Fury Fighting Championship is set for a deep and talented February showcase on Friday evening. The event, the 75th in promotion history, will emanate from Gilley’s Dallas in Dallas, Texas and will feature a pair of title fights in the main and co-main event slots.
Defending welterweight champion Evan Cutts will defend his title against a game challenger in Bassil Hafez, while Abdul-Kareem Al Selwady competes with Mike Murphy for the vacant lightweight crown.
Fight fans can catch the 17-fight Fury FC 75 card streaming live on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Preliminary action will be available on Fury FC’s social media channels.
Fury FC Welterweight Championship – Cutts vs. Hafez
Cutts, the incumbent welterweight champion of Texas’ top regional promotion, has been on a roll since taking his talents to his local promotion. The Ft. Worth, Texas native has tested himself against several talents who have gone on to have careers in the UFC, and he could be next in line if he can make it 4-0 inside the Fury FC cage. “The Butcher” is as decorated as he is experienced as a professional, and is also the former CFFC welterweight champion. On Friday night, Cutts will be standing across the cage from the man he beat for the CFFC title in Hafez at CFFC 94.
What Hafez lacks in experience compared to his opponent, he makes up for in high-quality victories. He is coming off the biggest win of his career against UFC veteran Anthony Ivy at Fury FC 56, which occurred nearly one year to the day of his impending rematch with Cutts. The original fight with Cutts took place in 2021, with Cutts claiming the CFFC welterweight crown via split decision. The original meeting between the two is notable for seeing a fifth round, as CFFC title fights only see a fifth round if the judges’ scorecards necessitate it. Given the rarity of regional foes meeting in two different title fights in two different regional promotions, Friday’s main event could be one of the most anticipated fights in the young promotion’s history.
Fury FC Lightweight Championship – Al Selwady vs. Murphy
The vacant lightweight championship will be up for grabs before Cutts and Hafez step into the cage. Al Selwady, “The Pride of Palestine,” is the latest in a series of promising young fighters to develop out of Fortis MMA under the watch of head coach Sayif Saud. He notably had a seven-fight stint in BRAVE CF, where he won his first five fights and even picked up the BRAVE CF lightweight championship. However, he won the title in anticlimactic fashion with a first-round injury TKO against UFC veteran Lucas Martins, though the win is still the most significant on his record. He went on to drop his next two fights in BRAVE and resurfaced back in America where he has gone 3-0 between stops in LFA and Fury FC.
Al Selwady will look to add another title to his collection against Murphy, one of the promotion’s toughest outs. Murphy notably won a unanimous decision victory over Jacob Capelli last year despite spending the vast majority of the fight on his back. His activity from the bottom makes him a tricky fighter to control, though it will be interesting to see if his style can translate in a five-round fight. Murphy is also 6-1 dating back to 2021. At 35-years-old, the time is now for the Texan to put the Fury FC lightweight division on notice.
Rest of the Card
Friday’s card should have something for everybody, as 15 fights will precede the main and co-main event of Fury FC 75. The featured fight will see Jesse Butler take on Luis Luna in an action fight at 145 pounds. Butler will be coming off a one-year layoff, most recently taking out UFC veteran Masio Fullen in the first-round of the headlining fight at Fury FC 56. In Luna, he will have a willing dance partner who fought three times for the promotion in 2022.
Loren Thibodeaux is also scheduled to fight Aryion Young at 145 pounds. Young is currently riding a four-fight winning streak, while Thibodeaux most recently appeared in bare-knuckle fare, dropping a decision to David Bosnick at BKFC 30. Julius Holmes will look to make it to 7-2 against .500 fighter Joe Boerschig at 170 pounds, and Darren Whitney, a training partner of Cutts, will line up against Chris Pecero in the lightweight division. A light heavyweight fight between Ty Flores and Ryan Parker will open the main card. Both men are coming off victories.
The preliminary card will also feature six amateur fights to lead off the evening. As always, the fight card and bout order is subject to change throughout the night.
Fury FC 75 Results
Main Card
Bassil Hafez def. Evan Cutts via Knockout (right straight) at 3:50 of Round 3 — for the vacant Fury FC Welterweight Championship
Abdul-Kareem Al Selwady def. Mike Murphy via Unanimous Decision (50-45, 49-46, 40-45) — for the vacant Fury FC Lightweight Championship
Jesse Butler def. Luis Luna via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Aryion Young def. Loren Thibodeaux via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Darren Whitney def. Chris Pecero via Split Decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
Julius Holmes def. Joe Boerschig via Submission (Neck Crank) at 3:15 of Round 1
Ty Flores def. Ryan Parker via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Brian James def. Gavin Ceniseros via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
David Hansen def. Nathaniel Porter via Submission (RNC) at :57 of Round 2
Johnathan Kinsky def. Juan Ulloa via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)*
Jean-Luc Williams def. Josh Childs via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)*
Johnathan Hanes def. Shane Wright via Submission (RNC) at 2:37 of Round 1*
Jonathan Vasquez def. Johnathan Smothermon via TKO (strikes) at 2:42 of Round 1*
*-Denotes Amateur Bout
