Joey Ruquet pulled off an upset win on Saturday evening, handing Khuseyn Shaykhaev his first pro loss in a tight four-round majority decision result.
Ruquet’s win earned him the CFFC Bantamweight Championship in the main event of a card from the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida, USA over the weekend.
Ruquet had the sharper striking in close stand-up exchanges, frequently nailing the lead leg of Shaykhaev while piecing together boxing combinations.
Shaykhaev’s ability to compete with Ruquet on the feet along with his strong wrestling skills made the fight a close battle. While Ruquet was able to prevent some of the takedowns from Shaykhaev, the Russian prospect got the fight to the ground and was able to control his opponent for notable amounts of the bout.
Ruquet proved to be a tough assignment for Shaykhaev on the ground, as the American was willing to compete in grappling exchanges. At one point in the fourth round he escaped a rare Suloev Stretch attempt from Shaykhaev and countered with what looked to be an inverted triangle choke.
Under CFFC rules, a championship bout is scheduled for four rounds and only utilizes an extra frame if the fight is tied on scorecards. A pair of judges saw Ruquet ahead three rounds to one after 20 minutes of action with the third judge seeing the bout even, causing the matchup to end with a majority decision result.
Saturday was the U.S. debut for Shaykhaev, a 27-year-old who had attained an impressive 12-fight winning streak in the Russian promotion ACA.
32-year-old Ruquet is now on the first-ever four-fight winning streak of his pro career. The ongoing run includes a pair of wins from the tail-end of his Combate Global run along with a bare-knuckle MMA victory last year.
After his win, Ruquet called for a UFC opportunity.
“I was hoping to spill a little bit more blood so I could spell ‘UFC’ on the white,” he said. “But let me give you a shoutout Dana [White], I’ve got nothing else to prove.”
Here are the quick results from CFFC’s latest card:
Bout 10: Joey Ruquet def. Khuseyn Shaykhaev via Decision, Majority (Vacant CFFC Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 9: Perry Stargel def. Hugh Pulley via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Blake Smith def. Donald Bush via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Kendly St. Louis def. Collin Lubberts via Decision, Split
Bout 6: Mihai Culai def. CJ Brant via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:36)
Bout 5: Daniel Matos def. Brandon Gaitor via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:39)
Bout 4: Matt Hammerstone def. Rueben Beard via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:30
Bout 3: Blake Torchon def. Phoenix Ibe via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (Vacant CFFC Amateur Featherweight Championship)
Bout 2: James Garva def. Drew Onega via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 1: Aldo Dominguez def. Joelerrea Alford via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
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