[CES PRESS RELEASE]
SEAN SORIANO RETURNS to the cage Friday, Aug. 3rd, 2018 at Twin River Casino when he faces regional rival Bruce Boyington for the vacant CES MMA World Featherweight Title at "CES MMA 51."
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 19th, 2018) -- A new champion will be crowned in the featherweight division and another title could change hands Friday, Aug. 3rd, 2018 as CES MMA returns to Twin River Casino with "CES MMA 51" live on AXS TV.
Reigning CES MMA Lightweight World Champion Nate Andrews (13-1, 5 KOs) of East Providence, R.I., defends his title for the first time in one of two five-round championship bouts on the main card when he faces challenger D'Juan Owens (16-11-1, 4 KOs) of Durham, N.C.
In a battle for the vacant CES MMA World Featherweight Championship, Providence, R.I., native Sean Soriano (11-5, 5 KOs) faces Bangor, Maine, veteran Bruce Boyington (15-11, 7 KOs).
The two title bouts are part of a six-fight main card beginning live at 9 p.m. ET. The preliminary card begins at 7. Tickets for "CES MMA 51" start at $44.00 and are available online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com or www.cagetix.com, by phone at 401-724-2243 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club.
For Andrews, next month's fight is his first since capturing the then vacant lightweight title with a wild, submission win over Chris Padilla in the main event of "CES MMA 49." He's now won seven consecutive bouts since his first and only loss in 2014.
Owens is a familiar face on the New England circuit. The 33-year-old faced former CES MMA title-holder Luis Felix in 2014, then went on to win each of his next three bouts. He enters Aug. 3rdhaving won two of his last three.
A former three-time UFC vet, Soriano makes his sixth appearance with CES MMA on Aug. 3rdafter winning decisively at "CES MMA 44" and "CES MMA 49." Boyington returns to CES MMA nearly one year to the date of his first appearance back in August of 2017 when he battled Andrews on the main card of "CES MMA 45." He followed up with a win over Taylor Trahan in February.
Also on the main card, Hollis, N.H., bantamweight Dylan Lockard (3-1, 1 KO) makes his fourth CES MMA appearance when he faces Eria, Pa., vet Brandon Seyler (8-6, 1 KO). Lockard looks to rebound from a loss at "CES MMA 48" in February while Seyler searches for his second consecutive win in his fourth appearance with the promotion. Seyler earned his first and only win with CES MMA at "CES MMA 45," submitting fan-favorite Kris Moutinho 3:08 into the opening round.
Moutinho (5-2, 2 KOs), a Milford, Mass., native, also fights on the main card as he aims for his sixth career win and second in a row. Moutinho recently snapped a two-fight losing streak at "CES MMA 50" with a first-round knockout win over Al Jones.
Lightweight Lewis Corapi (7-3, 3 KOs) of Medford, Mass., ends a 21-month layoff in a comeback bout against Le Roy, N.Y., native Jacob Bohn (6-5, 1 KO), also on the main card. Aug. 3rd is Corapi's sixth appearance with CES MMA. He last fought in November of 2016, defeating Vovka Clay by unanimous decision, and last fought for CES MMA in June of 2010 in a lightweight showdown against former title-holder Julian Lane. Bohn narrowly defeated Kenny Foster by split decision in May at "CES MMA NY 1" in Long Island in a thrilling, back-and-forth battle.
Featherweight Blair Tugman (10-7) of North Haven, Conn., joins Corapi in fighting for the first time in nearly 12 months when he rounds out the main card in a showdown against two-time CES MMA vet Shane Manley (4-3) of Cortland, N.Y. Manley last fought in February at "CES MMA 48" when he beat Lockard by unanimous decision. Tugman, an eight-time Bellator vet, has won three of four overall, but hasn't fought since August of 2017. Aug. 3rd will be his third appearance with CES MMA and first since 2013 when he faced current UFC featherweight contender Andre Soukhamthath.
The preliminary card features the return of fan-favorites Hilarie Rose (1-1) of Norfolk, Mass., and unbeaten light heavyweight Fabio Cherant (2-0) of Wrentham, Mass. Cherant faces Maine's Buck Pineau (1-5) while the flyweight sensation Rose steps back in the cage less than two months after earning her first career win at "CES MMA 50."
Also on the preliminary card, bantamweight Jesse Pires (0-1) of Fall River, Mass., battles Jeff Silva (1-3) of nearby Lawrence. Pires aims to rebound from a loss in his pro debut against Michael Taylor at "CES MMA 46." Silva split his last two bouts, including a win over Kenny Rodriguez in June of 2017 in New Hampshire.
West Haven, Conn., female atomweight Marissa Messer-Belencia (1-0) makes her long-awaited CES MMA debut against Los Angeles vet Kaiyana Rain (1-3) and heavyweight Eric Bedard (6-7, 4 KOs) of Providence returns to the cage for the first time since 2016 when he battles Ras Hylton (2-1, 2 KOs) of Augusta, Maine.
Bedard boasts seven appearances with CES MMA over the span of five years, starting with his debut at "CES MMA 8" in 2011 and continuing with his epic trilogy against regional rival Tyler King. Hylton debuted with CES MMA on the landmark Long Island venture in May against New Yorker Jahsua Marsh.
Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/cesmma for more information, or follow CES MMA on Instagram at @CESMMA.
Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/cesmma for more information, or follow CES MMA on Instagram at @CESMMA.
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