LEWISTON, Maine — Two area Marine Corps veterans will headline a Feb. 6 New England Fights mixed martial arts show at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in what has been billed the “Battle for Bangor.”
Bruce “Pretty Boy” Boyington of Young’s MMA and Boyington’s Taekwondo Academy in Bangor will defend his NEF professional lightweight title in a five-round bout against Jon Lemke of Team Irish MMA Fitness Academy in Brewer in the main event of NEF 21.
The bout is part of a card announced this week composed of six pro MMA contests, two pro boxing matches and 18 amateur MMA bouts.
This will be Boyington’s third title defense since he won the NEF crown on Sept. 6, 2014, with a second-round stoppage of Jesse Erickson in Lewiston.
Boyington (12-8) is one of the hottest fighters in the region, having won three straight fights and eight of his last 10 forays into the cage.
Most recently he made a successful debut for the national World Series of Fighting promotion with a three-round split decision win over Rodrigo Almeida at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on Oct. 17, then returned to the cage three weeks later to score a third-round TKO of Jimmy Davidson in an NEF title defense at Lewiston.
Boyington’s lone losses since September 2013 were both controversial, a first-round loss to John Raio — since avenged — in which a hand signal to signify to his fans that he was OK was taken by the fight official as a tapout, and a loss to Jamie Harrison in a scheduled title defense that became a non-title bout after Harrison failed to make the 155-pound lightweight limit.
“I wouldn’t want to be Jon Lemke going into that cage with me right about now. That’s what I’m thinking if I’m being honest,” said Boyington, who also won the Massachusetts-based CFX lightweight title in April 2014. “I don’t really understand why he would want a fight with me right now, and I do believe he will show up and give his best effort, but I wouldn’t want to fight me right now.
“I’m dangerous and my confidence is through the roof, and when it’s like this it is going to take a world-class athlete to stop me.”
Lemke (5-3) is coming off a first-round TKO victory over Matt Denning in the co-main event on the same card where Boyington stopped Davidson, setting up this title bout between fighters from neighboring gyms.
The victory over Denning was Lemke’s lone fight of 2015.
“I am so incredibly grateful and excited to be fighting for NEF once again and especially an opportunity to fight for the title,” he said. “Those who know my story know what a long road this has been for me, which makes it all the more special.
“Bruce is the man and has done a phenomenal job promoting himself as champion, and in the process he has brought a lot of attention to the rest of the MMA community in the area. He has a couple of titles with different promotions and had fights on the national stage. He presents a unique and explosive set of challenges, and I very much look forward to rising up and meeting that challenge head on.”
Among the other pro MMA fights at NEF 21, Derek Shorey (3-3) of Dover-Foxcroft is scheduled to face Josh Lange of Sanborn, New York, the fighter he replaced on this Friday night’s nationally televised CES 32 card in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Lange (3-2) was supposed to fight Kody Nordby on the main card of that show but had to back out due to a broken nose. CES promoters then contacted NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson in an effort to fill the vacancy and Peterson contacted Shorey, who accepted the Nordby fight on 10 days’ notice.
The Shorey-Nordby fight and a 160-pound non-title battle between Bangor’s Ryan Sanders and CES lightweight champion Luis Felix will be part of Friday night’s card to be televised live on AXS-TV beginning at 9 p.m.
The NEF 21 boxing matches will have Brandon Berry of West Forks (10-1) facing Tollison Lewis (2-0) in a six-round super welterweight bout and Joel Bishop (0-1-1) against NEF MMA regular Crowsneck Boutin (0-0) in a four-round light heavyweight match.
Three title fights highlight the amateur MMA portion of NEF 21.
Josh Harvey (5-1) will defend his lightweight crown against Florida’s Andrew “Ling-Ling” Tamayo (8-1). Caleb Farrington (3-0) and Ricky Dexter (4-2) will battle to become the first NEF MMA amateur welterweight champion, and Henry Clark (3-1) and Johnny Crafts (3-0) will meet to crown the promotion’s inaugural amateur bantamweight titleholder.
