120 Dan Thayer 0-0 (Choi's) vs Jason Carpenter 0-0 (Independent)
In the first fight of the evening Dan Thayer takes on Jason Carpenter at a catchweight of 120 lbs. 120 lbs?? Wow, do I feel fat. Dan is from Choi's MMA and will be making his amateur debut. Jason is an independent fighter and also will be making his amateur debut. Two new fighters just trying to break out in the mma scene. Not a bad time to do it up in Maine in front of 2-3K fans.
125 Stephen Desjardins 2-3 (Team Irish) vs Jason Bell 0-1 (New England United)
Then Stephen Desjardins faces Jason Bell in the cage at 125lbs. Stephen is from Team Irish and has a 2-3 record. He has a decision and a submission victory so far in his amateur career. For his losses, he lost tko stoppage to strikes, 1 submission and one by decision. He will be looking to bring his record to .500 with a win this Saturday. His opponent Jason Bell is from New England United and has an 0-1 record. He lost his only fight by submission in Rd 2 at NEF X. He is hungry for his first taste of amateur victory. Pretty close match up, I don't see this fight making it to a decision. As a fan, I love finishes!
125 Trevor Hebert 1-2 (First Class MMA) vs Dustin Venoit 0-2 (CMBJJ)
Next up Trevor Hebert squares off against Dustin Venoit at 125lbs. NEF is starting the night off with the little guys! Trevor has a 1-2 record and trains with First Class MMA. He has lost one fight by submission and one fight by tko stoppage to strikes. His sole win came by tko stoppage to strikes and he will be looking for the stoppage once again! His opponent Dustin has an 0-2 record and trains with CMBJJ. He lost both of his fights so far, one by tko stoppage to strikes and the other by submission. He is still pursuing his first amateur victory. As you can see, this is another close match up so it should be a good one.
135 Ryan Daley 0-1 (Team Irish) vs John Crafts 0-0 (New England United)
Then Ryan Daley fights John Crafts at 135lbs. Ryan is from Team Irish and has an 0-1 record. He lost his first fight to Kevin Barrett in the first round by submission. He is looking for his first win this Saturday. His opponent is also searching for his first win as he makes his amateur debut. John is from New England United out of Maine. This should be a good fight and I think it will be a ground battle.
145 Aaron Lacey 2-0 (Young's MMA) vs Joshua Greenlaw 0-0 (Independent)
Aaron Lacy faces off against Joshua Greenlaw at 145lbs at NEF XII. Aaron is from Young's MMA and brings a 2-0 record. He has both of his wins by way of submission. Joshua is an independent fighter and will be making his amateur debut. He will have his work cut out for him facing off against an experienced 2-0 fighter so this fight will be interesting.
145 Charlie Stambach 2-0 (Team Irish) vs Carl Langston 0-2 (Balanced Ground)
Next Charlie Stambach takes on Carl Langston at 145lbs. Charlie has a 2-0 record and is from Team Irish. He has both of his wins by way of submission. No doubt he will be looking for another submission victory to add to his amateur record. Carl is from Balanced Ground MMA and has an 0-2 record. He lost one fight by submission and the other by tko to strikes. He is hungry for his first taste of mma victory. I feel this fight will be a ground battle and I don't see it going to a decision.
145 Caleb Costello 1-2 (Team Irish) vs Matt Denning 2-3 (CMBJJ)
Caleb Costello squares off against Matt Denning at 145lbs. Caleb is from Team Irish and brings a 1-2 record to the cage. He started off his career with two decision losses but then won his last fight by ko against Jimmy Jackson. He will be looking to continue his winning ways. His opponent Matt is from CMBJJ and has a 2-3 record. Matt has two submission victories and he fights some tough fighters. For his losses, he lost one by submission, one split decision and one by ko/tko. I think this one is going to be a good stand up battle and I feel it will go to a decision.
155 Jarrod Tyler 1-1 (Team Irish) vs Wayne Ahlquist 3-5 (Lakes Region)
At 155lbs Jarrod Tyler takes on Wayne Ahlquist. Jarrod is 1-1 and fights out of Team Irish. He lost his first fight by tko/ko stoppage to strikes. He won his second battle by decision victory in a great stand up battle against Nate Charles. He will be looking to continue his winning ways this Saturday. Wayne is from Lakes Region and has a 3-5 record. He is well rounded and won his 3 fights by ko/tko, one sub and one by decision. He lost one by decision, 2 by sub and 2 by ko/tko. I think this one is going to be a good stand up battle.
155 Jeremy Tyler 3-1 (Team Irish) vs Corey Hinkley 2-1 (CMBJJ)
Next up at 155lbs Jeremy Tyler fights Corey Hinkley. Jeremy has a 3-1 record and fights out of Team Irish. He has all 3 wins by way of submission. For his only loss he lost by submission to Tollison Lewis. NEF will remember him from his 3 fights with Tollison in which he won the last two battles by submission. His opponent Corey is from CMBJJ and has a 2-1 record. He lost his first fight by ko/tko and then bounced back with two straight wins, one by submission and one by decision. I think this will be a pretty even battle and should be a good ground battle.
185 Dan Connaughton 2-0 (Defensive Edge) vs Mike Vangelist 1-0 (AMMA)
Then Dan Connaughton faces off against Mike Vangelist at 185lbs. Dan is from Defensive Edge and has a 2-0 record. He has one win by submission and one by ko/tko so far in his amateur career. His opponent Mike is 1-0 and is from AMMA. He won his first fight by submission against Crowsneck Boutin near the end of the first round. This is a close match with both fighters being undefeated and I think it will be a ground battle.
200 Brandon Gibbs 1-0 (CMBJJ) vs Crowsneck Boutin 3-6 (Choi's)
At a catch weight of 200lbs Brandon takes on Crowsneck Boutin. Brandon is from CMBJJ and has a 1-0 record. He won his first fight at NEF VI by ko/tko over Jason Gilbert. He is looking to improve his record to 2-0. His opponent Crowsneck is from Choi's mma and has a 3-6 record. He has hit a bad streak as of late and lost 4 straight fights in a row. He has two wins by ko/tko and one by decision. This should be a good battle and we will see if Crowsneck's 9 fight experience will play a factor in this fight.
285 Kevin Smith 2-1 (Young’s MMA) vs Devon Newell 0-0 (Sipayik Boxing Club)
In the last amateur bout of the evening Kevin Smith takes on Devon Newell at 285lbs. Yes super heavyweight! Kevin is from Young's MMA and has a 2-1 record. He lost his very first fight by submission and then bounced back with two straight victories. He won one by submission and one by ko/tko in Rd 1. Now a big guy at this level is hard to submit. His opponent Devon is from Sipayik Boxing club and will be making his amateur debut. I doubt this fight will go to a decision and I can't wait to see this one.
145 Bruce Boyington 5-6 (Young’s MMA) vs John Raio 1-4 (First Class MMA/Choi's)
In the first pro fight of the evening Bruce Boyington takes on John Raio at 145lbs. Bruce is on a roll lately and comes into this fight with a 5-6 record. He trains out of Young's MMA and is riding a 2 fight win streak. He lost the majority of his losses by submissions and of course everyone remembers his awesome spinning kick knockout victory that was a highlight reel KO. He always brings a ton of fans and the thing is in this fight is so will his opponent John Raio. John has a 1-4 record and trains with First Class MMA and Choi's. He started off his pro career with 4 straight losses by ko/tko. In his last fight he defeated Asa Zorn by ko/tko and is looking to continue his win streak. This is a tough fight for me because I am huge fans of both of them and it sucks that I have to see one of them lose this Saturday!
170 Ryan Cowette 1-2 (MMA Athletix) vs Dave Claroni 0-1 (Olympia)
At 170lbs Ryan Cowette takes on Dave Clarino. Yes this is the convict vs. cop fight that we all heard about. For the record Ryan is a wicked cool guy and only stole some items from a car when he was younger. He is the head of MMA Athletix and comes into this fight with an 1-2 record. He lost his first two fights with one by ko/tko to elbows. In his second fight it was stopped prematurely by guillotine standing so he had the loss there as well. He bounced back with a submission victory over Jesse Erickson and is looking to continue his winning ways. His opponent Dave is a man of the law in Eastport Maine and trains with Olympia. He has an 0-1 record coming in this fight in which he lost by ko/tko. Close matchup and I think this one will be won on the ground.
155 Jesse Erickson 1-2 (CMBJJ) vs Tollison Lewis 0-0 (Balanced Ground MMA)
Next Jesse Erickson faces Tollison Lewis at 155lbs. Jesse trains with CMBJJ and has a 1-2 record. He will also have the best beard of the evening from any fighter! His two fights he lost one by submission and one by ko/tko to strikes. His one win came submission over Josh Parker. He is very slick on the ground so get ready for a ground battle. Tollison is from Balanced Ground MMA and will be making his pro debut. He had lots of amateur fights and I believe his record was 4-9 as an amateur. He is very well rounded and I know he will have no problem making his pro debut. As an amateur they both fought each other and Erickson won it by ko/tko to strikes early in Rd 1.
170 Jarod Lawton 3-1 (New England United) vs John Ortolani 7-8 (Team Triumph)
At 170 lbs Jarod Lawton takes on John Ortolani. Jarod is from New England United and has a 3-1 record. He has 3 submission wins and his last two fights I saw and he came from behind to get the win both times. That is how he got his nickname Last Minute Lawton! He is as slick as they come on the ground and in his last fight with Cody Anderson his striking didn't look that bad either. His opponent Orto has a 7-8 record and is from Team Triumph. Ortolani has the extra fight experience and in his career he has fought tough dudes the entire time. He has won most of his fights by ko/tko and decision and he does have one submission victory. He is on a two fight losing streak and is ready to turn that around this Saturday.
185 *Title Jesse Peterson 7-4 (CMBJJ/SSSF) vs Mike Zichelle 6-3 (Team Triumph)
In the only title fight of the evening Jesse Peterson will fight Mike Zichelle at 185lbs. Jesse trains with CMBJJ and SSSF and has a 7-4 record. Jesse is well rounded with many of his wins by submission and decisions. He lost the majority of his losses by ko/tko and is on a two fight losing streak. At one point he had two NEF titles, one at 205 and this one at 185. His opponent Mike is from Triumph and has a 6-3 record. Mike has won the majority of his last fights by ko/tko and is riding a 2 fight win streak. He lost two out of 3 of his losses by submission. He has looked better and better each fight and I expect him to continue this trend. This fight is worthy of being called a title fight and mma fans will be in for a good battle.
170 Marcus Davis 22-10 (Team Irish) vs Ryan Sanders 5-4 (Young’s MMA)
In the main event Marcus Davis will fight Ryan Sanders at 170lbs. Marcus Davis is a UFC veteran with a 22-10 record and is the heart of Team Irish. He has 6 ko/tk0, 9 sub and 7 decision victories in his career. For his losses he has 3 ko/tko, 3 submissions and 4 by decision. Ryan is from Young's MMA and has a 5-4 record. He has all 5 of his wins by submission. For his losses he lost 1 ko/tko, 1 sub and 2 by decision. This is going to be a good battle and I feel it is going to come down to a decision. How do you all see it going down??
As you can see NEF has once again put together an awesome card. They have sold already 2000+ tickets and it may very well sell out by the time the show begins so don't wait! Warchild and I will be making the hike up there to capture all the action for you all. Thanks to NEF for always keeping their fight cards up to date and for the nice press releases they always share with us. I can't wait to see this show this Saturday as I am sure there will be some memorable fights happening.