Titles changed hands and a vicious head kick knockout went viral around the world at BCMMA 18 in Colchester on Saturday.

The event, at the Charter Hall, boasted a huge array of local talent, and certainly delivered on thrills and spills.

Without doubt the most noteworthy happening of the evening – at least in terms of global interest – occurred in the battle between Joe Harding and Johan Segas for the amateur featherweight title.

Harding, 26, a PE teacher from Witham, was bidding to win a second amateur belt with BCMMA, and was well on the way to doing so against Frenchman Segas, whom he’d dominated for the first two rounds.

Indeed, such was his confidence, the exuberant Harding had taken to throwing in dance moves to his impressive combinations.

But that came back to haunt him early in round three, as he started to bust out a move following a combo, taking his eyes off Segas for a split second – and that was all his foe needed to land a vicious head kick, separating Harding from his senses. Footage of the knockout went viral around the world, with UFC president Dana White even tweeting about it. The super-talented Harding will surely learn from the defeat, and come back stronger than ever.

Elsewhere on the card, bantamweight champion Kerry Hughes lost her title to Zarah Fairn Dos Santos. The French woman, who looked huge at the weight, landed a peach of a right hand early on in the fight and Hughes could not recover, with the referee calling a halt to the action in the first round.

Ipswich featherweight Corrin Eaton improved his record to 10-2 with an impressive win over Norwich rival Dominic Dillon, stopping him on the ground in round two. The win was changed to a technical decision after it emerged that Eaton had landed an unintentional illegal knee in the fight-ending barrage.

Also impressive was young Essex flyweight prospect Leigh Mitchell, who used dominant takedowns and a smothering ground game to take a unanimous decision win and defend his 125lbs title against interim champ Jack Eglin. There were also wins for Sean Carter (sub, rd3) James Webb (sub, rd 1) and new straw-weight champ Kate Jackson, who stopped Bryony Tyrell on the ground in the third.