sugden went on to beat convincingly on points for the title and the purse.
Finally these two will meet in what is set to be an explosive fight over three rounds. A win for either here could set up further potential fights on some of the top kickboxing promotions in the world, with scouts from across Europe in attendance at The Main Event!