Fayette’s Bryce Bamford took to the ring for his first Mixed Martial Arts bout at New England Fights Fight Night XX at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. His debut lasted just 19 seconds, but Bamford packed a wallop in the brief but convincing victory.

“The last six months I’ve been preparing,” Bamford said. “I was just happy when it was over because I was really thirsty. Now it’s time to celebrate.”

Bamford knocked out Bryce Locke with a series of punches. In the 265-pound weight class, Locke was a bigger foe, but Bamford was the aggressor from the start. He hit Locke with a few body shots and then found an opening to throw a few head shots. It took just a handful of blows for Bamford to knock out Locke and earn his first win.

“I just went with it,” Bamford said. “I’d like to say that was the ideal plan, but I’m a Jiu-Jitsu guy. So ideally, I wanted him on the ground, but I’ll take it.”

Bamford has spent eight years training in Jiu-Jitsu but he didn’t get into the sport of MMA until watching the NEF bouts at the Colisee earlier this year.

“I thought I’d just give it my all,” Bamford said. “I’m 40 years old, but I thought I’d try it and see what happens.”

Bamford, who trains out of the First Class MMA gym in Topsham, had a boisterous following that provided one of the loudest cheering sections of the night.

“It was great,” Bamford said. “I appreciated everyone that came out tonight and supported me.”

When Locke left the locker room area, he gave Bamford a hug and congratulated him on the victory.

“I still had a damn good time,” Locke told him.

Bamford wasn’t the only local fighter with an impressive debut win. Auburn’s Mike Williams and Jay’s Nick Gulliver each barely broke a sweat in first-round victories.

Williams, a former wrestler and football player who graduated from Edward Little High School in Auburn last year, won with an armbar just 26 seconds into the first round of a 225-pound class tilt. He said he has wanted to be an MMA fighter since he was 13.

“It’s a big weight off my shoulders,” Williams said. “I’ve always dreamt of fighting. This has always been the step to my goal. It’s my dream and this was the first step.”

Williams jumped on Joe Krech from the get-go. He dictated the fight and quickly set himself up for the armbar that prompted the submission.

“When he was on all fours and I grabbed his led, I had his arm,” Williams said. “I didn’t realize it until I was on top. Then it was like ‘Oh Bam, go for it.’ I’m glad I noticed it when I did.”

Gulliver roared out of his corner and didn’t allow Jason Field a chance to move at all. Gulliver had him pinned against the ring and barraged him with punches. The super-heavyweight bout was stopped in just 12 seconds.

Fight Night XX featured both MMA bouts and boxing for the first time, with the rings set up side-by-side on the Colisee floor. NEF announced its next event, also at the Colisee in Lewiston on Feb. 6, will also feature both MMA and boxing.

In the feature bout in the boxing ring, Brandon Berry won the New England Welterweight title bout in a unanimous decision, beating Roberto Valenzuela. Berry overcame a cut early in the fight. It was his first eight-round fight and first in that weight class against Valenzuela, who has a career record of 73-69-2 and once fought on a Joey Gamache undercard.

There were also three title fights in the MMA cage, including the 155-pound lightweight main event for the NEF championship. Bruce Boyington defended his title with a third-round TKO of Jimmy Davidson. Boyington finished the win at 2:40 of the third round. Boyington (11-8) controlled much of the bout and bloodied Davidson (7-2). Then he sealed the win with a flurry of blows to the head.

In one of the amateur championship bouts, Rumford’s Ryan Burgess won a split decision over Dustin Veinott. Burgess (2-0) controlled most of the three rounds but earned a narrow decision over the Central Maine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter. Veinott is now 4-4.

In the bout that followed Bamford’s victory, yet another area athlete found victory. Farmginton’s Caleb Farrington won at 185 with a submission at 2:15 of the second round. Farrington improved to 3-0 with the win.

“I’m really happy that it’s a win,” Farrington said. “I feel like it was a loss. I definitely didn’t feel like myself and how I performed. I’m happy that I was able to get the win.”

Farrington, a 2012 Mt. Blue grad, ducked a wild swing by Ruben Redman. When the former Cougars wrestler went low, he saw the opportunity to move in.

“When he swung like that, he was standing straight up,” Farrington said. “It allowed me to get under him and take him down. I can’t remember exactly how it went, but it ended up with a submission.”

Caleb Hall also earned a victory, making him 6-4. Hall, a former Dirigo state champion wrestler, beat Matt Tamayo ini the 145-pound class. Hall earned the win with a submission at 2:25 of the first round.

CMBJJ in Lewiston featured a number of fighters, including Veinott and Williams. Tollison Lewis was among the four boxing matches and won his bout in the 155-weight class. Lewis beat Zenon Herrera with a knockout at 2:25 of the third round.

Some other CMBJJ fighters didn’t fare as well. Matt Denning was knocked out at 4:44 of the first round by Jon Lemke.  It was Denning’s first loss as a pro (2-1). Auburn’s Steve Bang was knocked out with a Ricky Dexter punch at 1:52 of the first round. Brent Ouellette lost to Justin Witham in a knock out at 1:23 of the first round.

In the only female bout of the evening, Brewer’s Randi Beth Boyington lost to undefeated Erin Lamonte (5-0). Boyington (1-2), the wife of the headliner Bruce Boyington, was caught in an armbar just 1:10 into the first round. After his win in the main event, Bruce Boyington called for a rematch between his wife and Lamonte.

kmills@sunjournal.com