LEWISTON — You did it, local mixed martial arts fighters, trainers, and most of all enthusiasts.

You voted with your fists and your feet, with your vehicles occupying every available space in the Androscoggin Bank Colisee parking lot and your entertainment dollars sliding through the slots in the glass sheltering the box office.

One of the biggest names in one of your favorite pastimes brings its flashing lights, its giant screens, its cache of cameras and its courageous combatants to Maine for the first time Thursday night.

Bellator Fighting Championships unleashes big-league MMA in the historic building at 7:30 p.m.

Doors open at 7 o’clock. Seven preliminary bouts, five of them involving fighters with Maine ties, kick off the night. Those fights will be streamed live on the web at Spike.com.

Three primary bouts will air on Spike TV starting at 10 p.m. The main event is Bellator’s lightweight tournament final between Dave Jansen of Portland, Ore. (18-2) and Marcin Held of Tychy, Poland (15-2).

The winner will receive $100,000 and a guaranteed title shot against champion Michael Chandler.

In the other two featured bouts, Maine’s Marcus Davis (21-9) takes on Waachiim Spiritwolf of San Diego (9-11) at welterweight and heavyweights Travis Wiuff (68-16) and Ryan Martinez (8-2) collide.

Wednesday afternoon’s weigh-in came and went with a minimum of bluster and bulletin-board material.

“This fight has been a long time coming,” Jansen said. “I’m just happy that it’s finally going down.”

Held, 21, has a strong background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, while Jansen, 33, is adept at wrestling.

Both fighters are known for their ability to make the opponent tap out, or submit.

“I’ve been wanting this for a really long time, and I’m going to do my best to put on a great show,” Held said.

Wiuff and Martinez each weighed in not far from the 265-pound heavyweight threshold and come to the cage with extensive wrestling backgrounds.

Martinez is a Colorado southpaw with underrated striking ability, something that concerns his veteran foe from Minnesota.

“He’s a tough matchup for me and a tough matchup for anybody,” Wiuff said of Martinez.

“I’m very honored to be going in there against a cagy veteran like Wiuff,” added Martinez.

Chief among the local attractions is Davis, who is making his Bellator debut after rebounding from the end of his stint with Ultimate Fighting Championship by winning four of his past five fights.

This is only the second pro fight in Maine for Davis, who fought 20 times as a pro boxer before making the transition to MMA.

“It’s amazing to be able to fight a short distance really from where I was born,” Davis said. “I know we’re going to pack the house, and what better opponent than a guy like Spiritwolf who comes right at you to bang and to try to end the fight.”

Spiritwolf agreed that the pairing with Davis should be a crowd-pleaser.

“I’m a fight fan myself, and I fight the way I like fights to be,” Spiritwolf said. “Marcus is such a gentleman. It’s an honor to get in there with him, and I know it’s going to be a great fight.”

In the main supporting bout. Rumford’s Jesse Peterson will battle Atlanta veteran David Vitkay.

Brent Dillingham of Lewiston and Jesse Erickson of Auburn are slated to make their pro debuts. Brunswick’s John Raio and Brewer’s Ryan Sanders also are on the card. Sanders steps in against Michael Page of London, a world kickboxing champion in his initial fight with Bellator.

Tickets range from $40 to $125 and are available at thecolisee.com or by calling 783-2009, ext. 525.

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