New England Fights is back this Saturday with their 7th Fight Night show on May 18th, 2013. It is their biggest card to date with 31 fights if I can still count correctly. The card has 9 pro fights with some real big names on it including Marcus Davis. The show will take place in Lewiston Maine and tickets are still on sale here starting at just $25. One thing I would like to point out is the doors open at 3pm and the first fight should start around 4pm so please plan accordingly. As long as traffic is good we should be there in time to talk about all the action. Nick DiSalvo and Matt Peterson have put together an epic card and I got a good feeling the Maine-iacs are all going to come out in full force. Let me break down the card for you....Keep in mind this will not be the final fight order.
265 Kevin Smith 0-1 (Young’s MMA) vs Jordan Dickens 0-1 (Judokai kan Jui Jitsu)
Kevin Smith takes on Jordan Dickens for a heavyweight bout. Kevin trains with Young's MMA and comes into this battle with an 0-1 record. I apologize but I wasn't able to find any info on Kevin but I can assure you being from Young's MMA, he will be ready. Jordan trains with Judokai kan Jui Jitsu and comes into this fight also with an 0-1 record. I was not able to find any of the previous fight info on Jordan either. I sure hope this isn't a common theme for the rest of the teaser :)
205 Ramone Saintvil 0-0 (CMBJJ) vs Mike Secord 0-0 (Balanced Ground)
At 205 lbs Ramone Saintvil takes on Mike Secord. Ramone trains with CMBJJ and will be making his amateur debut. Mike trains with Balanced Ground and also will be making his amateur debut. I love it when two amateurs are ready to display their raw unseen talent to the fans. You just never know what to expect.
195 Jacob Cameron 0-1 (Independent) vs Chris Cobbett 0-0 (CMBJJ)
At 195 lbs Jacob Cameron takes on Chris Cobbett. Jacob is an independent fighter with an 0-1 record. He fought Cheyenne Vasquez at Combat Zone and lost with a tko in just 21 seconds. He informed me that he is ready and will make it past 21 seconds this time! Chris trains out of CMBJJ and will be making his amateur debut. He will be looking to get a quick finish on Jacob.
185 Crowsneck Boutin 2-2 (Independent) vs John Parker 0-1 (Team Kaze)
At 185 lbs Crowsneck Boutin takes on John Parker. Crowsneck comes into this fight with a 2-2 record and is an independent fighter. He started out losing his first two fights but has made a full 180 and won his last two fights by way of fist. His opponent John trains with team Kaze and comes into this fight with an 0-1 record. He lost his first bout to Tim Fields via split decision. This is going to be a battle right here let me tell you. Both fighters like to stand and bang and this one is a potential for fight of the night!
185 Buck Pineau 5-2 (Choi’s) vs Allan Josselyn 3-2 (Team Kaze)
Next up is Buck Pineau against Allan Josselyn at 185lbs. Buck comes into this bout with a 5-2 record and trains out of Choi's. Buck has 3 submission victories and is fresh off a very tough fight against Mike Rodriguez where he won with a guillotine for the CFX title. He lost one to submission and his other loss to none other than Allan Josselyn which I will talk about in a minute. Allan trains with team Kaze and has a 3-2 record. Allan is one tough SOB and he always puts on great fights. His last fight he lost to Isiah Queen to submission in rd 3. He has two decision victories and one ko victory. Now this is a rematch that happened at Fight Night IV in which Buck caught Allan with a head kick in rd 1 and Allan weathered the storm and won the decision. Both fighters are from two good teams and no doubt will be ready and perhaps with a slight different game plan. Allan is out to prove the first fight was no fluke and for Buck it is about redemption.
175 Kent Smallwood 0-0 (Team Irish) vs Brandon Traknis 0-0 (Independent)
Then NEF has Kent Smallwood against Brandon Traknis at 175lbs. Kent is one of the many fighters from Team Irish on the card and will be making his amateur debut. Brandon is an independent fighter and will also be making his amateur debut. With both fighters being new to the cage I can't give too much insight but I will say Kent will be ready so I hope Brandon is too.
170 Joel Adams 0-2 (Team Irish) vs Nelson Blanco 0-0 ( First Coast Full Contact)
Joel Adams takes on Nelson Blanco at 170lbs. Joel is from Team Irish and has an 0-2 record. He lost two fights to submissions. Nelson trains out of First Coast Full Contact and will be making his amateur debut. Joel Adams hasn't fought since March of 2012 so we will have to see if cage rust is a factor in this fight. Then again on the flip side Nelson has never been in the cage.
170 Adam Nielsen 0-0 (Team Irish) vs Art Belgrade 1-1 (First Coast Full Contact)
Adam Nielsen takes on Art Belgrade at 170lbs. Adam is from Team Irish and will be making his amateur debut. Art is from First Coast Full Contact and has a 1-1 record. I was not able to find much info from Art but I think he is from Florida. We will have to wait to see how this one pans out.
170 Andrew Hughes 4-1 (Team Irish) vs Scott Basci 1-1 (F2 Arena)
At 170lbs Andrew Hughes will fight Scott Basci. Andrew comes into this fight with a 4-1 record and is from Team Irish. See I told you there were many fighters from Team Irish on this card! He has one decision and 3 submission victories in his career. His one loss was to Mike Drohan at a CFX to decision. His opponent Scott trains with F2 Arena and has a 1-1 record. He has one submission victory and one loss to tko ref stoppage. I see this fight being a ground battle and most likely one of them will be winning via submission.
170 Andrew Tripp 4-0 (Team Irish) vs Steven Prue 1-1 (F2 Arena)
Next up is Andrew Tripp and Steven Prue at 170lbs. Andrew trains with team Irish and has a 4-0 record. He has 3 subs and one decision victory in his career. He will be looking to keep his undefeated record intact. His opponent Steven has a 1-1 and trains with F2 Arena. F2 Arena is the crew that comes up from Florida. They aren't making the trip to lose and that is for sure. He has won one fight via submission and lost one via submission. Again I see this fight being a ground battle and most likely ending by submission.
170 Jarrod Tyler 0-0 (Team Irish) vs Chris Ouellette 0-0 (Havoc)
At 170lbs Jarrod Tyler takes on Chris Ouellette. Jarrod trains with Team Irish and will be making his amateur debut. Chris is also making his amateur debut and trains with team Havoc. Two fighters who have never been in the cage before so who can predict what will happen. We will find out this Saturday!
170 Dylan Morrison 0-0 (IABJJ) vs Steve Earland 1-1 (Team Irish)
Dylan Morrison will be facing off in the cage against Steve Earland at 170lbs. Dylan trains with IABJJ and will be making his amateur debut. Steve trains with Team Irish and has a 1-1 record. I couldn't find all of his info but he did lose to Brian Sparrows via submission at a CFX show. Dylan is giving up some experience in the cage on this match up so we will have to see if that will be a factor on Saturday evening.
165 Jeremy Tyler 0-0 (Team Irish) vs Tollison Lewis 2-5 (Balanced Ground MMA)
Jeremy Tyler will fight Tollison Lewis at 165lbs. Jeremy is from Team Irish and will be making his amateur debut. Tollison trains with BGMMA and has a 2-5 record. Tollison's record may not show it but he has fought some beasts and always gives 110% in the cage. Now looking at the records Jeremy is giving up some major difference in records on taking this fight but being from Team Irish I know he will be ready. Tollison is always ready to scrap and I expect this to be a good one folks.
155 Dominic Cofone 2-0 (Balanced Ground) vs Rob Solveson 1-2 (Bombsquad)
At 155lbs Dom Cofone takes on Rob Solveson. Dom quickly became 2-0 and is out of Balanced Ground. He has a submission and a decision victory in his career. Now when I say quickly he won two fights in 16 days. He has taken a few months off and is now ready to step in the cage. He is a good wrestler and had some good slams when I saw him for his first win. Rob is 1-2 and from Bombsquad. He won't be coming up from New York for a loss. His two losses came from Andrew Tripp and Josh Mayville from submissions. His sole win was also from submission. This is a good match up and challenge for both fighters and I see this one being a ground battle.
155 Caleb Hall 1-0 (MV Wrestling) vs Corey Hinckley 0-0 (CMBJJ)
Caleb Hall will face off in the cage against Corey Hinckley. Caleb trains with MV Wrestling and has a 1-0 record. Caleb got his first win against John Parker via submission in just 51 seconds of round 1. He will be looking for the quick sub once again. Corey trains with CMBJJ and he will be making his amateur debut. CMBJJ has some great fighters and coaches so I am sure he will be ready. I am sure this will be another ground battle.
145 Trevor Kell 2-0 (Team Irish) vs Matt Denning 0-1 (CMBJJ)
Trevor Kell faces off against Matt Denning at 145lbs. Trevor trains out of Team Irish and has a 2-0 record. He has a ref stoppage and a decision in his career. Matt trains with CMBJJ and has an 0-1 record. He has a decision loss to Dom Cofone in his career and is hungry for his first amateur victory. I talked with him a month ago and I know he has been training hard so he will be ready. Now one thing that could be a factor is Trevor hasn't fought since 2011 for some reason or another.
145 Caleb Costello 0-1 (Team Irish) vs Alex Clark 0-0 (CMBJJ)
Caleb Costello takes on Alex Clark at 145lbs. Caleb trains with Team Irish and has an 0-1 record. His only fight he lost to Ken Kersch via decision. Alex is out of CMBJJ and will be making his amateur debut. Caleb has proven he can go the distance and this one may go to a decision as well. I can't wait to see how this one turns out.
140 Cody Sargent 1-3 (Balanced Ground MMA) vs Erik Nelson 0-1 (CMBJJ)
At a catchweight of 140 lbs Cody Sargent takes on Erik Nelson. Cody has a 1-3 record and fights out of BGMMA. Cody last fought against Jordan Pope and had a real good battle with him. He was winning the fight and Jordan used his jiu jitsu and subbed him with a deep triangle in rd 2. Cody has proven he can go the distance and can sub his opponent too. Erik trains with CMBJJ and has an 0-1 record. His only fight he lost to John Raio via decision. I see this fight being a close battle and going to decision.
130 Trevor Hebert 0-0 (Frosty’s First Class Fight Team) vs Mike Brown 0-0 (DWMMA/TPS)
Next up is Trevor Hebert against Mike Brown at 130 lbs. Trevor is out of Frosty's new gym Frosty's First Class Fight Team and will be making his amateur debut. Mike is from DWMMA/TPS and will be making his amateur debut as well. Two new fighters making their debut so who knows what will happen. We will find out this Saturday.
135 Nick Spencer 2-3 (Choi’s) vs Steve Sobel 2-1 (Young’s MMA)
Nick Spencer takes on Steve Sobel at 135lbs. Nick is out of Choi's school and has a 2-3 record. He lost two fights to decision and one to submission. He won one fight via submission and the other ref stoppage to strikes. Steve used to be an independent fighter and is now with Young's MMA. He is looking better and better ever fight. His last one he dominated all 3 rounds James Dougherty and no doubt he will be looking to grind out another victory. If Nick can stand his ground and avoid the takedown I think he got a chance. If not it could be a long fight for him on his back.
***133 Maria Rios 3-0 (The Academy) vs Janice Meyer 1-0 (Power of One)**Cancelled
125 Norman Fox 0-0 (MMA Athletix) vs John Parker 0-2 (Team Nitemare)
Next up is Norman Fox against John Parker at 125lbs. Norman is from MMA Athletix and will be making his ammy debut. John is from Team Nitemare and comes into this fight with a 0-2 record. He has two losses, both of them to submissions. He will be hungry for his first ammy mma win. I love to watch the 125lbers go at it because they are so fast and agile.
125 Stephen Desjardins 1-2 (Team Irish) vs Connor Murphy 1-0 (CMBJJ)
For the last amateur fight of the evening is between Stephen Desjardins and Connor Murphy. Stephen has a 1-2 record and is from Team Irish. He lost one to submission and one to decision. His sole victory came via decision. Connor trains with CMBJJ and has a 1-0 record. He last fought John Parker and won with submission to strikes in rd 1. He put on a dominating performance and showed some excellent wrestling. This should be a good challenge for him and I think this will be a good battle. Now onto the pro fights.
----------------------------------Professional Fights-----------------------------------------
125 Ernesto Ornelas 1-2 (Choi’s) vs Matt Almy 0-0 (Bombsquad)
For the first pro fight, Ernesto Ornelas takes on Matt Almy. Ernesto is from Choi's and comes into this fight with a 1-2 record. He lost his first two bouts via submissions but bounced back with a nice win against Jimmy Alexander at Combat Zone. His opponent Matt is from Bombsquad and will be making his pro debut. He had a good amateur career and was 2-2 I believe. He had a decision and a guillotine victory and will be hungry for a taste of his first pro victory. This is going to be a good battle at 125lbs and should kick off the pro fights nicely.
125 Tommy Balzano 0-1 (Team Irish) vs Jimmy Alexander 0-4 (F2 Arena)
Next up at 125lbs Tommy Balzano takes on Jimmy Alexander. Tommy trains with Team Irish and has an 0-1 record. I wasn't able to find the pro fight on Tommy in the databases. Looks like he has a 1-3 amateur career. His opponent Jimmy trains with F2 Arena and has an 0-4 record. He lost all four of his fights in the first round. Record wise, I think this is a good match up. Both fighters will be looking to get their first pro victory so it should be a good battle.
155 Jon Lemke 2-0 (Team Irish) vs George Reagan 2-1 (First Coast Full Contact)
Jon Lemke takes on George Reagan at 155lbs. Jon is from Team Irish and has a 2-0 record. Jon has had two great fights for his pro career. He fought an awesome battle at a previous NEF against Nate Oses. He then fought for Bellator up in Maine and beat Jesse Erickson....memba that?? He has some great stand up and has proven he can go the distance if needed. George trains with First Coast Full Contact and has a 2-1 record. I wasn't able to find all his info but he has a decision win and a decision loss. I think this will be a good stand up battle and will go to a decision.
155 Jesse Erickson 0-1 (CMBJJ) vs Josh Parker 4-5 (Independent)
Next up is Jesse Erickson against Josh Parker at 155lbs. Jesse trains with CMBJJ and has an 0-1 record. Jesse just recently went pro for Bellator and suffered a loss to Jon Lemke. Jesse had a great amateur career and went 4-2. He will be looking for his first pro victory. Josh Parker is an independent fighter and has a 4-5 record. Josh has 1 KO/TKO, 2 SUBs and 1 Decision victory in his career. He has lost 3 of his 5 losses to submisions. I feel this is another good match up and a decent challenge for each fighter. If Josh can keep Jesse standing, I think he can has a good shot at the victory. Otherwise I think Jesse has the better ground game.
155 Henry Martinez 9-5 (Team Irish) vs Dez Green 8-1 (Bombsquad) [LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE]
Then NEF has Henry Martinez against Dez Green at 155lbs. Henry is from Team Irish and has a 9-5 record. The majority of Henry's wins came from submissions and decisions so he is comfortable on the ground. His opponent Dez is 8-1 and is from team Bombsquad. Did I mention this is for the lightweight title?? The majority of Dez's wins came from decision and he is an outstanding wrestler. This is a real tough fight for both fighters and I think it is going to be a ground battle. This will be another big win for Dez if he can pull it off.
145 Ray Wood 2-0 (Young’s MMA) vs Ahsan Abdullah 3-2 (Bombsquad)
Next up at 145lbs is the phenom Ray Wood against Ahsan Abdullah. Ray is out of Young's MMA and has an undefeated record of 2-0. I believe he was 5-1 amateur with wins over some excellent 145ers. He then went pro and was back to business ending his fights with tko stoppages to strikes. His opponent Ahsan trains out of Bombsquad and has a 3-2 record. Ahsan has two submission and one decision victories in his career. His two losses came via split decision. This one could very well go all the way to decision. This one could definitely be fight of the night because one thing Ray Wood never is and that is boring to watch!
175 Jarrod Lawton 2-1 (AIBJJ) vs Cody Anderson 1-1 (Team Triumph)
Then NEF has Jarrod Lawton against Cody Anderson at 175lbs. Jarrod has a 2-1 record and trains with AIBJJ. Jarrod's two wins came from submision. His only loss came by the hands of Darrius Heyliger who is the main event of the evening by doctor stoppage. NEF fans will remember Jarrod's last fight against Ryan Sanders where he won literally with seconds left in the final round. The fans including me were breathless. Cody trains with Triumph and has a 1-1 record. Cody was 5-0 amateur and recently went pro at the end of last year. He won his first bout against Hector Sanchez with a brutal slam. His last fight was against Ryan Hodge and he got caught with a sub early in Rd 1. I think Cody got to keep this fight standing for a bit to win this. Jarrod can pull off some slick submissions as Ryan Sanders has found out. This one definitely has potential to be fight of the night or even sub of the night!
265 Travis Bartlett 8-3 (Syndicate) vs Tyler King 6-1 (Connors) [HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE]
Next up is the Heavyweight title showdown against Travis Bartlett and Tyler King. This fight was supposed to happen a few NEF's ago and I for one am happy it is happening this Saturday. Travis trains with Syndicate and has an 8-3 record. Most of Travis's wins were from KO/TKO's. He is from Maine so no doubt the Maine fans will be in full capacity. Tyler trains with Connor's MMA and has a 6-1 record. Randy Smith was supposed to be fighting Travis but pulled out and Tyler anxiously stepped in. Ironically enough Tyler's only loss came by the hands of Randy Smith. Tyler has won a couple of his fights from submission which is very rare for a heavyweight fighter. Travis will want to keep this standing and go for the knockout and Tyler will want to get this fight to the ground and get in his knees from the clinch. This one I don't see going all five rounds, that is for sure!
170 Marcus Davis 21-9 (Team Irish) vs Darrius Heyliger 4-1-1 (Bombsquad)
Now for the main event! It is between Marcus Davis and Darrius Heyliger at 170lbs. Marcus has a 21-9 record and is from Team Irish. He has fought for the UFC several times and his last fight was for Bellator which ended in an unfortunate no contest due to knee to the cup (or breadbasket). Marcus is very well rounded and has wins in all aspects of MMA. Darrius is from Bombsquad and has a 4-1 record. Darrius is also very well rounded. This is a HUGE step up for Darrius and many fight fans that I talk to believe he can win this. Personally I think Marcus has the experience and it will be too much for Darrius. Remember when Tim Sylvia fought Randy Smith NEF fans?? The beauty of MMA is that anything can happen and Darrius might very well make me at my words! This one is going to be an awesome fight and I will be on the edge of my seat. Will you???
There you have the NEF teaser. I think this sets a record for the most fights I will see on one card and I don't know about you but my hands are tired from typing this one. Nick DiSalvo told me he pictures me writing this teaser with a ink quill and a scroll by candlelight. Sorry Nick, but I cannot give away my trade secrets :) It is going to be a long night of fights but no doubt everyone will get their moneys worth. Make sure you get there a little early and check out the apparel vendors. Kill Their Will, SuckerPunch and Occupy the Cage are usually there and they have some great designs. Thanks to NEF for always keeping us in the loop on the fight card changes so we can provide you all with the most up to date card. See you all there!