Chris Alvidrez stepped in on five days' notice and scored a show-stealing first-round knockout on his promotional debut at CFFC 126.
Alvidrez, who was a part of Logan Paul's training camp to help him prepare for his recent boxing match with Dillon Danis, stepped in to replace Corey Samuels, with his bout against Rentz promoted to the main event after the original headliner – a title fight between Tariq Ismail and Vilson Ndregjoni – was pulled from the card after Ngredjoni's failure to make weight for the matchup. But the substitute headliner produced fireworks, as Alvidrez made a big splash on his short-notice CFFC debut.
Both men wasted no time in throwing heavy shots as they looked to connect with big punches in the opening exchanges. Rentz's three career victories had all come via knockout, and "Iron Will" was clearly looking to add a fourth, but Alvidrez was happy to stand and mix it up in the pocket.
As the round wore on, Alvidrez started to plant his feet and load up on his shots, with some solid southpaw left hands finding their mark. Then, in the final minute, Alvidrez scored a highlight-reel finish. He initially secured a takedown but, after Rentz bounced back to his feet, Alvidrez lined up his man, then landed a huge left hand to drop Rentz and close the show in style as he improved his record to 3-1.
Relentless Forest finishes Harrington
In the co-main event, Rising lightweight prospect Morquez Forest moved his record to 4-0 with a first-round submission finish of Jordan Harrington.
Forest showed his wrestling skills early as he landed a takedown on his opponent, but the pair returned to the center of the cage after Harrington threatened with a guillotine choke that forced Forest to disengage. Harrington then connected with an illegal knee to the groin that forced the bout to be paused to allow Forest to recover.
After a quick moment to recuperate, the action resumed, and Forest sent an unbalanced Harrington to the mat with a short right hand. Once again, Harrington recovered and escaped. But Forest kept the pressure on as he landed more strikes and secured another takedown. This time he wouldn't let his man back up as he took Harrington's back and locked up a rear-naked choke to force the tap at the 3:44 mark.
After his win, Forest, who captured Next Gen welterweight gold in CFFC as an amateur, called for a shot at the lightweight title on the promotion's upcoming event in Atlantic City in December.
Turner continues submission run
Undefeated welterweight prospect Alonzo Turner picked up his third straight win, and his third straight submission finish, as he finished wrestler CJ LaFragola via second-round rear-naked choke.
LaFragola pushed the pace early, but was clipped hard by a right hand from Turner. But, despite that, the Drexel University wrestling coach recovered well to edge the opening round.
LaFragola shot in and took the action to the mat early in Round 2, but was unable to advance his position. Turner, meanwhile, saw an opportunity and locked up a guillotine choke that forced the tap for a huge win.
Gunnison grinds out decision win
Also on the main card, Cedric Gunnison improved his record to 7-2 as he bounced back from his July defeat to Robert Watley with a unanimous decision victory over Julio Cesar Chaves.
After a solid opening round for Gunnison, business picked up in Round 2 when Cesar Chaves connected with a big shot, then swarmed Gunnison in pursuit of a TKO finish. But Gunnison responded brilliantly to the adversity and superbly threw his man down the canvas and ended the round on top, landing heavy ground strikes. Then, after the bell sounded to end the round, Cesar Chaves took a little time to get up and return to his corner after sustaining an apparent injury to his left knee.
Despite that, Cesar Chaves emerged from his corner for the final round, but Gunnison immediately closed the distance and controlled the action as he forced his man up against the cage and connected with knees and foot stomps. Then, when the action returned to the center of the cage, the pair traded shots as both men looked for a late finish.
But, with his knee injury clearly affecting Cesar Chaves, Gunnison held sway for the rest of the round to earn scores of 29-28, 30-27, 30-27.
Lopez breaks down Hernandez
Brandon Lopez stayed patient, kept his composure, and eventually scored the TKO finish in his welterweight bout with Jesus Hernandez.
Lopez looked the better man for most of the matchup, though he had to be on his game to ensure he didn't get caught in a submission as Hernandez looked to attack on the ground the opening round.
But Lopez looked one step ahead during the bout as he controlled position, and eventually scored a TKO finish with ground strikes to improve his record to 7-6.
Tarpley uncorks huge KO
In the opening main card bout of the evening, Tampa heavyweight William Tarpley unloaded a huge right hand to claim a massive one-punch knockout of John Lopez in the second round of their heavyweight matchup.
Tarpley had to be warned by the referee after the action was paused during the first round due to an illegal kick to a downed Lopez. Thankfully, Lopez appeared unaffected by the incident and actually finished the round the stronger of the pair.
But, in the second round, Tarpley pushed the pace and a three-punch combination finished with a clean right hand that connected hard and flush to give "Megaton" a huge highlight-reel finish.
CFFC 126: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Chris Alvidrez def. Will Rentz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:42
- Morquez Forest def. Jordan Harrington via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:44
- Alonzo Turner def. CJ LaFragola via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:48
- Cedric Gunnison def. Julio Cesar Chaves via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Brandon Lopez def. Jesus Hernandez via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:34
- William Tarpley def. John Lopez via knockout (punch) – Rouind 2, 1:55
PRELIMINARY CARD
- David Camacho def. Argenis Castro via unanimous decision
- Matthew Allison def. Yve Nelson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 0:56
- Bill Lewis def. Blandino Olivero via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:30
- Dylan Patlan def. Matt Mulcahy via unanimous decision
