Brown back in action Saturday

Maine's Mike Brown will return to the octagon on Saturday night when he fights Manny Gamburyan on the under card of the Aldo vs. Faber pay-per-view event in Sacramento, Calif.
Brown, a former wrestling standout at Bonny Eagle High School, is 23-5. His last fight was a win by submission over Anthony Morrison on Jan. 10. Gamburyan is 12-5.
The main event features featherweight champion Jose Aldo in his first defense against former world champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber.
There is also a second title fight on the card. Lightweight champion Ben Henderson takes on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a rematch of their 2009 Fight of the Year. The event starts at 10 p.m.

MMA growing in Massachusetts

Ever since the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission sanctioned mixed martial arts on March 1, the sport has just exploded in the Bay State.
The month of May is a big one for MMA in Massachusetts. Bellator Fighting Championship will host a televised event at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre Boston on May 6, featuring former Manchester (NH) Memorial High School wrestling standout Nate LaMotte. The event will be televised on FSN.
The first "major" event will be held on May 21 at the DCU Center in Worcester. The main event of the show, God of Martial Arts, being promoted by Moosin, features former UFC champion Tim Sylvia against World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski. In a charity bout, former Boston Bruins enforcer Lyndon Byers will fight toughman legend Eric "Butterbean" Esch, and also fighting that night will be former Salem (NH) High School wrestling standout Dan Keefe.
The door has been opened and MMA is taking a good foothold in the state. There are even rumors about a UFC event being planned for the TD Bank Garden in August.

Keefe part of Bay State MMA history

Dan Keefe is quickly becoming a part of mixed martial arts history in Massachusetts.
Not only did the Salem, N.H., native fight in the first officially sanctioned MMA event in the Bay State last month, but he has also signed on for the first "major" sanctioned MMA event in the state being held on May 21 at the DCU Center in Worcester.
Keefe's win in the Xtreme Championship Fight League event held at the Lowell Auditorium in March - the first since the Massachusetts Athletic Commission sanctioned the sport - earned him a spot on the card of Moosin's God of Martial Arts in Worcester, a pay-per-view event where he will face veteran cagefighter Robert "Bubba" McDaniel.
It will be the first televised event for Keefe.
The former football and wrestling star at Salem High School said this could be a big break for him, but he approaches every fight the same way whether it's on TV or not.
"It's good to be fighting on something that's going to be on TV," Keefe said. "But for me, it's just another fight."
Exposure on a pay-per-view event could help Keefe land some sponsorship. Right now he is sponsored by HeadBlade, Prime Athletics and the Route 28 Roadhouse.
Keefe is 7-1 overall and 3-1 in sanctioned fights. He has won four bouts in a row since his only loss to former Plymouth, N.H., wrestling standout Dan Pasquarella in 2007. Included in his win streak are victories over Thomas Moreau of Derry, N.H., and Woody Weatherby of Nashua, N.H. According to the most recent rankings by Northeast MMA, Moreau was sixth in the 170-pound weight class and Weatherby, who lost in the preliminary round of The Ultimate Fighter 11, was fourth at 185.
"I still feel I've got a lot to learn," Keefe said. "I've still got a long way to go."
McDaniel is 14-5. Eleven of his 14 wins have been by submission.
Keefe said he McDaniel likes to take the fight to the ground, which is also where Keefe excels. He said his strength as a fighter is to ground-and-pound, so he wouldn't mind grappling on the mat a bit.
It will be the biggest payday of his career to this point for Keefe. He said he will receive $2,000 just for fighting and another $2,000 if he wins.
That money could go a long way in helping Keefe fulfill his dream of taking some time off from work as a prison guard and training full-time for a big fight. Right now he said he is limited to the amount of training he can do because of his job, which he needs to make it financially.
He's hoping some sponsors will be impressed with what he can do either during the broadcast, or from the stands, at the DCU Center and sign him.
"Assuming I win, I think it will help significantly," Keefe said. "(McDaniel) is a pretty recognized name."
The main event on the card features former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Tim Sylvia against five-time World's Strongest Man winner Marius Pudzianowski. Also fighting will be former Boston Bruins enforcer and local radio personality Lyndon Byers, who will take on former toughman legend Eric "Butterbean" Esch in a fight to raise money for a local charity.

Byers dropping the gloves for charity

Former Boston Bruins enforcer and current radio personality Lyndon Byers will be throwing fists once more, this time for a good cause during the God of Martial Arts mixed martial arts event at the DCU Center on May 21.
Byers will take on former toughman legend Eric "Butterbean" Esch in a charity super-heavyweight bout to raise money for a slain Boston police officer, according to Byers.
Byers is best known for his fighting abilities on the ice with the Bruins in the 80s. He is now on a local radio morning show and has also made appearances in television shows with friend Denis Leary.
The fight is just one of many on the card at the DCU Center, which will be the first "major" MMA event in the Bay State since the sport was sanctioned earlier this year.
The main event features former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Tim Sylvia against five-time World's Strongest Man winner Mariusz Pudzianowski of Poland. Also featured on the card is former Salem High School wrestling and football standout Dan Keefe, one of the local scene's rising stars who is 6-1 and currently holds an Xtreme Cage Fighting League title.
The fight between Byers and Esch won't be aired during the pay-per-view event being made available.

Bay State holds its own at UFC Fight Night

Two wins by Massachusetts fighters highlighted an exciting card Wednesday during UFC Fight Night on Spike TV.
Milford's Jorge Rivera unleashed some bombs on Nate Quarry and won by referee stoppage in the second round. And, in one of the least exciting bouts, Kenny Florian of Brookline was masterful in the way he picked apart Takanori Gomi and won by submission in the main event.
In the Rivera fight, the Bay Stater was aggressive from the open and went toe-to-toe in Quarry. He landed some huge shots in the first round, but Quarry managed to hang on and survived to the second round.
It was in the second round when Rivera popped Quarry with a punch that put him to the mat. Rivera pounced on his opponent and pounded away until the ref stopped the match.
Florian wasn't as aggressive against Gomi. He was very methodical with his right jabs, which he landed at will. All the while, Florian had his left caulked, but never unleashed it.
Florian did his homework. He had an answer for everything Gomi threw at him and wore the Japanese fighter down with jabs.
It was in the third round that Florian went for the jugular. He timed a take down perfectly and skillfully tied Gomi up in a choke hold for the win.
The punch of the night came from Roy "Big Country" Nelson, who at 6-feet tall and 263 pounds is an inspiration to those of us touting around sizable beer bellies.
Nelson looked like David against Goliath next to the 6-11 Stefan Struve. But Nelson didn't need a sling to bring this giant down, all he needed was one huge right that floored Struve in the first round.
Nelson drilled Struve in the chin and the giant's knees just buckled as he collapsed to the mat. Lights out, Nelson wins.
In the best fight of the night, Ross Pearson threw everything he had at Dennis Siver, but Siver just wouldn't go down. He showed huge heart and that he has a chin like oak.
Despite being torn apart by punches from Pearson, Siver hung in for all three rounds before eventually losing the decision.
To his credit, Pearson fought a great fight and landed the shots he needed to. He was also good on defense and never let Siver gain any kind of momentum.