NEF 28: The Fallout
Travis Lizotte
New
England Fights once again made its march through Lewiston, Maine on Saturday
night, April 29th, with the promotion’s 28th show. Injuries
ultimately limited the fight card to just nine bouts that culminated in the
highly anticipated main event for the NEF Lightweight Title; Jon Lemke v. “The”
Ryan Sanders II, for NEF’s previously vacant 155 pound belt. It was evident early
that it was going to be a fast and furious night of fights when all four of the
fights on the Amateur undercard ended by first round TKO/KO, in fact none of
the fights on Saturday’s fight card would need the assistance from the judges. With
six TKO/KO’s and three Submissions, all within the first two rounds; NEF 28:
Invincible would end up being a, “Do not blink” type of night at the Androscoggin
Bank Colisee. With the highlights coming early and often in the NEF cage, here
are some of the stories I took away from the night that was NEF 28: Invincible.
Sanders v. Lemke II
John Raio’s First Class MMA fighters; Dominic
Jones (1-0 Professional), Jacob Deppmeyer (1-1 Amateur) and Josh Jones (1-0
Amateur) go 3-0 with three first round TKO’s on the night. The Brunswick,
Maine based gym, First Class MMA, which is operated by former NEF fighter John
Raio, brought three of its athletes to the NEF cage Saturday, with overwhelming
results. Josh Jones lead off the night, and in his amateur debut and all he
needed was 20 seconds to bloody up Sean Worcester, resulting in a referee stoppage
victory that set the tone for the rest of the evening. In the third fight of
the night, at a Catchweight of 140 pounds; Jacob Deppmeyer took just 1:17 to
drop Glenn Kasabian and earn his first MMA victory by referee’s stoppage. The team’s
third fight on the bill had Dominic Jones making his professional debut against
the veteran Tollison Lewis, Dominic Jones followed in his teammates footsteps
when he kicked off the professional portion of the evening with yet another
first round knockout. Dominic Jones deployed powerful wrestling and great
submission defense to dominate the fight on the mat, where he used vicious
ground and pound to stop the NEF Veteran Lewis at 4:30 in round one. With the team’s
success Saturday night it is rumored that First Class MMA could have as many as
seven fighters on the next NEF card which takes place June 17th,
including each of the three fighters who earned huge wins at NEF 28. This is a
huge step forward for First Class MMA as they continue to provide NEF with some
of its top talent and most exciting combatants.
Dominic Jones Celebrates his First Round TKO Victory
Team Link Hooksett product
Walter Smith Cotito (5-5) earns an impressive Submission win in his effort to
get back in the cage with some of the best New England Featherweights. Cotito,
who has made a name for himself clashing against some of the premier
Featherweights on the regional circuit was looking to do more of the same
Saturday night when he was scheduled to face off against undefeated Young’s MMA
rising star Aaron Lacey. Lacey however, was injured during his training camp
and NEF turned to the veteran of 34 Amateur fights Andre Belcarris, who would
make his Professional debut against the Veteran Cotito. Walter did a great job
in this fight translating his extreme athleticism that he shows in the gym, to
the cage, something that Coach Ed Carr has been working on with Walter. Walter
has always been one of the most talented men on the mats at Team Link in
Hooksett but has had some trouble “turning it on” in the cage. There was no
doubt Saturday night that Walter found it inside himself to “turn it on,” as he
used a dominant first round, mostly on the feet, with a second round where he
displayed his grappling and submission ability to earn a decisive second round
submission victory via Rear Naked Choke against the newly turned professional
Belcarris. Cotito was every bit of the fighter he needs to be in the NEF cage
Saturday night if he is going to find himself back in the cage with the top
Featherweights again. Although the fight with Lacey was a really exciting fight
for the Team Link crew, they have to be excited that Cotito preformed as the
top level fighters he is against the lesser known Belcarris as Cotito continues
to move in the right direction toward another Featherweight feature fight.
Walter Smith Cotito v. Andre Belcarris
Team Link Celebrates Cotito's Second Round Submission Victory
Josh “Hook On” Harvey (4-0) maintains his
undefeated record against Derek “Shatterproof 2.0” Shorey (4-9) who was fighting
to support his children whose home was lost to fire. When Derek Shorey and
Josh Harvey lost their opponents shortly before NEF 28 due to injuries, the two
fighters decided to help save the fight card, and a pay check, and fight one
another. For Shorey, the pay check meant more than ever, after his children
were displaced from their home following a multi alarm fire that destroyed the apartment
building where they dwelled with their mother in Somersworth, NH. Shorey made
it known that he needed this fight in order to help provide for his children.
As for Harvey, he wasn’t interested in losing an entire fight camp and welcomed
Shorey to share the cage with him in efforts to give the fans what they wanted
to see. Harvey showed early why he is such a highly regarded prospect on the
NEF roster as he absolutely dismantled the veteran Shorey, knocking Shorey out
cold with some vicious elbows from full mount. You have to give it to both
fighters in this situation, Shorey for doing the only thing he knew how to do;
fight for his family and to Harvey for adjusting to the change in opponent and
continuing his tear through the Featherweight division. I look for Harvey to be
back in the cage soon as he looks to prove himself as one of the top
Featherweights in New England.
Josh "Hook On" Harvey
“The” Ryan Sanders (14-8) writes a
Fairytale final chapter in his rivalry with Team Irish and Jon Lemke (6-8) as
he captures the most highly regarded Belt in all of New England MMA. There
was no mistaking the story behind the Main Event of the evening at NEF 28. As I
described in my preview of the fight; the Sanders/ Lemke rivalry went back much
further than their battle at NEF 26 in November of last year when a cut to the
head of Lemke caused the fight to be finished after just two rounds, declaring
Sanders the winner by decision under the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.
The two men were former training partners at Team Irish under the leadership of
former UFC Veteran Marcus Davis, but when Sanders left Team Irish to train at
Young’s MMA a rivalry was born. Shortly after the two parties split Sanders
would fight his former Coach Davis, at NEF 12 where he defeated his former
tutor. Lemke on the other hand continued his loyalty to Team Irish throughout
the split and was seeking revenge for his Coach and training partner Marcus
Davis in his efforts to capture the NEF Lightweight crown. When opening round
wins pitted the two foes together in the tournament finals for the NEF 155
pound belt the story between the two sides had come full circle. Lemke came out
in the first round looking to punch his way through Sanders in a very active
first round with both fighters landing significant strikes, Lemke capped off
the final minute of the round with a takedown that likely won him the first
round on the judges’ scorecards. In the second round Sanders came out the aggressor
and eventually ended up with a guillotine choke that caused Lemke to tap in the
first half minute of the second round. For Lemke his second chance at
redemption had come up short and for Sanders capturing the title put to bed any
question that fans had following the two’s first contest. Sanders hopes to
follow in the footsteps of NEF Lightweight Champions before him as the last
three 155 pound champions in the promotion have all been signed to National
Promotions; Devin Powell to the UFC, Bruce Boyington to the WSOF and Des Green
to Bellator, a history that has made the NEF Lightweight crown the most highly sought
after titles in the Northeast. If the National Promotions don’t come calling
soon Ryan had no problem calling out CES fighters Luis Felix and Nate Andrews
as possible match ups the next time he steps into the cage.
Sanders Captures NEF Lightweight Gold
NEF 29:
Stars & Stripes will take place on June 17th at the Androscoggin
Bank Colisee and the headliner has already been announced; as Ray Wood (8-3)
returns from a run in Bellator to face Alexandre Berzerra (19-5) for the nights
Main Event. Other fights also announced; the return of Ras Hylton (1-0) as he
battles Eric Ramsey (0-1), Rafael Velado (4-0) defends his Amateur Lightweight
Belt against Pat Kelly (3-0), Paul Gorman (10-9) takes on James Blair (5-0) and
Alex Walker (3-1) faces off with Sarah Ziehm (1-0). For Tickets Call
207.783.2009 or visit www.thecolisee.com.
