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April 23, 2013

Maine State Heavyweight MMA Champion to be Crowned on May 18 in Lewiston


[NEF Press Release]

Lewiston, Maine (April 23, 2013) – When New England Fights! (NEF) returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee on May 18 the fight promotion will oversee the crowning of the first-ever Maine State Heavyweight Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA) champion. The bout set to determine the titleholder will feature Randy “The Wolf” Smith (14-13-1) taking on Travis "The Showstopper" Bartlett (8-3).

"We get a lot of requests from our fans to see the big guys slug it out in the cage," said NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo. "So, we went out and put together a high-stakes title fight between two of the biggest heavyweight names we could find from the northeast."

Randy Smith, who trains out of Power of One in Cortland, NY, has been a fixture on the New England MMA heavyweight scene for the last several years. He has acquired a collection of regional title belts in the division. Currently ranked as the number-seven heavyweight in the northeast, Smith will look to spoil the homecoming of "The Showstopper" on May 18.

"I am honored to be fighting Travis Bartlett for the heavyweight championship," stated Smith when reached for comment. "I have thought all over, and Maine has become one of my favorite places to compete. This fight is going to be a war from start to finish. The winner of this will fight will have earned the title!"

Bangor, Maine native Travis Bartlett began his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2007 after completing an impressive amateur boxing career with a record of 77-19 and #6 national ranking to his credit. After entering MMA, he soared to the #1 regional position at light heavyweight by rattling off a number of highlight-reel knockout performances and winning a local title along the way.

Soon thereafter, Bartlett made the decision to move from Maine to the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas, to pursue his dreams of becoming a full-time fighter. Once established in his new home, Bartlett quickly became a sought-after training partner for some of the greatest fighters of all-time, including Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (35-11-1) and Frank Mir (16-5). Now, Bartlett returns to his home state in a bid to become the first-ever heavyweight title holder for NEF.

"I'm really pleased to be FINALLY fighting in Maine, and the fact that it's for the NEF heavyweight title makes it that much better," exclaimed Bartlett when reached for comment. "I've had a full fight camp for this fight with some tremendous sparring partners (Eric Smith, Roy Nelson, Ryan Martinez, Maurice Jackson and King Mo) to name a few. I'm ready to leave it all in the cage and put on an exciting fight for the crowd! Randy Smith is a formidable opponent and I'm sure he's going to show up ready to fight..I can't wait!"

"The fans are in for a real treat on May 18," said NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson. "It's not often that you get to see a heavyweight fight of this magnitude, let alone a five-round title fight. Bartlett and Smith will be throwing the heavy lumber in Lewiston. We can't promise that it will be pretty, but we can promise that it will be brutal and violent, and one of these two behemoths will be crowned the first Maine State Heavyweight Champion in that cage."

At the time of this writing, the fight card for May 18 in Lewiston consisted of more than thirty fights. The main event is scheduled to feature Maine MMA legend Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis (21-9) battling Darrius Heyliger (4-1). The co-main event will see UFC veteran Henry Martinez (9-5) squaring off with Dez Green (8-1) for the Maine State Lightweight Title. Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling The Colisee box office at 207.783.2009 x 525. For more information on the event, visit www.NewEnglandFights.com. You can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”