CES MMA

CES MMA (Classic Entertainment & Sports) is a mixed martial arts promotional firm based out of Providence, Rhode Island founded by boxing promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr. It promoted the first sanctioned professional mixed martial event in the state of Rhode Island on September 17, 2010, at Twin River Casino.[1]

CES MMA
Official CES MMA logo

Since its inception, CES MMA has promoted and developed the careers of several current and former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) contenders, including Chuck O'Neil, Tateki Matsuda, Charles Rosa, Alex Karalexis, Thomas Egan, Dominique Steele, Rob Font and Ricardo Funch.[2]

Other UFC veterans to appear on CES MMA cards include David Loiseau and Drew Fickett. Several CES MMA alums have also made successful transitions to Bellator MMA, most notably Brennan Ward, who won his first three professional fights under the guidance of CES MMA before winning Bellator's middleweight tournament in 2013.[3]

In October 2012, CES MMA promoted its first pay-per-view event at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, featuring the professional MMA debut of former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista, before signing a multi-year broadcast deal with AXS TV in September 2014 which ended in 2019.[4]

In January 2019 CES MMA started airing live events on UFC Fight Pass with the debut event on UFC Fight Pass being CES 54.

Inaugural event
Magno Almeida, top, chokes out Mike Campbell in CES MMA's inaugural event in 2010.

CES MMA held its first event September 17, 2010, at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, the state's first sanctioned professional mixed martial arts event. The card featured seven bouts, including the main event between Rhode Island native and former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Reality Fighting vet Mike Campbell and Magno Almeida of Woburn, Massachusetts. Almeida won by rear naked choke submission at the 4:03 mark of the opening round.[5]

Titled "First Blood," CES MMA's inaugural event also featured the debuts of eventual CES MMA fixtures Luis Felix, Pete Jeffrey and Saul Almeida. Also on the undercard, heavyweight Parker Porter defeated Lee Beane by first-round submission (rear naked choke) and Rhode Island vet Mat Santos won his farewell bout following a four-year layoff by defeating Stephen Stengel via kneebar submission in the opening round.

Early success

Following its inaugural event, CES MMA successfully promoted seven events between 2010 and 2011, including its Foxwoods Resort Casino debut on Oct. 22, 2010. The event featured a main event rematch between Felix and Massachusetts native Joe DeChaves, who also fought on the undercard of "First Blood" the previous month. DeChaves avenged his September loss with a split-decision win, one of nine bouts on the card.[6]

CES MMA returned to Twin River on Dec. 2, 2010 for the first of 10 consecutive events at its home venue. Massachusetts native Dan Lauzon, the brother of UFC vet Joe Lauzon, defeated fellow Massachusetts native Damien Trites in the main event.[7] The undercard also featured the CES MMA debuts of Bellator MMA vet Greg Rebello, Rhode Island's Ruben Rey, Tyson Chartier, Matsuda and Bellator MMA vet Tiawan Howard of Cleveland, Ohio, who would make another appearance with CES MMA a year later.

CES MMA made headlines in 2011 with the signing of former UFC and WEC vet Alex Karalexis, a Boston, Massachusetts native. Karalexis made his CES MMA debut June 10, 2011, at Twin River and lost a controversial split decision to Howard in the main event.[8]

Later that year the promotion crowned its first champion at its November 18 event, titled "Undisputed." Pawtucket, Rhode Island veteran Todd Chattelle won the promotion's inaugural middleweight championship by defeating Massachusetts native Brett Oteri via guillotine choke submission in the opening round of a scheduled five-round bout.

Having established itself as New England's most prolific promotional firm, CES MMA was eventually named the Boston Herald Local MMA Promotion of the Year in 2011. Patrick Sullivan earned Best Matchmaker honors and the June 10 event featuring the Karalexis-Howard main event was named the region's best local card of the year. After finishing 4–0 in 2011 and capturing the CES MMA middleweight title, Chattelle won the Herald's Comeback Fighter of the Year award.[9] CES MMA also announced three additional signings in 2011, including Chattelle, Saul Almeida and Boston's Scott Rehm.

Pay-per-view debut
Former WWE champion Dave Bautista, top, strikes Vince Lucero during their pay-per-view super heavyweight bout at The Dunkin' Donuts Center in 2012

On October 6, 2012, CES MMA promoted its first pay-per-view event in association with June Entertainment at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, featuring the MMA debut of Dave Bautista. The event, titled "Real Pain," was made available through DirecTV and featured 13 bouts, including former UFC contenders Loiseau, Howard and Stevens.

Bautista made quick work of his opponent, Vince Lucero, earning a knockout win at the 4:03 mark of the opening round due to excessive unanswered punches.[10] The Boston native Howard, who had previously won the CES MMA middleweight championship by beating Chattelle in April in his CES MMA debut, defeated Brett Chism via second-round knockout on the undercard for his third consecutive win with CES MMA. Chattelle suffered his second consecutive loss just 27 seconds into his bout with Chandler Holderness due to a knockout from a flying knee while Felix defeated Stevens by unanimous decision.

Campbell earned a unanimous decision win over Philadelphia, Pennsylvania vet Gemiyale Adkins and Loiseau stopped Chris McNally via first-round knockout at the 2:30 mark. Ward made his final appearance with CES MMA on the undercard, defeating Shedrick Goodridge by knockout 2:36 into the opening round.

Championship expansion
CES MMA featherweight champion Rob Font

CES MMA kicked off 2013 by introducing its second title, the CES MMA lightweight championship. Campbell won the crown on February 1, 2013, at Twin River by defeating former Spanish Olympic boxer and Barcelona, Spain native Abner Lloveras by unanimous decision.[11] It would coincidentally be the final fight of Campbell's career. Titled "Undisputed 2,"' the card was a sequel to CES MMA's "Undisputed" event in 2011 in which Chattelle won the promotion's inaugural middleweight championship.

"Undisputed 2" was also noteworthy as the first CES MMA appearance of Font, the Boston bantamweight who earned an upset win over Saul Almeida on the undercard, beginning a stretch of six consecutive wins with CES MMA before making his UFC debut in July 2014. Font would eventually become the second fighter under CES MMA's guidance to return or advance to the UFC, preceded by Howard, who won five consecutive fights by knockout with CES MMA before returning to the UFC in August 2013.

Font would also go on to capture CES MMA's inaugural featherweight championship with a first-round knockout win over Connecticut native Chris Foster on August 9, 2013, at Twin River in the main event of "Gold Rush."[12]

20th event

With four events already in the books for 2013, CES MMA closed out the year at Twin River with its 20th show, titled, "CES MMA XX." It marked the first time CES MMA began numbering its events chronologically.

"CES MMA XX" featured 10 bouts. Font defeated Matt DiMarcantonio by unanimous decision in the main event. Woonsocket, Rhode Island bantamweight Andre Soukhamthath won his seventh consecutive bout under the guidance of CES MMA on the undercard by defeating Corey Simmons via first-round TKO. Soukhamthath also tied Chattelle as the promotion's winningest fighter with seven victories.[13] Rebello, Felix, Rosa and Oteri also won on the undercard.

AXS TV debut
Luis Felix, left, delivers the knockout blow against former UFC vet Drew Fickett in 2013.

CES MMA introduced its fourth championship on March 14, 2014, at Twin River when Boston heavyweight John Johnston defeated former UFC challenger Josh Hendricks by knockout at the 4:36 mark of the opening round due to excessive punches.

The heavyweight title bout was the co-feature of "CES MMA XXII," also noteworthy for Fickett's first and final appearance with CES MMA. The longtime UFC vet challenged Felix, who earned the biggest win of his career by knocking out Fickett with a head kick at 2:29 of the opening round.[14]

On August 8, 2014, at Twin River, CES MMA made its long-awaited AXS TV debut with "CES MMA XXV." Former The Ultimate Fighter reality television alum Julian Lane defeated Felix in the main event to capture the CES MMA lightweight crown vacated by Campbell. Lane earned the victory via guillotine choke submission at the 4:56 mark of the third round.[15] The stage had been set between Lane and Felix when the two were supposed to fight at "CES MMA XXIV," but Felix was forced to withdraw due to an injury.[16]

The televised portion of "CES MMA XXV" featured six bouts, including a second-round knockout win for Brazilian Gil de Freitas over George Sheppard and Matsuda's submission win over Robbie Leroux. Matsuda would make his UFC debut a month later.[17] Rosa also fought his final bout with CES MMA on the main card, defeating Jake Constant via first-round armbar submission. Rosa went on to face Dennis Siver in his UFC debut two months later. Adkins returned to Twin River at "CES MMA XXV" and defeated Rhode Island's Nate Andrews by unanimous decision.

Six weeks later, AXS TV announced it had signed a multi-year broadcast deal with CES MMA. On October 10, 2014, CES MMA crowned a champion in a new weight class when O'Neil won the promotion's inaugural welterweight title with a second-round armbar submission over fellow UFC alum Ricardo Funch in the main event of "CES MMA XXVI" at Twin River. The promotion's reigning heavyweight champion Johnston also won that night via first-round knockout over Keith Bell and subsequently announced his retirement at the age of 43, ending his career with a perfect 7–0 record with all seven wins coming by knockout.[18]

The first event of the new broadcast deal with AXS TV took place January 30, 2015, with "CES MMA XXVII." Lane defended his CES MMA lightweight title with a split-decision win over Boston's Lucas Cruz and O'Neil, a former The Ultimate Fighter alum, knocked out Emmanuel Walo 11 seconds into the opening round of their main-event welterweight bout.[19]

On June 12, 2015, the promotion's welterweight title changed hands at "CES MMA XXIX" when Cincinnati veteran Dominique Steele defeated O'Neil by unanimous decision, 48–47, 48–47, 49–46, in the five-round main event on AXS TV. Rebello earned a knockout win over Tyler King on the main card and former Bellator standout Matthew Bessette knocked out Khama Worthy of Pittsburgh in his CES MMA debut.[20] Steele vacated the belt in July to fight on "UFC on Fox 16" in Chicago as a replacement for the injured Antonio Braga Neto in a preliminary welterweight bout against Zak Cummings.[21]

CES MMA celebrated its 30th show on Aug. 14, 2015 with "CES MMA XXX" at Twin River. The main event featured the long-awaited rematch between Lane and Felix for Lane's CES MMA lightweight title. This time, Felix won by unanimous decision, 49–46, 49–46, 48–47, to capture the title and become the promotion's third lightweight champion. "CES MMA XXX" also featured a showdown between Lenny Wheeler and Bessette, which Wheeler won by knockout 39 seconds into the opening round.[22]

CES MMA 53 was the last CES MMA event on AXS TV as the multi year contract ended in 2019.[23]

Current champions
DivisionChampionSinceDefenses
Heavyweight Greg Rebello Feb. 2, 2018 (CES 48) 2
Light Heavyweight
Middleweight
Welterweight Vinicius De Jesus March 29, 2019 (CES 55) 1
Lightweight Nate Andrews April 6, 2018 (CES 49) 2
Featherweight Matt Bessette January 24, 2020 (CES 60) 0
Bantamweight Tony Gravely November 2, 2018 (CES 53) 2
Flyweight Blaine Shutt January 24, 2020 (CES 60) 0

Events
Event Title Date Location
CES MMA 60 January 24, 2020 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 59 October 25, 2019 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 58 September 7, 2019 Hartford, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 57 July 26, 2019 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 56 May 31, 2019 Hartford, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 55 March 29, 2019 Hartford, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 54 January 19, 2019 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 53 November 2, 2018 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 52 August 17, 2018 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
CES MMA 51 August 3, 2018 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 50 June 15, 2018 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA NY May 4, 2018 Westbury, New York, United States
CES MMA 49 April 6, 2018 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 48 February 2, 2018 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 47 November 17, 2017 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 46 October 27, 2017 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 45 August 11, 2017 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 44 May 12, 2017 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 43 April 15, 2017 Beverly, Massachusetts, United States
CES MMA 42 March 31, 2017 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 41 January 27, 2017 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 40 November 23, 2016 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 39 November 4, 2016 Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States
CES MMA 38 September 23, 2016 Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 37 August 12, 2016 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 36 June 10, 2016 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 35 April 16, 2016 Beverly, Massachusetts, United States
CES MMA 34 April 1, 2016 Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 33 March 11, 2016 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 32 January 8, 2016 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 31 October 30, 2015 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 30 August 14, 2015 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 29 June 12, 2015 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 28 March 13, 2015 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 27 January 30, 2015 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 26 October 10, 2014 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 25 August 8, 2014 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 24 June 27, 2014 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 23 April 25, 2014 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 22 March 14, 2014 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 21 January 24, 2014 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 20 December 6, 2013 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 19.5 November 15, 2013 Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 19 October 4, 2013 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 18 August 9, 2013 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 17 June 7, 2013 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 16 April 12, 2013 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 15 February 1, 2013 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 14 December 7, 2012 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 13 October 6, 2012 Providence, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 12 August 3, 2012 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 11 June 15, 2012 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 10 April 13, 2012 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 9 February 3, 2012 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 8 November 18, 2011 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 7 September 9, 2011 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 6 June 10, 2011 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 5 April 8, 2011 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 4 February 25, 2011 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 3 December 2, 2010 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA 2 October 22, 2010 Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States
CES MMA 1 September 17, 2010 Lincoln, Rhode Island, United States
CES MMA heavyweight champion John Johnston
CES MMA lightweight champion Julian Lane
CES MMA lightweight champion Mike Campbell
CES MMA middleweight champion Todd Chattelle
CES MMA welterweight champion Chuck O'Neil
CES MMA middleweight champion John Howard
CES MMA featherweight champion Rob Font
CES MMA welterweight champion Dominique Steele
CES MMA lightweight champion Luis Felix
CES MMA champions past and present
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References
  1. "'First Blood' First Sancitoned MMA Event in Rhode Island". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  2. "CES MMA Champ Rob Font Makes UFC Debut Saturday". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  3. "WesternMassMMA.com - Exciting MMA Contests, Media, News, Reviews, and Opinions: Brennan Ward Signs Multi-fight Contract With Bellator". westernmassmma.com.
  4. "AXS TV announces multi-year broadcast deal with CES MMA". MMAjunkie.
  5. "ULTMMA". ultmma.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  6. "Dechaves gains revenge against Felix in rematch". Sherdog.
  7. "Lauzon Submits Trites via Guillotine Choke in First Round". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  8. "Howard Stuns Former UFC Contender Karalexis at CES MMA". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  9. Mark Daniels. "Boston Herald 2011 Local MMA Awards, part 3". bostonherald.com.
  10. Andy Samuelson. "Dave Bautista victorious in MMA debut". MMA Fighting.
  11. "Mike Campbell Wins CES MMA Lightweight Championship". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  12. "Font Blasts Foster to Capture CES MMA Featherweight Title". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  13. "Font, Soukhamthath Big Winners". cesmma.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  14. "WesternMassMMA.com - Exciting MMA Contests, Media, News, Reviews, and Opinions: CES MMA 3/14/2014 Event Review". westernmassmma.com.
  15. "'TUF 16' Menace Julian Lane Submits Luis Felix, Wins Lightweight Title at CES MMA 25". Sherdog.
  16. "Injury Forces Luis Felix to Withdraw from Friday's Card". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  17. "CES MMA Veteran Matsuda Makes UFC Debut this Friday". fightnetwork.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  18. "Chuck O'Neil submits Funch; Johnston retires with unbeaten record - CES MMA Results". doghouseboxing.com.
  19. "'Former punk' Chuck O'Neil hopes UFC matchmakers see this 11-second KO win - MMAjunkie". MMAjunkie.
  20. http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Dominique-Steele-Grinds-Down-Chuck-ONeil-Claims-CES-MMA-Welterweight-Title-87591
  21. http://mmajunkie.com/2015/07/antonio-braga-neto-out-dominique-steele-in-against-zak-cummings-at-ufc-on-fox-16
  22. http://mmajunkie.com/2015/08/ces-mma-30-video-highlights-luis-felix-gets-payback-plus-a-39-second-ko
  23. https://mmajunkie.com/2019/01/ces-mma-moving-to-ufc-fight-pass-in-2019-starting-with-jan-19-event-in-rhode-island. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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