Undercard for Bautista’s professional debut boasts stacked lineup of regional stars

[CES Press Release]

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Sept. 12, 2012) – A loaded undercard featuring four Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) veterans and 12 fighters ranked among the elite in the northeast is threatening to steal the thunder from Dave “The Animal” Bautista next month at The Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence.

The former six-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) heavyweight champion will make his long-awaited mixed martial arts debut Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012 against Rashid Evans at “Real Pain,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports in association with June Entertainment, but he won’t be the only star featured on the live, Direct TV Pay Per View telecast. The show features 13 bouts, including the Rhode Island debut of Canadian UFC veteran Dave Loiseau and the return of 29-year-old Boston native John “Doomsday” Howard, who fought on seven UFC shows between 2009 and 2011.

“We’ve stacked the deck for this one,” Burchfield said. “Almost every fight on this show has ‘main event’ potential. Anyone could walk away as the Fighter of the Night, and that’s what makes it an event you don’t want to miss.”

Loiseau (20-10, 13 KOs), nicknamed “The Crow,” is a veteran of nine UFC shows, most recently in June of 2010 when he lost to Mario Miranda. He also fought Rich Franklin in Las Vegas for the UFC middleweight title in 2006, but lost a unanimous decision. On Sept. 6, Loiseau will face Charleston, S.C., native Chris McNally (5-4), who has five submission wins on his resume and has won back-to-back bouts since his last loss in 2010.

Also looking to return to the UFC, welterweight Marc Stevens (14-7, 6 KOs) of Lorraine, N.Y., will face dangerous Providence native Luis Felix (7-6, 4 KOs), who has won back-to-back fights, including a huge win over The Ultimate Fighter: Live quarterfinalist and current UFC contender Joe Proctor in November of 2010, and five of his last seven dating back to 2009.

Stevens, who has also appeared on Bellator Fighting Championships and Strikeforce promotions, was cast on Season 12 of TUF, also known as The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck, in 2010. Stevens lost both of his fights on the show, including his re-entry into the house via the wild card selection, but has since won two of his last three bouts and is aiming for another shot with the UFC.

Howard (17-7, 6 KOs) finds himself in a similar position, though he’s much closer to making it back to the sport’s biggest stage. Since the UFC released him in 2011 following three consecutive losses, Howard has won three in a row, including a 1-minute, 28-second win over Scott Rehm in August after Rehm suffered an injured triceps. “Doomsday” will look to make it four in a row Oct. 6 when he faces middleweight Brett Chism (16-11, 7 KOs) of Valdosta, Ga. Chism has won three of his last four fights within the past two years, including two by knockout.

The fourth UFC veteran on next month’s card, welterweight Chad Reiner (29-13, 9 KOs) of Omaha, Neb., will face arguably the stiffest test among his UFC alumni when he battles Pawtucket, R.I., veteran Keith Jeffrey (8-2). Reiner, who fought for the UFC twice in 2007 and also has an appearance with Bellator on his resume, has won seven of his last 10 bouts since 2010, while Jeffrey has won three in a row since returning from a knee injury, including an impressive submission win over Harley Beekman in June. Jeffrey is now ranked No. 5 among welterweights in the northeast.

The remainder of the undercard is littered with Top 10 fighters, including a dynamic showdown between No. 1 ranked 145-pounder Saul “The Spider” Almeida (12-2) of Framingham, Mass., and No. 4 ranked Calvin Kattar (12-2, 6 KOs) of Methuen, Mass. Nicknamed “The Boston Finisher,” Kattar has won four consecutive bouts, including big wins over Cody Stevens and Jeff Anderson, while Almeida is looking to bounce back from his loss to Matt Bessette at Bellator’s show in March, which ended his five-fight winning streak.

Providence’s Mike “The Beast” Campbell (11-4, 7 KOs), a former World Extreme Cagefighting contender who is now ranked No. 5 among lightweights in the northeast, will face Philadelphia’s Gemiyale Adkins (7-3, 3 KOs), a former welterweight making his first appearance in the 155-pound division. Campbell won a unanimous decision over Bombsqaud veteran Don Carlo-Clauss in August, giving him back-to-back wins for the first time in more than two years.

Pawtucket’s Todd “The Hulk” Chattelle (10-7, 8 KOs), the former CES MMA middleweight champion, will end his five-month layoff and face Boulder, Colo., native Chandler Holderness (9-3, 4 KOs) in a bout originally scheduled for June before Chattelle suffered an arm injury during training camp.

Chattelle last fought in April when he lost by second-round knockout to Howard, but had won his last four fights leading up to the showdown against “Doomsday.” Holderness, who splits time between training in Colorado and Boston, still fought in June, knocking out Bob Burton at the 2:33 mark of the opening round, which, at the time, was his first win in 11 months. Overall, he’s won four of his last five and is now ranked No. 7 in the middleweight division – five spots behind Chattelle, who is No. 2 behind Howard.

In the 205-pound division, Providence’s Greg Rebello (13-4, 7 KOs), No. 3 in the northeast, will look to get back on track against Chris Guillen (13-12, 1 KO), a St. George, Utah, veteran with a deceiving record. Of Guillen’s 12 losses, four have come against future UFC contenders, including former UFC interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin, who will face Roy Nelson in The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale in December, and former heavyweight contender Ben Rothwell. Rebello, who has lost two of his last three, is looking for his first win since beating Cody Lightfoot in September of 2011.

“Real Pain” also features another battle between two Top 10 fighters, this time in the heavyweight division with No. 3 Josh Diekmann (12-4, 8 KOs) of Groton, Conn., facing No. 5 Tyler King (4-1, 2 KOs), a former NFL offensive lineman from Norwood, Mass. King and Diekmann actually fought on the same card in separate bouts in Rhode Island back in February; King beat Eric Bedard while Diekmann lost to former UFC contender Josh Hendricks. Neither fighter has fought since then, so the winner could continue climbing the northeast rankings in the heavyweight division.

Also on the undercard, No. 6 ranked middleweight Brennan Ward (3-0, 2 KOs) of Providence will face Shedrick “Chocolate Thunder” Goodridge (2-2) of Rahway, N.J.; Providence’s Nate Andrews (1-0) will battle Leon Davis (2-0) of Springfield, Mass., in an interstate welterweight showdown and bantamweight Andre Soukhamthath (2-1, 1 KO) of Woonsocket, R.I., will face Rob Costa (2-0) of Fall River, Mass.

Tickets are available at www.cesmma.com or www.ticketmaster.com and are priced at $20.00, $35.00, $55.00, $75.00, $125.00 and $250.00. The show will also air live on Direct TV Pay Per View for $29.95 ($39.95 in high-definition) beginning at 8 p.m.

– CES –

---

If You Enjoyed This Article Please Comment. Support us by following our twitter and our facebook fan page. It is the best way to stay up to date on local MMA! Any news you would like us to share email us at westernmassmma@gmail.com. Thanks!

---

Global Fight League 9/15/2012 Teaser

 The Global Fight League is set to return on September 15th, 2012 which is less than a week away.  This show will take place at Latitude Sports Club in Peabody MA.  There is a nice scaled back show but it has some great matchups on it.  There are 8 solid, well matched fights that will make for a perfect night of mixed martial arts.  Their matchmaker Mike Strazzere has done an excellent job on the card and keeping us in the loop.  Many of the fighters you will have heard of if you read our site often.  It is headlined by a huge rematch of Rico Disciullo against Matt Doherty.  Tickets are still available by visiting here.  They start out at $35 bux which is a great price. Let me break down the card for you.

Shane Gleason vs Welly Sanchez 

Shane Gleason is set to fight Welly Sanchez at 155lbs.  Shane trains with Cage Strikers and has a record of 1-1.  He hasn’t fought yet this year but his only loss was a first round ref stoppage to strikes to Ray Wood.  He then bounced back and won his first amateur fight at GFL 12 via armbar in round 1 against Ken Kersch who is also fighting on this card.  What better way to return to the cage then to return to GFL??  His opponent Welly Sanchez trains with Redline and will be making his amateur debut.  Who will be the victor, Shane returning to the cage or Welly, the fresh amateur??  We will find out this Saturday.

Brian Squadrille  vs Chris Caterino 

Brian Squadrille is set to face Chris Caterino at 135lbs.  Brian trains with Nova Uniao and has a record of 1-1.  His sole amateur win came at a January Cage Titans show where he defeated George Nassar in the 3rd round via ref stoppage to strikes.  His loss came at a CFX where he lost a unanimous decision.  His opponent, Chris trains with Bucket Brigade and has a record of 2-2.  He won two fights, one unanimous decision at a Combat Zone and his second via armbar against Chris Palacios at Premier FC.  His two losses were close split decision losses.  This is a really good fight that I see going the distance.

Danny Monteiro vs Garrett Elias

Danny Monteiro will be fighting Garret Elias at 145lbs.  Danny trains with Nova Unaio and will be making his amateur debut.  His opponent, Garrett will also be making his amateur debut.  He trains with Bucket Brigade.  This fight, I cannot give much insight due to both making their debuts but I can tell you they will be ready.

Ken Kersch  vs Tyler Tracy 

Ken Kersch will be fighting Tyler Tracy at a catchweight of 150lbs.  Ken trains with Impact BJJ and has a record of 1-5.  His sole win came at a previous GFL where he won a decision.  Out of his 5 losses four of them were decisions and one a submission.  He fought some very tough fighters, Ray Wood, Jason Libby and John Raio in the decision losses.  His opponent Tyler trains with Bucket Brigade and will be making his amateur debut.  Will Ken’s experience play a factor or will the unknown skills of Tyler power him to his first victory??

Jason Barrett AKA Flex Armstrong vs Kristian Lombari

Jason Barrett or as he is better known as Flex Armstrong is set to fight Kristian Lombari at 205lbs.  Flex is all muscle and has a wrestling background.  He is an independent fighter and has 1-0 record.  His sole win was a devastating knockout.  After his fight he was boo’d and he was unfazed.  He wants to silence his doubters and show that he is here to fight.  Kristian trains with Team Fury and will be making his amateur debut.  I predict this fight to be a stand and bang fight.  How do you see it going??

Isaiah Gomez vs Mike Materkowski 

Isaiah Gomez is returning to the cage against Mike Materkowski at 155lbs.  Isaiah trains out of Sityodtong Northshore and has a record of 2-1.  Isaiah has a decision victory and a submission victory against Josh Smith early in the first round that we all saw at Premier FC.  His sole loss came to Nick Berube at a previous GFL where he lost a decision.  He had other fights lined up recently but had to pull out due to injury.  I am happy to see him back in the cage.  Mike trains with Cage Strikers and has a record of 3-2.  His three wins were all finishes, two of them by way of the fist and the last from a rear naked choke.  His two losses were from decision and triangle choke, one to Nate Oses and the other to Matt Goorahoo.  I have seen both of them fight and I am pretty sure this one won’t be making it to a decision.  I see one of them finishing it on the ground.  Very good matchup indeed.

Colton Blanchette vs Chad Kelly

Colton Blanchette will be fighting Chad Kelly at a catchweight of 130lbs.  Colton trains with Cage Strikers and has a record of 4-2.  Colton started his career with four straight victories and three of them were submissions.  He then hit a rough patch and lost his next two fights.  First one was a decision to Dan Cormier where Dan won all three rounds.  His next fight he took on Ray Wood who also won a unanimous decision against him.  I know he will be hungry for his fifth win.  Chad Kelly trains with Fighting Arts Academy in Gardner and has a record of 3-2.  Chad is very well rounded.  He has great standup and even better ground game.  He just recently won at Warrior Nation against Ian McEwen where he won with a submission in round 3.  His two losses were split decisions.  I have only seen Colton fight once before but I know he is a real good fighter.  This fight is really hard to predict.  I feel this fight can go anywhere and its going to be very exciting.  I can definitely see this as fight of the night potential.

Matt Doherty vs Rico Disciullo 

Matt Doherty is ready to make his return back to the cage against Rico Disciullo at 135lbs.  This fight is one of the greatest amateur rematches that I can recall.  Matt trains with Team Pradal Serey and has a record of 4-4.  He has fought tough fights his whole career and this will be no exception.  His four losses were to Kody Nordby, Kin Moy, Brett Morris and Cory Pickering.  His last fight he fought Rico where I had Rico winning the first two rounds.  Matt, remained calm and got the takedown and was able to get the rear naked choke tap just seconds before the round ended.  Needless to say Rico has bounced back like we knew he would with a big KO win over Jeff Watts at a previous Cage Titans and is looking to avenge his loss in a big way. Rico trains with Sityotdong and has a record of 6-2.  I believe five out of his 6 victories were all by way of the fist and the other was submission.  This fight will most likely be fight of the night and I guarantee you will keep you on the edge of your seat fight fans!!

There you have it fight fans.  Eight solid matchups that will be brought to us courtesy of GFL.  If any fighters info is incorrect, please let me know and I will gladly fix.  Thanks to Mike Strazzere for keeping us up to date.  As I said in the introduction, tickets are still available and you can get them at the door or by visiting here.  We should be there to do a review but there won’t be any live updates that evening.  Just giving you a heads up!

---

If You Enjoyed This Article Please Comment. Support us by following our twitter and our facebook fan page. It is the best way to stay up to date on local MMA! Any news you would like us to share email us at westernmassmma@gmail.com. Thanks!

---