Bruce Boyington made a successful return to the Maine mixed martial arts scene Saturday night, scoring a third-round stoppage of Taylor Trahan in the main event of NEF 32 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.
Boyington controlled the fight from the outset, but a battered and bruised Trahan survived the first two rounds only to have the 38-year-old veteran from Brewer secure the victory by rear naked choke at 1:08 of the third round of their 150-pound bout.
Boyington, a former NEF lightweight champion and more recently a competitor in the former World Series of Fighting franchise, is now 15-11, while the New Hampshire-based Trahan falls to 7-9.
Kemran Lachinov of Ludlow, Massachusetts, a former competitor with Bellator MMA, won the vacant NEF welterweight title by stopping C.J. Ewer of Hampden by tapout due to a kneebar at 3:01 of the first round of their title match.
Ewer, who was undefeated in three previous pro fights, was attempting to become the first fighter to hold promotional championships in two different weight classes simultaneously.
He won the the NEF middleweight belt in Bangor last August.
A third Young’s MMA fighter, Aaron Lacey of Brewer, rebounded from the first loss of his career to defeat Josh Parker in a 145-pound matchup. Lacey (5-1) controlled the lone round of the bout and earned the victory by rear naked choke at 4:30.
Rounding out the five pro fights on the card, Jesse Erickson scored a first-round stoppage of Mike Hansen, and Zenon Herrera won a unanimous decision over Nate Charles.
Former University of Maine football standout Carlton Charles delivered the quickest knockout of the evening, rebounding from his first loss in November with a 12-second stoppage of Delmarkis Edwards in a 175-pound amateur contest.
B.J. Garceau of Bangor made a successful amateur debut with a split decision over Sarah Ziehm. Garceau had dedicated her debut to awareness of diabetes, a disease she battles outside the cage.
Two other women’s bouts went the distance. Catie Denning won her debut by unanimous decision over Chelsea Elizabeth, while Floridian Amanda Gallo scored a unanimous decision over 18-year-old Jayda Bailey of Levant, the 2017 NEF Rookie of the Year.
In other amateur contests, Ryan Burgess won a split decision over Nate Boucher in a battle of former wrestling teammates at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford. With the win, Burgess earned a 125-pound NEF title fight against Justin Witham in June.
Former NEF amateur light heavyweight champion Ryan Glover returned to the cage after a one-year absence and won a three-round submission victory via strikes over Joe Berube.
Kam Arnold stopped Kyle Kenney by first-round TKO, and Mohammad Al-Kinani improved to 3-0 with a first-round TKO of Isaac Therrien.
Shawn Lunghi also improved to 3-0 with a first-round rear naked choke over previously unbeaten Devin Corson. The victory earned Lunghi an April shot at the amateur featherweight title against Taylor Costantino at NEF 33 in Portland.
Stacy Lupo scored his first win in the cage by first-round TKO via strikes over David Hart in their 155-pound bout.
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