Dexter native captures New England Fights pro featherweight crown
BANGOR — Undefeated Josh Harvey of Young’s MMA in Bangor won the New England Fights 37 main event at the Cross Insurance Center on Friday night, Feb. 1 before most of the sold-out crowd of 1,200 even realized it.
Harvey defeated Berwick’s Bill Jones by technical submission 2 minutes, 11 seconds into the first round of their battle for the promotion’s vacant professional featherweight title when Jones suffered a right elbow injury as Harvey was controlling the action on the mat.
“I drove his wrist down between my legs and figure-four locked that into a key lock with my legs,” Harvey said. “It happened so quick he didn’t have a chance to tap.”
Harvey, a former two-time state wrestling champion at Dexter Regional High School and the one-time NEF amateur lightweight champion, improved his pro record to 6-0-1 — with all his victories coming in the opening round.
“I have good stand-up,” Harvey said, “but if you’re winning fights and not getting hit … this was another fight that ended in the first round, and I didn’t get hit. It’s hard to deviate from something that’s so successful.”
Jones fell to 13-12.
Mark “Pockets” Gardner of The Academy in Portland, competing at 180 pounds, won the other pro contest on the 11-fight card by technical knockout at the end of the first round due to a cut suffered above the left eye by C.J. Ewer — who is a graduate of Foxcroft Academy — of Young’s MMA.
Devin Corson of The Outlet in Dexter outmuscled Taylor Bartlett of Central Maine BJJ of Auburn at 155 pounds, scoring a three-round unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) and then celebrated his second win in three fights with backflips in the cage.
Bangor Daily News photo/Ernie Clark
WINNING IN THE CAGE — Devin Corson, top, of The Outlet in Dexter presses the attack against Taylor Bartlett of Central Maine BJJ during the second round of their 155-pound bout during the New England Fights 37 Mixed Martial Arts show at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Friday night, Feb. 1.