Lewiston, Maine (August 11, 2016) - New Ingarangi whawhai (Nef) hoki ki te Lewiston runga Mahuru 10, 2016 with the fight promotion’s next event, “Nef 25: HEROES & VILLAINS.” NEF executives announced earlier today that Hehe “The Viking” Erickson (7-5) a Jon Lemke (5-6) will square off for the second time in their respective careers. Lemke won the first meeting at NEF’s co-promotion with Bellator, “Bellator 93,” in the spring of 2013. The bout will take place in the 155-pound lightweight division.
Originally scheduled to take place earlier this month at “NEF Presents Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight” in Bangor, Erickson-Lemke II was postponed when Erickson suffered an injury in training. Devin Powell (8-1) stepped in to replace Erickson in the bout. While he was stopped late in the first round, Lemke put on a valiant performance, shattering Powell’s nose in the process. Lemke hopes to get back on the winning track at “NEF 25.”
“My last couple of performances have been a bit disappointing for me as a fighter, so I wanted to fight again as soon as possible and figure this out,” Na ka mea a Lemke. “I am incredibly grateful for another opportunity to fight for NEF. I am learning how to separate who I am as a person and man versus who I am as a fighter when I step in to that cage. This will enable me to stop holding back and really leave it all in the cage. Jesse is a fighter through and through and this will be a great battle for sure.”
Erickson, i runga i ētahi atu i te ringa, is coming off a brutal knockout victory over Amos Collins (4-5) tenei Pipiri mua. It was just the latest in a string of improved striking performances from Erickson in the past couple of years. He says that he will welcome the opportunity to stand and exchange with Lemke should the opportunity present itself.
“I can’t wait to step into the NEF cage against Jon,” said Erickson. “I ahau i te rota o te faatura no ia. He is a talented well rounded fighter and always puts on a show. He beat me in my pro debut, but that was years ago and I’m very excited to show everyone how far I’ve come. I’m not the same fighter I was then and now that I’ve recovered from injury, I look forward to competing against him. Most people expect me to look for the takedown to utilize my jiu jitsu, but I love to strike and want to show him and everyone else that I’ve got Thor’s hammer in these hands. If he thinks the outcome will be the same and he will walk through me, it’ll be a rough night for him. Victory or Valhalla.”
hui i muri mai New England whawhai ', "NEF 25: HEROES & VILLAINS,” takes place on Rāhoroi, Mahuru 10, 2016 i te Androscoggin Bank Colisée i Lewiston, Maine. Ka tiimata nga tiikiti i te wa tika $25 a kei runga i te hoko i teie nei i www.TheColisee.com ranei na roto i te te karanga i te tari pouaka Colisée i 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. I tua atu, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, te whai ia ratou i runga i Twitternefights, me te uru atu ki te rōpū Facebook whaimana "New Ingarangi whawhai."