Kickboxing sparring event planned for Dexter
By Ernie Clark
BDN Staff
DEXTER — Mixed martial arts have established a strong foothold in central and eastern Maine, with such popular gyms as Young’s MMA in Bangor and Team Irish MMA Fitness Academy in Brewer producing many of the state’s top combatants.
New training facilities also are popping up in the region such as The Outlet of Dexter, home of the Shatterproof Combat Club.
But fan access to the sport and their favorite fighters typically is two hours or more away in Lewiston, home to the state’s leading MMA promotion, New England Fights.
Josh Harvey of Corinth is working to bridge that geographic gap while providing himself and other MMA practitioners a chance to get in a public workout in advance of the next NEF show in Lewiston.
“Fight Night at the Factory,” set for 7 p.m. Friday at Factory One on Water Street in Dexter, will be what Harvey describes as an “open sparring event” for amateur kickboxers.
The event, also being promoted by MaineNightOut.com, is open to fans age 21 or older with a suggested donation of $10 at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Maine Veterans’ Project.
Harvey, the top-ranked amateur lightweight in New England’s MMA ranks according to mass-mma.com, invited competitors from many of the state’s top gyms and anticipates approximately 10 matchups each involving three two-minute rounds using American Kickboxing Association rules.
Contact will be limited to the use of hands and feet, with no leg strikes and no knees. No takedowns will be allowed during the exhibitions, Harvey added, and no official winners will be determined.
Competitors will use safety equipment such as headgear and gloves that are larger than they typically would use during an MMA bout.
“A lot of them will be fighting three weeks later in the NEF cage (April 23 in Lewiston) so we’ve got to keep everybody safe,” said Harvey.
The 25-year-old Harvey, a former two-time state wrestling champion at Dexter Regional High School who now trains at Young’s MMA in Bangor, will vacate his NEF amateur lightweight title to make his professional debut on the April 23 NEF card against Matt Denning. (2-1) of Auburn.
He’ll face veteran Stacy Lupo, the kickboxing coach at The Outlet, in Friday night’s featured sparring event, and sees it as a perfectly timed session in advance of his return to the MMA cage.
“As far as fight camps go, if this is three weeks before your fight it would be when you’d have your last hard session of sparring,” he said.
Others expected to participate include Brighton Sawyer, Michael Arsenault, Jimmy Jackson, Robbie Kiah, Chris Arsenault, Colby Hakkila, Victor Irwin, Glenn Kasabian, Derek Dale, Fred Lear, B.J. Garceau and Allie Gray.
“I’ve gone and cross-trained at some of the bigger gyms in (Massachusetts), and on sparring night they’ve got 20, 30, 40 guys in a gym, that’s how big their rosters are,” Harvey said. “Young’s MMA is a big team up here and we’re lucky to get 10 guys in there at the same time.
“Then of those 10 guys only three or four are going to be your weight and then maybe only one of those are at your level so you’re working with the same guys all time and that’s not conducive to creating top-level fighters.”
“Fight Night at the Factory” will be staged in front of a much smaller crowd than the typical NEF show that draws 2,000 fans or more, a fact that may be beneficial for participants considering whether they want to pursue the sport more seriously.
“The NEF crowd can be intimidating for someone who hasn’t fought before,” said Harvey, “so here you can get up in a ring in front of a smaller crowd and fight and it might give you a better assessment of where you are.”