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L-R – Head Trainer Michael Nowling, Welterweight Bryant Perrella, Coach Michel Sarduy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lewiston, Maine (November 30, 2017) – New England Fights (NEF) returns to Lewiston onSaturday, February 3, 2018 with the fight promotion’s next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 32: Super Saturday.” Earlier today, NEF announced the addition of an amateur middleweight bout to the card. Josh Jones (2-2) is scheduled to meet Mark Gardner (1-0) at a fight weight of 185-pounds.
Josh Jones’ rise to the top of the NEF middleweight division in 2017 was nothing short of meteoric. A former basketball star at Erskine Academy in South China, Maine and draftee of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Developmental League, Jones has honed his craft in the martial arts at First Class MMA of Brunswick. It took him a mere 24-seconds combined to knock out his first two opponents this past year. Jones’ four-second knockout of Anthony Spires (0-3) went viral worldwide and was featured on major websites like Bleacher Report. After back-to-back losses to finish the year, Jones is looking to rebound with a win to open 2018.
“I am very honored and blessed to have the opportunity to compete against Mark,” said Jones. “Mark has shown to be an awesome competitor. I look forward to the challenge on February 3rd. As an MMA fighter and competitor, it is always a privilege to step into the cage and perform under the lights for New England Fights.”
Mark Gardner made his debut in the NEF cage earlier this month in Portland. Gardner faced another up-and-coming middleweight in the form of Carlton Charles (1-1). Last summer, it was Charles who handed Josh Jones his first loss. Gardner impressed many in attendance with his gutsy performance against Charles. He had an answer for everything Charles threw at him early in the fight, dispatching Charles in the second round by technical knockout. For those who have followed Maine combat sports for some time, Gardner’s toughness comes as no surprise. His gritty, workmanlike style has been the hallmark of his team, the Academy of MMA in Portland, for many years.
“I’m excited to get back in the cage for my next fight,” declared Gardner. “I learned a lot from my first fight and have been working on my technique. I can’t say much about my opponent, I don’t really know anything about him – I just fight who my coach tells me to fight.”
NEF’s next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 32: Super Saturday,” will see the company make its return to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Tickets are on-sale now online atwww.TheColisee.com.
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VALERIE ‘TROUBLE’ LETOURNEAU ALSO SET FOR BELLATOR DEBUT AGAINST KATE JACKSON
LOS ANGELES – Two of Bellator’s top recent free agent signings, Michael McDonald (17-4) and Valerie Letourneau (8-6), will both make their long-awaited promotional debuts during Bellator 191 at Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England on Friday, Dec. 15.
“Mayday” will take on Peter Ligier (8-1-1) in a bantamweight main event, while “Trouble” will compete at flyweight against Kate Jackson (9-2-1) in the co-main event. In addition, British heavyweights collide when James “The Colossus” Thompson (20-16, 1 NC) returns to the Bellator cage where he meets Philip De Fries (13-6, 1 NC). Finally, two lightweight contests have also been added, as Jeremy Petley (11-8) battles Lewis Monarch (9-2) and Ash Griffiths (4-4) takes on Mohammad Yahya (3-1).
Bellator 191: McDonald vs. Ligier will be broadcast free on SPIKE Friday, Dec. 15 at 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. CT. Tickets for the event can be purchased from Ticketmaster.co.uk & event.co.uk.
At only 26 years of age, McDonald will enter the Bellator cage with experience against some of the top bantamweights the sport of MMA has to offer, including Renan Barao, John Lineker, Urijah Faber and Brad Pickett. A veteran of the WEC and UFC veteran, the Modesto, Calif.-native signed with Bellator following a nine-fight, five-year run with his former promotion. With 15 finishes in his 17 wins as a professional, McDonald will look to hand Ligier his first stoppage loss of his career.
Hailing from Paris, France, Ligier turned pro in 2013 and has competed exclusively on the European circuit throughout his 10-fight career. Also known as “BadAzz,” the 31-year-old has finished his opponent in five out of eight opportunities, amounting to an impressive finishing rate of 63%. Now making his debut with Bellator, Ligier formerly competed for BAMMA in 2014.
The Canadian-born Létourneau, a former UFC strawweight title challenger, carries an impressive track record of thrilling fights, highlighted by a world title contest against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Now, moving up to her more natural weight class, the 34-year-old American Top Team product will make her debut for Bellator. On Dec. 15, “Trouble” will look to improve upon her eight victories as a professional, a tally that includes five finishes, with four coming by way of knockout.
Fresh off a victory over Colleen Schneider at Bellator 182 in August, the victory gave Jackson five wins in a row, including four stoppages. Jackson hasn’t lost since May of 2013, a period which also included a run on reality television show The Ultimate Fighter season 23. Hailing from Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England, Jackson will have the home crowd to her advantage at Bellator 191.
Complete Bellator 191: McDonald vs. Ligier Fight Card:
Bantamweight Main Event: Michael McDonald (17-4) vs. Peter Ligier (8-1-1)
Women’s Flyweight Co-Main Event: Valerie Letourneau (8-6) vs. Kate Jackson (9-2-1)
Heavyweight Feature Bout: James Thompson (20-16, 1 NC) vs. Philip De Fries (13-6, 1 NC)
Lightweight Feature Bout: Jeremy Petley (11-8) vs. Lewis Monarch (9-2)
Preliminary Card:
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Mohammad Yahya (3-1) vs. Ash Griffiths (4-4)
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SHOWTIME Remains The Only Network To Offer Live Boxing On Social Platforms In The U.S.
Live Coverage From London Includes DeGale vs. Caleb Truax And Selby vs. Eduardo Ramirez, Plus 175-Pound Prospect Anthony Yarde And The U.S. Introduction To Unbeaten Heavyweight Daniel Dubois
NEW YORK – November 29, 2017 – SHOWTIME Sports will live stream a world-class boxing event – including two world championship bouts – free to the U.S. audience on social media platforms Saturday, December 9 to close out the network’s industry-leading 2017 boxing schedule. The digital-only offering will be exclusive in the U.S. on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and the SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page.
IBF Super Middleweight World Champion James DeGale (23-1-1, 14 KOs) will headline as he defends his title against former world title challenger Caleb Truax (28-3-2, 18 KOs) in DeGale’s first fight since a thrilling bout with Badou Jack in a 168-pound world championship unification match last January on SHOWTIME.
In the streaming co-feature, IBF Featherweight World Champion Lee Selby (20-1, 9 KOs) will take on undefeated contender Eduardo Ramirez (20-0-3, 7 KOs), while undefeated light heavyweight Anthony Yarde (13-0, 12 KOs) will face former world title challenger Nikola Sjekloca (32-4-1, 11 KOs). The opening fight of the live stream will feature the U.S. introduction to 20-year-old undefeated heavyweight Daniel Dubois (5-0, 5 KOs) as he takes on former Anthony Joshua foe Dorian Darch (12-5-1, 1 KOs).
Live coverage, provided by BoxNation and BT Sport, will begin at approximately 2:50 p.m. ET/11:50 a.m. PT with U.K. sportscasters John Rawling and Richie Woodhall calling all the action.
SHOWTIME is the only network to offer live streaming coverage of boxing on social media platforms in the U.S., having first done so in 2016 with the presentation of two heavyweight world championship bouts live on YouTube.
In 2017, SHOWTIME was the first network to offer live boxing on Twitter with Adrien Broner vs. Adrian Granados (February 18). SHOWTIME also live streamed two other boxing events in 2017: super middleweights George Groves vs. Fedor Chudinov on May 27 and heavyweights Jarrell Miller vs. Gerald Washington on July 29.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon, Google, Xbox One and Samsung. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Sony PlayStation™ Vue and Amazon Channels. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™, and offers Smithsonian Earth™ through SN Digital LLC. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.
Lewiston, Maine (November 29, 2017) – New England Fights (NEF) returns to Lewiston on Saturday, February 3, 2018 with the fight promotion’s next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 32: Super Saturday.” Earlier today, NEF announced the addition of an amateur flyweight bout to the card. Ryan Burgess (2-2) will face Nate Boucher (2-1) at a fight weight of 125-pounds.
Ryan Burgess is wrestling royalty at his alma mater, Mountain Valley High School, in Rumford, Maine. Burgess is one of only four Mountain Valley wrestlers to ever win triple state crowns in wrestling. He amassed an amazing 151-23 overall high school record before graduating and turning his focus to mixed martial arts. He is currently a member of Berserkers MMA based in Rumford. Burgess is the former NEF amateur flyweight champion. NEF 32 will see him return to the cage after a year’s absence.
“I’m very excited for this opportunity to get back in the cage,” said Burgess. “I’ve taken some time off to make proper adjustments and focus on my career that started not long before my last fight. I’m ready to take my belt back and right now only one guy stands in my way. It’s not every day you can go to an MMA fight and watch two men who saw each other grow up scrap. Come February 3rd, Nate, we will see what you’re made of.”
Nate Boucher began wrestling at five-years old and due to some off-the-mat issues, never achieved the high school statistics of his upcoming adversary, Burgess. However, Boucher’s wrestling skills were on full display back in August 2017at NEF 30 when he defeated Maine wrestling legend and four-time state champion Jeremiah Barkac (0-1) by first-round submission. Boucher, who grew-up admiring Burgess’ prowess on the mat, is anxious to test himself against such a decorated grappler and prove that his wrestling stands up against the best. He will be looking to rebound from a split decision loss to Justin Witham (4-4) earlier this month in an unsuccessful bid for the vacant flyweight title. It was a fight many in attendance felt Boucher had won.
“The disappointment of the decision going against me on November 3rd still stings,” said Boucher. “I’m confident that I beat Justin Witham that night, even though two of the three judges didn’t see it that way. So, I’m going to get right back on the horse—it’s what we do—and take on the guy that holds a win over Witham in Ryan Burgess. I grew-up watching Ryan wrestle. We’re from the same town and I know what he brings to the fight. I will be ready. I’m coming for my title and no one is going to get in my way.”
NEF’s next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 32: Super Saturday,” will see the company make its return to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 3, 2018. Tickets are on-sale now online at www.TheColisee.com.