Lewiston, Maine (December 11, 2012) -- New England Fights! (NEF) is pleased to announce the return of one the promotion's most popular fighters, Jamie Harrison (4-1), from an injury that sidelined him from competing at NEF's November 2012 event. The number-one contender to the Maine State Lightweight Championship will be back in the NEF cage at Fight Night VI. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 2nd at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, ME.
"It was such an unfortunate time to suffer an injury, just before our November event," stated NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo when reached for comment on Harrison's return. "Jamie was scheduled to face Dez Green to determine the first-ever Maine State MMA Lightweight Champion. We knew Jamie wanted the honor of being the inaugural titleholder, but fate had other plans."
"Being hurt in October was a huge disappointment," said Harrison. "I trained hard for a year straight with no injuries and was fortunate to be victorious in all my fights for NEF in 2012. The injury was not severe, but it was enough to keep me from getting ample time to train for my five round fight against Dez. I am now back to 100% physically and hope to start off 2013 the same way I did in 2012."
Harrison racked up a four-fight win streak as part of the NEF roster this year. The entire year of 2012 was a homecoming, of sorts, for Harrison who grew up in Maine and now lives and trains in Jacksonville, Florida. He got his first taste of competition wrestling for Windham High School where he placed second and third in state. Harrison went on to wrestle for the University of Southern Maine under assistant coach, and future UFC star and World Champion, the legendary Mike Brown (25-8). Now training in Florida at First Coast Full Contact, Harrison has risen to the level of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Purple Belt. In addition to MMA bouts, he has won several freestyle championships and competed in shoot fighting.
Harrison's opponent on February 2 will be Yann Oliveira (2-0), fighting out of Renzo Gracie BJJ in Derry, New Hampshire. Despite a respite early on in his pro career, Oliveira has been nothing short of impressive in his two previous outings.
"Yann made headlines on the local MMA scene in February 2010," stated NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson. "That was Yann's pro debut, and he TKO'd veteran Christian Rivera in 38 seconds. Then, he was inactive in MMA competition for nearly three years before returning to the cage this past fall. He picked up right where he left off, finishing Anthony Loycano by TKO in the third round. He's coming to Lewiston for a brawl on February 2nd, and no doubt he'll be looking to go 3-0 at the expense of Jamie Harrison, spoiling his latest homecoming. It's going to be exciting. These are two fighters who don't believe in leaving it up to the judges."
FIGHT NIGHT VI is scheduled for February 2, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine and will feature a headline bout for the Maine State Light Heavyweight Championship between Jesse Peterson (7-2) and Greg Rebello (14-5). The event will have a special start time of 6:00 pm. Tickets 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
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