Lewiston, Maine (October 20, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America's number-one regional fight promotion, is proud to announce that the promotion's reigning professional mixed-martial-arts (MMA) middleweight champion will compete on the Bellator card this Friday, October 23, 2015 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Reigning NEF MMA Professional Middleweight Champion "Ruthless" Mike Zichelle (7-3) will face Kevin Haley (3-3) on the preliminary card of "Bellator 144: Halsey vs. Carvalho." The bout will take place in the light-heavyweight division at a weight of 205-pounds. For those unable to make it to Mohegan Sun this Friday, the preliminary card will begin streaming live at 7:00 pm on www.Bellator.com.
Zichelle joins NEF MMA Professional Lightweight Champion Bruce "Pretty Boy" Boyington (11-8) and NEF MMA Professional Heavyweight Champion Tyler "The Marauder" King (9-4) as the third NEF titleholder to compete on a national fight card in a six-day period. Both Boyington and King fought on the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) event last Saturday at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Zichelle has held the NEF middleweight title since winning it at "NEF XII" in February 2014. He is a member of Boston BJJ of Nashua, New Hampshire.
"Fighting for NEF gave me a platform to make a name far from home, and it gave me a chance to establish relationships with some amazing people from the state of Maine," said Zichelle. "I am honored to represent the people of Maine because I absolutely love how passionate they are about fighting, so to be their champion is awesome. Time and time again, champions from NEF get the call to fight in the big show and I'm another example of that. I have only been taking this sport seriously for three fights and with a 3-0 record and being the NEF Middleweight Champion, I got the call up to the big leagues! I am so excited to showcase everything that I have been working on and if there is anything I look forward to, it's the reaction from everyone when they see me fight in just a couple weeks and people compare the version of me that fought for the title in 2014 because a lot has changed between now and then. Thank you to Matt Peterson (NEF co-owner and matchmaker) and thank you to NEF for the opportunity to become a champion in this sport and most importantly thank you to the fans! Stay passionate! I look forward to putting on a show for Maine down the road!"
New England Fights' next event, "NEF XX: A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE," takes place on November 21, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine. The event will mark the first time in Maine history a mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event and a professional boxing event have taken place together on the same show. Tickets for "NEF XX" start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée 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 videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”