Nate Andrews vs. Chris Padilla, Chris Curtis vs. Jason Norwood title fights headline CES MMA 49

A pair of titles will be on the line at CES MMA’s show in early April.

In the CES MMA 49 main event, Nate Andrews (12-1) will fight Chris Padilla (9-3) for the promotion’s vacant lightweight title. And in the co-feature, welterweight champion Chris Curtis (17-5) will defend his belt against Jason Norwood (18-4). The promotion today announced the main event following a recent announcement of the co-headliner.

CES MMA 49 will take place April 6 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The main card will air live on AXS TV.

Andrews has won six straight fights, all under the CES MMA banner, and all by stoppage. After a loss to Gemiyale Adkins at CES MMA 25 – the only setback of his pro career – he has gone on a run lasting three and a half years. Most recently, he has four straight submissions, including one of Tyler Combs in November.

Padilla will be making his CES MMA debut. He’ll be trying to rebound from a loss at Bellator 192 in January to Gabriel Green, which was his debut in that promotion. Prior to that, he had back-to-back wins in 2017.

Chris Curtis

Curtis has won four straight fights and seven of his past eight. He will attempt to make promotional history as the first fighter to successfully defend a title twice. After a loss to current UFC standout Belal Muhammad more than three years ago under the Hoosier Fight Club banner in Indiana, Curtis won three straight – including the welterweight title against Gil de Freitas at CES MMA 32.

Curtis lost to Nah-Shon Burrell at CES MMA 34 – but because Burrell came in six pounds overweight, the bout was a non-title fight. Curtis dropped a split decision, but generally was regarded as having been robbed by the judges.

Since then, his four straight wins include a TKO title defense against Will Santiago at CES MMA 42 in March 2017, as well as three other wins in regional competition.

The 33-year-old Norwood will make his promotional debut. He’ll come in with wins in six of his past seven fights. This past September, he took a decision from UFC veteran Carlo Prater at Fury FC 19.

For more on CES MMA 49, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.