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Felix vs. Lane Set for Vacant Title at CES MMA 24 on June 27


The good thing about Julian Lane's drunken rant two years ago on The Ultimate Fighter is it's helped keep him relevant in a sport where many once-promising prospects find themselves on the side of a milk carton within a few years.

"Everyone wants to fight the douchebag with the Mohawk," he said.

That includes Providence lightweight Luis Felix, who'll face Lane for the vacant CES MMA title in the five-round main event of "CES MMA XXIV" scheduled for Friday, June 27th, 2014 at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I.

A rugged, 5-foot-10 brawler from Mansfield, Ohio with a strong wrestling background, Lane (6-3-1, 1 KO) began his pro career in 2011 with four consecutive wins, including a first-round submission win over Joe Helland at Bellator 66, but he's more commonly known in mixed martial arts' circles for his antics on TUF: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson, the 16th season of the popular reality series.

The video of a visibly intoxicated Lane trying to initiate a fight with teammate Dom Waters before breaking down in tears quickly went viral, as did Lane's now infamous cries of, "Let me bang, bro!" to his other teammate Michael Hill, who tried to play peacemaker.

Lane lost his only fight that season and never got a contract offer from the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), but while most reality TV misfits disappear once their 15 minutes of fame expire (e.g., Angelina from Jersey Shore), Lane has achieved remarkable sustainability in a world where fighters come and go like seasons.

"I got a little drunk and acted crazy," Lane admits, "but that shit happens everyday out here.

"I'm sure people judge me based off of that, but I've had no problem getting fights. It's publicity. That's the way I look at it. The whole world knows who I am. It got my name out there and gave me exposure, whether it's good or bad. I just take it for what it is."

Lane insists he's a different fighter -- and a different person -- than the one audiences caught a glimpse of on TUF, and while his appearance on the show didn't pay immediate dividends, not getting the call at such a young age (just 23 at the time) might've been a blessing in disguise.

"That was only my first year as a pro," Lane recalled. "I feel like I kind of got ahead of myself, but everything happens for a reason. I didn't get the ticket to the UFC, but maybe I would've gotten there and lost three fights. Now I have time to prepare, so when I do get there I'll be ready."

Like everyone else in the MMA world, Felix (11-7, 4 KOs) has seen the video of Lane's meltdown on TUF and heard all the jokes, but what happened on the show has nothing to do with how Felix is preparing for the fight on the 27th.

After knocking out 63-fight veteran and former UFC standout Drew Fickett in March, Felix is another step closer to punching his own ticket to the big show in his seventh year as a pro, meaning every fight is bigger than the last.

"Nothing you do outside of fighting and training really comes into play once the fight starts," Felix said. "No matter how crazy you act, or pretend to be, or how nice some guys might be outside of the cage, it doesn't play into what you do once you're inside that cage.

"I don't judge him based on what he did on the show. That's more for the general public to enjoy."

Felix himself is a prime example of why one should never judge a book by its cover. Outside the cage, Felix is polite and relaxed, a humble, jovial star in a sport often overflowing with redundant machismo and arrogance, but once the bell rings, he's all business, tenacious and unrelenting in dissecting his opponent.

What's even more impressive is Felix's self-described ability to "flip the switch" when the pressure's on. In addition to Fickett, the Providence native has also beaten former TUF alumni Marc Stevens and Joe Proctor, cementing his status as the type of fighter who saves his best for the sport's biggest stage.

"I can't speak for everyone, but the cage is my comfort zone," Felix said, "and my current fight is always the biggest one. I like it. I enjoy that pressure. I thrive off it.

"It actually brings out a better fighter in me knowing how big the fight is. At times, I've fought down to the level of my competition. All these fights against guys who are supposed to be better than me, it's a mental thing. That's why I enjoy it."

Though he admits he doesn't pay too much attention to video, Felix has browsed the Lane library to get an idea of what he should expect on the 27th.

"When I see his style, I think of him more as a brawler," Felix said. "He's a tough kid. He can take a punch. Who knows what I'll see from him that day. There have been times where I haven't looked that great myself, so I can't judge him off that."

Lane shares Felix's general disinterest in studying video -- "Game plans usually don't work out how they're supposed to," he said -- but he watched enough to pick up on some of Felix's tendencies, particularly his use of the southpaw stance despite being a right-handed fighter.

"That means all of his power is in his right," Lane said, "so I don't have to worry about his straight left."

While Felix is often lauded for his exemplary high-school wrestling background, Lane notes that he, too, exceled on the mat as a teenager, wrestling in more than 800 matches.

"A lot of guys don't know that I'm a wrestler," he said. "I love fighting wrestlers, especially ones who like to stand up. Once they get hit, they resort to their wrestling, and that's what I like. I like to stand and bang. If they want to wrestle, that's their mistake."

Felix and Lane fighting one another for a title next Friday proves there are second chances in mixed martial arts. Both fighters have made their share of mistakes. Lane's have been well documented, but Felix dealt with his on his own, learning to treat the sport as a career instead of just a hobby and fighting with a renewed sense of purpose.

They're both chasing the same dream, and one of them will move another step closer on the 27th.

"I'm ready to get this belt," Lane said, "and hopefully get my ticket to the UFC, too."

"I'm preparing myself to face the best he has to offer come fight night," Felix added. "I have to prepare myself the same way."

The undercard of "CES MMA XXIV" features the Twin River debut of UFC vet Ricardo Funch (8-4, 4 KOs) of Ludlow, Mass., who'll face welterweight Brett Oteri (12-5, 1 KO) of Dedham, Mass.; and the return of Providence heavyweight Greg Rebello (17-5, 9 KOs), who'll take on Kennesaw, Ga., native Aaron Johnson (12-8, 1 KO).

Also on the card, East Providence, R.I., vet Dinis Paiva (4-5, 1 KO) faces Joe Cushman (11-5, 3 KOs) of Bridgewater, Mass., in a featherweight bout; lightweight Andres Jeudi (6-2, 2 KOs) of Dorchester, Mass., battles Framingham, Mass., vet Saul Almeida (15-5); and female flyweight sensation Kaline Medeiros (2-3, 1 KO) of Fall River, Mass., faces Brigitte Narcise of Fairfield, N.J., in Narcise's pro debut.

Fan-favorite Willie Brown (2-0) of Meriden, Conn., returns to battle J.A. Dudley (6-11) of Plainfield, N.J., in a light heavyweight bout; Providence's Keenan Raymond (1-0) puts his record on the line against Dorchester featherweight James Murrin (1-0); featherweight Pete Rogers Jr. (1-1, 1 KO) of Norwich, Conn., faces Mike Lamm (0-1) of Newton, Mass.; and Providence vet Joe Reverdes (1-3) returns to battle newcomer Randy Campbell of Elizabeth, N.J., in a bantamweight bout.


Photo of Luis Felix: Ian Barnard / CES

Rebello and Johnson Face Career-Defining Bout at CES MMA 24


Knock out your opponents in a timely fashion, and you increase your chances of making it to the next level in mixed martial arts. Knock out Aaron Johnson, and you're practically a shoo-in.

In what can be best described as a statistical anomaly, Johnson (12-8, 1 KO) has only been stopped by three fighters in his five-year career, and all three have gone on to fight for either Bellator or the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a trend Providence's Greg Rebello hopes to continue Friday night when he takes his shot at Johnson on the undercard of "CES MMA XXIV" at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I.

Rebello, 32, is in the midst of his second, and perhaps final, run following a brief retirement last summer, while Johnson is looking to claw his way back into the spotlight after a smashing debut with Bellator in which he submitted middleweight tournament champion Brennan Ward in 15 seconds.

"My record shows I'm no slouch," Johnson said.

Once considered the top light heavyweight prospect in New England, Rebello (16-5, 9 KOs) has had his taste of the limelight, too, fighting for Bellator twice in an 11-month span, but hasn't gotten the call back since losing the second time to Dan Cramer in 2011.

Now he and Johnson will lock horns Friday, June 27th, 2014 at a 225-pound catch weight in what could be a career-defining bout for both sides. Rebello's on the brink of another big payday while Johnson could use another quality win to inch his way back into the picture.

"The kid is dangerous," Rebello said, "and he's one of the best grapplers in MMA, but every fight starts standing.

"At this point in my career, it's not like I can pick and choose who I fight. I'm pretty close to fighting for a bigger company, so I've got to fight the best fighters available."

Between 2006 and 2010, Rebello won 11 consecutive fights on the northeast circuit, among them a win over John Doyle at Bellator 17 in Boston, and was considered one of the region's top prospects before the loss to Cramer. He bounced back with a bloody win over Cody Lightfoot at Twin River before suffering another setback five months later in a submission loss to Mike Stewart.

Within months, Rebello's priorities shifted from fighting to family; his girlfriend, Nicole, gave birth to the couple's first child just six days before his scheduled bout against Chris Guillen. Rebello won the fight, but fatherhood inevitably affected his training over the next two years.

"I wanted to be with her all the time," Rebello says of his daughter, who'll turn two in September. "I skipped out on training sessions I shouldn't have missed. It showed when I fought."

Rebello hit rock bottom last summer in a lifeless, split-decision loss to journeyman Lewis Rumsey, in which the former top-ranked contender looked sluggish for the majority of the fight. Afterward, he announced his retirement to a capacity crowd at Twin River, suggesting MMA was a "young man's sport" and his time had passed, but the layoff ended just six months later when Rebello returned to the cage to stop John Doyle at "CES MMA XX."

"For about a year and a half my fights were kind of lackluster. It wasn't me," Rebello said. "I'm the type of person where if I can't be at the top, I don't want to do it anymore.

"Now that my daughter is getting older, it's a little easier for me. This camp has been one of the best I've ever had. I've gone everywhere to train -- Lauzon's, Tri-Force, Sityodtong. I'm definitely a better fighter than I was even four or five years ago. You'll see it."

Age was never really the issue for Rebello -- "I have young legs for a guy who's 32," he said -- and he's surprisingly durable for someone with more than 20 fights under his belt.

"I grew up wrestling. I didn't have that jiu-jitsu background, so I don't have a ton of miles on me like the guys who've taken so much punishment through the years," he said.

With a little luck, Rebello might wind up the fighter who peaks at the latter stage of his career. Even during his impressive 11-fight win streak, he only finished five of his opponents, which Rebello says is the reason he never got the call from the UFC. Since the loss to Cramer, his last four wins have come by stoppage (three knockouts and one submission), and another quick win Friday might be enough to push him over the top before his time truly does pass.

"I used to fight safe. I was fighting to not lose instead of fighting to win," Rebello said. "The biggest thing I wanted to change was wanting to finish these fights.

"As a fighter, yes, you want to win, but you've got to know how to lose," he continued. "When you go in there, you can't worry about what the other guy is going to do. Whether it's CES, UFC or Bellator, people want to see you finish fights."

Johnson has never had that problem. He's won 11 fights by submission -- all in the first round -- and one by knockout, which came in the second round against John Richard in 2011. He even made quick work of Ward, who went on to win the Bellator middleweight tournament when he replaced Andreas Spang. For whatever reason, Ward, not Johnson, got the call.

"I don't know why," Johnson said. "I've finished 11 fighters by submission in the first round. How many guys do you know who have done that? Bellator didn't re-sign me. If they had, I probably would've had a chance to win the tournament."

Instead, Johnson hopes to earn his trip back to Bellator the hard way by beating a reenergized, determined Rebello in his own backyard, while Rebello is aiming to join the likes of Matt Van Buren, Rodney Wallace and Clint Hester, all of whom knocked out Johnson and went on to bigger and better fights.

"He's a very flat-footed, standup guy who likes to get his opponents to come in so he can counter with a kick to the head with his southpaw style," Johnson said of Rebello.

"I noticed in his last two fights he finished with head kicks, but I've also seen him get finished by submission. He really didn't have any ground game. He didn't have an answer for the takedowns. I'm training for whatever comes."

Like Rebello, Johnson is putting a bigger emphasis on finishing fights with his standup, insisting promotions such as Bellator and UFC "don't like the ground game," so he's been training with six-time Muay Thai world champion Manu Ntoh.

"CES has been moving fighters up in the rankings, so this is why we're coming to CES," Johnson said. "Hopefully, I can get my record up and fight for an even larger organization soon."

"You never know when you're going to get that call," Rebello added. "You just have to be ready."

The main event of "CES MMA XXIV" features Providence lightweight Luis Felix (11-7, 4 KOs) facing Julian Lane (6-3-1, 1 KO) for the vacant CES MMA title in a five-round bout.

UFC vet Ricardo Funch (8-4, 4 KOs) of Ludlow, Mass., will make his CES MMA debut on the undercard when he faces welterweight Brett Oteri (12-5, 1 KO) of Dedham, Mass. Also on the card, East Providence, R.I., vet Dinis Paiva (4-5, 1 KO) faces Joe Cushman (11-5, 3 KOs) of Bridgewater, Mass., in a featherweight bout; lightweight Andres Jeudi (6-2, 2 KOs) of Dorchester, Mass., battles Framingham, Mass., vet Saul Almeida (15-5); and female flyweight sensation Kaline Medeiros (2-3, 1 KO) of Fall River, Mass., faces Brigitte Narcise of Fairfield, N.J., in Narcise's pro debut.

Fan-favorite Willie Brown (2-0) of Meriden, Conn., returns to battle J.A. Dudley (6-11) of Plainfield, N.J., in a light heavyweight bout; Providence's Keenan Raymond (1-0) puts his record on the line against Dorchester featherweight James Murrin (1-0); featherweight Pete Rogers Jr. (1-1, 1 KO) of Norwich, Conn., faces Mike Lamm (0-1) of Newton, Mass.; and Providence vet Joe Reverdes (1-3) returns to battle newcomer Randy Campbell of Elizabeth, N.J., in a bantamweight bout.

Cool, Calm Dinis Paiva Approaches 10th Career Bout at CES 24


If you were taken aback when you first heard Dinis Paiva was fighting for the 10th time under the guidance of CES MMA Friday night at Twin River Casino, you weren't alone. Even Paiva himself can't believe it.

"It's been a phenomenal three years since I made my pro debut and it's gone by just as fast as I can remember my first fight ending - a minute and 16 seconds with a TKO," said Paiva, who'll face Joe Cushman Friday night on the undercard of "CES MMA XXIV" at Twin River. "That's how it's felt these past three years."

Tickets for "CES MMA XXIV" are on sale now at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com or www.twinriver.com or by phone at 401-724-2253/2254. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Time certainly flies, as the old adage says, but time's also stood still now and then for Paiva (4-5, 2 KOs), who's admittedly had his share of ups and downs in mixed martial arts.

After winning his aforementioned pro debut in June of 2011, Paiva went on to lose his next three fights, including a discouraging disqualification loss to Clifford Moulton, a fight Paiva dominated until he inadvertently kneed his opponent to the head while Moulton still had a hand on the canvas.

Paiva then closed out 2012 with back-to-back wins against Josh Lange and Gilvan Santos to even his record before losing the next two to Kin Moy and Robert Sullivan. With only three wins and five losses, the East Providence, R.I., native made the toughest choice of his career, leaving lifelong trainer Mat Santos to work with Mike Gresh and his team at the Cape Cod Fighting Alliance.

"Behind closed doors, the people who had seen me fight knew it was in my best interest," Paiva said. "My manager Keith [Allen], who has been with me my entire career since I was an amateur, was the first guy to propel me to go work with these other guys.

"No matter who you are, even if you're the greatest champion in the world, you can always continue to learn and always continue to progress without forgetting your roots. I never will."

With a new approach physically and mentally, "Sweetbread" opened 2014 with an impressive knockout win over Franklin Isabel and is now stepping in the cage against the savvy Bridgewater, Mass., veteran Cushman (11-5, 3 KOs), a fight that could help Paiva achieve his goal of becoming a Top 5 fighter in the featherweight division.

"[Cushman] is ranked No. 5 in the northeast, so this would be an upset in some peoples' eyes," Paiva said. "There are even some people who think I'm the big dog coming in. I consider myself the underdog. I like that. It takes the pressure off me. I've got everything to gain and nothing to lose."

The mental approach is half the battle for Paiva, who never takes a shortcut with his conditioning or physical preparation. He was so dedicated during this camp that he even declined to have a piece of cake on his birthday on May 26th despite the fact it was a month before Thursday's weigh-in.

"A lot of people would've looked past it and said, 'What's the big deal?' but a lot gets put into this," Paiva said. "I've been going balls to the wall for weeks."

Not only is Paiva certain he's a better fighter now than he was three years ago - or, for that matter, in January - he's convinced he's a much better fighter than his record indicates, a byproduct of the elite competition in the northeast.

"To be honest, I kind of like having the record I have considering where I'm trying to get," he said. "People who know the sport and have been around it for a while and have watched my career know I'm not a 4-5 fighter. The guys with the losing records are the hungriest. They're the ones you should fear the most.

"I've progressed a lot," Paiva continued. "I've evolved and changed a lot as a fighter, especially during this last camp, and it'll show in this next fight. I think Joe is expecting to see the old 'Sweetbread.' With what shows in videos and what he's expecting, he's going to be caught off guard. I'm nowhere near where I used to be."

Three years and nine fights later, the secret to Paiva's unabashed confidence is perspective.

"The thing is I never really lost big, or at least I feel that way. I feel like I haven't had anyone really come in and knock my head off my shoulders, so to speak," he said.

With a major milestone on deck, and perhaps more in the future, Paiva controls his own destiny, and the road to featherweight supremacy begins Friday at Twin River.

"I've overcome a lot of adversity," he said. "Every fight is different. It's always a 50-50 chance no matter who you are. Guys get caught. Things happen.

"This division is one of the deepest in the northeast. I feel I'm neck and neck with the best competition. It's all about evolving and maturing in the cage, and I'm doing that as my career progresses. I'm more professional about it. I'm a lot more headstrong and profound. It's the way things need to be now."

The main event of "CES MMA XXIV" features Providence lightweight Luis Felix (11-7, 4 KOs) facing Julian Lane (6-3-1, 1 KO) for the vacant CES MMA title in a five-round bout.

UFC vet Ricardo Funch (8-4, 4 KOs) of Ludlow, Mass., will make his CES MMA debut on the undercard when he faces welterweight Brett Oteri (12-5, 1 KO) of Dedham, Mass.

Also on the card, Providence heavyweight Greg Rebello (17-5, 9 KOs) will take on Kennesaw, Ga., native Aaron Johnson (12-8, 1 KO); lightweight Andres Jeudi (6-2, 2 KOs) of Dorchester, Mass., battles Framingham, Mass., vet Saul Almeida (15-5); and female flyweight sensation Kaline Medeiros (2-3, 1 KO) of Fall River, Mass., faces Brigitte Narcise of Fairfield, N.J., in Narcise's pro debut.

Fan-favorite Willie Brown (2-0) of Meriden, Conn., returns to battle J.A. Dudley (6-11) of Plainfield, N.J., in a light heavyweight bout; Providence's Keenan Raymond (1-0) puts his record on the line against Dorchester featherweight James Murrin (1-0); featherweight Pete Rogers Jr. (1-1, 1 KO) of Norwich, Conn., faces Mike Lamm (0-1) of Newton, Mass.; and Providence vet Joe Reverdes (1-3) returns to battle newcomer Randy Campbell of Elizabeth, N.J., in a bantamweight bout.