NEF ANNOUNCES SUMMERâS HOTTEST FIGHT CARD
āĻ āĻŦāĻŋāϞāĻŽā§āĻŦā§ āĻŽā§āĻā§āϤāĻŋāϰ āĻāύā§āϝ: : Lewiston, āĻŽā§āĻāύ (āĻā§āϞāĻžāĻ 16, 2025) - āύāĻŋāĻ āĻāĻāϞā§āϝāĻžāύā§āĻĄ āĻŽāĻžāϰāĻžāĻŽāĻžāϰāĻŋ ("NEF") presents its next event âNEF 63: Cruel Summer,â on Saturday, āĻ āĻāĻžāϏā§āĻ 9, 2025, at the Lewiston Memorial Armory in Lewiston, Maine. The event will make history as the first ever sanctioned hybrid mixed-martial-arts (āĻāύā§āĻāĻžāϰāύā§āĻā§) and kickboxing card in Maine. Tickets are on sale now atwww.nefights.com/tickets/. The event will also stream live atwww.CombatSportsNow.com.
āĻāĻ āĻĻāĻŋāύā§āϰ āĻļā§āϰā§āϤā§, NEF announced the full fight card for the event. A mega-card consisting of two dozen bouts was released featuring a slew of MMA title fights, grudge matches, and kickboxing contests.
âThis is old school NEF,â proclaimed NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo. âThis will be reminiscent of the marathon cards we used to host in Lewiston back in the day. Just non-stop action from the time the first fight hits the cage to the last. We really wanted to put something special together for our debut at the Armory and for the debut of regulated kickboxing in Maine. This is a must-see event for combat sports fans! You WILL get your moneyâs worth on this night!"
The big story of the evening is the retirement fight of Lewiston/Auburnâs own Jesse âThe Vikingâ Erickson (11-9). āĻāϰāĻŋāĻāϏāύ, one of the promotionâs most popular athletes, competed on the âNEF 1â card in Lewiston back in 2012. He has consistently been a top challenger for NEFâs pro lightweight title over the years representing nearby Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ). Erickson will step into the NEF cage one final time, facing Massachusettsâ Brian Cosco (2-2) at a catchweight of 165 pounds in a professional MMA bout.
The main event of the night will feature Nick Eldridge (4-0) defending the promotionâs professional MMA bantamweight title against the challenge of top Canadian prospect Olivier Poisson (3-0). Eldridge won the 135-pound championship at âNEF 62â this past May handing previously undefeated Tim Fargo (3-1) the first loss of his professional career.
Eldridgeâs Nostos teammate Nathaniel Grimard (7-5) will face First Class MMAâs Felipe GÃŧnter (3-1) in the hotly anticipated co-main event for NEFâs professional MMA featherweight strap. Both competitors have been extremely popular with fans throughout their respective careers. Both held gold with the promotion as amateurs.
Local favorite âKillaâ Kam Arnold (6-1) will look to keep his four-fight win streak alive when he meets savvy Pennsylvania veteran Charlie âThe Madmanâ Gathers (9-11) in a catchweight MMA bout.
Also featured on the professional portion of the MMA card: Fred Allen Sfeir (1-0) and Josue Sotero (1-0) will each put their undefeated record on the line in a featherweight contest; Tyler Smythe (5-6) returns to the MMA cage after a recent jaunt in the boxing ring to meet Erick Alvarado (2-2); and Rumford, Maineâs Nate Boucher (0-5) and Floridaâs Paul Walters (0-7) both look for the first victory of their respective professional MMA careers in a catchweight bout.
Two title fights will headline the amateur MMA portion of the fight card.
Undefeated Nate âThe Muleâ White (7-0) will square off with Brandon Oldenburg (2-3) for the vacant amateur MMA heavyweight title. White will compete for the first time in 21 months. Oldenburg is on a two-fight win streak with two first-round knockouts.
Sean Wakefield (7-4) is scheduled to fight Preston LaPointe (4-1) for NEFâs amateur MMA welterweight belt. The pair previously met in Indiana this spring for a regional championship. LaPointe won a very close split decision in that first fight. A highly-competitive rematch is anticipated.
Also featured on the amateur portion of the MMA card will be a bantamweight bout between highly-skilled competitors Julian Connerton (6-3) and Qasim Abdullah (3-1).
Seven amateur kickboxing bouts are scheduled for the âNEF 63â undercard.
As the card order now stands, Ben Perry (0-0) from Nostos and Abdinajib Adan (1-0) of the Choi Institute will have the honor of being the first regulated kickboxing bout in Maine history.
William Lagasse (0-0) will meet Connor Morrill (3-0) in an amateur kickboxing bout. It will be a rematch of their first meeting â an amateur MMA fight won by Lagasse via first-round knockout.
Also on the amateur kickboxing portion of the card, 52-year-old Ice Young (0-0) will make his NEF debut against Daniel Heredia (1-0) in a light heavyweight contest.
The full âNEF 63â fight card (āĻĒāϰāĻŋāĻŦāϰā§āϤāύ āϏāĻžāĻĒā§āĻā§āώā§):
āĻĒā§āĻļāĻžāĻĻāĻžāϰ⧠āĻāύā§āĻāĻžāϰāύā§āĻā§
135 āĻļāĻŋāϰā§āύāĻžāĻŽ: Nick Eldridge (āĻ) vs Olivier Poisson
145 āĻļāĻŋāϰā§āύāĻžāĻŽ: Nathaniel Grimard vs Felipe GÃŧnter
165: Jesse Erickson vs Brian Cosco
140: Kam Arnold vs Charlie Gathers
145: Josue Sotero vs Fred Allen Sfeir
140: Nate Boucher vs Paul Walters
140: Tyler Smythe vs Erick Alvarado
āĻ āĻĒā§āĻļāĻžāĻĻāĻžāϰ āĻāύā§āĻāĻžāϰāύā§āĻā§
265 āĻļāĻŋāϰā§āύāĻžāĻŽ: Nate White vs Brandon Oldenburg
170 āĻļāĻŋāϰā§āύāĻžāĻŽ: Preston LaPointe vs Sean Wakefield
240: Charles Sullivan vs Michael Hamm
145: Isaac Therrien vs Billy Henry
170: Zach Perry vs Leland Hopson
155: Avery Poole vs Ben Rogers
135: Qasim Abdullah vs Julian Connerton
155: Justin Wygant vs Jacob MacMillan
145: John Soucy vs Joe Cleary
205: Carlo Oliveira vs David Hart
AMATEUR KICKBOXING
155: James Johnson vs Mark Walker
135: Jonas Ryerson vs Quinn Poirier
140: Connor Morrill vs William Lagasse
135: Spencer Belanger vs Evan Thibeault
205: Daniel Heredia vs Ice Young
135: Richard Clark vs Alex Smith
165: Abdinajib Adan vs Ben Perry
"NEF 63: Cruel Summerâ takes place on Saturday, āĻ āĻāĻžāϏā§āĻ 9, 2025, at Lewiston Memorial Armory in Lewiston, āĻŽā§āĻāύ. āĻ āĻā§āϞāĻŦā§ āĻĻāϰāĻāĻž 6 pm with the first fight taking place at 7 āĻ āĻĒāϰāĻžāĻšā§āύ. āĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻ āĻāĻāύ āĻŦāĻŋāĻā§āϰāĻŋ āĻšāϝāĻŧwww.nefights.com/tickets/. The event will also stream live atwww.CombatSportsNow.com.