5 fights we would like to see when Cage Fury Fighting Championships returns
One of the most prominent mixed martial arts promotions in the United States will return on December 14. Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC), a staple in the northeast MMA scene, is one of a handful of promotions that was recently released from contract under the Alliance MMA banner.
The last show CFFC held while with Alliance MMA was on March 24, near six months ago. While CFFC 70 may not seem like ages ago, it is an eternity for fighters who wish to compete in the sport they love. As a result, some of the organization’s champions and stars were forced to fight elsewhere should they want to earn a paycheck. One such fighter is Ricky Bandejas, a former champion with the CFFC promotion. While I’m sure Bandejas will have no qualm with competing for the Rob Haydak and his promotion once again, the youngster is coming off a huge victory at Bellator MMA where he knocked out rising star James Gallagher just last month.
Sean Brady, another CFFC star, has a fight scheduled with Legacy Fighting Alliance this coming weekend. Depending on how that fight and contract work out with the promotion it is possible MMA fans will see Brady back in the CFFC cage at a later date, maybe even in December.
While Arias Garcia, matchmaker for CFFC, needs no help when it comes to putting together fantastic matchups for fans to see, I just could not shy away from coming up with a few potential bouts that I personally would be interested in watching.
Here are 5 fights we would like to see when CFFC returns. They are in no particular order.
It should be noted that some of these fighters may train together on occasion. This list is completely opinion based.
Joseph Lowry vs. Sidney Outlaw
Joseph Lowry, technically is still the CFFC champion even though he fought for V3 Fights (another former Alliance promotion) and competed on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series earlier this year. Lowry, did not get the win on DWTNCS, recording the first blemish of his professional career with the loss to Devonte Smith. Sidney Outlaw also has experience on DWTNCS. While “Da Gun” did pick up a win on the show, he was not signed to a UFC contract, therefore he was free to fight for other promotions. Outlaw found his way into a title fight on UFC Fight Pass for the Titan FC promotion. While Outlaw won a decision in his fight against Raush Manfio, he was unable to capture the gold due to his failure to make weight for the fight. Titan FC executives said they would likely run the fight back, however as of press time, no fight has been made. It is possible that Outlaw would be able to compete for CFFC, should there be no contract obligations with Titan FC. A fight between Lowry and Outlaw would be a spectacular lightweight title bout. Outlaw does have a fight scheduled for Ring of Combat this coming weekend.
Azunna Anyanwu vs. Christopher Daukaus
Azunna Anyanwu is a former multiple time CFFC heavyweight champion. Anyanwu recorded a victory on DWTNCS, and signed to the UFC at a later date. He was one fight for the promotion, a split decision loss to Justin Ledet. The heavyweight was then flagged for furosemide in an out-of-competition test. He served his suspension and was expected to make his way back to the UFC octagon when he told FloCombat last month that he had been released from contract. Having the former CFFC kingpin return to competition seems like a no-brainer given the circumstances. Would he accept a fight with fellow Philadelphian Christopher Daukaus? Daukaus, a police officer in the city, is coming off a knockout win at CES 52 last month but has experience in the CFFC cage. Daukaus holds two wins over Jeff Blachly and one over Plinio Cruz while competing for CFFC. He too is fighting at Ring of Combat.
Pat Sabatini vs. Ryan Kim Cafaro
This one is a far stretch as the two train together, but a fan can hope right? Pat Sabatini is yet another reigning CFFC title holder who was forced to compete outside the promotion. The featherweight champion went on to lose a close split decision to Jose Mariscal at Victory FC 60. Victory is the only promotion of the bunch that is still under the Alliance MMA banner. Following the loss Sabatini picked up a submission victory at CES 52 last month in Philadelphia. Ryan Kim Cafaro has competed for CFFC five times in his professional career. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Scott Heckman at Maverick MMA. Heckman himself is a former CFFC champion. It can sometimes be hard to justify giving a title shot to fighters coming off a loss, however, in this instance I would have no objection to it as Cafaro is a very game and talented fighter. The only New Jersey based featherweight fighters currently ranked higher than Cafaro are Andy Main, Bill Algeo, and Frankie Buenafuente, all of which have fights lined up right now for other promotions.
BJ Young vs. Jordan Morales
BJ Young started his pro career with three impressive victories all coming inside the CFFC cage. “The Rican Rebel” is coming off a knockout loss to Josh Rohler at Ring of Combat 63 in June, but is eager to get back into the cage. Jordan Morales has competed at both bantamweight and featherweight and has two victories with CFFC. Having not competed since September of 2017, featherweight might be a better option for the fighter. His only loss with the promotion is to Bandejas. While Morales may have a few more pro fights than Young, it is an intriguing matchup that fans would certainly be eager to watch.
Bassil Hafez vs. Joe Solecki
Bassil Hafez comes from one of the best gyms in the entire region, Balance Studios. He has five pro fights with CFFC, three wins, one loss, and one draw. Joe Solecki has also competed five times professionally for CFFC, even returning after moving out of the area to South Carolina. Both Hafez and Solecki are two of the nicest fighters you will ever meet, but both equally dangerous when they step inside the cage. A fight between the two would have fans on the edge of their seats.
