Bruce “Pretty Boy” Boyington capped off a busy year in the cage by successfully defending his New England Fights lightweight championship during the main event of the NEF XV mixed martial arts card Saturday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
Boyington (9-7) scored a third-round victory by kimura submission over Jesse “The Viking” Erickson (3-4) of Auburn in a rematch of their September bout when Boyington won the vacant title with a second-round stoppage.
While the first fight was decided by Boyington’s striking game — a succession of unanswered punches prompted the referee to stop the fight and award him a technical knockout — the Young’s MMA competitor controlled much of the rematch from the mat.
Action in the third round began with both fighters seeking to score from a standing position, but the fight eventually worked its way back to the mat where Boyington locked in a kimura (or figure-four double wrist lock) to force Erickson to tap out at 3:02 of the period.
The victory was the fifth win in his last six fights for Boyington, who holds both the Cage FX and NEF lightweight (155-pound) title belts. He also won his boxing debut on an Oct. 11 card in Lewiston.
The Boyington-Erickson bout was one of six professional fights on the card, with the five other pro contests all ending in the first round.
Veteran “The” Ryan Sanders of Young’s MMA in Bangor got back on the winning track with a stoppage via guillotine choke over Mark DeFord at 160 pounds, while Jamie Harrison stopped Tollison Lewis of Gorham with a kimura at 159 pounds.
Lewiston’s Matt Denning defeated Dover-Foxcroft’s Derek Shorey by armbar in their 140-pound clash, while Elias Leland topped Jimmy Alexander with a rear naked choke. Lewiston’s Brent “Frosty” Dillingham made a successful pro debut with a technical knockout of Artie Mullen.
The 47-yard-old Mullen was one of five fighters older than 40 who stepped into the cage Saturday night, and the quartet finished 1-4 on the night.
Pat Kelly, the 50-year-old Camden Hills of Rockport wrestling coach who fights out of Young’s MMA, improved his record to 2-0 by scoring a third-round technical knockout of Auburn’s Steven Bang in their amateur bout at 160 pounds.
Mladin Holman, 56, of Portland fell to Gravin Guillen in the second round of their superheavyweight bout, while Rick Matthews, 44, of Bangor and Team Irish was edged by split decision by Alex Johnson in a lightweight encounter. Welterweight Heath Hanson, 41, of Augusta lost by first-round rear naked choke to Adam Nielsen.
Among other amateur bouts, Dixfield’s Caleb Hall improved his record to 5-1 with a second-round TKO over Dom Cofone of Westbrook, Fred Lear defeated Carl Langston by unanimous decision, Ricky Dexter scored a first-round TKO of Jacob Cameron in a battle of Bangor fighters, Dave Brown won by second-round TKO over Doug Bailey, Dustin Veinot stopped Justin Witham with a first-round rear naked choke, Nick Spencer had a third-round TKO of Caleb Serra, and Henry Clark defeated Sheldon Bang with a triangle choke in the second round.
NEF officials also announced that the promotion’s featherweight champion, Ray “All Business” Wood, will defend his title as the main event of its next card scheduled for Feb. 15, 2015, in Lewiston.
Wood, a former Bucksport High School athletic standout, is 5-0 in the cage. He recently moved to Gaffney, South Carolina, but will return to Maine to fight a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
