Lewiston, Maine (February 10, 2015) - Ko te po ko Pipiri 16, 2012. Over 3,000 ki tonu pā i te Androscoggin Bank Colisee mō te New Ingarangi whawhai’ (Nef) “Nef III” whakauru-hōia-toi (MMA) takahanga. In the main event of the evening was former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Taumahamaha o Champion o te Ao Tim “Ko te Maine-iac” Sylvia (31-10). Sylvia was competing for the first time ever in his home state of Maine. Media outlets, e rua rohe me te motu, descended on Lewiston that night for the big event. National cable station HDNet (i teie nei “AXS TV”) ka unga he tonu kauhoe kiriata me te kaihanga ki te taupoki ana i te wahi pro o te kāri whawhai mo to ratou hōtaka wiki Roto MMA.
Knockout 12-rua a Sylvia o Randy Smith (13-15-1), Heoi, was not the story that night. The real story coming out of the event was the emergence of not one, engari e rua, new stars before a national audience. Bruce “Boy ātaahua” Boyington (10-7), e pupuri ana kē te knockout matamua-ake i roto i te aamu Maine MMA, added to his legend with a Taekwondo spinning-hook kick that left his opponent unconscious and earned Boyington the quickest knockout in NEF at the time at 10-seconds. Moments i muri mai, Jamie Harrison (5-1) mutu hoariri ana ki te tikanga korokē whenua-a-pauna tapaina “Ko te kōura Punch” e Roto MMA tahi-ope Bas Rutten (28-4-1). Both finishes were caught on camera by AXS TV, and both were seen by fight fans the world over on television and the internet. The road to April 11, 2015, “Nef XVII,” me te pupūtanga i waenganui Boyington me Harrison, i mea whariki.
I roto i nga marama, me te tau ki te haere mai, Boyington would become the face of NEF MMA. Leaving a trail of broken opponents in his wake, Boyington e haere i runga i ki te hopu i te wātea nef MMA Kōmāmā Championship i roto i te Mahuru 2014 na roto i te hinga Hehe “Ko te Viking” Erickson (3-4). Weeks later, Boyington and Erickson would rematch with Boyington once again emerging victorious. Harrison had, ia, tapahia i roto i Tollison Lewis (0-3) ki te Rabi taime tika mua, leading many to speculate that the time for the Boyington-Harrison showdown had finally arrived. In the hours that followed, taha e rua i whakaae ki te whawhai, a ka whakaturia ki te atamira mō te April 11, 2015 i roto i te Lewiston i “XVII nef.” Both athletes squared off in the cage last Saturday at “Nef XVI” ki te mana kauwhau i te a'ee e waiho he-rounder rima hoki o Boyington Kōmāmā Championship.
“Au mana'o ahau i runga i runga o te ao,” Na ka mea a Boyington ka tae mō te kōrero. “Kua mahi ki te whati tona whakaaro, ahakoa ite e ahau i ahau kaha pērā i te MMA game pai-porotaka, atu whawhai ngaio, ake wheako ki runga hoariri taumata, me te whakamarie i roto i tenei ao – E mohio ana ahau e te reira mea iti te katoa no te mea te tiketike e ahau i runga i te tika aianei matau i teie nei, me te hihiko ki te tiki i roto i te whare herehere, me te ngahau , me te iteraa tino ki ahau NOT ki te ngaro, ki te whakangahau i te mano hanga atu māia ahau atu i a ake ake, ki te kia mahi i te mahi. I respect Jamie very much. Ko ia uaua, me te hakari ki te mau tamataraa, a kua ahau i toku mātanga ki runga ki a ia, mo te wa roa, studying him and knowing we would cross paths eventually. Lucky for me, Ahau he o te tangata whātōtō reinga. I see what’s coming. Fans, this fight is unlike anything else you will ever see. Make sure you’re in attendance to witness what I’m about to do. I have no problem proving the critics wrong. Just be there and don’t blink. This is a big stage fight, Ka whakamatau ahau i te reira.”
“Ko ahau tino fiefia ki te tiki i hoki i roto i te whare herehere nef mo tenei faingamālie nui,” ua parau te Harrison. “Bruce is on a hot streak and so am I. The title belt around my waist has been a long time coming and it will be bittersweet to do it in front of all my family, hoa, and fans. This fight will have a lot of fireworks and you will not want to look away for a second.”
“Nga tane Arepa e rua o te rārangi nef ko enei,” said NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo. “A, no te haere ratou i roto i te piha, everyone knows it. But we all know that there can only be one alpha male in the pride. I April 11 i roto i te Lewiston, ka whakatau ia tatou i te mea te Arepa tane pono ka tutuku e rua enei raiona.”
Hui muri MMA o nef, “Nef XVII,” Kei te whakaritea ki te tango i te wahi i runga iApril 11, 2015 i te Androscoggin Bank Colisee i Lewiston, Maine. Bruce “Boy ātaahua” Boyington (10-7) ka tiakina e te Ingoa Kōmāmā nef MMA ki te maha-kotahi nguha Jamie Harrison (5-1). I tua atu, Jarod “Minute Last” Lawton (4-1) tutaki Dennis Olson (12-7) i roto i te whakataetae Welterweight. Tikiti hoki “Nef XVII” tīmata i te tika $25 a kei runga i te hoko i teie nei i www.TheColisee.com ranei na roto i te te karanga te tari pouaka Colisee 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."