Philadelphia, PA – Following his six second knockout loss on May 13 to Hector Lombard in a nationally televised bout, Jay Silva will not compete for Matrix Fights (www.MatrixFights.com) on June 11 at “The Arena” in Philadelphia as had been previously scheduled.
Replacing Silva against rising East Coast middleweight prospect Tim Williams will be New Hampshire native, Woody “The Dynasty” Weatherby, 8-3.
Weatherby, renowned for his strong striking ability, will compete for the first time since appearing on the current eleventh season of the hit Spike TV reality show The Ultimate Fighter.
Weatherby is a former Naval officer who currently splits his time as a corrections officer for the Hillsborough County Jail in Manchester, NH while also training MMA at both the Renzo Gracie Academy in Derry, NH and Mickey Ward’s Boxing Gym.
Williams is 3-0 since turning pro last November following an outstanding amateur career that saw him post a perfect 6-0 record with six early stoppages. All three of Williams’ pro fights have ended in the first round, with his most recent victory, a first round submission win over Joey Kirwan, earning him the Locked in the Cage middleweight title.
On June 11, Weatherby will represent Williams’ toughest test to date.
“Timmy has never lost a fight as a pro or amateur,” remarked Matrix Fights promoter Phil Migliarese. “He doesn’t know what it means to fail. Being so dominant everyone is talking about him on the East Coast. But to the rest of the country, he’s still a well kept secret. A win over Weatherby would change everything for him overnight.”
The night’s co-main event will also feature undefeated light heavyweight prospect Tim Carpenter, 5-0, taking on Guybson Sa, 1-0, who trains out of the renowned Team Bomb Squad. Carpenter, a black belt under Phil and Ricardo Migliarese, is 1-0 since returning to active competition following an extended hiatus due to injury.
Following a unanimous decision victory this past February against Rich Lictawa at an Adrenaline MMA event, Carpenter immediately returned to the radar of most major MMA organizations. A second straight win could propel him from the regional circuit and onto the national scene.
Also featured on the pro card for Matrix Fights II on June 11 will be Brylan Van Artsdalen, who recently made his professional debut on a nationally televised Bellator Fighting Championships event at the Mohegan Sun Hotel & Casino in Uncasville, CT.
“Brylan is coming off a tough loss, but it was a fight he was clearly winning,” said Matrix Fights President Jimmy Binns. “Not every fighter can say they made their debut for a major national promotion televised on Fox Sports Net, NBC, and Telemundo. But Brylan was one of the top ranked amateurs in the country and earned that spot. I know losing a fight that he was dominating must be frustrating to him but on June 11 he’ll get his chance to make things right.”
The undercard will feature a stacked lineup of top rated amateurs from renowned schools and academies such as Daddis Fight Camps, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United, and Balance Studios. Additionally, the undercard will feature the first ever female MMA bout in Matrix history when Andria Caplan returns to the cage against Jennifer Martin.
Caplan, who has been featured in the past on MMAjunkie.com and most recently in the Philadelphia City Paper, is a former WKA Amateur Muay Thai Champion as well as a multi-time Grappler’s Quest Champion.
Making her MMA debut last August on a nationally televised M-1 Global event, Caplan will be looking to redeem herself after losing to ISCF amateur MMA champion Mollie Ahlers-Estes. Soon after the bout it was disclosed that Caplan fought with a torn MCL.
Standing in her way will be the Elmira, New York native Martin, a amateur MMA champion who is also the number two ranked amateur female featherweight fighter in the country, according to the ISCF.
For more information and to order tickets, please visit the official Matrix Fights website at www.MatrixFights.com.