In his longest appearance yet as a pro fighter—92 seconds—Anthony Guarascio captured his first-ever MMA title.
Guarascio kept his streak of all-action wins going in the main event of CFFC 141 on Saturday night, dethroning Bailey Schoenfelder to become the promotion’s new heavyweight champ. “The Daywalker’s” big win emerged in front of home-state supporters in the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida, USA.
The first minute of the fight saw Guarascio pressuring Schoenfelder on the feet, backing him up with powerful hooks to the head. While Guarascio wasn’t wildly chasing a finish, it was clear early on why all of his wins have emerged so early.
Then, just after the 90-second mark in their fight, a lead left hand followed by an overhand right from Guarascio sent Schoenfelder tumbling to the mat, and caused referee Andrew Glenn to step in and stop the fight.
Guarascio, who has four finish wins since his 2023 pro debut and has won all of them within two minutes, now has his first title on the regional circuit. The fight was a massive step-up in competition for him, going from facing relatively inexperienced pros to squaring off against a talent who had previously been considered for a UFC opportunity.
Following his win, Guarascio pitched himself as the next heavyweight in line for a shot at the major leagues in MMA.
“We should skip the ‘Contender Series’ and go straight to the UFC … I’m tired of sitting around,” Guarascio said in his post-fight interview. “It’s time to get on the big screen. It’s time to get where I belong.”
The fight was another tough setback for Schoenfelder, a Kill Cliff FC fighter who, less than a year ago, was considered a major prospect in the weight class. Schoenfelder became CFFC Heavyweight Champion last year with a finish win over Greg Velasco, adding another victory to an undefeated record which had previous wins in Bellator and the LFA.
With five wins to his name, Schoenfelder received the call to compete on “Dana White’s Contender Series” last year. However, his shot at a potential UFC spot didn’t work out: He was submitted in just 73 seconds by Danylo Voeivodkin.
The 27-year-old now has to try and rebound from back-to-back quick losses before considering any bigger tests in the sport.
Earlier in the night, former CFFC champ Blake Smith continued his current winning streak with a first-round finish against Enkhtur Bayartsogt. Also, in her first appearance since suffering a 10-second loss, bantamweight prospect Emily Martins scored a 91-second submission victory.
Here are the quick results from CFFC 141:
Main Card (7:30PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 13: Anthony Guarascio def. Bailey Schoenfelder via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:32) (CFFC Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 12: William Rentz def. Shane Mistretta via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:30)
Bout 11: Blake Smith def. Enkhtur Bayartsogt via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:37)
Bout 10: Emily Martins def. Nikola Kacperska via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:31)
Bout 9: Jimmy Hinel def. Tyree Sutton via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 2, 4:25)
Bout 8: Vitor Resende def. Jashua Marsh via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:01)
Preliminary Card
Bout 7: Lucas Cortes def. Phillip Jackson via Submission, Inverted Triangle Armbar (RD 1, 0:44)
Bout 6: Mihai Culai def. Corey Samuels via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:58)
Bout 5: Alessio Ksouri def. Avry Mutschler via Decision, Split
Bout 4: Brayton Young def. Blake Menard via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 3: Jesse DeJong def. Tyler Conant via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 2: Emilio Barco def. Jose Norat via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 1: Evan Spencer def. Ray Bolden via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 0:20) (Amateur)
Knockdown News 