Yaroslav Amosov is back and just as dominant as before.
The former Bellator Welterweight Champion won in his return to the cage on Friday night, submitting Curtis Millender in the first round with an anaconda choke. The win headlined CFFC 140 from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Amosov, who hadn’t been seen he lost his Bellator title to Jason Jackson in a late 2023 upset, controlled Millender on the ground until the fight’s eventual finish. The Ukrainian took Millender down with three minutes to go in the fight, then spent minutes on top until finally finding the opening for an anaconda choke.
The submission received a tap from Millender, putting an end to the fight with a little under a minute left in the opening round.
Just over a year ago, Amosov boasted one of the best active undefeated streaks in MMA, with 27 consecutive wins. The record included past title victories over Douglas Lima and Logan Storley, as well as six other Bellator appearances. However, that run of success was stopped when he was finished by Jackson at Bellator 301, the promotion’s last show before beginning its era under PFL ownership.
Now back in the win column and active for the first time since parting ways with the PFL (who acquired Bellator in late 2023), it’s expected that the only major option out there that Amosov could ink a deal with is the UFC.
It’s unclear if Amosov, who fought Friday with a UFC logo in his mouthguard, has caught the attention of the top MMA tour.
Millender, a former UFC and Bellator fighter, was aiming to bounce back from 2024 losses to veteran talents Alexander Shlemenko and Jesse Ronson. Before then, he had an impressive record of six consecutive wins between appearances in MMA and boxing.
Roberts Claims CFFC Title With First-Round Knockout
A fellow ex-Bellator talent appeared in the co-main event, scoring arguably his biggest win yet as a pro.
Louisiana-based Jesse Roberts earned a first-round finish win against relatively unknown Armenian prospect Omar Rzgoev, using his explosive boxing to earn a finish in just a few minutes.
The American connected with a short right hand that dropped Rzgoev to the mat. While the shot didn’t put the then-undefeated prospect out, the brutal ground and pound shots that Roberts was quick to follow-up with did.
Rzgoev was on the mat for a few minutes following the finishing sequence, causing a slight scare. However, he eventually left the cage under his own power.
Prior to the finish it was actually Rzgoev leading the dance, marching Roberts down with punches and being the pressuring fighter. Roberts mentioned afterward that it wasn’t an easy bout from start to finish.
“He was definitely a tough fighter,” Roberts said in his post-fight interview. “His footwork was really good and I felt off-timing in the first few minutes. I couldn’t get a beat on him. I couldn’t show off any of my backwoods wrestling. But, you know, we got it done.”
Roberts, who took the fight on short notice just like Rzgoev did, now has an impressive record of nine wins and one loss. He has impressed against regional-level talent, with his sole loss coming against the much more experienced Sergio Cossio.
The 29-year-old urged afterward that his win was enough to earn a UFC deal: “Pick up the phone,” he said to the promotion’s brass on Friday.
Rzgoev came into this weekend’s card with an undefeated four-fight record from the European regionals. Between a one-off appearance in his home country of Armenia and three fights in Russia, he prevailed in all previous outings via first-round stoppage.
Here are the quick results for CFFC 140:
Main Card (9:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 12: Yaroslav Amosov def. Curtis Millender via Submission, Anaconda Choke (RD 1, 4:17)
Bout 11: Jesse Roberts def. Omar Rzgoev via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:47) (Vacant CFFC Lightweight Championship)
Bout 10: Jimmy Drago vs. Junior Melo via No Contest, Accidental Head Clash (RD 2, 3:47)
Bout 9: Chris Brown def. Egor Kostyuchenko via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Ryan Cafaro def. Ricardo Fuentes via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 0:34)
Bout 7: Sebastian Ruiz def. Nodir Alidodov via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EDT) (CFFC Onlyfans)
Bout 6: George Lo def. CJ LaFragola via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:58)
Bout 5: Shaun Stant def. Tom Hinz via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Justin Meyers def. Michael Bruno via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Mardin Velasquez def. Nezzar Dimes via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:05)
Bout 2: Cameron Scalio def. Gavin McQuade via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 1: Juwan Gonzales def. Mason Lewis vi Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 1:28) (Amateur)
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