Da’Mon Blackshear defended his CFFC Bantamweight Championship for the first time on Saturday night, putting Josh Smith to sleep with a rear naked choke in the third round of their main event bout.
Blackshear’s victory headlined CFFC 108, which took place at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, USA on Saturday afternoon.
Blackshear took the back of Smith in the third round after stuffing a takedown. After the choke went under Smith’s chin, he went unconscious and the fight was called off by the referee.
The champion had a strong grappling performance in earlier rounds of the fight as well, earning takedowns and control time against Smith.
With 12 wins through 16 fights, Blackshear now has his sights on a UFC opportunity. However, he has another opponent in mind for a CFFC fight if he doesn’t get that call next.
“I’d like to challenge [Jose] Perez if UFC don’t give me a call,” said Blackshear in his post-fight interview.
Blackshear earned the CFFC Bantamweight Championship last year, scoring a first-round rear naked choke win over DeAndre Anderson.
Smith, a former CES Bantamweight Champion, was making his CFFC debut on Saturday afternoon. His previous appearance was a victory over Kyle Estrada on a XMMA card last year.
Fuentes Secures Kneebar For First CFFC Win
Ricardo Fuentes secured a sudden submission win in Saturday’s co-main event, securing a kneebar submission against DeAndre Anderson.
Anderson was the one who scored a takedown early in the fight. However, it was the slick grappling skills of Fuentes that allowed him to get a hold of a leg of Anderson for the submission victory.
“He took me down. You know what happens when somebody takes me down,” said Fuentes after earning the quick victory.
Fuentes was making his CFFC debut in the fight. He now has a record of five wins and two losses.
Anderson was fighting to bounce back from an unsuccessful title shot, losing to DaMon Blackshear in November 2021.
Burgos Shows Dominance In Pro Debut
Ryan Burgos, brother of UFC fighter Shane Burgos, won his pro debut on Friday afternoon with a first-round submission victory against Ivan Rios.
Burgos caused Rios to tap due to a rear naked choke in the opening round. This finish came after a dominant performance, using his striking to cause visible damage to Rios. Burgos was especially effective in clinch positions, landing knees to the body and head of Rios.
Burgos made the move to turn pro after a short amateur run, scoring a trio of wins in 2021.
Rios was making his second pro appearance. He won his debut all the way back in 2019, submitting Richard Ramirez in the first round of a fight.
Spann Submits Returning Davis Early
Will Spann pulled off a rare submission win on Friday night, catching Brandon Davis in the opening round with an omoplata.
Spann earned his own submission shortly after escaping a position on the ground. Returning to the feet, Spann charged at Davis and knocked him down with a left hook. After taking the back of Davis and failing to secure a rear naked choke, Spann locked in the omoplata to end the fight.
Davis succeeded earlier in the one-round fight, using his wrestling to get Spann to the ground in two instances.
Spann won his pro debut in his previous appearance, submitting Ben Coyle early with a guillotine choke.
Davis was competing for the first time since 2019, as injury kept him sidelined in recent years.
Wells Earns Decision Victory Over Nelson
Frank Wells had a hard-fought win against Damion Nelson for a decision victory on Saturday’s main card.
Wells showcased a well-rounded game against Nelson, mixing in takedowns with his sharp striking on the feet. Nelson was more focused on just striking, and was able to succeed at times with his strikes. He notably briefly dropped Wells with a right hand in the second round.
Wells now has three wins and one loss in the CFFC cage since turning pro in 2020.
Nelson had an undefeated record of three wins before this weekend. This experience included his CFFC debut, which saw him stop James Lyons in the first round of a fight earlier this year.
Sackey-El Prevails In Pro Debut
Isaiah Sackey-El won his pro debut in the opening bout of the main card, defeating fellow newcomer Victor Mena in a unanimous decision result.
Sackey-El’s victory came from a solid striking performance on the feet against Mena. Sackey-El constantly advanced on Mena throughout the three-round fight, pushing forward with punches that connected on Mena.
Mena’s best success was on the ground, taking Sackey-El down twice in the earlier minutes of the fight. However, not enough of the fight took place on the ground for it to earn him a scorecard win in the end.
Both middleweights were turning pro after putting together nearly identical amateur careers. While they both started their amateur runs with a loss, they went on to pick up five victories before debuting on Saturday. On thing that set their careers apart up until this point was that Sackey-El had all of his previous wins come via finish.
Quick Results
Postlims (Youtube)
Bout 9: Luke Fernandez def. Dymere Rappa via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:14) (CFFC Amateur Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 8: Nick Galanti def. Mike Basile via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 7: Nezzar Dimes def. Eduardo Castillo via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Main Card (2:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 6: Da’Mon Blackshear def. Josh Smith via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:34) (CFFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 5: Ricardo Fuentes def. DeAndre Anderson via Submission, Kneebar (RD 1, 2:10)
Bout 4: Ryan Burgos def. Ivan Rios via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 3:40)
Bout 3: Will Spann def. Brandon Davis via Submission, Omoplata (RD 1, 3:29)
Bout 2: Frank Wells def. Damion Nelson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Isaiah Sackey-El def. Victor Mena via Decision, Unanimous
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