Lewiston, Maine (July 3, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, will hold its nineteenth mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event, “NEF XIX,” on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. Earlier today, the promotion announced the first amateur title bout on the fight card. Josh Harvey (4-1) will defend the NEF MMA Amateur Lightweight Championship against Ryan Dibartolomeo (4-3). The fight will take place at the lightweight limit of 155-pounds.
Harvey won the title at “NEF XVIII” last month by defeating Ricky Dexter (3-1) via first-round submission. He is a perfect 3-0 in the NEF cage since debuting with the promotion in the fall of 2014. All of Harvey’s victories in Lewiston have been first-round stoppages. He is a member of Young’s MMA in Bangor, Maine.
“Any time you can get two title-holding, top-ranked fighters, it’s bound to peak interests and get attention,” said Harvey. “Since that is exactly what this title defense is, I believe we have all the necessary ingredients for the fight-of-the-night. This will be yet another step in the right direction. Ryan, get ready to hook on, Bub.”
Ryan Dibartolomeo is no stranger to the NEF cage. He fought for the promotion at “NEF X” in September 2013, defeating Nermin Zilic (0-2) via unanimous decision. It was the start of a four-fight win streak that Dibartolomeo will look to continue on September 12 in Lewiston. He recently captured his first amateur MMA championship on a fight card in New Hampshire. Dibartolomeo represents Team Triumph/Boston BJJ of Nashua, New Hampshire.
“Fighting for the NEF belt is a huge step forward in the positive direction in my career,” stated Dibartolomeo. “It’s always an honor to fight for one of the top regional promotions, and now throwing a chance at the belt in on top of that – I couldn’t be more excited to go out and put on a show for the fans. Josh Michael Harvey is arguably the best ammy 155 fighter coming out of Maine right now. I’m going to have to be ready in all aspects of the game and look to eliminate as many mistakes as possible. I am going to show up ready to fight. I’m looking to bite down on my mouthpiece and press forward until he has had enough of me up in his face and looks for a way out. There is no room for error, but I am extremely confident in the fact that I have Coach Fain and Coach Olsen standing behind me in my corner.”
New England Fights’ next event, “NEF XIX,” takes place on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine. Tickets for “NEF XIX” start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisee box office at207.783.2009 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.”