Tag Archives: Kam Arnold

NEF RETURNS TO LEWISTON ON SUPER BOWL WEEKEND WITH AN MMA SUPER CARD

Lewiston, Maine (January 19, 2018) – The night before the National Football League (NFL) delivers its 2017-2018 season finale, New England Fights (NEF) will return to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston for the first time in eight months as the fight promotion presents “NEF 32: Super Saturday.”  And while New England football fans will have to wait until this Sunday’s AFC championship game to find out whether their beloved Patriots will play in the Super Bowl, area mixed-martial-arts fans learned today which of their favorites will compete at “NEF 32” as promotion executives released the full fight card for the February 3rd event.

 

 

In the main event of the evening, Bruce “Pretty Boy” Boyington (14-11) takes on Taylor Trahan (7-8) at a catchweight of 150-pounds.  One of the biggest MMA stars ever to come out of Maine, Boyington will make his return to the NEF cage after a two-year absence that saw him compete on the global stage in places like Russia and New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. Trahan makes his third trip to Maine to compete.  He is coming off a win over Connor Barry (3-2) last fall.

 

 

Aaron “Relentless” Lacey (4-1) faces off with Josh Parker (6-9) in a featherweight bout.  Lacey suffered the first loss of his pro career in November when a fight he was arguably on the way to winning was stopped by a doctor due to a cut on Lacey’s head.  Parker will look to continue his recent success in the MMA cage after recent victories over Andre Belcarris (0-2) and Derek Shorey (4-9).

 

 

CJ Ewer (3-0) is out to make history by becoming the first competitor to hold NEF championships simultaneously in multiple weight divisions.  Ewer is the reigning NEF Pro Middleweight Champion.  At “NEF 32,” he has the opportunity to capture the NEF Pro Welterweight Title when he meets Kemran Lachinov (5-2) for the vacant strap.

 

 

Also in professional welterweight action will be Mike “The Mustache” Hansen (5-8) and Jesse “The Viking” Erickson (9-7) in a fight billed as “The Berserker vs. The Viking.”  Hansen and Erickson have developed a rivalry as coaches of local gyms Berserkers MMA and Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ), respectively.

 

 

Speaking of which, Nate Boucher (2-1), a product of CMBJJ, and Ryan Burgess (2-2) of Berserkers MMA will headline the amateur portion of the fight card.  The flyweights, former teammates on the Mountain Valley High School wrestling squad, have engaged in a recent war of words heading into the bout.  The winner will be in line for a shot at the amateur flyweight title later this spring.

 

 

2017 NEF “Rookie of the Year” Jayda “Lil Killah” Bailey (1-0) returns to the cage on February 3rd to meet Florida’s Amanda Gallo (0-1).  Bailey made history in November at “NEF 31” by becoming the youngest competitor ever to compete, (and win), in the NEF cage.  She turned 18, the legal age for competing in MMA in Maine, just a week prior to the event.

 

 

The full “NEF 32” fight card (subject to change):

 

 

PROFESSIONAL

 

 

150 Bruce Boyington 14-11 (Young’s MMA) vs Taylor Trahan 7-8 (Team Link)

 

 

170*TITLE Kemran Lachinov 5-2 (Team Link) vs CJ Ewer 3-0 (Young’s MMA)

 

170 Jesse Erickson 9-7 (CMBJJ) vs Mike Hansen 5-8 (Beserkers MMA)

 

 

155 Zenon Herrera 0-6 (Independent) vs Nate Charles 0-0 (Charles Fighting Family)

 

 

145 Josh Parker 6-9 (Ruthless MMA & Boxing) vs Aaron Lacey 4-1 (Young’s MMA)

 

 

AMATEUR

 

 

205 Ryan Glover 3-2 (Fire & Iron Athletics) vs Joe Berube 0-0 (3Ronin Athletics)

 

 

175 Carlton Charles 1-1 (Charles Fighting Family) vs Delmarkis Edwards 0-0 (Independent)

 

 

155 Stacy Lupo 0-1 (The Outlet) vs David Hart 0-2 (Kenney’s MMA)

 

 

145 Devin Corson 1-0 (The Outlet) vs Shawn Lunghi 2-0 (RMNU)

 

 

135 Chelsea Elizabeth 0-1 (First Class MMA) vs Catie Denning 0-0 (Young’s MMA)

 

 

135 Kam Arnold 1-0 (CMBJJ) vs Kyle Kenney 0-0 (Kenney’s MMA)

 

 

135 Jayda Bailey 1-0 (Young’s MMA) vs Amanda Gallo 0-1 (RMNU)

 

 

125 Nate Boucher 2-1 (CMBJJ) vs Ryan Burgess 2-2 (Beserkers MMA)

 

 

115 BJ Garceau 0-0 (Young’s MMA) vs Jepha Mooi 0-0 (Gracie Brandon)

 

 

 

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.

FROM THE SHORES OF SEBAGO LAKE TO THE MMA CAGE, HARD-WORK IS A WAY OF LIFE FOR KAM ARNOLD

Lewiston, Maine (January 16, 2018) – Kam Arnold might be the ultimate Maine mixed martial artist from central casting.

 

 

Blue-collar sensibilities shaped his young life. He grew up in a small community where young boys often had to conjure up their own forms of entertainment. And yes, sometimes that meant fighting solely for the sake of fighting.

 

 

“I have two older brothers, and friends who were around all the time that are like brothers. We pretty much adopted them, you know?” Arnold said. “And any time you have that situation, there are fights going on in the yard all the time. I remember one time seeing my brothers rolling around on the stairs in the house, and of course I just had to jump in and get involved in that.”

 

 

Arnold, who turns 25 this month, is more structured but no less passionate today about exercising his grit, guile and strength in such physical encounters.

 

 

Veteran of one, quick knockout win in the New England Fights cage, Arnold returns for another dose on Saturday, February 3 at Androscoggin Bank Colisee. He will confront Kyle Kenney in an amateur bantamweight bout at “NEF 32: Super Saturday.”

 

 

Fighting under the Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ) umbrella, Arnold made a dramatic first impression, dispatching Glenn Kasabian in 1 minute, 54 seconds.

 

 

“Glenn’s a tough dude. He’s a warrior. He’s a great guy outside the cage. I have a lot of respect for him. He wanted to stand up with me. It’s one of things where I just flipped the switch,” Arnold recalled. “He’s pretty rangy, pretty tall. I went in there wanting to let him know he was in for a battle, and fortunately it turned out in my favor. I was the better fighter that night.”

 

 

Arnold admittedly was disappointed that the result wasn’t enough to earn the 2017 “NEF Rookie of the Year” award. He vows not to leave any doubt about his potential in the local hexagon when he takes on Kenney, an opponent about whom he knows precious little.

 

 

“Yeah, I was pretty bummed, but I know everybody else busts their ass just like I do,” Arnold said. “I have high expectations for myself, and I want to make a statement with this fight.”

 

 

A native of Casco, on the shores of Maine’s Sebago Lake, Arnold describes a hard-knocks upbringing that clashed with the bucolic, tourist-trap surroundings.

 

Arnold’s family had close ties to a motorcycle club, although he is reluctant to discuss its impact on his life other than to agree that it enhanced his fighting spirit.

 

 

“They’re all genuine people. I will say that. I have an awful lot of people supporting me in this. I would be nothing without them. My father and mother are the two toughest people I know,” Arnold said. “As a kid growing up, I had to be tough. That’s just the way it was. I just come from a blue-collar family. I don’t really want to get into all the details of it, but I just had to be tough. It made me what I am today.”

 

 

In addition to grappling with his older siblings and their friends, Arnold unfortunately was a victim of circumstances that are all too prominent in today’s schoolyards and playgrounds.

 

 

“I was a very small kid for my age,” he explained. “I got bullied a lot in school and had to find a way to manage that. Unfortunately, I got into a lot of fights because I had to defend myself.”

 

 

Arnold learned many of those self-defense techniques through his passion for combat sports.

 

 

He fell in love with professional wrestling, MMA, and especially boxing, although “there weren’t many options to pursue boxing in small-town Maine,” he said.

 

 

While attending Oxford Hills and Lake Region high schools, Arnold briefly took up high school wrestling. It was not until adulthood that he found his way to Lewiston’s CMBJJ, one of the hub facilities that has helped build NEF’s talent base over the past six years.

 

 

“Of course there’s a part of me that wishes I had started this earlier, when I was 18 or 19, like a lot of guys,” said Arnold, who turns 25 this month. “But I’m thankful for where I’m at now, and for Matt Peterson and NEF for giving this opportunity to show what I can do.”

 

 

Boxing and stand-up skills proved Arnold’s bread-and-butter in his debut. He hopes the Kenney fight will give him a chance to exhibit the wider array of lessons he has learned from his training partners.

 

 

Arnold credits former NEF amateur flyweight champion Dustin Veinott with the bulk of his development.

 

 

“I feel like I have the best coaching staff in the state,” Arnold said. “I haven’t really had the opportunity to travel around and cross-train, but I have so much faith in the guys at my own gym.

 

 

“Dustin Veinott has been crucial. I feel like with his knowledge I can go anywhere I want to in this sport. And when you combine that with Jesse Erickson, Travis Wells, Matt Denning, the sky is the limit. They’ve put their belief in me, and I want to show them I’ve earned it.”

 

 

When asked for a prediction about the February fight, Arnold somewhat channeled Clubber Lang’s reply of “pain” from Rocky III.

 

 

“Look for some blood,” Arnold said. “It’s coming. I can’t wait to put on a show.”

 

 

The opening bell February 3 is set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the box office at207.783.2009 ext. 525.