Ray “All Business” Wood made a successful mixed martial arts debut in North Carolina on Thursday night.
The former New England Fights featherweight champion and Bucksport High School graduate scored a three-round unanimous decision over hometown favorite Carlos Vivas in a 145-pound bout as part of the Fight Lab 49 card in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Wood, who relocated to South Carolina last fall, won his first fight as a member of Revolution MMA in Inman, South Carolina, convincingly, taking all three five-minute rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards.
“I definitely needed a win here,” Wood told MMA Mayhem TV during a post-fight interview. “I had to put on a good show fighting in someone’s back yard.
“As a fighter, you have that intuition that you’re in someone’s head. And from the moment I met (Vivas) I had the feeling he was all talk.”
Wood, now 6-1 as a professional, nearly ended the fight early on at least one occasion.
“I certainly felt like I hit him with some good shots, but I’m not the hometown guy,” he said.
This marked the first time Wood has gone the distance in a fight, with his previous victories all coming by knockout (three times) or submission (twice).
His lone defeat, an NEF title defense against Anthony “Cheesesteak” Morrison last winter, ended in the fifth and final round.
NEF XIX card announced
New England Fights officials have announced a 23-bout card for their next promotion, “NEF XIX: Homecoming,” to be held Sept. 12 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
Seven professional fights and 16 amateur bouts are scheduled, with several bouts featuring fighters who either have been recently inactive or competing outside the NEF umbrella.
Among those returning fighters is welterweight Darrius Heyliger (5-2) of Ithaca, New York, who competed regularly for NEF in 2012 and early 2013. His most recent appearance in the cage was a May 2013 loss to Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis in the main event of NEF VII.
Heyliger will make his return against Sidney Outlaw, a Bellator and World Series of Fighting veteran from New Jersey with a 4-1 record.
One originally scheduled pro bout that won’t be on the card was a planned defense of the NEF featherweight title by veteran Anthony “Cheesesteak” Morrison of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, against unbeaten New Hampshire fighter Vovka Clay.
“Unfortunately, Vovka Clay sustained an injury late in his training camp and will regrettably be unable to compete on Sept. 12,” NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson said Friday. “As a result, Anthony Morrison’s first title defense has been postponed.”
Josh Harvey (4-1) will top the amateur portion of the card, making the first defense of his NEF MMA amateur lightweight title against Ryan Dibartolomeo (4-2) from Team Triumph/Boston BJJ of Nashua, New Hampshire. Harvey won the vacant title in June with a first-round submission of previously unbeaten Ricky Dexter (3-1), his third straight win resulting from an opening-round stoppage.
“I don’t train to finish them all in the first round,” Harvey said. “That’s just how it wound up. Maybe you’ll see me go the distance as the competition gets thicker. That’s why I love this fight with Ryan (Dibartolomeo). He is, I believe, ranked No. 2, so this is a good way to find out where I lay at that level.”
NEF XIX also will include two amateur women’s contests, featuring debuting Young’s MMA of Bangor combatants Angela Young and Kira Innocenti. Young, the wife of Young’s MMA founder and head coach Chris Young, will meet Rachel Reinheimer (1-0) from the Boston-based Sityodtong training camp while Innocenti will square off against Hannah Sparrell of First Class MMA.
“‘Homecoming’ is a stacked card with over 20 bouts populated by names that Maine MMA fans have come to know and love,” Peterson said. “Tickets have been moving. It’s going to be an explosive evening, and we’re excited to kick off the fall season in style.”
