Young’s MMA came up a big winner during the 2015 New England MMA Awards banquet held Saturday night in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The Bangor-based mixed martial arts gym, which was founded in the garage and basement of co-owner Chris Young’s Brewer home and now is located in the former Bangor YMCA, was named team of the year resulting from a popular vote conducted by Mass-MMA.com.
New England Fights, the Lewiston-based promotion owned by Matt Peterson and Nick DiSalvo that provides the primary outlet for Maine MMA practitioners, was named New England’s promotion of the year.
Several fighters based at Young’s also were honored, including New England Fights professional lightweight champion Bruce Boyington, who was named both most improved professional and breakthrough fighter of 2015.
Boyington (12-8) ended the year on a three-fight winning streak after a nontitle loss to Jamie Harrison in April after Harrison failed to make the 155-pound lightweight limit.
Boyington bounced back with a second-round stoppage of John Raio in June 2015, then scored a split-decision victory over Rodrigo Almeida on the undercard of World Series of Fighting 24 in October at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
Boyington capped off his 2015 schedule in November with a successful NEF title defense by second-round stoppage over once-beaten Jimmy Davidson in Lewiston. He will make his 2016 debut in Lewiston on Saturday night in another title defense against Jon Lemke as part of NEF 21 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
Earning recognition for upset of the year in New England was “The” Ryan Sanders, who scored a five-round split decision victory over Lucas Cruz to win the Toe 2 Toe lightweight title on Oct. 3, 2015, in Portland.
Sanders followed up that victory with a nationally televised second-round win over Luis Felix on the CES MMA 32 card on Jan. 8 in Lincoln, Rhode Island. That bout was televised by AXS-TV.
NEF amateur lightweight champion Josh Harvey was honored in the amateur knockout of the year category for his second-round KO of Ryan DiBartolomeo at NEF 19 in September 2015.
