Lightweight prospect Manoel Sousa showcased his skills in the main event of CFFC 109 on Friday night, scoring a second-round finish win against Mauro Chaulet.
Sousa’s victory headlined a card from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Sousa closed out his fight in the second round with damaging punches, specifically dropping Chaulet with an overhand right shot. This came after an overall strong showing by him.
Sousa had a good start to the fight, taking Chaulet down early and landing ground and pound shots. Chaulet recovered and had his own moment to close the opening frame, scoring with punches on the ground.
Chaulet started to become visibly wobbled by punches in the second round. The fight went to the ground after Sousa landed a clean overhand right to the head of Chaulet for a knockdown. After Sousa landed another blow, the referee stepped in to end the fight.
Sousa’s undefeated record is now a strong nine wins since debuting in 2019. He won his CFFC debut earlier this year, submitting Trevor Ollison in the first round with a kimura.
Sousa asked for a UFC opportunity following his win.
“That’s [been] my dream since I was a kid,” said Sousa, speaking about a UFC opportunity, via a translator. “I hope they will give me a shot on ‘Dana White’s Contender Series,’ or straight to the UFC.”
Chaulet was a short-notice opponent, stepping in to replace Felipe Maia. He is now on a three-fight losing streak on the regional scene.
CFFC 109 was originally scheduled to be headlined by Santo Curatolo and Hugo Paiva. However, after travel issues forced Paiva off the card, the lightweight bout between Chaulet and Sousa was moved up to main event status.
Ndregjoni Takes Close Decision Over Vasil
Vilson Ndregjoni picked up a close victory in Friday’s co-main event, earning a split decision over Chris Vasil.
Ndregjoni succeeded in striking exchanges and avoided a scary second round to pick up the decision win. A large portion of the fight was at a kickboxing range, where Ndregjoni scored with combinations of punches.
Vasil’s best moment occurred late in the second round, as he came near ending the fight. Momentum first went his way when he dropped Ndregjoni with a right hand on the feet. Following up on this, he landed ground and pound shots that were not able to force a stoppage.
Ndregjoni was returning to CFFC for the first time since November 2020. The fight on Friday put him back into the win column after suffering a decision loss two months back.
Vasil was coming off a finish win from January.
Gouthro Takes Decision Nod Over Escareno
Teshay Gouthro had a hard-fought unanimous decision win on Friday night, going three rounds against Efren Escareno for a unanimous decision.
Gouthro’s victory came from a combination of success on the feet and control time on the ground. Escareno was a tough opponent for Gouthro, answering back on the feet and fighting out of positions.
Gouthro’s biggest moment on the feet came late in the opening round when he landed a switch knee to the head of Escareno for a knockdown.
Gouthro now has five wins and just one loss as a pro. He was making his CFFC debut on Friday night.
Escareno was coming off a unanimous decision victory against Jeffrey Glossner from earlier this year.
Allston Stops Ciuclea Early In Pro Debut
Ian Allston had a quick pro debut, stopping heavyweight David Ciuclea in the first round with ground and pound shots.
Allston got Ciueclea on the ground via takedown after succeeding with punches and elbows on the feet. He then continued to land shots from half guard, causing the referee to eventually step in and end the fight.
Allston was turning pro after attaining four wins, two losses and one draw on the amateur scene.
Ciuclea was appearing in his second pro fight. He won his debut last year, stopping Jake Zogg.
Majeski Ends Skid With Quick Win
Thomas Majeski snapped a losing streak on Friday night, catching David Meshkhoradze early for a submission win.
Majeski attempted a guillotine choke, searching for the submission both in ground and stand-up positions. He kept with the choke while dropping back to the ground, eventually fully securing the submission to end the fight.
Majeski was coming off an unsuccessful 2021 that saw him suffer two consecutive losses. He now has a record of three wins and two losses, with all of the victories coming via first-round submission.
Meshkhoradze, a Bellator alum, now has an even record of two wins and two losses.
St. Louis Submits Golden Jr. Early For First CFFC Win
Kendly St. Louis won his CFFC debut to open the main card, submitting Feraris Golden Jr. in the first round.
St. Louis had a solid open to the fight, taking Golden Jr. down and using that position to land punches for a few minutes.
St. Louis slipped in a guillotine choke when the fight went back to the feet. Golden Jr. seemingly fell to the ground while in the choke, causing the referee to intervene and stop the bout.
St. Louis has now scored two consecutive wins. His previous win was in February, when he submitted Devin Paulk with a rear naked choke.
Golden Jr. has now lost three consecutive fights via submission in CFFC.
Quick Results
Main Card (8:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 7: Manoel Sousa def. Mauro Chaulet via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:46)
Bout 6: Vilson Ndregjoni def. Chris Vasil via Decision, Split
Bout 5: Teshay Gouthro def. Efren Escareno via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Ian Allston def. David Ciuclea via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:47)
Bout 3: Thomas Majeski def. David Meshkhoradze via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:31)
Bout 2: Kendly St. Louis def. Feraris Golden Jr. via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 4:42)
Preliminary Card (Youtube)
Bout 1: Brandon Smith def. Tyler Golden via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:19) (Amateur)
Knockdown News 