Co-promoters Matt Peterson and Nick DiSalvo of New England Fights clearly aren’t worried about their fans getting saturated, overwhelmed or bombarded by too much of a good thing.

Barring any last-minute changes due to injury or travel difficulties, the cage at Androscoggin Bank Colisee will house 35 fights at its next Fight Night on Saturday, May 18.

“We believe in giving the people of Maine the greatest possible value for their entertainment dollar,” Peterson said. “We feel like there’s something for everybody. I tell people if 35 fights in one night isn’t their thing, come late and leave early. We just want to extend that opportunity to everyone.”

Since 2009, much of Peterson’s busy life has been devoted to creating — and seizing — opportunities.

The state representative from Rumford was a central figure in creating the Combat Sports Authority that made prize fights legal in Maine after a hiatus.

Peterson then joined forces with DiSalvo to create NEF and its successful Fight Night enterprise.

While most of the cards have been held in Lewiston, the schedule is about to grow and expand. After the May show, NEF will hold an outdoor July event in Bangor, make its second appearance in Biddeford a month later, and return to the Twin Cities in September.

Again, there is no fear of watering down the product. It’s a simple case of supply and demand.

“I’ve seen shows from coast to coast, from Maine to California, from New York to Florida and everywhere in between, and nowhere else is there an audience like we have in Maine,” Peterson said. “They stay from the first fight to the last fight on a 20-fight card. That’s real, and it’s what we see every single time. It doesn’t even really matter where the guys fighting are from.”

Peterson discovers new fans — perhaps you could even call them converts — at every stop.

He uses the example of a female friend, noting that he “can’t think of a person who is more dead set against MMA than she is.”

The woman’s brother will be making his debut as a fighter at the May card. Guess who already bought a ticket?

“She’s kind of my meter,” Peterson said. “If she will change her mind, that tells you something right there. The sky’s the limit, not just in Maine but around the world. What we’re talking about is (a sport) that transcends language and transcends culture.”

Peterson and DiSalvo recently held a conference call debriefing with Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney after the organization’s successful visit to the Colisee in March. He repeated Rebney’s immediate post-fight declaration that Bellator almost certainly will return to Lewiston in the near future.

He also noted Ultimate Fighting Championship’s scheduled stop in Boston in August. Peterson hopes that the refurbishing of Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland and the imminent opening of Cross Insurance Center in Bangor will make his home state a possible destination for UFC.

“We won’t rest and we won’t feel we’ve been successful as an organization until we’ve helped bring the No. 1 mixed martial arts promotion in the world to Maine,” Peterson said.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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