[NEF PRESS RELEASE]
Portland, Maine (October 21, 2021) – New England Fights (NEF) returns with its next mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event, “NEF 45: Uprising,” on Friday, November 5, 2021, at Aura in Portland, Maine. Earlier today, the fight promotion announced the main event for the card. Josh “Hook On” Harvey (7-1-1) will defend the NEF Professional Featherweight Title against Aguilando Brandao (9-8) at a fight weight of 145 pounds.
Josh Harvey has held the NEF Pro Featherweight Championship since February 2019 when he defeated Bill Jones (13-12) at “NEF 37” for the vacant strap. It was the second time Harvey had captured gold in the NEF cage. In 2015, he won the promotion’s amateur lightweight title at “NEF 18” with a first-round submission of Ricky Dexter (1-0). Harvey will be looking to bounce back from a non-title loss to Jesse Erickson (10-8) in the lightweight division at “NEF 42” in February 2020. It was the first loss of Harvey’s professional career. He currently represents Vision Quest Muay Thai based in Newport, Maine.
“I’m excited and grateful to have a chance to show the evolution of my skill set,” said Harvey. “Through this Covid vacation my coach and I haven’t skipped a beat building a new gym and training a stable of fighters that call Vision Quest Muay Thai home. It’s an honor to represent my team and community on the NEF stage.”