Tonight CES MMA returns to Foxwoods Casino for CES 75: Fight For A Cause. This card is stacked with New England talent from top to bottom as Jimmy Burchfield Sr. and company deliver another big night of fights. As you may have seen before, tonight is "Fight for A Cause". This card is in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, focusing on the Joanne Sullivan Memorial Fund. Proceeds from tonights event will be donated directly to the JSMF. There's no better card for this night and this fundraiser, too. Foxwoods Casino has sold out the Great Cedar Showroom and these fighters have sold boatloads of tickets. New England MMA's Dylan Napoleone will be in attendance for live event coverage which can be found at www.newenglandmixedmartialarts.org and also NEMMA socials (Facebook and Instagram). Now lets take a little bit more of a look into this card:
Lightweight: Charles Rosa (14-8) vs. Jonathan Gary (13-13-2)
Charles Rosa makes his return to the New England scene after his initial run in the UFC. Rosa went 5-8 in the biggest fight organization in the world and fought some absolute killers. "Boston Strong" will certainly have a chip on his shoulder as he looks to work his way back to the UFC. Tonight, he will take on Jonathan Gary who comes to Connecticut from Oklahoma to hold down the other half of the CES 75 main event. Gary tasted his last bit of victory at Bellator 181 back in 2017 but only had 5 MMA fights since. He won his boxing debut last month with a unanimous decision. Over half of Gary's professional wins have come by KO with few wins by submission/decision. Rosa, on the other hand has won most of his fights by submission. "Boston Strong", Charles Rosa will look to get his hand raised for the first time since 2021 and start his journey back to the UFC. This main event will be super exciting, the fans of New England have been patiently waiting for this return.
Welterweight: Nate Andrews (16-5) vs. Ali Zebian (9-3)
"The Snake", Nate Andrews returns to MMA after over a year away from the sport. After losing three straight to some of Bellator and PFL's prospects, Andrews took a break and went back to the drawing board to plan his next moves. Fast forward to 18 months later, Andrews is back and will take on Ali Zebian who also eagerly looks for a win. Debian has faced the most adversity of his career this year, having lost his last two fights. Before that, Zebian had been on a 7 fight win streak, taking out guys like Peter Barrett and Sam Watford along the journey. Andrews was also known as a very dominant Welterweight inside New England from 2016 to 2019 going 8-0 with CES. This fight could not be matched up much better as both of these strong and talented fighters search to get back in the win column. One man will have to wait a little longer to turn things around while the other gets back on track this evening at Foxwoods.
Regivaldo Carvalho (8-4) vs. Don Shainis (13-5)
CES Featherweight Championship
Glover Teixeira and team at Teixeira MMA have been creating absolute studs. From Alex Pereira to Marcos Bruno, to Wellington Turman, some LFA fighters, and now Regivaldo Carvalho. "The Black Cat" has been preparing for this opportunity for years. After a dominant TKO victory back at CES 73 back in May, Carvalho is the perfect man to step in with another UFC vet in Don Shainis. Carvalho has been training with world-class athletes and has shown that he is ready for this step up in competition. Don Shainis returned to New England in July when he squeaked out a decision win against Robert Wusstig (8-13) at Cage Titans 60. CES has found a great matchup to put their title up for grabs. With a dominant win here, Carvalho could be the next number the UFC dials and for Don Shainis, a big win over a surging prospect will increase his stock and help his resume as he looks to return to the UFC as well. Carvalho is known to be a dangerous and aggressive striker and Shainis is known to be a scrappy fighter who has a strong ground game complimented by some great striking technique as well. This fight will come down to who can implement the game-plan faster and more effectively. Definitely don't want to miss this fight!
Light Heavyweight: Eric Spiceley (13-8) vs. Justin Sumter (8-5)
This fight is finally happening! Originally scheduled for CES 67 and the main event too, Eric Spiceley and Justin Sumter will finally meet 18 months later. Back in April of 2021, Spiceley withdrew from the originally scheduled CES Middleweight Championship and here we are almost 2 years later just hours away from this fight. Spiceley ended his 4 fight skid this past February when he got a win in Slovakia, he executed a twister submission in the first round. Sumter has been actively grappling but has not fought MMA since he was TKO'd at CES 67 when Billy Goff stepped in for Spiceley. "The Fort", Sumter has been working through and through with his coaches at Fighting Arts Academy in Milford, CT and his boxing coaches at Champs Boxing in Danbury for this moment. He's made it clear that it's more than a fight, it's a comeback. At 33 years of age, Sumter sees the light and looks to get back to being his dominant self which early on earned him two DWCS fights. Spiceley is 37, however proved that he's still got it after pulling off the not-so-common twister submission earlier this year. This is a fantastic fight to run back now.
Bantamweight: Mike Antidormi (1-0) vs. John Medina (0-1)
Antidormi made his professional debut at CES 74 in July and got his first professional win via KO in the first round. He had a perfect amateur run going 4-0 with three unanimous decision wins and one by KO. Antidormi has been training with CT Combat and looks to continue his win streak when he takes on John Medina in the Bantamweight division. Medina comes from Rhode Island and made his professional debut at Cage Titans 59 where he suffered his first loss to the hands of Joe Poirier, one of the most dominant fighters in New England at the moment. Medina will look to turn things around and notch his first professional win and all of that hunger will be up to Antidormi who looks to stay dominant and stay undefeated. Both fighters will come hungry with the will to win.
Light Heavyweight: Quentin Pasley (Pro Debut) vs. William Vandervier (1-3)
Many have been asking, "when is this guy going to go pro?". Quentin Pasley is one of the biggest prospects coming out of Nick Newell's FAA in Milford, CT and tonight he makes his professional debut. Pasley went 7-0 as an amateur with 100% finish rate. Only two of these fights made it out of the first round. Pasley looks to stay dominant and start his professional career strong. He is a fighter who bring the energy and looks for the finish. A man with a bright future to say the least. Tonight he will welcome South Dakota's William Vandervier to Connecticut for a clash in the Light Heavyweight division. Vandervier won his professional debut in 2021 but has come up short since. Between his wins and losses, Vandervier has not been past the first round. Both fighters have a history of getting in and out of the cage wether it's winning or losing. It will be interesting to see if any gas tanks are tested tonight or if we will see a quick finish.
Featherweight: Pat Gilbride (4-2) vs. Arslan Otchiyev (2-2)
After a year away from the sport, Pat Gilbride is back ad looks to stay winning. In his last outing, he bounced back after a 2-fight skid. Gilbride finished Chris Rooney in the first round at Cage Titans 56 in October of last year. Gilbride's 4 wins have come by finish in the first round. He has three by submission and one by KO. He will look to continue his 100% finish rate as he returns to the sport of MMA tonight inside the CES cage. Otchiyev is another of of Nick Newell's prospects at Fighting Arts Academy & has been grappling a lot in the recent years. His last MMA fight was at Premier FC 30 in 2020. Rest assured Otchiyev has been grappling a lot and this time was not put to waste. Both Gilbride and Otchiyev look to prove themselves tonight as they return to the cage after a bunch of time off. This fight should be very entertaining and look for some elite level grappling on display in this one.
