British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) middleweight beltholder Tom Watson (14-4) has withdrawn from BAMMA 7 due to a back injury suffered in training camp, according to reports released Tuesday afternoon. Watson was expected to face Frank Trigg (21-8) for the middleweight championship in the event's headlining bout.
Former-Clash of Warriors welterweight champion Jim Wallhead (21-6) has been tapped as a replacement for the vacated spot against Trigg. With the scratch of Watson, the contest will now be a non-title match.
Wallhead last fought in the quarterfinals of Bellator's season four welterweight tournament, dropping a unanimous decision to Rick Hawn. The loss snapped the black belt judoka's career-high eight-match win streak that stretched back to 2008.
A former contender in the UFC's welterweight division, Trigg briefly pondered retirement after suffering two straight losses and being cut from the promotion in 2010. However, since then the 39-year-old southpaw has reversed his fortunes, collecting two first round TKO victories against Roy Neeman and John Phillips.
Also featured on the main card of BAMMA 7 is a contest for the lightweight title between Rob Sinclair (10-2) and Leonardo Santos (9-3), a lightweight bout between "The Ultimate Fighter Season 8" winner Efrain Escudero (15-3) and Tim Radcliffe (11-4), and a middleweight bout between Matt Ewin (22-9-1) and Valentino Petrescu (11-2).
BAMMA 7 will be held September 10th at The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. The event will be available for live streamed online on the promotion's website.