CES MMA invades North Dakota

Providence, RI – Three former UFC veterans headline a stacked fight card as CES MMA packs its bags and heads west to Red River Valley on Friday, May 6 for its North Dakota debut on UFC FIGHT PASS®.

CES MMA 68 takes place at the Veterans Memorial Arena in West Fargo and features the CES MMA debut of UFC veterans Anthony Rocco Martin (17-6, 1 KO), a middleweight from Saint Cloud, MN; Albuquerque, NM, heavyweight Maurice Green (9-6, 2 KOs); and Johnsburg, IL middleweight Dan Stittgen (12-8, 2 KOs).

Tickets are available at CESFights.com and the event streams live on FIGHT PASS. CES 68 is the promotion’s first event west of Orlando and its third new territory in recent years. 

“CES MMA is excited to travel to Red River Valley to stage its inaugural fight card in North Dakota live on UFC FIGHT PASS,” said Jimmy Burchfield Jr. of CES MMA. “CES has the reputation of being the gateway to the UFC. We are thrilled to provide the fighters in this region the opportunity to showcase their talent to a worldwide audience on Fight Pass. Fargo is home to the national football powerhouse North Dakota State University Bison and, on May 6, some powerhouse MMA. We also want to acknowledge Dean Lamb from Throne MMA and MMA legend Brock Larson for their valuable contribution to CES 68.”

The Red River Valley occupies 17,000 square miles of eastern North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota, and southern Manitoba, and it’s the home of many fighters appearing at CES 68.

Martin is a 15-time UFC vet boasting a lifetime record of 9-6 in the promotion, including wins over Johnny Case, Alex White, and Keita Nakamura. Fighting for the first time since June of 2020, Martin makes his promotional debut in the main event against Bismark, ND, native Tyler Vogel (8-5, 7 KOs), whose resume includes MMA, boxing, and bare-knuckle boxing bouts.

In the co-main event, Greene, an eight-time UFC vet, battles Minnesota’s Danyelle Williams (8-7, 6 KOs), who makes his third appearance with the promotion and first since going the distance with Yorgan De Castro at CES 65 in November. Greene last fought in May of 2021 on the UFC Fight Night: Rodriguez vs. Waterson undercard and boasts four wins with the promotion. The 35-year-old is a training partner of UFC legend Jon “Bones” Jones, who is rumored to be working his corner on fight night.

Also appearing on the main card, Hibbing, MN, middleweight Indalecio “Tat” Romero (29-6, 14 KOs) faces Stittgen, who made two appearances with the UFC in 2012, including an undercard bout at UFC 143: Diaz vs. Condit. Romero boasts 24 finishes, 14 by knockout and 10 by submission, and returns to the cage May 6 for the first time since 2018. He has won five in a row and 11 of 12 overall.

Joining CES for the trip out west is Southampton, MA, featherweight and four-time CES MMA vet Nate Ghareeb (5-1, 4 KOs), who returns to the cage following the biggest win of his career in November at CES 65 against last-minute opponent Tom Pagliarulo, a bout in which Ghareeb broke his toe and survived to hand Pagliarulo his first career loss.