[CES Press Release]
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (May 31st, 2016) -- Two weeks from now, Ryan Sanders will try to beat Luis Felix for the second time in six months, except there'll be much more at stake in this highly anticipated rematch.
The Bangor, Maine, native, who beat Felix in January when a severe knee injury forced Felix to tap in the second round, faces the Cranston, R.I., vet Friday, June 10th, 2016 in the five-round championship main event of "CES MMA 36" at Twin River Casino on AXS TV Fights.
Felix (14-9, 5 KOs), the reigning CES MMA Lightweight Champion, didn't defend his title against Sanders (9-7, 1 KO) in January because Sanders was a last-minute replacement for the injured Waylon Lowe fighting at a catch weight. This time, with both Felix and Sanders fighting at the lightweight limit of 155 pounds, the title is up for grabs as Felix officially makes his first defense since capturing the belt from former champion Julian Lane in August.
The Felix-Sanders rematch is one of five televised bouts on the June 10th card, which also features six preliminary bouts. Tickets are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club.
The main card of "CES MMA 36" also features the return of nine-time Bellator and three-time CES MMA vet Matt Bessette (18-7, 5 KOs) of Stafford Springs, Conn., who faces Brazilian Jairo Soares (17-10, 2 KOs) in a featherweight bout. Bessette has rebounded nicely since his knockout loss to Lenny Wheeler at "CES MMA 30," finishing each of his last three opponents within the first two rounds, including a first-round submission win over Taurean Bogguess at "CES MMA 33" in March.
Also back at Twin River on June 10th, East Providence, R.I., lightweight Nate Andrews (8-1, 5 KOs) looks to keep the momentum going following the most impressive win of his career at "CES MMA 33" in March, a dominant second-round knockout of Lane on national TV. In two weeks, Andrews faces Oklahoma's Luis Muro (4-1, 1 KO), who looks to rebound from his first career loss less than a month ago.
Lane, meanwhile, is looking to start a new win streak at "CES MMA 36," but will first have to get through Medford, Mass., lightweight Lewis Corapi (6-2, 3 KOs). The Ohio native Lane, who is now 10-5-1, recently snapped his three-fight losing streak in April with a submission win over Antonio Castillo Jr. Corapi hasn't fought in more than a year and has yet to avenge his March of 2015 loss to Jay Bakanowski; he was scheduled to face Providence's Keenan Raymond at "CES MMA 35" in April until Raymond sustained an injury the day of the fight.
Rounding out the main card, Fall River, Mass., native Josh LaBerge (10-5, 4 KOs) makes his third appearance with CES MMA in a lightweight bout against Maine's Jonathan Lemke (5-3, 4 KOs). LaBerge, also a former Strikeforce and Bellator vet, earned a hard-fought unanimous decision win over 40-fight vet Ran Weathers at "CES MMA 35," just his third fight since 2011.
Highlighting the preliminary card is the pro debut of Providence bantamweight Marquise Brewster and the return of undefeated New Britain, Conn., flyweight Carlos Candelario (3-0, 1 KO).
Brewster, who earned a promotional contract with CES MMA following a victory in his final amateur bout on the undercard of "CES MMA 35" last month in Beverly, Mass., faces Vladimir Kazbekov (0-1) of Welland, Ontario, while Candelario battles Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1) fresh off his thrilling 31-second knockout win over Luay Ashkar at "CES MMA 34" in April.
Also on the preliminary card, featherweight James Grant Murrin (3-4, 2 KOs) looks to snap his two-fight losing streak when he takes on Long Island native and two-time CES MMA vet Thomas English (5-6, 2 KO), who last appeared at Twin River in January of 2015 against current UFC featherweight Kyle Bochniak.
Dedham, Mass., featherweight Matt Tullos (1-0) faces Merab Dvalishvilli (2-2, 1 KO) of Long Island; Mashpee, Mass., welterweight Bobby Flynn (5-3, 1 KO) battles Queens native Kevin Horowitz (6-5); and Providence's Kurtis Parisi makes his pro debut against 15-fight vet Hector Sanchez in a middleweight bout. Flynn returns to the cage for the first time since August while Tullos makes his second appearance with CES MMA after winning his pro debut against Shah Bachok in March.
Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES36 to join the conversation.
-- CES --