Portland, Maine (February 9, 2018) – New England Fights (NEF) returns to Aura in Portland onApril 14, 2018 with the fight promotion’s next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 33: Riptide.” Earlier today, NEF announced the addition of a professional lightweight bout to the card. Bill Jones (12-10) is scheduled to meet Matt Denning (5-7) at a fight weight of 155-pounds.
Having begun competing in MMA back in 2007, Bill Jones is one of the longest-active fighters on the New England regional scene. His list of opponents over the years reads like a “who’s who” of local featherweights and lightweights. He holds wins over some of the best the region has to offer like UFC veteran Tateki Matsuda (13-8) and current UFC competitor Matt Bessette (22-8). Most recently, Jones competed on the national stage at World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 35 last spring in New York. Jones is currently a member of Nostos MMA based in Somersworth, New Hampshire. “NEF 33″ will be Jones’ long-awaited first appearance in the NEF cage.
“I’m excited to finally make my NEF debut and face Matt Denning, a fight I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” said Jones. “My health is at a new level since I stopped smoking. I feel refreshed and ready to put on my best performance to date against an opponent that I’m looking to dismantle in impressive fashion. Everyone knows not to sleep on me. I made my mark in the regional scene a long time age – and April 14th will be the next chapter in that story. Let’s get after it!”
Including his amateur career, Matt “Ken Doll” Denning is a fifteen-fight veteran of the NEF cage. He is on a two-fight win-streak in that cage with first-round submission victories over Josh Parker (6-10) at “NEF 28” and Dom Jones (1-1) at “NEF 29.” Like Jones, Denning is a veteran of the WSOF cage, having competed for the national promotion at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Most recently, Denning fought for national promotion Bellator in Connecticut. He is a member of Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (CMBJJ) based in Lewiston, Maine.
“I’m excited to fight for NEF again,” said Denning. “The last two times I fought for them, I had first round submission wins. Bill is a veteran and someone that I’ve tried to fight for a while. After this fight, I don’t expect to be as active as I have been in the past. I want to focus on my job, Hollie and Becca. I look forward to a great showing and seeing all my fans.”
NEF returns to Portland, Maine, at Aura on Saturday, April 14, 2018. Tickets are on sale now at www.AuraMaine.com. For more information on the event, please visit www.NewEnglandFights.com.