Blaine Shutt - Photo by Lance Stein of LSS Photography
CES 60’s Blaine Shutt tired of holding back, title within reach
Blaine Shutt chasing a title
Fighting for the inaugural CES MMA Flyweight Championship comes as no surprise to Blaine Shutt.
The Hummelstown, Pennsylvania native is set to fight Johnny Lopez at CES MMA 60 inside the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island on Jan. 24. The scheduled title bout comes about four months after a unanimous decision loss to Cage Fury Fighting Championships [CCFC] Flyweight Champion Sean Santella at CFFC 78 on Sept. 21.
Shutt is training for his second title fight of 2019 despite losing to Santella.
“I did enough just to show I can compete with the top guys in the country,” Shutt said. “People could tell I was competing with the top guy in the country and holding back.
“I let his [Santella] name get to me, I was way too conservative.”
Shutt is coming off a loss while Lopez is riding four-fight win streak on his way to the championship bout.
Lopez’s last defeat stems from a unanimous decision loss to Remo Cardarelli at Bellator 178 on April 21, 2017. Lopez won all of his last four bouts by unanimous decision. Most recently, he topped Dan Cormier at Bellator 232 on Oct. 26.
Shutt is yet to drop two-consecutive losses in his professional career. It’s something he keeps in mind ahead of his fight with Lopez.
“I’ve never lost back-to-back in anything except for one time in my amateur career, I fought for two titles right after another and ended up losing,” Shutt said. “That was the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life and I’ll never let that happen again.”
Chasing titles
Blaine Shutt was awarded his first professional title following a first-round rear-naked choke over Lloyd Thorton at Art of War Cage Fighting 1 on April 28, 2017.
He then defended the strap by defeating Robert Walker III with a keylock in the first round of their Art of War 9 bout on Nov. 10, 2018. He parted ways with the promotion before fighting Santella.
“I definitely think I’ve put in a great career,” Shutt said. “Now, I’m fighting in the biggest promotions on the East Coast and not the local promotions anymore.”
A part of history
The flyweight championship bout with Lopez is the promotion’s first. The bout is the co-main event and will stream on UFC Fight Pass.
Shutt is less interested in the significance of the belt and more compelled by taking home the hardware. After losing in September, Shutt is searching to become the king of one of the top regional promotions.
The recent loss is fresh in Shutt’s mind, but he’s OK with that. It’s more motivation.
“I’ll definitely take the award of being the first champion, I’ll let it sink in after the fight, but until then I am just focused on winning,” Shutt said. “It’s going to be good, so good.”
