Lewiston, Maine (July 27, 2012) – New England Fights! (NEF) announced today a mini-tournament to begin at the promotion’s FIGHT NIGHT IV card scheduled for September 8 in Lewiston, ME at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. On that night, NEF’s four top lightweights will face-off in qualifying bouts. The winners of those qualifying bouts will then proceed to a final round fight in November at NEF’s FIGHT NIGHT V event to crown the promotion’s first Maine State Lightweight Champion.
“The lightweight division in Maine is arguably our deepest,” said NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo. “We have a great crop at 155, and it was really difficult for us to decide on which two contenders were most-deserving of the title shot. So, we decided just to put them all in there and let them settle it with this mini-tournament.”
The four athletes chosen to compete in the tournament are: Bruce Boyington (3-2) of Young’s MMA in Brewer, ME; Jamie Harrison (3-1) of First Coast Full Contact in Orange Park, FL; Josh Parker (3-4) of Littlefield’s Gym in Oakland, ME; and Tony Woodman (2-6) of Havoc MMA in Sanford, ME. In the opening round of the mini-tournament on September 8, Harrison will face Parker and Boyington will fight Woodman. The winners of those two bouts will then meet for the lightweight championship in November.
“Jamie Harrison has been on a tear in NEF,” continued DiSalvo. “He’s gone 3-0 since he came through our door with some very impressive wins. You’d really have to consider him the first seed in this tournament. He’s a BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) Purple Belt and he wrestled at the University of Southern Maine. He’s won numerous freestyle championships, he’s competed as a shoot fighter, he’s a very accomplished and skilled fighter. Besides all of that, Jamie has a huge following in Maine. He’s got a big group of friends and family that come to all his fights to support him. With a title shot on the line, you can bet they’ll be making a lot of noise in the Colisée on September 8!”
Harrison made a lot of noise across the globe with his win over Andrew Robertson last month in Lewiston. Harrison finished Robertson with an unorthodox back-mount and double-fist punch combination which MMA legend Bas Rutten termed “The Lobster Punch” on AXS TV’s (formerly HDNet) “Inside MMA” show. Not to be outdone, fellow tournament competitor Bruce Boyington, on that same card last month, delivered a highlight-reel knockout with a Taekwondo spinning hook kick on Keegan Hornstra that received much press worldwide.
“It was just amazing,” said NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson. “I was in awe, just like everyone else in the building, when Boyington landed that kick. And it just took off from there. Within minutes there were videos popping up all over the Internet and on social media sites. At the time of this writing, NEF’s Youtube video of the knockout had over 25,000 views – our most for any video by far. AXS TV’s Youtube version of the knockout has had over 168,000 views in just over a week of its posting, making it one of their all-time most-watched videos. Bruce Boyington is quickly becoming a household name in the MMA business.”
For those hoping for a “Lobster Punch vs. Spin Hook Kick” fight for the lightweight championship in November, Peterson warns not to overlook the opponents on September 8. “Tony Woodman had a great showing for us at FIGHT NIGHT I back in February with a TKO victory over Keegan Hornstra. Tony’s a very big lightweight and he’s been fighting pro for over five years. He’s a veteran and he knows what he’s doing in the cage. Josh Parker had a big win last month for us over Chris Ramos via unanimous decision. It was a war from start to finish. It was definitely ‘fight of the night’ of that event. Josh is another veteran of the cage, having competed professionally for four years now. Bottom line – we all know that anything can happen in that cage. All four of these guys are great fighters. They’re deserving of this shot, and any combination of these four could be fighting for the lightweight title in the finals in November.”
FIGHT NIGHT IV is slated for September 8 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, ME. The card will feature a headline fight between Jesse Peterson (6-2) and Cody Lightfoot (6-3) for the NEF Maine State MMA Middleweight Title, as well as a fight for the NEF Maine State MMA Welterweight Title between Ryan Sanders (4-1) and UFC veteran Ricardo Funch (8-4). Tickets are on sale and most of cage-side sold-out within minutes. For more information on this 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”. Tickets for Fight Night IV are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling The Colisee box office at 207-783-2009.
About New England Fights!
New England Fights! (“NEF!”) is a Mixed Martial Arts promotions company. NEF!’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF!’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
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