Ray “All Business” Wood is wasting little time trying to build on the momentum of his successful Bellator MMA debut last month.
The 26-year-old Bucksport High School graduate and former New England Fights MMA featherweight champion, now living in Amarillo, Texas, will fight undefeated Brandon Phillips of Wichita, Kansas, on April 30 as part of the main card of EFC III, a show to be hosted by the Evolution Fighting Championship promotion at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvene, Kansas.
Wood improved his record to 7-1 with a first-round knockout of Chris “Lionheart” Jones on the undercard of Bellator 151 at the WinStar Resort and Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma, on March 4.
Wood dominated the opening moments of that bout, then used a side kick followed immediately by a spinning back fist to the jaw to send Jones to the canvas and end the fight at 3:10 of the five-minute round.
Wood said after the Jones bout that he wanted to fight again before he and his wife, Tiana, give birth to their first child, who is due to arrive in August.
Now training at Nick’s Fight Club in Amarillo, Wood is a late replacement for Jesus Adame as an opponent for the 26-year-old Phillips, who has a 4-0 record and is being promoted heavily by EFC.
Both fighters have campaigned primarily as featherweights (145 pounds), but with Wood’s late entry for the bout it will be contested at a catch weight of 150 pounds.
Portland boxers score victories
Two boxers representing the Portland Boxing Club were among the winners during an amateur fight card held Saturday night at the Longley Elementary School in Lewiston.
Gabriel “Tito” Morales, of Portland, an open class lightweight, scored a 2-1 split-decision victory over Joseph Valdez of Nashua, New Hampshire. Morales started a little slow against the aggressive Valdez but found the range in the second and third rounds, using sharp combination punching to pull away and earn the decision.
Ivan Papkee, an open class heavyweight from Portland, gave away height and weight to Marvin Jones of Burlington, Vermont, but made up the difference with an aggressive body attack to pull out a 2-1 split-decision victory.
