Tag Archives: WEC

mixed martial arts, MMA, New England Fights

CONTROVERSIAL FIGHT WILL GET A REMATCH AT NEF 43 IN ORONO

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Orono, Maine (February 28, 2020) – New England Fights (NEF) will present its next mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine’s flagship Orono campus.  The event, titled “NEF 43: Rampage,” will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2020, with a bell-time of 7 pm EDT.  Earlier today, the fight promotion announced the addition of an amateur flyweight bout to the card.  Caleb “Dr. Feelgood” Austin (4-0) will face James Ploss (1-2) at a fight weight of 125 pounds.

The bout will be a rematch of the first fight between Austin and Ploss that took place three years prior in April 2017 at “NEF 28.”  Austin was declared the winner of that first contest, but not without controversy.  Seconds into the first round, Ploss had a tight guillotine choke applied to Austin.  Austin tapped out, but the referee was out of position to see the tap.  Ploss released Austin from the hold, thinking he had won the fight.  The referee, to Ploss’ bewilderment, ordered the fight to continue.  As Ploss tried to make sense of the situation, Austin took him down and finished the fight moments later by technical knockout.

In the days that followed, many were critical of Austin on social media.  The matter seemed to die down after a few days, only to be brought back to the forefront with a vengeance late last year when former UFC and WEC star Mike Brown (26-9) shared the clip on Twitter as an example of “fighting until the referee tells you to stop.”  Suddenly, the fight received global attention from major online news sources like Bloody Elbow, MMA Junkie, The Athletic, and The Underground.

The first fight with Ploss was Caleb Austin’s amateur MMA debut.  He was 18-years-old at the time and still a senior at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, Maine.  Austin was a standout wrestler in high school, putting together a record of 208-11 over four years and winning state titles at 126 pounds his junior and senior years.  He was named the 2017 “Wrestler of the Year” by the Lewiston Sun Journal.  After graduation, Austin continued his wrestling career at the University of Southern Maine, but he took the next two years off from MMA competition.  He returned last summer and has won three fights in a row since he made his comeback.  Austin currently represents Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ) in Lewiston, Maine. 

“I’m excited to finally be able to fight James again to gain some closure,” said Austin of the rematch with Ploss. “My MMA debut has haunted me since it happened almost three years ago. I’m thankful to James and his team for giving me this opportunity to get back in there with him. I’ve wanted this for a long time and I promise to make the most of the moment. When I exit the cage this time, it will be without question or controversy—it will end definitively.”

James Ploss went on to fight two more times in 2017 and has not competed since.  He is a member of Greg Williams’ Team Kaze based in Lancaster, New Hampshire.  Like Austin, Ploss will be looking for closure to the outcome of their first encounter.

“I’m grateful for a rematch with Caleb,” said Ploss.  “Reflecting, I have pondered the question, ‘Am I better than Caleb or is he better than me?’ This is the perfect chance to find out—a second chance for us both to give it our all and see who comes out on top giving the fans, MMA community, and both of us the rematch we all want! April 18th, we both test ourselves.”

New England Fights’ next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 43: Rampage,” will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2020, at the Collins Center for the Arts at UMaine Orono. Tickets are on sale now at www.CollinsCenterfortheArts.com.  

About New England Fights

New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.

Amateur MMA, Bellator, mixed martial arts, New England Fights

BELLATOR & WEC VETERAN RETURNS TO DEFEND NEF TITLE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lewiston, Maine (July 10, 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 Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.  Earlier today, the promotion announced the addition of a professional featherweight championship bout to the fight card.  Anthony “Cheesesteak” Morrison (17-9) will defend the NEF MMA Professional Featherweight Title against Vovka “KGB” Clay (3-0).  The bout is scheduled for five five-minute rounds at a weight of 145-pounds.

 

Morrison stunned the NEF universe this past February when he arrived in Lewiston and submitted hometown hero Ray Wood (5-1) in the fifth round to win the championship title.  It was as if he had sucked all the air out of the Colisée with a vacuum.  Morrison played the role of spoiler that cold, snowy night in Lewiston.

 

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo.  “The entire place just dropped into a dead silence.  I don’t think anyone in Maine saw that coming, and I certainly don’t think anyone who’s followed NEF expected a fighter to come in and do that to Ray Wood.  Everyone was shocked.  It was a surreal moment.”

 

Morrison is a seasoned veteran with more than a decade’s experience in the sport.  He has competed against the best MMA has to offer on the national stage, including a stint in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Bellator.  Morrison trains out of Daddis MMA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

“I am very thankful to return to the beautiful state of Maine, for my first title defense,” said Morrison.  “It will be a very entertaining fight and another victory for the five time!  Five time!  Five time!  Five time!  Five time!  Mixed martial arts champion, Anthony Morrison.”

 

Vovka Clay is undefeated as a professional.  He competed as an amateur twice in NEF and won both fights by submission in an impressive fashion.  Clay is considered one of the true rising stars of the New England fight scene.  A win over an accomplished veteran like Morrison could potentially propel Clay onto the national stage.  He is a product of Team Triumph/Boston BJJ of Nashua, New Hampshire.

 

“Every fighter has a dream of making it to the UFC,” said Clay.  “Some choose to go after meaningless titles and pad their records fighting nobodies.  I choose to fight the highest level of competition possible.  I am thrilled to be fighting Anthony Morrison for the NEF Featherweight title.  He is a very durable and crafty veteran.  It won’t be easy, but if I fight my fight, I will finish Morrison and I will be the NEF Featherweight Champion.”

 

New England Fights’ next event, “NEF XIX,” takes place on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets for “NEF XIX” start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée 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.”

 

About New England Fights

 

New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.

mixed martial arts, RFA

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK:  The Jeff Curran Story

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JEFF CURRAN: DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK!

  

RFA 24 IN MINNESOTA

FRIDAY MARCH 6TH LIVE ON AXS TV

 

BY K. David Bena 
@kdavidbena


 

UFC, PRIDE, WEC, WFA, IFL, Strikeforce. Only ONE FIGHTER has fought for all six of these promotions that are currently under the Zuffa umbrella. That fighter? Jeff “Big Frog” Curran.

Curran ends his 19-month retirement and enters the octagon at RFA 24 on Friday, March 6th at the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The event will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV. The veteran bantamweight, Curran (36-16-1) will test his mettle in the co-main event against the surging Melvin Blumer (11-2) who is touting a 5-fight win streak.

Think back to 1991… What were you doing? Well, Curran was a wide-eyed 14-year old that decided to train jiu-jitsu. Curran explains, “My first class, I learned something called ‘paint the floor’ also known as an Americana and I knew that’s what I wanted to do and I just continued training jiu-jitsu ever since. I kept the focus on myself as an athlete and a fighter and one thing kept leading to another.”

Fast-forward to August 16, 2013 at RFA 9, Curran lost a split decision in a bantamweight title fight against Pedro Munhoz. “I retired after my last fight in the RFA. I’ve fought for a world title and been in every major show in the sport and been fighting, at that time, for 17 years. I just felt that with my business and the gym, where I was at that stage in my life, my kids and family, I thought that it was time to retire.”

Curran adds, “But, mainly, I didn’t want to be second best, I never wanted to be average as a fighter. Once I felt the dream was gone or the opportunity was gone to climb back to the UFC, to fight the best guys in the world, I felt it was best to stop since my prime has kind of passed.”

However, after careful introspection and the smoldering desire to continue fighting, Curran decided to step back into the cage. “I wanted to win the fight, win the belt, and go out on top. I felt it would be a real admirable way to retire, but it didn’t go my way. So I retired – and it never sat well with me,” Curran explained. “And the more time that went on, I felt the need to fight. I started to look for opportunities and RFA found an opportunity for me to fight again. So here I am.”

Juggling roles as a family man, business man, coach, and fighter might make some people’s head spin, but Curran explains, “I had my gym before I had my first fight, so I was always used to the responsibility of splitting my time, but now it’s a lot more in-depth than it used to be because my fighters are at different levels and require more time. Business is also on a different level – and I have two boys that are growing faster by the day and I have my wife. There’s responsibility across the board and it’s more than it was schedule-wise than back when I was opening a school. Yeah, it’s a lot to juggle, but I do it.”

Through all his responsibilities, Curran maintains focus for his upcoming fight with the dangerous Melvin Blumer, “His win streak speaks volumes, especially in the Midwest because a lot of the guys you fight are pretty similar in strength and skill set, so you get tough competition and local promoters in the Midwest are always looking to put on good fights. A guy that is 11-2 (Blumer) and on a 5-fight win streak is impressive to me and it’s exactly what I want.”

Curran explains further, “I don’t want to fight some bum or fight someone I know I can beat. I want to fight someone that can challenge me and let me know if I still belong in the game or give me the right sense of accomplishment if I win, so Blumer’s a great opponent. Blumer is tough. I give him enough respect to train my ass off and treat him as a top ten guy. But with that being said, I know I’m top ten caliber, so I’m bringing everything I got and I think it will make for a good fight.”

And what is Curran’s next step with a victory? Even he isn’t sure, “I don’t know what my next move is. I didn’t make a definite decision one way or another. To be honest, I know when I lost, retirement didn’t fit well with me, but with the right win it most likely could, but at the same time with the right win, I can get the attention of the UFC and decide if I want to chase my first UFC victory.”

On Friday, March 6th, Curran and everyone watching will be wondering what the “Big Frog’s” next venture in life will be.

About RFA:
RFA is a professional mixed martial arts promotion that gives rising stars and top contenders the opportunity to prove their talent to fans and leaders in the industry. The RFA presents up to 10 fights annually around the United States including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver and Milwaukee. RFA can be seen live in over 40 million homes nationally through its television deal with AXS TV. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, RFA is one of the most active and respected MMA organizations in the fastest growing sport in the world. (The Octagon, Ultimate Fighting Championship®, UFC®, and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC. All rights reserved).
About AXS TV Fights:
AXS TV Fights is renowned for its universally recognized Friday Night Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing events. As Your Home For MMA, AXS TV utilizes an expansive network of promotions from the United States, Canada, and Europe. And Asia to broadcast more LIVE fights than any other television network. “The Voice” Michael Schiavello and five-time MMA world-champion Pat Miletich provide viewers expert play-by-play, in-depth fighter coverage, and extensive analysis to each fight card. AXS TV broadcasts world-class LIVE fight events from RFA, Lion Fight, Legacy FC, and MFC every Friday night at 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET.