Bangor native Emily Peters Kagan will make her official Ultimate Fighting Championship debut Friday night on the undercard of The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 finale to be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That card, most of which will be televised by Fox Sports 1, will be headlined by a bout featuring the two TUF 20 finalists squaring off for the UFC’s inaugural strawweight (115-pound) women’s championship.
Kagan was one of 16 fighters — 11 who previously fought under the Invicta FC banner before it was purchased by the UFC — selected to appear in the television series that has aired since September. Just four fighters remain alive in the competition, with those taped semifinal bouts to air on Fox Sports 1 on Wednesday night.
The semifinals match No. 1 seed Carla Esparza against No. 4 Jessica Penne and No. 7 Rose Namajunas against No. 14 Randa Markos.
Kagan, the No. 15 seed, lost her TUF debut in a two-round majority decision to Scottish fighter Joanne Calderwood, the No. 2 seed who reached the quarterfinals before losing to Namajunas.
Kagan, who began her MMA career training with former UFC contender Marcus Davis at his Team Irish MMA and Fitness Academy in Brewer and now is based at the prestigious Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is scheduled to face Angela Hill on Friday’s TUF 20 finale card.
Hill, the No. 16 seed in the TUF strawweight field, lost her first fight in the tournament via a first-round rear naked choke to the top-seeded Esparza.
Hill will bring a 1-0 professional record into the bout while Kagan is 3-1, with her only countable loss coming to Namajunas via third-round rear naked choke on Jan. 5, 2013, at Kansas City, Kansas.
Homegrown talent
While the recent “NEF XV” card in Lewiston featured five professional and amateur fighters ages 40 and older, the 15 shows staged in Maine by the New England Fights promotion during its three-year existence has allowed for the growth of a new generation of amateur MMA practitioners within the state’s borders.
Several of those combatants will be featured at NEF XVI, slated for Feb. 7, 2015, at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
That group is headlined by undefeated Mike Vangelist, a Maine Maritime Academy graduate and the current boys lacrosse coach at Massabesic High School in Waterboro. Vangelist, who trains out of the Academy of MMA in Portland, is 3-0 and rose to the forefront of the state’s amateur ranks in September by submitting Ashland native Buck “Knuckles” Pineau — then the top-ranked amateur middleweight in the Northeast — with a third-round arm bar.
Vangelist had lost the first two rounds of the fight on the judges’ cards before rallying for the upset victory.
“I’ve had a great start so far, but still have a lot to learn,” he said. “I’m focused and ready to go to war in this next fight.”
Another top prospect from the region is Caleb Hall of Dixfield, a former two-time Class C wrestling state champion from Dirigo High School who currently is blending both MMA and wrestling careers.
Hall is 5-1 in the MMA ranks after defeating Dom Cofone at NEF XV in November, but he also wrestles for the University of Southern Maine after beginning his college career at the Plymouth (N.H.) State University.
“I’m glad to be considered one of the next breakout fighters,” said Hall. “I’m looking forward to fighting in February and coming out with another win.”
Johnny Crafts, who fights for New England United, is 2-0 in the bantamweight (135-pound) division with a pair of submission victories, while two fighters based at Young’s MMA in Bangor, Josh Harvey and Billy Leahy, also have exhibited early promise.
Harvey, a former wrestling standout at Dexter Regional High School, made his MMA debut last April in New Hampshire and will bring a 2-1 record into his NEF XVI featherweight (145-pound) bout.
“It’s an honor to be thought of as someone who will change the featherweight rankings,” he said. “I’m really thankful to have the opportunity to show my skill set. … excited to entertain my friends and fight fans everywhere.”
The 6-foot-5 Leahy, a student at Husson University in Bangor from South Paris, joined the region’s heavyweight ranks with a first-round win over Gravin Guillen during an NEF card in September.
NEF XVI will be headlined by the return of the promotion’s featherweight champion, undefeated Ray “All Business” Wood, to Maine to make his second title defense. The former Bucksport resident, now living and training in South Carolina, will bring a 5-0 professional record into his bout against Bellator and World Extreme Cagefighting veteran Anthony “Cheesesteak” Morrison (16-9).
