Returning for their first event in over a month, CFFC will present 11 bouts on Thursday night from the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida, USA. The promotion will crown a flyweight interim titleholder in the main event, as Santo Curatolo and Lloyd McKinney will face off.
Here’s a full preview of the show.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (Youtube)
Bout 1: Otis Page Jr. (0-2) vs. Kaven Mindel (0-0) (Amateur Lightweight)
In the first of two amateur bouts, Otis Page Jr. and Kaven Mindel will battle.
Page Jr. has yet to earn his first win. He competed twice as an amateur from 2019 to 2021, getting stopped in both bouts. He’ll look to turn things around on Thursday.
Mindel will be appearing in MMA for the first time.
Bout 2: Theoren Thorn (4-1) vs. Morquez Forest (3-0) (Vacant CFFC Amateur Welterweight Championship)
A rare CFFC amateur title fight will take place in the next bout, as Theoren Thorn and Morquez Forest will battle.
Forest debuted less than a year ago with a submission win. He has added two more victories to his record via decision since then, giving him a total of three victories before this weekend’s card.
While Thron isn’t undefeated, he is also entering this week on a three-fight winning streak. His last bout was in May when he beat Aiden Rubeck via decision on a Victory Cage Fighting Championships card.
Bout 3: Max Quinones (0-0) vs. Guilherme Crossi (0-1) (Flyweight)
Shifting over to pro bouts, Guilherme Crossi will face pro newcomer Max Quinones in the third bout of the night.
Quinones is turning pro after a lengthy amateur career. He competed on the amateur scene from 2015 to 2021, putting together eight wins and three losses in that time.
Crossi lost his pro debut earlier this year, suffering an early spinning backfist stoppage to An Ho. Before then, he had an undefeated amateur record of six wins.
Bout 4: Tyler Keating (0-1) vs. Solomon Maldonado (1-1) (Lightweight)
Both fighting for their first CFFC wins, lightweights Tyler Keating and Solomon Maldonado will fight in the next bout.
Keating lost his pro debut on a CFFC card earlier this year, getting stopped late in a fight against David Romano.
Maldonado won his pro debut back in 2018 but has yet to win in CFFC. He dropped his promotional debut in March to Jesus Hernandez, who submitted him early with a guillotine choke.
Bout 5: Willie Tarpley (2-2) vs. Rashaun Jackson (5-5) (Heavyweight)
The prelims are scheduled to wrap up with a heavyweight bout between Willie Tarpley and Rashaun Jackson.
Jackson has had an unusual MMA career thus far. He started strong, putting together five wins through his first six pro fights. However, he has struggled against tougher opponents in recent years and is now on a four-fight skid. He was finished in his last fight, getting stopped by Kevin Sears in April.
Tarpley is returning to CFFC after an unsuccessful promotional debut late last year. His first fight, an appearance against Greg Velasco, saw him get submitted in the second round via rear naked choke. He has since bounced back outside of the promotion, defeating James Crosby last month on a WCFL card.
Main Card (9:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 6: Jorge Molina (0-1) vs. Jesus Hernandez (1-1) (Welterweight)
The main card will kick off with a fight between Jorge Molina and Jesus Hernandez.
Molina is fighting to bounce back from an unsuccessful first pro fight. That defeat came in March, as he went the distance against Itso Babulaidze but didn’t get the nod from the judges.
Hernandez earned his first pro win in March, submitting Solomon Maldonado in the first round of a bout.
Bout 7: Gonzalo Ojeda (3-1) vs. Adam Amado (0-1) (Featherweight)
Gonzalo Ojeda will make his return to competition on Thursday against Adam Amado.
Ojeda has a pro record of three wins and one loss, most of which took place more than a decade ago. All of his previous bouts took place from 2010 to 2014, and his upcoming fight will be the first time he appears in nearly eight years.
Amado is not coming off such a long layoff. He lost his pro debut in September 2021, dropping a decision to Brandon Moran.
Bout 8: Mark Grey (1-0) vs. Shawn Lunghi (1-0) (Bantamweight)
Both riding the momentum of a successful debut, Mark Grey and Shawn Lunghi will meet on Thursday’s main card.
Lunghi had a fast performance in his first pro fight, submitting Rodney Rampersad in just 96 seconds. This win came after a successful amateur run that resulted in five pro wins and no losses.
Grey will be appearing under the CFFC lights for the fifth time. All of his amateur bouts plus his recent pro debut have all taken place in the promotion, and have all been wins thus far. His last fight was a finish victory against Hector Iglesias.
Bout 9: Kendly St. Louis (5-4) vs. Daniel Matos (5-3) (Lightweight)
Lightweights Kendly St. Louis and Daniel Matos will throw down next.
St. Louis scored a quick submission win in his CFFC debut earlier this year, slipping in a guillotine choke on Feraris Golden Jr. for a first-round finish.
Matos last appeared on a Combate Global card last year, defeating Danny Ramirez via split decision. This weekend is a big step-up in competition for him, as many previous opponents had negative win-loss records.
Bout 10: Caleb Crump (4-2-1) vs. Charlie Radtke (5-3) (Welterweight)
In what is a short-notice matchup, Charlie Radtke will face Caleb Crump at welterweight.
Radtke was originally booked to headline this card in a title fight against Eric Alequin. It is not currently known why that fight was canceled, or why this bout was made instead.
Radtke has scored a pair of victories since joining CFFC last year. His last win came in March when he earned a split decision victory over Jonathan Piersma.
Crump, the short-notice opponent, will be appearing for the first time of the year. He last appeared on an MCF card in November 2021, when he submitted Brady Minner in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Bout 11: Santo Curatolo (6-2) vs. Lloyd McKinney (15-8) (Vacant Interim CFFC Flyweight Championship)
A title fight will cap off the evening, as Santo Curatolo and Lloyd McKinney will battle to earn the promotion’s vacant interim flyweight title.
McKinney will be making his CFFC debut in this fight. He has the experience edge in the matchup, having fought more than 20 times since first debuting more than a decade ago. Previous fights include appearances in LFA, Combate Global and Bellator. He broke a losing streak in his last fight, submitting veteran Nate Williams in the fourth round of a title fight.
Curatolo is returning to CFFC for this fight. He has earned notoriety through previous fights with the promotion, attaining six wins and one loss from 2017 to 2021. That sole promotional loss came in 2020 when he lost a title fight to Alberto Trujillo.
Curatolo suffered a defeat in his last fight, as he dropped a decision to Kleydson Rodrigues on UFC TV show “Dana White’s Contender Series” last year. Now back in his home promotion, Curatolo has the chance to make a statement and earn gold for the first time in his career.
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