In a different life, one without the sanctioned, professional world of combat sports, 36-year-old heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter and father of four Ras Hylton says he probably still would have been getting in fights.
And in that different world, if the 6-foot-6 Hylton found himself fighting Cody Lightfoot, a 38-year-old police officer, it would have made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
But in this world, these two large men with an internal drive to test their own limits of stamina, pain tolerance and mental fortitude can get inside a caged arena, throw down without risk of criminal punishment, and get cheered – and paid – in the process.
“It’s something that I need,” said Hylton, an Augusta native who lives in South Portland with his wife, Janice Hylton, and their four blended-family children. “There has always been some place in society where those of us who are a little more frisky can operate. I decided to go with the more crowd-oriented option.”
This Saturday night, the place for Hylton and 31 other MMA fighters to operate will be Thompson’s Point as Maine-based New England Fights presents its 48th show in the past 10-plus years, and its first outdoors since 2013 at the Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor.
“The energy that night was incredible, like nothing we’ve ever really felt since and we’ve been scouring for a place to replicate that experience,” said promoter Matt Peterson, 44, of Rumford.
Hylton vs. Lightfoot, in a three-round professional heavyweight bout, is a featured event on a card with four pro and 12 amateur bouts.
Hylton (7-6 as a pro) will be in his third fight in the past 10 months. A pro since 2017, Hylton went 1-1 in a two-fight stint with Bellator, generally considered the next-best promotion after the dominant UFC.
Lightfoot (6-5 as a pro), a former state champion wrestler at Marshwood High, hasn’t fought since 2013 when he lost a fourth straight fight. He has said this will be his final fight.
“I didn’t go out on my own terms. My last fight was a terrible loss,” Lightfoot said. “I loved fighting at first and then I started fighting a lot and started losing that fight or flight aspect. I lost that edge and then I was less successful and then I just quit because it started to feel like a job.”
A patrolman with the New Castle, New Hampshire, police department, the South Berwick resident is getting back in the cage is so his kids, ages 7 and 4, can see him compete, in what he intends to be his final farewell to MMA fighting.
“It’s something like a Disney movie, that core memory sort of thing. And they could also see their dad win and be like a little champ on that one day,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot has been training with Devin Powell, a former UFC fighter and another Marshwood grad. Powell runs Nostos MMA in Somersworth, New Hampshire. Seven of Saturday’s 16 fights feature a Powell-trained fighter.
Hylton said he doesn’t view Lightfoot as some dude getting off the couch for the first time in nine years.
“This is not some gimme opponent. I hear that layoff being mentioned a lot. There may be some element of ring rust but let’s not disregard that this man works in law enforcement and that’s not some slouch job,” Hylton said. “And Devin’s not going to let anyone out of his gym get into the cage who is not ready to be there.”
The main event will be the fourth and final professional bout, pitting former NEF featherweight amateur champ Nathaniel Grimard (2-0) of Exeter, New Hampshire against Jake Hixebough (1-0) out of New York. Grimard is another Nostos MMA fighter whom Peterson called, “one of the most serious young professional men I’ve come across and he wants to springboard and launch his career.”
Mark Gardner (2-3) of Portland and The Academy gym in Portland will look to rebound from a tough KO loss at NEF 47 against Justin Burrill (3-3) of Rockland, Massachusetts in a pro welterweight (170 pounds) bout.
The amateur bouts feature two of Maine’s most successful high school athletes making their MMA debut.
Four-time state wrestling champion and 2018 New England champion Ryan Fredette of Winslow will face David Burke (1-0) of Exeter/Nostos MMA. Burke, himself a two-time placer at the New England wrestling championships, won his debut in 19 seconds.
Lewiston football standout Jared Turcotte, who will turn 33 on Sunday, will make his debut at 205 pounds against Seth Godfrey (1-0), who fights out of Titan Athletics in Brewer. At Lewiston High, Turcotte rushed for 4,562 yards and made 544 tackles in his career. He was the 2006 Fitzpatrick Trophy winner and Portland Press Herald Athlete of the Year. At the University of Maine, Turcotte was an all-Colonial Athletic Conference first-team pick as a red-shirt freshman after leading Maine in rushing and touchdowns, helping the Black Bears reach the FCS playoffs before injuries slowed and ultimately ended his football career.
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