Adolfo Bedolla takes gold at NEF 57
Crowd-pleasing performances from a pair of local favorites in the New England Fights cage provided the blazing bookends at “NEF 57: All the Smoke,” which played out before a packed house Saturday night in the arena at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine.
In a close but unanimous decision, “The” Ryan Sanders (23-10) picked up his third consecutive victory and 13th in his past 15 fights at the expense of New Jersey veteran Manny Walo (14-6-1).
Sanders used a reversal, a takedown and a fusillade of elbows in between to take command of the 175-pound catchweight professional main event in the opening round.
Walo landed his fair share during an extended stand-up sequence in the second stanza, but another takedown triggered a consistent assault from Sanders throughout the decisive final chapter.
One judge saw Sanders win all three rounds at 30-27, with two others giving him the edge by a slim 29-28 margin. In any event, it gave the loquacious veteran out of VisionQuest Muay Thai the chance to get the last word after taking some of Walo’s wit and wisdom to heart in the lead-up to the fight.
“This motherf***er said he’s fought several Ryan Sanders,” Sanders said. “Well, there’s only one ‘The’ Ryan Sanders, and I showed up tonight and showed out, so what’s up?”
While watching the latest masterpiece from one of its all-time greats, an appreciative, partisan crowd also got a look at perhaps a future NEF star in the making when Jackson Campbell christened the 17-fight card with an electrifying amateur victory.
Campbell (3-0) looked the part of the next big thing out of Young’s MMA with an impressive dismissal of Qasim Abdulla.
After an exchange of takedowns early in the bantamweight curtain-raiser, Campbell took command with a surgical ground-and-pound attack before locking in a rear naked choke just shy of the minute mark in round two. It turned into nap time for Abdulla after he refused to tap out.
“Hey, Matt (Peterson), you keep lining ‘em up, and I’ll keep knocking ‘em out,” the young lion Campbell challenged NEF’s co-owner and matchmaker in his post-fight interview. “They said (Abdulla) was No. 2 in New England. Well, guess what that means? I’m No. 1. Give ‘em all to me. I’m coming for ‘em.”
It wasn’t all roses at the spring show for the darlings from the Queen City and neighboring communities. Two international sluggers – Danik Gura (New York by way of Russia) and Adolfo Bedolla (North Carolina by way of Mexico) left their mark with authority and flew their flags with gusto in the aftermath.
Gura, making his professional debut, dealt Ed Davis his first defeat in three prize scraps with a tap to rear naked choke at 1:44 of the first round in their lightweight tangle. A vicious knee sent Davis to the mat and left his back vulnerable to the fast finish.
“I know he’s your boy, but I worked hard for this win,” Gura said to the crowd, relishing his role as the spoiler. “In Russia, we take what we want. We took Maine tonight. We’ll take something else tomorrow. You can boo all you want. It won’t change shit.”
Bedolla backed up his prior knock out of Miles Emery with an even more scintillating shutdown, this time for the NEF amateur heavyweight title.
Trained by past and future Maine resident Mike Murray, who later logged his own victory on the card, Bedolla (3-0) rocked Emery (2-2) with a right that sent him crashing to the canvas.
More heavy artillery to the head and midsection sealed Emery’s fate, with the referee rushing to stop the contest. A nimble former soccer goalkeeper, Bedolla leaped to his feet and climbed to the top of the cage in triumph.
It was a colorful performance from start to finish, with a mariachi band both heralding Bedolla’s arrival and serenading his victory.
“We worked hard. I was fight ready in January, and I was feeling hungry,” Bedolla said. “I train seven days a week for this shit, so this is no surprise. This belt looks pretty good on my shoulder. I’m up for whatever my coaches think we should do next.”
In perhaps the most emotional performance of the evening, Kam Arnold made a triumphant return to NEF after a 4½-year hiatus by winning his first pro bout with the promotion, a 68-second knockout of Derek Shorey at 140 pounds.
Arnold (3-1) landed a right that sent Shorey (4-11) face-first to the deck before continuing the onslaught until earning the wave-off.
“All I want is to be back with my three girls at home. That’s all I thought about all through camp and all day long. I’m coming home tonight, so it’s time for bed,” Arnold said. “I’m glad to be back home with NEF. I have to thank them for welcoming me back. And if you all want to see me knock somebody else the fuck out, come to Lewiston, Maine in June.”
First-round finishes were the general rule in the pro section of the card.
Murray (1-1) leveled his ledger with a tap to arm triangle from James Lawson at 39 seconds.
Nathaniel Grimard (5-4) made good on a guarantee to end his recent two-fight skid in dominating fashion. A takedown and hammer fists got the job done in 1:17 against Paul Walters.
In one of two superbly matched grinds atop the pro docket, Christian Turner from Florida’s esteemed American Top Team weathered a late storm from Grimard’s teammate at Nostos MMA, Kyle Pufahl, and took home a unanimous decision.
Among the highlights from a busy amateur lineup:
170 – Ian Godin defeated Troy Reynolds, unanimous decision.
135 – Nick Eldridge defeated PJ Crawford, 1:02, third round (Von Flue choke).
135 – Ezra Butler defeated Jose Pereira, 2:33, first round (doctor stoppage due to cuts).
140 – Jay Byrom defeated Christopher O’Mahony, unanimous decision.
170 – Brian Ferguson defeated Preston LaPointe, split decision.
135 – Alex Behling defeated William Lagasse, 2:21, first round (tap to arm triangle).
125 – Hussin Al-Saadi defeated Matt Jenkins, 1:28, first round (tap to rear naked choke).
155 (women) –Kat Jenkins defeated Mickey Johnson, unanimous decision.
185 – Max Rogers defeated Makai Robertson, 2:12, first round (tap to rear naked choke).
Up next is “NEF 58: Homeland,” which will return the local combat sports brand to its roots at Androscoggin Bank Colisee, 190 Birch Street, Lewiston, Maine, on Saturday, June 29.
