LEWISTON — Chris Cobbett left Saturday’s fight with souvenirs, and not merely the welt and abrasion beneath his left eye — evidence of his first-round technical knockout of Jacob Cameron.

“I bought my gloves,” Cobbett said. “It was a hell of a roller coaster, but my debut is my retirement.”

His was one of many local dreams either fulfilled or furthered in New England Fights VII at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Once again, more than 2,000 spectators jammed the building for a night of mixed martial arts. An unprecedented 30 bouts, to be precise.

Those who stayed until the finish of the 7-hour, 15-minute show watched Bangor’s Marcus Davis (22-9-1) hammer out a unanimous decision over Darrius Heyliger (5-2) of Ithaca, N.Y., in the main event.

Davis, 39, a UFC veteran recently signed to a contract with Bellator Fighting Championships, was cut over his right eye early and bloodied throughout. But he forced the issue with his tried-and-true boxing skills, winning 30-27 on one judge’s card and 29-28 on two others.

“This is my 200th sanctioned fight,” said Davis, who was counting boxing, kickboxing and MMA. “I still have some goals left. Don’t let that guy’s record fool you. He’s slick. He’s tough. I never do well with guys that are taller than I am.”

Two vacant NEF championship belts were on the line, as well.

Dez Green of Binghamton, N.Y., stopped Portland’s Henry Martinez with a thunderous kick to the midsection, followed by a series of unanswered strikes with his fists and knees, at 1:50 of the second round of the lightweight title fight.

“That’s a good opponent. I planned on winning. I planned on finishing. All the credit goes to my coaches,” said Green, whose pro record improved to 9-1. “It’s an eight-hour drive up here, and I’ll make that drive anytime.”

Tyler King, a second-generation former NFL player from Norwood, Mass., won the heavyweight crown. King forced the action to the mat early and lassoed Dexter native Travis Bartlett’s arm at 3:24 of the first round.

“I’ve dedicated my life to this sport. I truly love this sport. To win my first title is something I truly can’t describe right now,” said King, now 7-1.

Maine fighters Jesse Erickson (Auburn), Jared Lawton (Augusta), Ray Wood (Bangor) and Jon Lemke (Brewer) also prevailed in pro bouts.

Cobbett was a champion wrestler at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and American International College in Springfield, Mass., but that was during the Clinton administration.

Now 38 and a winner of international jiu jitsu competitions, the Norway man has kept busy helping the stable of fighters at Central Maine Brazilian Jiu Jitsu finetune its skills. He felt as if those lessons lacked one crucial element of credibility.

“I figured to be a better coach, I’ve got to go out and do what the rest of these guys do to get a real perspective,” Cobbett said. “This is wild. What a rush. I’ve done a lot of things — wrestled, done jiu jitsu, grappled. Nothing compares to getting in the cage and putting it all together.”

Cobbett proved a worthy student of this diverse game.

He followed the pre-fight strategy of going for a quick takedown and using jiu jitsu to gain the dominant position. Then the self-proclaimed “third-oldest guy ever to fight with NEF” used his boxing skills to stop Cameron with a barrage of strikes at the 2:30 mark.

“Striking’s new for me,” Cobbett said. “He wasn’t easy to get the position on. I took my time. That’s what jiu jitsu is. It’s a chess game.”

Any chance that the salesman in the outdoors industry enjoyed that physical and mental challenge enough to reconsider retirement?

“No, I’m sure. It’s a one-time shot,” said the smiling Cobbett, who said he had 130 friends and family members in the crowd.

Owner and trainer Travis Wells’ CMBJJ delegation had a night of highs and lows.

Erickson scored his first pro victory in his second try, taking out Skowhegan’s Josh Parker with an armbar in 51 seconds.

Alex Clark, Matt Denning, Erik Nelson and Ramone Saintvil joined Cobbett as winners on the amateur portion of the card. But Corey Hinkley lost to Dixfield’s Caleb Hall on strikes with 27 seconds remaining, and Conner Murphy tapped out, the recipient of a rear naked choke from Steve Desjardins in round two of their bout.

Clark’s blood was the first to grace the canvas and splatter the tables surrounding the cage. It flowed profusely after Bangor’s Caleb Costello broke his nose in the first two minutes of their bout.

Costello went down from an accidental knee to the groin shortly thereafter, providing a five-minute delay that gave both men a chance to recover from their pains.

Corner workers got the bleeding stopped, but Clark wasn’t out of the woods. He fought out of an arm triangle before reclaiming control and earning a unanimous decision.

“I was going in and out (of consciousness),” Clark acknowledged. “I was a little nervous for a little bit. I’m glad I survived that.”

Clark boxed while a student at Edward Little High School in Auburn, graduating in 2010.

A longtime MMA enthusiast, Clark joined CMBJJ to work on his ground game before making the transition to the cage. Unlike Cobbett, he has no plans to walk away anytime soon.

“I love it. I haven’t found anything that I love more so far in life,” Clark said. “Just the heart and soul of standing toe-to-toe with somebody, and then being able to hug each other and appreciate each other afterwards.”

Clark hopes to fight again in NEF’s card at the Bangor Waterfront in July.

“Now I know what I need to work on. This,” he said, pointing to his crooked nose, implying defense.

“Girls love the broken noses and messed-up ears,” Wells chimed in with a laugh.

Erickson didn’t give Parker time to inflict any such damage in their 155-pound skirmish.

Two months after a first-round loss to fellow Mainer Jon Lemke on the Bellator card at the Colisee, the Auburn fighter balanced the books with a big win.

“That’s what I do every day with jiu jitsu,” Erickson said. “I was just patient and I controlled him, and when I saw the opportunity I took the armbar.”

Erickson was 4-2 an amateur before turning pro.

“The fight with Bellator didn’t go so well, but I had a really good training camp and I was confident,” he said.

Hall, 18, a wrestler at Plymouth State University, improved to 2-0 without having to leave his comfort zone.

He put Hinkley on his back within seconds after the opening bell of each round and used his developing ground-and-pound game to maintain the advantage throughout.

“In the locker room Dawson (Walton, Hall’s trainer) was telling me to work my hands and force a takedown, and that’s exactly what I did,” Hall said. “I felt like I had some pretty good ground-and-pound, good top control.”

Hinkley gained the upper hand ever-so-briefly with a takedown in the third round. Hall calmly turned to his mat technique and executed a reversal within seconds.

“I stayed pretty confident after the takedown. I knew I could scramble out of it,” Hall said. “That’s my style in wrestling. As soon as he got me down, I knew what to do when he sunk his hooks in.”

Saintvil, of Lewiston, arguably delivered the night’s most resounding knockout, a one-punch silencer of Mike Secord at 1:26 of the opening round.

Roxbury native Trevor Hebert was the victim of a first-round stoppage in his MMA debut. Mike Brown of Lynn, Mass., put away Hebert with an armbar in 48 seconds.

Lisbon’s Denning used a guillotine choke to subdue Trevor Kell at 2:04 of the first round. Hometown favorite Nelson stopped Cody Sargent with a rear naked choke in the second stanza.

koakes@sunjournal.com

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