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Wednesday, June 5^th, 2013                                            

CES MEDIA ALERT

Soukhamthath hopes to silence confident Tugman Friday night in his toughest test to date

LINCOLN, R.I. (June 5th, 2013) -- Andre Soukhamthath is about to swim into uncharted waters Friday night at Twin River Casino in an attempt to prove, despite what his opponent says, he's not just some "big fish in a small pond."

Dubbed "The Asian Sensation," Soukhamthath (4-1, 3 KOs) will face his toughest test to date on June 7^th when he battles Branford, Conn., bantamweight Blair Tugman (5-4), who made it clear he isn't impressed with Soukhamthath's recent success.

"I have a lot of respect for him," Tugman said, "but in looking at who he's fought and where he's fought, he hasn't fought the guys I've fought in the venues I've fought in.

"He's a big fish in a small pond until he beats someone with a little more experience. Then he'll deserve a little more respect. He's been beating guys who don't have the experience of the guys I've fought."

Since losing his professional debut, Soukhamthath, a Woonsocket, R.I., native, has won his last four fights - all at Twin River - beating Gilvan Santos, Vinnie Tisconie, Rob Costa and Kurt Chase-Patrick, the latter coming via second-round knockout in April in Soukhamthath's most complete performance.

"I'm not sure if he's trying to hype himself up, or whatever. Good for him," Soukhamthath said of Tugman. "Saying I'm a big fish in a small pond is basically saying I'm overrated. At the end of the day, it doesn't really bother me.

"I always come to fight no matter what. If he can hang with me, then good for him."

Friday's Soukhamthath-Tugman showdown is part of the undercard of Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports' "New Blood" mixed martial arts event at Twin River. Tugman has experience on his side, but he's also been out of the cage for more than two years. In the interim, he earned a job as an assistant wrestling coach at Wesleyan University in Middletown and also opened his own private wrestling academy for youths and high-school students in Branford, so while he didn't have the time to actively pursue a fight, he spent most of the past two years maintaining his wrestling and his conditioning.

Will rust be a factor Friday?

"I doubt it," Tugman said. "I feel pretty good. I've been training pretty hard these past three months helping other fighters prepare for fights, and I've been doing a lot more sparring and adding some workouts you normally wouldn't do unless you were preparing for a fight. I still practiced my wrestling, Jiu Jitsu and kickboxing during my layoff. It's not like I sat on the couch for two years."

While Soukhamthath acknowledges this will probably be his toughest fight as a pro, he's also noticed many changes within himself both in and outside of the cage. He's now working with regional boxing David Keefe to sharpen his stand-up game - "he's been the missing piece to the puzzle," Soukhamthath said - and he's improved drastically with each fight, culminating in an all-around solid effort in his win over Chase-Patrick in April.

"When I was an amateur, and even all the way up until my first pro fight, I didn't know how to finish. Now that's all I want to do. I'm hungry for it," he said. "I've shown I'm an all-around fighter; I can submit guys, beat them on the ground, or knock them out.

"Some people still think otherwise, and that's fine with me," he continued. "That's why people still want to fight me. They think my ground game is weak, but once they get a hold of me they see how strong I am and how hard it is to hold me down and keep me down. That's why mentality today is different than the Andre from two years ago."

Though Tugman has the edge in wrestling experience, he's aware of Soukhamthath's recent improvement and is preparing for the unexpectedFriday.

"He's good on his feet and pretty good on the ground," Tugman said. "I have to be ready for everything."

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 Providence light heavyweight Greg "Ribz" Rebello (15-4, 8 KOs) and Bridgewater, Mass., welterweight and former The Ultimate Fighter reality television series standoutChuck "Cold Steel" O'Neil (10-5, 2 KOs). After knocking out hometown favorite Jesse Peterson in Maine in February, Rebello will face Williamsport, Pa., veteran Lewis Rumsey (8-8, 4 KOs) next Fridaywhile O'Neil 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.

In the bantamweight division, highly-touted amateur Sophanarith Amwill 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).

- CES -

Twin River Casino is an exciting gaming, dining and entertainment destination, located in Lincoln, R.I., just 45 minutes from Boston and 10 minutes from Providence. Twin River features more than 4,700 slotmachines, many virtual gaming options with black jack and roulette tables and more. This unique gaming facility also hosts simulcasting of the best thoroughbred and greyhound racing from around the country, a 29,000-plus square foot Twin River Event Center with headline entertainment, the legendary Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club, free concerts at the Lighthouse Bar, Fred & Steve's Steakhouse and Wicked Good Bar & Grill, as well as 13 other dining outlets.

Chattelle looks to avenge first career loss in highly-anticipated rematch against Olson

LINCOLN, R.I. (March 27th, 2013) - Todd Chattelle doesn't care much about revenge. As far as he's concerned, his upcoming rematch against Dennis Olson is as new a fight to him as any random bout against a first-time challenger.

"We've both grown so much," said Chattelle (11-8, 8 KOs), who lost his professional debut to Olson by unanimous decision in a five-round bout in 2007. "It's been six years, so this is a new, fresh fight for me. It's time for me to go, go, go ... I'm not sure how much more time I've got left."

The Pawtucket, R.I., native, who turned 34 in February, admits the daily wear and tear of mixed martial arts has caught up to him - "Some days are good, some days are bad," he says - but still has enough left in the tank to make one last run at championship glory, which could beginFriday, April 12^th, 2013 at Twin River Casino when he faces Olson at "Path To Destruction," presented by Jimmy Burchfield's Classic Entertainment & Sports.

As Chattelle pointed out, both fighters have come a long way since their original bout in 2007. At one point, Chattelle was treading water at 6-6 following a knockout loss to Derek Brunson in 2010, uncertain where his career would take him, until he signed a promotional agreement with CES and won his next four bouts, including CES' inaugural middleweight title bout against Brett Oteri. Following back-to-back losses last year, "The Hulk" rebounded in December with a convincing submission win over Robby Roberts to put him back in the conversation among the top middleweights in the region.

Perhaps now is the perfect time for Chattelle to face Olson (12-7, 1 KO), an Amherst, N.H., native who is coming off losses in three of his last four fights and hasn't stepped inside the cage since October of 2011 when he lost a unanimous decision to former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) veteran and current CES MMA middleweight champ John "Doomsday" Howard.

"He might be a little rusty," Chattelle said. "I'm not too far removed from my last fight. I'll be fresh."

Olson isn't concerned.

"I will be non-stop, bell to bell, every round," he said. "Both myself and Todd have had five years of experience since we last met in the cage, however, I feel that at 27 years old I'm really just reaching my athletic prime. I have nothing but respect for Todd and his camp, but I think my pace and forward motion will be a lot for him to deal with. I have trained very hard for this fight. I've never been so mentally and physically prepared for a competition in my life."

Given the amount of time that has passed since Chattelle and Olson last fought (they actually squared off in a boxing ring, not a cage), there's not much either fighter could gain by digging into the vault for a copy of the videotape, though Chattelle still remembers the details as if it happened yesterday.

"Two things in particular I remember," Chattelle said, "First, I hit him in the second or third round and he went through the ropes. It looked like he was hurt. The referee stood him back up and they resumed the fight. At the end of the fourth, he got me with a real big slam that made a lot of noise. I wasn't hurt, but I think it sealed the win for him."

Asked if he thought he should've won the decision, Chattelle said, "I can't really remember it like that, but I think maybe it should've been a majority draw."

Chattelle will now have the opportunity to turn the tables, albeit against a fighter who has developed drastically through the years since the two last fought. After beating Chattelle in what was his fourth professional fight, Olson lost to Woody Weatherby - Chattelle's first victim under CES' promotional guidance - before winning eight of his next nine fights with the loss coming against former UFC contender David Branch at the Bellator Fighting Championships in 2009.

Suffice to say, both Chattelle and Olson have endured their share of ups and downs over the past six years. Chattelle alternated wins and losses for a year and a half before signing with CES, while Olson hit a bump in the road in the midst of his second four-fight win streak when he lost consecutive bouts to Dan Cramer, Rick Hawn and Tom Moreau, who have 30 combined victories between them; since beating Olson, Hawn has become a staple on Bellator's most recent fight cards, winning six of his eight bouts with that respective promotion.

Chattelle, in a way, is right - this feels more like a statement fight for each side rather than a rematch. With everything that's happened to both fighters in between, they each need this win a lot more now than they did six years ago. The major difference this time is Olson will come up in weight to face Chattelle at 185 pounds, not in the welterweight division where he's fought most of his fights. Chattelle is more comfortable at middleweight, which he hopes gives him the edge in next month's rematch.

"That might be my biggest advantage," Chattelle said.

Strangely enough, Chattelle never sought after a rematch with Olson, but he's thankful for the opportunity, if not for anything other than to show how much he's grown over the years and how much he's learned, even in defeat.

"My joints hurt, my body aches - there's not a lot of time left for me to show what I can do in this sport," Chattelle said, "but I'm going to take advantage of the time I do have left.

"Over these last few years, I've grown and become a much better fighter. I'm a much different fighter, too, just like he is. He'd probably be in the Top 10 right now, but he just hasn't fought in a while. It's going to be an exciting fight."

The undercard of "Path To Destruction" features an eclectic mix of the region's top talent, including Howard (17-7, 8 KOs), the former UFC vet, who will face Iowa's Jason Louck (15-10, 7 KOs) in a middleweight bout, and Rhode Island natives Shaun Marmas (4-4, 1 KO) of Coventry and Providence's Thomas Evans (2-1), who will clash in a three-round featherweight bout.

The show-stopped might be the highly-anticipated featherweight bout between Lucas Cruz (6-0, 2 KOs) and Rob Font (5-1, 1 KO), two Boston natives who will battle for bragging rights, along with regional supremacy in the 145-pound division. Also on the undercard, TriForce'sKeenan Raymond will debut against Northborough, Mass., lightweightJay Bakanowski (1-1); Kody Norby (3-0) of Woonsocket, R.I., will put his unbeaten record on the line against flyweight Jimmy Grant (3-1) of Carlstadt, N.J.; and welterweight Toby Oden (1-0) of Milford, Mass., will return against Jersey City veteran Emmanuel Walo (2-1).

Fan-favorite Dinis Paiva Jr. (3-3, 1 KO) of East Providence, R.I., will also be back in action searching for his third consecutive win against Cambridge, Mass., native Kin Moy (2-0); and Massachusetts nativesMatt Doherty (1-0, 1 KO) of Salem and Whitman's Johnny Campbell(5-4, 3 KOs) will square off in a bantamweight bout. Unbeaten lightweight Nate Andrews (3-0, 1 KO) will also be back in action in a separate three-round bout.

Tickets for "Path To Destruction" 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.cesmma.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.

(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for "Path To Destruction." Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance).

- CES -