Finally. It's all confirmed! Here's the press release as featured on NEF:
Lewiston, ME (January 12, 2012) – New England Fights! And Nick DiSalvo Promotions are proud to announce the addition of a bantamweight bout between Portland, Maine’s Paul Gorman (8-7) and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)/Bellator veteran Anthony Leone (9-4) to their February 11th Fight Night mixed martial arts (MMA) event at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.
“The addition of The Academy’s Paul Gorman and Bombsquad’s Anthony Leone really caps off an incredible card made up of the top talent in the Northeast,” stated promoter Nick DiSalvo. “Everyone knows that Paul Gorman is a super dangerous fighter that is capable of winning against anyone. Paul trains with the intensity of someone fully focused on making it to the next level. As for Leone, he’s already been there as a veteran of world-famous promotions like the WEC and Bellator. This fight is going to be white hot.”
The Gorman-Leone bout was originally scheduled to take place on FightMaine.com’s January 13th, 2012 show that was cancelled due to multiple fighters succumbing to injuries in the final weeks leading up to competition. Fight Night was able to acquire the rights to the match by working closely with the event promotions company.
“Too often today in business and politics—and especially in fight promotions—people expel a lot of energy in working against one another,” stated Fight Night matchmaker Matt Peterson. “I serve in a political arena, so I understand how nasty it can get out there. The spirit that went into preserving this fight was the exact opposite of that. The last-minute rescue of the Gorman-Leone matchup is an example of two promotions working together. I was proud to work with members of the FightMaine.com management team to save this bout and make sure that these two phenomenal athletes will still get a chance to face off against each other and receive a paycheck in the first quarter of 2012. When Gorman and Leone enter the cage on February 11th, it will be a real testament to what is possible when fighters and fans are put first.”
“It means a ton to me that my fight with Leone is still on,” stated Gorman. “I put a lot of hard work into not just this fight, but all of my fights and it’s always a major letdown when things fall apart. Unfortunately for the fighters it’s commonplace to have our hard work go down the drain when fights are cancelled for whatever reason, so to have my fight picked-up at the last minute is huge.”
Paul Gorman has been fighting professionally for over a half-decade against the toughest competition he can find. In his expansive professional career he’s competed in regions as remote as the Pacific and faced the likes of UFC-veteran Josh Grispi, WEC-veteran Rafael Rebello, and the top featherweight and bantamweight talent in the Northeast. The Jay Jack trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Brown Belt has tapped out black belts in MMA competition and taken local champions into the deepest rounds of their careers. He’s been training consistently at The Academy under MMA pioneer Jack and his wife, Amanda Buckner, for the better part of a decade and is committed to reaching the highest levels of the sport.
As for Anthony Leone, he’s “been there, done that” and is fighting to return there as soon as possible. Leone fought in the Zuffa owned WEC prior to the organization being collapsed into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The WEC was the world’s premiere organization for 135 and 145-pound fighters prior to the UFC’s adoption of those weight classes, so Leone has faced world-class talent and will be fully prepared for February 11th.
