Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) kicks off its schedule for the year on the shortest month’s second Friday night. Rob Haydak‘s promotion ends its monthlong hiatus from MMA with CFFC 129 originating from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, once upon a time the host venue of the long-defunct ECW sports entertainment organization.
Live coverage of CFFC 129 begins Friday at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on the CFFC OnlyFans feed with the free undercard. Action continues at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass with the main card. Barring any postponed or cancelled fights between now and then, an 11-fight card will take place.
Championship Doubleheader Begins with Middleweight Title Fight in CFFC 129 Co-Main Event
Topping tonight’s slate is a championship doubleheader. Act one sees the CFFC Middleweight Championship at stake in the CFFC 129 co-main event.
Incumbent titleholder Kyle Daukaus (13-4, 1 NC MMA, 6-0 CFFC) tries to make his first defense of his second stint with the strap a successful one when he meets challenger Sean Fallon (17-8 MMA, CFFC promotional debut). As with all CFFC championship fights, Friday’s co-main event is advertised to have a maximum of four rounds at five minutes per round to close the show. If the scorecards produce a draw after 20 minutes, the fight progresses to a fifth and final round to break the deadlock.
🚨🚨Another title fight has been added to #CFFC129 as Kyle Daukaus (@KyleDaukaus) will face Sean Fallon (@fallsc26), February 9 in Philly.
— Zac (@zaclikesmma) January 21, 2024
CFFC 129 Co-Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the CFFC 129 main event on Friday night, Kyle Daukaus stands as the taller man at 6-foot-3, compared to the 6-foot-2 frame of Sean Fallon. The champ owns a three-inch reach advantage over the challenger (76 inches to 73 inches).
Oddsmakers have Kyle Daukaus installed as a -450 favorite on the money line, with Sean Fallon countering as a +300 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Daukaus Looking To Return to UFC After CFFC 129 Co-Main Event
Kyle Daukaus, the brother of UFC alumnus Chris Daukaus (12-7 MMA, 4-4 UFC), has posted a mark of 3-2 in his last five MMA appearances. At the moment, he’s on a two-fight winning streak dating back to June of last year when he rejoined the CFFC promotional banner.
Most recently, he battled Gregg Ellis (8-5 MMA, 1-1 CFFC) to a unanimous decision victory after four rounds over the Labor Day weekend in September during CFFC 124’s main event to become a repeat champion at 185 lbs. He first held the title between 2019 and 2020 before leaving to join the UFC.
Bookers went through a hard time trying to find a suitable adversary for the younger Daukaus brother in the run-up to the CFFC 129 co-main event. In a recent interview, Daukaus revealed that multiple would-be opponents declined to fight him due to an interest in appearing on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter television series on ESPN.
“Obviously, middleweights don’t want to take an L or anything like that so they can’t be on the show,” Daukaus told MMA News. “I understand where they’re coming from there, but I’m also like ‘Dude, we’ve just got to fight, guys’. It’s probably easier to fight and win and get called up as opposed to fighting on The Ultimate Fighter.”
Despite the rash of refusals from Daukaus’ colleagues at 185, he’d like to return to the UFC with a victory on Friday night.
“Eight weeks after my fight is the Atlantic City card for the UFC,” he said. “So, eight weeks is how long I have a fight camp. If all goes well on the 9th, I’ll be more than ready to sign a contract and fight in eight weeks in AC.”
Even if he doesn’t get the March 30th date for UFC Atlantic City, a great performance by Daukaus in the CFFC 129 co-main event might be enough to net Daukaus a second stint in Dana White‘s promotion.
Sean Fallon Seeks to Impress in CFFC Debut
In the other corner, Sean Fallon enters the CFFC 129 co-main event, his promotional debut, having gone 4-1 in his last five MMA bouts. On September 22nd, he scored a first-round submission due to a guillotine choke against Collin Huckbody (12-6 MMA, 1-1 CFFC) in LFA 168.
It isn’t very often that a fighter gets the chance at a championship belt in his debut fight with a promotion, and Fallon is already a seasoned veteran in MMA, trying his luck on Contender Series four years ago. That appearance failed to secure him a UFC deal, before moving onto Bellator MMA, where he lost his only fight in
Should Fallon win here, the possibility exists that he may find himself back in the conversation for a contract in major MMA.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the CFFC 129 co-main event on Friday night looks to favor Kyle Daukaus, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and purple belt in Muay-Thai, compared to Sean Fallon’s purple belt in BJJ. Thus, it’s safe to expect that this one is going to be contested on the mat.
To that extent, these fighters have a combined 21 wins by submission.
Daukaus Brutal on the Ground
Given that Kyle Daukaus is a proven grappler, it’s only a matter of time until he dumps a guy in a fight. Although Nolan Norwood lasted almost 10 minutes with Daukaus in the cage four years ago, it wasn’t nearly long enough for the latter to survive.
Daukaus landed ground and pound shots to soften him Norwood up and jettisoned several submission efforts before landing nasty elbow strikes, giving him the opening he needed to lock up a D’arce choke with 24 seconds remaining. This is someone who can use any submission in the book to end a fight.
Just one takedown can write an ending to this story.
Don’t Discount Fallon’s Ground Game
In the other corner, Sean Fallon’s submission prowess is equally impressive. He can get the job done in a hurry, something that Marc McDonald found out firsthand in the fall of 2016.
Right after the command to fight, McDonald landed a flurry of strikes, causing Fallon to take his opponent’s neck and drive him to the mat, locking up a guillotine choke in the process. Time of the stoppage: Just 21 seconds.
Final Thoughts
The CFFC 129 co-main event has the potential to turn into a grappling match right from the moment the bout commences. You better hurry back from the kitchen with that submarine sandwich and chips before the cage door shuts.
Prediction: Kyle Daukaus by Third-Round Submission
