As many in the region have heard, an old figure within the industry here in New England is making his return to the fray. Joe Cavallaro has rebranded World Championship Fighting (WCF), a pioneering promotion of MMA in the region, as Combat FC, and they'll be making their debut on June 17th in Wilmington, Massachusetts at the Shriner's Auditorium.
CFC has announced their first set of bouts for their upcoming inaugural card, and we've outlined them below. But don't be fooled. There are many more big announcements to come in the coming days and weeks.
Here are 4 bouts that you can expect to see on June 17th in Wilmington, MA:
Sanad Armouti (1-1) vs. Sage Philippe (1-2)
Professional Welterweight
In a very intruiging 170 pound matchup, Florian BJJ black belt, Sanad Armouti will be taking on a very tough and talented Sage Philippe. Armouti has pieced together a 1-1 professional record after a 2-0 amateur career where he has a big win over New England's biggest prospect; Billy Goff. Armouti had an impressive win in his professional debut at CES 57, defeating Rodolfo Roch via TKO, but dropped his next fight under the CES banner to a very experienced Marcos Lloreda (11-7) via unanimous decision. Armouti will be sharing the cage with Sage Philippe, a highly talented fighter who's fought nothing but killers early in his professional MMA career. Philippe was a highly touted welterweight prospect as an amateur after he put together a 4-1 record from 2018 to 2020. He was welcomed to the professional ranks by a stud in Thad Jean (3-0) at CES 63 (rear naked choke loss), but then bounced back with an impressive win over Matt Denning (5-13) at Premier FC 31.
This will be a highly competitive battle between two up-and-coming welterweights here in New England on June 17th at Combat FC 1.
Jamie Campbell (3-0) vs. Jacob Guerrero (0-0)
Professional 170
These names might not be very familiar to the current New England fanbase, but don't sleep on this fight. This has potential fight of the night written all over it!
Campbell sports a 3-0 record, in which all 3 wins came under the WCF banner (which has now been rebranded as Combat FC). The Wilmington, Massachusetts native will be competing in front of his hometown crowd as he steps back in the cage after a more than 12 year layoff from competition. Don't let that fool you though. Campbell is now training out of Hard Knock Muay Thai, but he also spends much of his time traveling and training with some of the highest-level MMA athletes in the world. Recently he's been seen training with Henry Cejudo, Matt Brown, Mike Tyson, and many other notable names in combat sports. Jamie is also the man behind the "Dynamic Striking" series on BJJ Fanatics. You can check out his content via his Instagram account (@Jabs_with_Jamie).
Campbell will be taking on Jacob "The Tyga" Guerrero in this welterweight clash. Guerrero will be making his professional debut after stringing together a 4-4 amateur record in Panama. Don't let that 4-4 amateur record fool you though, as the amateur MMA ruleset used in Panama is the same as the professional ruleset that we use here in the states. Guerrero has packed up and moved to the US and is training full-time at Tiger Schulmann's MMA in New York - one of the best gyms in the northeast.
Do not go grab a beer or take a bathroom break during this fight!
Lee McHugh (4-1) vs. Fabio Alano (0-0)
Amateur Middleweight
Lee McHugh has put together a 4-1 record as an amateur and now he's stepping up to take on the toughest test of his MMA career in the middleweight division on June 17th in Wilmington, MA. McHugh trains out of Team Savage in Connecticut and has made 3 appearances in New England as an amateur under the AMMO banner (3-0). McHugh will be taking on an unknown here in our region in Fabio Alano, but don't sleep on Alano's 0-0 record. Alano is a black belt in BJJ, hapkido, and shotokan karate, and is a multi-time IBJJF world champion. Originally hailing from Brazil, Alano is now training at Sityodtong in Massachusetts, and is looking to make a serious first impression on the New England fanbase in his amateur debut against a worthy competitor in McHugh.
Danny Wahlberg (1-0) vs. Joe Cortigiano (0-0)
Amateur Featherweight
Training out of USMMA in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Danny Wahlberg will be stepping into the cage for the 2nd time as an amateur as he takes on debuting Joe Cortigiano. Wahlberg made his amateur debut at Cage Titans 51 in a grinding split-decision war against a very tough Phil LoCigno that ended with Wahlberg with his hand raised in the center of the cage. There isn't much know about Cortigiano, but if he even brings half the energy that Wahlberg brings to the cage, then we know that this one will be a banger.
