Lewiston, Maine (March 24, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America's number-one regional fight promotion, returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine on April 11, 2015 with its seventeenth mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event. NEF released the full fight card for the event last week. Earlier today, the company announced the addition of an amateur catchweight bout to the fight card. CJ Ewer (3-1) will face Connor "Bare Knuckle" Barry (4-1) at a fight weight of 165-pounds.
Ewer, a member of Young's MMA in Bangor, Maine, took the NEF MMA amateur ranks by storm in the summer of 2013. In the matter of just ten weeks, Ewer chalked up three victories, the last of which was over veteran Crowsneck Boutin (6-7). His streak was brought to a halt by the tough Wayne Ahlquist (1-1) later that fall. Ewer would take more than a year off to serve his country in the United States Air Force security forces. Now back home and training with his teammates at Young's, Ewer looks forward to testing himself once again in the NEF MMA cage.
"I'm very anxious to get back to competing within NEF after being away for almost a year and a half," said Ewer. "And I'm thankful Young's welcomed me back and took the time to train me. Connor looks like a very tough opponent, and it'll be a great test for me."
Connor Barry is an independent fighter currently based out of Lowell, Massachusetts. Barry has become known as a "finisher" in the region, having defeated three of his opponents via technical knockout (TKO) and one via submission. His only loss to date came by judge's decision. Already having put in two fight camps for a planned pro-debut that never happened, Barry is confident that he is in the best shape of his career and will have a successful NEF debut at Ewer's expense.
"I took this fight because I have had my pro debut fall through twice," said Barry. "I have been training for a pro fight for five months now, so in terms of conditioning, he's gonna be in for a surprise. In terms of fighting, I think I outclass him in every single aspect. From watching his fights, he looks scared to bang, and if he's scared to bang against me, he'll get knocked out quick."
NEF's next MMA event, "NEF XVII," is scheduled to take place on April 11, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. Bruce "Pretty Boy" Boyington (10-7) will defend the NEF MMA Lightweight Title against number-one contender Jamie Harrison (5-1). In addition, Jarod "Last Minute" Lawton (4-1) meets Dennis Olson (12-7) in a welterweight contest. Tickets for "NEF XVII" 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 and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com. In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”