LINCOLN, R.I. (June 4th, 2013) — On Friday night, Providence native Greg “Ribz” Rebello will enter the cage in front of his hometown fans at Twin River Casino, which, as strange as it seems, will be a welcome change.
The last time he fought back in February, Rebello (15-4, 8 KOs) was the “bad guy,” so to speak, fighting in Maine against an opponent (Jesse Peterson) from nearby Rumford. Rebello silenced the crowd and knocked out the fan-favorite in the second round for his third win in his last four fights.
With two weeks to go before his 31st birthday, Rebello is trying to strike while the iron’s hot. As he prepares to face Williamsport, Pa., veteran Lewis Rumsey (8-8, 4 KOs) on the undercard of Friday’s show, presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Rebello is aiming for his fourth win in five fights, which could put him on the brink of a lucrative payday on MMA’s biggest stage.
“My window is starting to close,” Rebello said. “This is pretty much my last run. I’m not one of those old guys who wants to hang out in night clubs when he’s 40. If it’s time to hang it up, I’ll hang it up. This is a young man’s sport, and if I don’t keep winning – and finishing – it’s over.”
The key is “finishing.” Major promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) don’t just want successful fighters; they want exciting, TV-friendly fighters who can finish their opponents via knockout or submission. At the height of his career between 2006 and 2010, Rebello won 11 consecutive fights, but went the distance six times during that stretch.
“That does nothing for me,” Rebello said. “The bigger companies want guys who dominate on the local level, because when you get to the next level, everyone is good. It’s like playing junior hockey. The competition is much stronger. That’s why you need to dominate.”
Rebello will have his hands full with Rumsey, a former high school wrestler who has won seven out of 10 fights since changing his training regimen three years ago.
“I feel like I’m on a 10-fight winning streak,” Rumsey said. “I’ve had my ups and downs, but I feel confident.”
After losing five of his first six fights, Rumsey began traveling throughout the country training at different gyms, including Greg Jackson’s facility in Albuquerque, N.M., where we worked with UFC vets Carlos Condit and Jon Jones, the reigning UFC light heavyweight champion.
“I like to pick up little things from everybody,” Rumsey said. “The most important thing I’ve learned is to stay relaxed. I can’t go into every fight balls to the wall. I have to act like it’s a training session. That’s what they told me [in New Mexico] – just stay relaxed and have fun.”
Since then, Rumsey has scored four knockout wins in the last two years and appeared on the Bellator Fighting Championships, but Rebello is unimpressed with his opponent’s resume.
“He’s a tough guy, but he hasn’t fought anybody,” Rebello said. “He goes on interviews saying he can fight the best in the world, but he’s 8-8. He has a weird style, so a lot of people don’t know what to do when they face him. He throws these wild Jeet Kune Do [JKD] kicks. I know how to fight guys like that because I train with a lot of them. Most people who beat him take him to the ground.”
Asked about Rumsey’s wrestling background – he wrestled at the high-school level and stopped before he enrolled in college – Rebello said, “That’s not a wrestling background. I just have to try to avoid getting hit by one of those kicks.”
The biggest change for Rebello this time around will be fighting in front of his home crowd, though, in some ways, Rebello doesn’t mind being the enemy on the road.
“In that last fight, the thing was this guy had everyone cheering for him, so all the pressure was on him,” Rebello said. “Either way, I’ve had so many fights in my career, so it doesn’t affect me. I’m not here to impress my friends or sell T-shirts. I’m not in it for that.
“This is pretty much it for me,” he added. “I’m trying to get to the UFC or Bellator. It’s now or never.”
Tickets for “New Blood” are $36.00, $56.00, $101.00 and $126.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.shop.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
The undercard includes several regional matchups and intra-state showdowns, including the return of Bridgewater, Mass., welterweight and former The Ultimate Fighter reality television series standout Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil (10-5, 2 KOs), who will look to build off his win over Rhode Island’s Keith Jeffrey in December when he faces Andrew Osborn (6-5, 1 KO) of Fayetteville, N.C.
One of the best intra-state showdowns will take place between East Providence, R.I., lightweight Nate “The Snake” Andrews (4-0, 2 KOs) and Lincoln veteran Jeff “Candyman” Anderson (11-7, 2 KOs). Andrews has risen considerably in the past year with wins in each of his first four fights, but has yet to face anyone as experienced and as tough as Anderson; known for fighting the best opposition in the northeast, Anderson has wins over Damien Trites, John Ortolani and Pete Jeffrey on his resume, but has lost three consecutive bouts, albeit against Mike Campbell, Matt Bessette and Saul Almeida, who have combined for 36 wins.
“New Blood” also features four exciting bantamweight bouts, highlighted by the showdown between Andre Soukhamthath (4-1, 3 KOs) of Woonsocket, R.I., and Blair Tugman (5-4) of Branford, Conn. Soukhamthath has won four consecutive fights since losing his debut while Tugman is returning to the cage for the first time since April of 2011, when he lost to John McLaughlin at the Bellator Fighting Championships.
Also in the bantamweight division, highly-touted amateur Sophanarith Am will make his professional debut Carlos Hernandez of Lynn, Mass., and Providence veteran Joe Reverdes (1-2) – fighting for the first time since August – will fight Williamsport’s Joshua Aarons (1-6). In what could be one of the best fights on the undercard, veterans Pedro Gonzalez (7-5) of Rockport, Mass., and Sidemar Honario (8-3, 2 KOs) will square off in a three-round bantamweight bout.
Providence welterweight Ruben Ortiz will make his highly-anticipated debut against fellow newcomer Brian Sparrow of Sandwich, Mass., and Eric Spicely (1-0) of Providence will take on newcomer Tundee Oduyingho of Johnston, R.I., in a welterweight bout. Coventry, R.I., featherweight Shaun Marmas (5-4) will also be featured in a separate bout. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “New Blood.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance).
