FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Portland, Maine (December 18, 2019) – New England Fights (NEF) today announced the nominees for their annual Year End Awards for 2019’s “Knockout of the Year.” The four nominated fighters who made their fists heard in 2019 were: Kam Arnold’s knockout over Walt Shea at “NEF 41: COLLISION COURSE”; Chris Sarro’s knockout over Ras Hylton at “NEF 40: SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS”; Zac Richard’s knockout over Erik Tainter at “NEF 40: SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS”; and Jason Landry’s knockout over Dan Seigars at “NEF 39: ALL AMERICAN.”
Jason Landry (2-1) brought the Androscoggin Bank Colisee to its feet last June at “NEF 39” when he destroyed Dan Seigars’ (0-1) nose with one punch only seven seconds into their scheduled three-round welterweight bout. The fight was Landry’s follow-up to his debut a couple of months earlier when he stopped the much more experienced Justin Boraczek (4-3), also in the first round. The win over Seigars solidified Landry’s arrival as one of the heaviest handed welterweights to step into the NEF amateur ranks in years. Seigars later reported that his nose didn’t stop bleeding until several hours after the conclusion of the fight.
Chris Sarro (1-0) delivered a picture-perfect walk-off knockout of Ras Hylton (4-3) at “NEF 40” last September that will be remembered for years. Sarro, the 2019 Northern New England Golden Gloves Champion in the superheavyweight division, took a chance when he made his pro debut against Hylton, who had much more experience in mixed martial arts (MMA). It was a gamble that paid off, as Sarro landed one shot that collapsed Hylton at 1:07 of round one. Sarro would immediately move on to be signed by the national promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Sarro debuted with BKFC in November and knocked out his opponent in the first round.
Zac “Rocky” Richard (5-2-1) had a lot of pressure on his shoulders when he returned to the NEF cage in September at “NEF 40.” Richard was coming off of back-to-back losses for the first time in his career after starting out 3-0 in cage competition. Rocky’s opponent at “NEF 40,” Marine Corps member Erik Tainter (0-2), came into the bout with nothing to lose and brought the fight to Richard early, charging across the canvas and forcing Rocky into the clinch against the cage. Richard, displaying his wrestling prowess, eventually took Tainter to the mat and started working his ground and pound inside Tainter’s guard. At one point, Tainter reversed position and moved into full mount before throwing up an armbar attempt that put him back underneath Richard. Richard, recognizing the position, immediately reacted by completely lifting Tainter’s entire body off of the canvas (while Tainter still had the armbar secured) and slamming him back down to the mat power-bomb-style for the immediate KO victory. If you remember Rampage Jackson vs Ricardo Arona—you get the picture.
“Killa” Kam Arnold (6-1) began his 2019 campaign with an early candidate for “Knockout of the Year” when he stopped practiced competitor Henry Clark (5-5) via KO only 21-seconds into Kam’s first bantamweight title defense at “NEF 38” back in April. Arnold would best his own results before the end of the year, however, when he closed out 2019 by zapping Walt Shea (3-2) just seven seconds into the second round of their 135-pound title fight at “NEF 41” in November. One shot from Arnold’s left hand is all it took to put Shea to sleep and log one of the year’s most massive knockouts. Arnold has knocked out six of his seven opponents and proven he has some of New England’s deadliest hands.
Fan voting to determine the winner of the 2019 NEF Year End Awards “Submission of the Year” will officially open at 12:00pm on Friday, December 20, 2019 and run until 5:00pm on Thursday, December 26, 2019. Fans will determine the outcome of the contest so all are encouraged to participate to vote for their favorite fighter.
New England Fights’ next mixed-martial-arts event, “NEF 42: Symphony of Destruction,” will take place on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine. Tickets are on sale now at www.PortTix.com.
About NEF Year End Awards
The NEF Year End Awards are chosen annually at the conclusion of every calendar year to recognize outstanding athletic achievement and excellence in New England Fights (NEF). Nominees are selected by a qualified panel of professionals with expertise in combat sports and NEF competitions. Award Winners are determined by fan vote. All NEF Year End Awards Winners will receive a trophy to commemorate their accomplishment.
About New England Fights
New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.
