“That’s big,” Neves said with a smile during a break in his hectic schedule on Thursday at his compound. “Sityodtong in Somerville had a nine-match win streak that was a record on the East Coast and we destroyed that. A lot of guys helped us (put together) that streak, and we’re not done (extending it).” 
Neves’ top student this year has been one of his youngest in Pitrowski, a tough 19-year-old phenom who moved to Rhode Island from New Hampshire. He fights at 185 pounds and owns an impressive 6-0 record, with all six of those victories coming by first-round submissions.
In Pitrowski’s last fight, he beat previously-unbeaten Bobby Balaschi (4-0) of Bridgeport, Mass. and sent him to the hospital in Reality Fighting Company’s Nov. 1 “Final Conflict” show in Plymouth, Mass. Pitrowski got the action going with a sharp kick to Balaschi’s face, and he soon forced his opponent to call it quits just 63 seconds into the fight with a vicious kneebar that dislocated his knee.
Earlier in the year, Pitrowski claimed the International Combat Entertainment (ICE) title, and he was slated to fight for the Reality Fight Company championship, but according to Neves, the current champion, Nate Kingras, has been avoiding a fight with Pitrowski.
Nevertheless, he has another title fight on Feb. 3 at Club Lido in Revere, Mass. when he takes on another undefeated fighter, Karn Gregorian, for the World Fight League’s New England title. A victory would give Pitrowski two of the East Coast’s three titles, with the third being Kingras’ RFC championship.
Bouchard, meanwhile, claimed his first professional championship by winning the MMA Superfight heavyweight title on the “Superbrawl” card at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, Mass.
Bouchard, who raised his record to 3-1, needed just 12 seconds to put away Worcester’s Tony Lugo. As soon as the bell rang, Bouchard went right after Lugo and quickly landed a straight left to Lugo’s face, and when Lugo fell to the canvas, Bouchard stuck his knee in his chest and unleashed an array of punches that forced Lugo to submit.
Two Elite MMA fighters also made successful pro debuts at the show. Woonsocket’s Jeff Anderson claimed his 155-pound match with a unanimous-decision win over Fall River’s Cris Sniger, and Providence College student Tom Petritz handily captured his 174-pound fight by submission by using an armbar 45 seconds into his bout that forced Providence’s Ed Pimental to tap out.
Neves has also seen a handful of his other fighters impress in the early stages of their pro careers, such as Percy Smith (257 pounds) and John DePina (160). Both MMA fighters are from Pawtucket, have 3-0 records, and like Pitrowski, produced all of their victories via first-round submissions.
Elite MMA also has three MMA fighters with 2-0 records, Woonsocket’s Josh Raymond (140), East Providence’s Keith Shillian (160), and Warwick’s Neil Brozoza (160), while in Muay Thai competition, Providence’s Kurt Parisi is 3-0 (185), and Pawtucket’s Neil Goulet is 2-0 (155).
And there’s a pro boxer who calls Elite MMA’s gym home, middleweight prospect Diego Pereira, who signed with Classic Entertainment & Sports earlier in the year and recorded impressive TKOs in his two pro fights.
Pereira, who is trained by Neves’ uncle, Bert Neves, had a third-round TKO of Brockton’s Felisberto Fernandes in his pro debut on March 14 at the Twin River Event Center and a first-round TKO of Rock Hill, S.C.’s Jerry Pressley on Nov. 13 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center that took 1:43 to register.
With the year coming to a close, Neves already has his sights set on a few dates for 2009. On Jan. 9 is ICE’s “Armageddon” show at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, and Elite MMA will be represented by Bouchard, Anderson, and Pitrowski, who will take part in a tune-up fight before his Feb. 3 championship match. Elite MMA will also make its presence felt on Feb. 9 on ICE’s “Best of the Best” card in Worcester.
One goal Neves has for next year is to recruit some female MMA fighters and hopefully promote a show that exclusively features women’s fights.
“We have a lot of women who kickbox, but none of them who do MMA,” added Neves. “There aren’t many women who compete in mixed martial arts.”