Lewiston, Maine (February 27, 2014) – New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts (NEF MMA) is pleased to announce the addition of a professional lightweight bout to the fight promotion's May 10, 2014 card scheduled to take place at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. The fight card, titled "NEF XIII," will feature Jesse "The Viking" Erickson (2-2) squaring off with John Daniels (2-2) at a weight of 155-pounds.
Erickson, a native of Auburn, Maine and a coach at nearby Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ), has been an NEF MMA mainstay since the birth of the promotion two years ago. Having competed on nine of the promotion's twelve previous events, as well as NEF MMA's co-promotion with Bellator in March 2013, Erickson's entire fight career has been spent with the promotion. Earlier this month, at "NEF XII" in Lewiston, Erickson tasted victory for the second time as a professional when he submitted rival Tollison Lewis (0-1). When Erickson returns to the NEF MMA cage on May 10, he will seek to bring his professional record above .500 for the first time with a win over Daniels.
"This will be my tenth time stepping in the NEF cage and eleventh fight overall, and I'm starting to feel my experience when I'm in there," said Erickson when reached for comment. "I feel like I'm starting to put the pieces together and am becoming a more complete fighter. I'm hoping to display some more striking than usual in this fight. I feel myself getting better and look forward to showing all the fans all my hard work on May 10th."
Across the cage from Erickson will be John Daniels, a veteran of MMA who has competed in the sport for over five years. Daniels, at 35 years old, is a former high school wrestling champion from Connecticut and currently trains with Rock City MMA out of Rockland, Maine. He recently signed a long-term, multi-fight contract that will see him competing in the hot NEF MMA lightweight and featherweight divisions for the foreseeable future.
"I am really excited to get the opportunity to fight for a great promotion," said Daniels. "They put on great shows and they treat the fighters great. I will be fighting Jesse Erickson at 155-pounds. He is a strong competitor. I think with my strong wrestling and pankration background I will get the win. I will test his ground game and push the pace. My goal is to win the 155-pound and/or 145-pound titles. I plan on reaping havoc on both weight classes."
“NEF XIII” is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 10, 2014 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine with a bell time of 7:00 pm. Already announced, Maine State MMA Bantamweight Champion Paul Gorman (10-8) defends against undefeated Kin "Kong" Moy (5-0). In addition, "The" Ryan Sanders (6-4) will rematch Maine State MMA Welterweight Champion Gil de Freitas (15-5) nearly two years after de Freitas defeated Sanders for the inaugural title. Tickets for "NEF XIII" 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 MMA videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”