Vilson Ndregjoni claimed a statement victory in the main event of CFFC 120 in Atlantic City, but left without the title after being forced to relinquish the belt before even stepping into the CFFC cage.
Ndregjoni failed to make championship weight ahead of his scheduled bantamweight title matchup with Wendel Araujo, who was still eligible to win the belt after making weight successfully.
However, Ndregjoni ensured the belt would be left vacant after fight night with a superb display as, after a competitive opening round, "The Strong Eagle" knocked out Araujo with hammerfists after dropping him on the way in with a superb counter right.
It gave Ndregjoni the victory he wanted, but he'll have to return to the CFFC cage – and make 136 pounds – before finally getting his hands on the promotion's bantamweight title.
In the co-main event, former UFC veteran Kyle Daukaus returned to the CFFC cage, and returned to winning ways as he finished Robert Gidron with a buzzer-beating rear-naked choke that forced his man to tap with just one second remaining in the first round of their middleweight matchup.
Also on the main card, former Contender Series competitor Charlie Campbell bounced back from his knockout loss at the UFC Apex in fine style with a knockout of his own as he finished Josh Streacker in a little over two minutes of his lightweight matchup.
Campbell connected flush with a beautiful two-punch combination to badly rock Streacker and send him to the mat, where he finished the fight with some hard, accurate ground shots that knocked his man out.
Earlier in the night, former NextGen amateur champ Luke Fernandez kicked off the main card with an impressive victory as he defeated Jesse Romans with a dominant performance.
Fernandez let his hands go early and hurt Romans with big punches before picking his man up and slamming him hard to the canvas and finishing him with ground strikes to claim his second win as a professional.
There was also a standout display from Dennis Buzukja, who finished Soslan Abanokiv with a second-round rear-naked choke to register the first submission win of his pro MMA career and extend his impressive winning streak to seven.
CFFC 120: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Vilson Ndregjoni def. Wendel Araujo via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 1:48
- Kyle Daukaus def. Robert Gidron via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:59
- Charlie Campbell def. Josh Streacker via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:01
- Paul Capaldo def. Elijah Harris via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Dennis Buzukja def. Soslan Abanokov via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:29
- Luke Fernandez def. Jesse Romans via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 2:02
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Eric Nolan def. Omoyele Gonzalez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:06
- Beau Samaniego def. Damion Nelson via split decision
- CJ LaFragola def. Aaron Walker via unanimous decision
- Thomas Picciano def. Hunter Sterner via split decision
- Christian McAuley def. Chris Kwiatkowski via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 3, 2:57
- Adam Livingston def. Daniel Mahoney via unanimous decision
Photo credit: Cage Fury Fighting Championships
