Bangor’s Ryan Sanders Wins His 1st Mma Match In 3 Years In Just 25 Seconds

Ryan Sanders’ return to the mixed martial arts spotlight after a 3 1/2-year absence on Saturday night was as successful as it was brief. Glory Watson’s latest combat sports foray wasn’t quite as brief but was equally successful as the Maine-based New England Fights promotion held its first show at the Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn. Sanders, who lives in Bangor and trains at Vision Quest Muay Thai in Newport, used a head kick to take out Portland’s Mark “Pockets” Gardner just 25 seconds into the first round of their scheduled three-round welterweight (170-pound) bout that served as the co-main event of the 17-fight card. Sanders, who last fought in November 2018, flattened Gardner with a looping left foot and landed one additional strike before the referee quickly intervened to give the former NEF lightweight champion his fourth consecutive victory and ninth win in his last 10 bouts. Sanders is now 19-9 professionally. Watson, who lives in Brewer and trains at Young’s MMA in Orrington, faced a much stiffer test before emerging with a unanimous-decision victory over New Jersey’s Natalie Schlesinger. The win was the third straight for Watson, now 3-1 as a professional. “This girl is tough,” Watson said.