All-action Colchester fighter Sean Carter will now headline this weekend’s BCMMA 17 event, which showcases some of the best talent the region has to offer.

Carter (10-4) will face respected UK MMA veteran Jordan Miller in a lightweight clash at Charter Hall in Colchester on Saturday night.

Kerry Hughes’ defence of her bantamweight belt, which was due to top the bill, has now been moved to BCMMA 18 on February 18.

But show promoter Jack Mason, himself one of the most respected fighters on the British scene, said the new main event will not disappoint the sell-out crowd of 1,100 fans.

Carter is a veteran of The Ultimate Fighter TV show, while Miller has traded leather with some of the best fighters in the country, including current Cage Warriors champion Chris Fishgold, and the likes of Andre Winner, Brad Pickett, Ronnie Mann and Jason Young.

“They’re both quite scrappy and scrambly and go through it in their fights,” Mason said.

“It should be a wicked fight. Sean is as game as they come – he’ll take two to give one which makes him a fan favourite in terms of excitement, even if from a coaches’ perspective I’d much rather he didn’t!

“His ground game is really high level too, so he should have an advantage there.

“But Jordan Miller has fought lots of high-level guys, so he’s got the experience edge – it should be a great fight.”

All told there are 12 fighters from Colchester’s BKK Gym on the card, all packing potential as future stars.

“We’ve got three guys fighting who’ve had quite a few amateur fights now and are looking to go pro,” said Mason.

“Craig Edwards has gone from a 1-7 record to 6-7, and you can’t blink in his fights – he last fought a team-mate of Conor McGregor and knocked him out in eight seconds with a head kick.

“Then you’ve got Darius Sulga, who’s from a karate background and throws all sorts of spinning and flying stuff, and Joe Harding is a super athlete who has really dedicated himself to the sport.”

Elsewhere, Wendy McKenna makes her pro debut on the card, having won both the BCMMA straw and flyweight titles as an amateur, while her daughter Cory will try to win her old 115lbs belt.

“Cory’s trying to keep the belt in the family,” Mason said. “She’s fighting the silver medallist from the world championships (Aleksandra Rola) and her first choice was the gold medallist!

“There’s lots of people in MMA who don’t want tough fights, but this 17-year-old wants the best. She got straight A’s in her GCSE’s and could do anything she wants, but she wants to fight.”

Ipswich lightweight prospect Adam Spalding will also be in action.

Mason added: “We’ve got some amazing fights on the card and I’m just really looking forward to it – if you’ve not got a ticket yet, buy one now!”

A limited number of tickets will be available on the door and online at www.bcmma.co.uk.