LEWISTON — The next New England Fights main event is a story line straight out of fistic action movies.
It will be the resourceful veteran and teacher, Marcus Davis, against the prodigal student, Ryan Sanders, in the mixed martial arts showdown Feb. 8 at Androscoggin Bank Colisee.
UFC veteran Davis (22-10) against Sanders (5-4) is a welterweight bout co-promoters Matt Peterson and Nick DiSalvo said fight fans have coveted for more than a year.
“There’s no bigger bout that we could make right now,” DiSalvo said in a news release.
“Marcus’ legacy is solidified, and now we get to witness whether Ryan is the next breed of Maine fighter with the potential to make it big and go on to a long, storied career in combat sports,” Peterson added. “The energy around this one is searing.”
That’s due to a long and now contentious background.
From the outset of his career in 2006, Sanders maintained a partnership with both Davis of Team Irish and he nearby Youngs’s MMA gym.
Sanders chose Young’s outright in 2011. The strained relationship boiled over in a postfight confrontation between the two after Davis worked in the corner of Gil de Freitas in a Sept. 2012 bout against Sanders.
Now 40 and coming off a first-round stoppage at the hands of Alexander Sarnavskiy in a Bellator Fighting Championships bout, Davis noted that the Sanders bout is a risky proposition.
As the owner of his own gym, Davis already has begun the transition into life after his career ends.
“Normally you take fights that you have no emotional connection and nothing at stake other than a win or a loss,” Davis said. “In this case, it’s a classical student versus former instructor. I have the most at stake here. This fight affects not only my pride, but my business. I can’t just ‘get the win’ against Sanders. I have to knock him out or submit him quickly.”
Sanders said that it is “an honor” to square off with his estranged mentor.
“Fighting Marcus is this biggest opportunity of my fighting career, and I will not let it slip through my hands,” he said.
Davis-Sanders headlines an NEF XII card that also will feature Maine middleweight champion Jesse Peterson’s return to action after an 11-month layoff.
Tickets start at $25 and are available by calling 783-2009, ext. 525, or going to www.TheColisee.com.
koakes@sunjournal.com
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