Tag Archives: NEF

boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, New England Fights

VELADO CAPTURES GOLD, HALL RETAINS AT NEF 25

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Lewiston, Maine (September 10, 2016) – New England Fights (NEF) held its most-recent event, “NEF 25: HEROES & VILLAINS” Saturday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.  The event featured both mixed-martial-arts and professional boxing bouts.

 

On the boxing portion of the card, John Webster (9-7-1) defeated Zenon Herrera (0-3) via unanimous decision on the eve of Webster’s 48th birthday.  Webster’s last boxing victory came back in 2004, also in Lewiston, prior to his taking off a decade from active competition.

 

Also in the boxing ring, Casey Kramlich (5-0-1) remained undefeated as he stopped John Ortolani (0-1) in the fourth round via technical knockout.  Likewise, Brandon Montella (5-0) kept his pro record perfect with a second-round stoppage of Tollison Lewis (2-2).

 

Rachael Joyce (2-0) won a unanimous decision over Jessica Borga (2-2) in a highly-anticipated women’s amateur bout.  Rafael Velado (4-0) captured the amateur lightweight title with a first-round submission of Jimmy Jackson (3-3).  Caleb Hall (8-3) retained the amateur featherweight title, and in doing so handed bantamweight champion Johnny Crafts (4-1) the first loss of his career, in a very close split decision on the judges’ scorecards.

 

Aaron Lacey (3-0) kept his unbeaten streak alive with a first-round submission of Cory Trial (0-1) on the professional MMA portion of the card.  Mike Hansen (5-4) handed Matt Andrikut (2-1) the first loss of his career in the co-main event, while Jesse Erickson (8-5) submitted Crowsneck Boutin (2-3) in the main event of the evening.

 

NEF also announced that it would co-promote its next event with Classic Entertainment & Sports (CES).  The two largest fight promotions in New England will present a joint card titled “Supremacy” on November 4 in Lewiston at the Colisee.

 

The results from Lewiston, Maine:

PROFESSIONAL MMA

 

Jesse Erickson def. Crowsneck Boutin via rear-naked choke, round 1

Mike Hansen def. Matt Andrikut via armbar, round 1

Taylor Trahan def. Matt Denning via armbar, round 1

Aaron Lacey def. Cory Trial via rear-naked choke, round 1

Walter Smith-Cotito def. Elias Leland via D’arce Choke, round 2

 

AMATEUR MMA

 

Caleb Hall (c) def. Johnny Crafts via split decision (145 Title)

Rafael Velado def. Jimmy Jackson via Kimura, round 1 (155 Title)

Frank Johanson def. Caleb Swoveland via armbar, round 1

Rachael Joyce def. Jessica Borga via unanimous decision

Walt Shea def. The Slenderman via unanimous decision

 

PROFESSIONAL BOXING

Casey Kramlich def. John Ortolani via TKO, round 4

Brandon Montella def. Tollison Lewis via TKO, round 2

John Webster def. Zenon Herrera via unanimous decision

 

NEF and CES present “SUPREMACY,” a night of mixed-martial-arts cagefights, on November 4, 2016 in Lewiston, Maine. Tickets start at $25 and are available at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisee box office at 207.783.2009, extension 525.

mixed martial arts, MMA, New England Fights

PROFESSIONAL FEATHERWEIGHT BOUT ADDED TO NEF MMA CARD

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Lewiston, Maine (August 26, 2016) –New England Fights (NEF) today announced the addition of a professional featherweight mixed-martial-arts (MMA) bout to the fight promotion’s next event, “NEF 25: HEROES & VILLAINS.”  Aaron “Relentless” Lacey (2-0) has signed to face Cory Trial (0-0) at the featherweight limit of 145-pounds.

 

Lacey, the former NEF MMA Amateur Featherweight Champion, recently signed a multi-fight developmental deal with the fight promotion.  He amassed an amateur record of 6-1 prior to turning professional.  Since entering the pro ranks, Lacey is undefeated.  His pro debut saw him submit veteran Derek Shorey (3-7) in the first round last April.  Earlier this month, Lacey waged, and won, a war with John Santos (3-4) before UFC President Dana White in Bangor at the “NEF Presents Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight” taping.  Many observers agree that Lacey, a product of Young’s MMA, is but a few victories away from fighting permanently in front of White.

 

“I’m very happy to be signing with NEF,” said Lacey.  “It’s a big step forward in my career and it shows that they have the utmost confidence in my ability! My last fight was an absolute war, but I was fortunate enough to get out of it without any serious injuries. If I’m healthy, I’m fighting–it’s my passion! I’m anxious to welcome Cory to the pro ranks. He has a dangerous skill set that has to be acknowledged and respected. That being said, so do I! I like to be the guy who comes in and puts on a fight that fans don’t forget and that is exactly what I will do September 10.”

 

Cory Trial makes his professional debut after a memorable amateur career with NEF.  In June 2015, Trial scored the fastest knockout in NEF history when he rocked Corey Hinkley (2-4) a mere seven-seconds into the first round.  In his final amateur performance, the 41-year-old Trial defeated Angelo Rizzitello (0-1) via split decision this past spring.  He is a member of the tough, gritty team of Ruthless MMA & Boxing based out of Benton, Maine.

 

“I wanna thank NEF for giving me the opportunity to take the next step in my career,” said Trial.  “My coach and I have been talking and it’s time. We’ve been putting the work in and I’m ready to take the next step. This fight will really tell me where I’m at. Aaron is a well rounded fighter that likes to push the pace and I’ll be right there looking to do the same! Don’t miss it – it’s going to be fireworks!”

 

New England Fights’ next event, “NEF 25: HEROES & VILLAINS,” takes place on Saturday, September 10, 2016 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée box office at 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.  In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”

Amateur MMA, mixed martial arts, MMA

TRASH TALK BEGINS AROUND FEATHERWEIGHT BOUT AT NEF 22

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Lewiston, Maine (February 12, 2016) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, will hold its next event, “NEF 22: ALL ROADS LEAD HERE” on Saturday, April 22, 2016at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.  The fight card will feature a mix of mixed-martial-arts (MMA) and professional boxing bouts.  Earlier today, NEF announced the addition of a featherweight contest to the amateur portion of the “NEF 22” fight card.  Bantamweight Champion Johnny Crafts (4-0) will move up in weight to face Taylor Costantino (2-1) at 145-pounds.

 

Crafts was successful last Saturday in his attempt to capture the inaugural NEF MMA Amateur Bantamweight Title.  He took out Henry Clark (3-2) in the third round of their bout in Lewiston.  Crafts is a decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) brown belt out of Team New England United (NEU).  He also cross-trains with Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ) in Lewiston.

 

“I’m excited to step up to 145 to fight Taylor,” said Crafts of the upcoming matchup with Costantino.  “I will be very strong at that weight seeing as I cut pretty extensively to make 135.  It will allow me to focus on different areas this camp instead of putting a lot of my energy into cutting weight.”

 

Costantino is himself coming off a big win last Saturday at “NEF 21.”  It took him a mere 25-seconds to down Frank Johanson (0-1), a training partner of Crafts at CMBJJ, in the first round.  Costantino is clear that he is coming to fight on April 23, and he does not plan on engaging in a  grappling contest with Crafts.

 

“Respect to him for coming up in weight,” said Costantino of Crafts.  “He’s a glorified pajama warrior that has never been punched in the face with any type of authority. He will clinch quickly and look for the takedown. He’ll realize real quick that he has never fought or trained with anybody like me.”

 

Crafts and Costantino are not strangers to one another.  Several years ago, the two met in a jiu-jitsu tournament with Crafts coming out on top.

 

“Taylor and I have competed before in a sport jiu-jitsu tournament,” recalled Crafts.  “Taylor says I am a glorified pajama warrior who has never been punched in the face, but if I recall correctly, I submitted him without my ‘pajamas’ no-gi in that tournament pretty quickly. I train with a lot of very talented and tough fighters daily who punch me in the face very hard. People say the same thing about me not getting punched – well, I have had four fights and they just haven’t had the chance to. Anyone who has trained with high-level fighters will tell you that gi jiu-jitsu only makes you more of a technical fighter.  If he doesn’t believe that, that is fine – he will feel it on April 23rd.”

 

“Johnny did submit me when I first moved to Maine,” Costantino admitted.  “Legit submission, and his pure grappling is definitely high level.  My grappling is MMA based, not slow jitsu.  It’s grimy, grueling and punishing. Pure grappling, I would worry about his game.  But it’s a fight, sport jiu-jitsu means next to nothing to me.

 

“I wish I could say people will get to see my whole game, but I can’t guarantee that. Johnny will feel my power and look to go to his comfort zone. I will break him, you will see quit in his eyes.”

 

“After Taylor won in impressive fashion at NEF 21, he immediately screamed at me while still inside the cage that he wanted a black belt for his next challenge,” said NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson.  “Well, he’s getting a brown belt in Johnny Crafts who, by all accounts, is due to receive his black belt any day, is a perfect 4-0 in the cage and is the current NEF amateur bantamweight champion. This fight is dripping with drama and will define a future top contender for the featherweight title in NEF’s stacked 145-pound division.”

 

New England Fights’ next event, “NEF 22: ALL ROADS LEAD HERE,” takes place Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets for “NEF 22” start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée box office at 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.  In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”