While Cage Fury Fighting Championships has traversed the countryside in an effort to find MMA’s next big star, there are still some areas where they haven’t made a stop as of yet. One state gets checked off of the box this Friday.
For the first time ever, CFFC sets foot in the second-coldest state in the Union. New Town, North Dakota, becomes the latest city for the promotion to debut in when 4 Bears Casino and Lodge serves as the home for CFFC 125.
130-lb. Catchweight Focus of CFFC 125 Main Event
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Absent of any further postponed fights between now and Friday evening, CFFC 125 consists of nine fights, including a pair of contracted catchweights to cap the show. After a 175-lb. catchweight in the co-main event of the evening, the CFFC 125 main event features a contest at 130 lbs.
Contender Series and Titan FC alum Roy Echeverria (7-1 MMA, CFFC promotional debut) travels from The Sunshine State of Florida to the bone-chilling cold of North Dakota to take on Hawaiian product Pololu Nakanelua (6-1 MMA, CFFC promotional debut.) With no championship on the line, the CFFC 125 main event is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round to close out the night’s activities.
CFFC 125 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the CFFC 125 main event on Friday night, Roy Echeverria stands as the taller man at 5-foot-5, compared to the 5-foot-4 frame of Pololu Nakanelua. The former owns a 67-inch reach, with no such information available for the latter.
As of Wednesday evening, the oddsmakers had yet to release money lines for this card. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening over the weekend, please wager responsibly.
Roy Echeverria Ends Yearlong Layoff for CFFC 125 Main Event
Roy Echeverria enters the CFFC 125 main event having posted a record of 4-1 in his last five fights. He saw a four-fight winning streak snapped at the hands of Jafel Filho (15-3 MMA) during the Sept. 20, 2022 Contender Series episode with a third-round knockout.
Filho obtained a UFC contract at night’s end and is now 1-1 in Dana White’s promotion. Prior to the bid at a UFC deal, Echeverria had been unbeaten in MMA under the Titan FC banner.
Friday’s headliner will be Echeverria’s first MMA appearance in close to a full calendar year. Having to take a long time off from fighting is never an ideal scenario, so what kind of a training camp has he been able to do this time around?
Pololu Nakanuela Facing Opponent and Promotion Change
In the other corner, Pololu Nakanuela has gone 4-1 in his last five contests. At the present time, the LFA alum is on a two-fight winning streak.
Nakanuela will be the fresher fighter of the two in the CFFC 125 main event this weekend, as he just fought back in June, defeating Sammy Saunders (4-7 MMA) by unanimous decision. This week was always going to be a fight week for Nakanuela, but it wasn’t initially going to be one under the Cage Fury promotional banner.
Prior to getting booked to fight in this main event, he was scheduled to appear on Friday’s Tuff-N-Uff event versus Victor Rosas (7-2 MMA). This fight was scrapped, enabling Nakanuela to take the CFFC 125 main event.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the CFFC 125 main event looks to be another one of those toss-ups. Both Echeverria and Nakanuela have been known to score the knockout.
Roy Echeverria Has Great Kicking Game
In MMA, much like in gridiron football, the kicking game is often the difference between walking out of the cage with a win and leaving in defeat. Roy Echeverria’s kicks are brilliant when they are on-point.
During the first round of a scheduled three versus Earnest Walls in 2021, Echeverria threw several feints to keep Walls honest. He quickly became the aggressor, landing a few combinations and some leg kicks.
Less than two minutes into the fight, Echeverria unloaded with a perfectly-placed spinning heel kick to end it. All it takes is one kick for Echeverria to win the CFFC 125 main event.
Pololu Nakanelua Intense on the Ground
Just like Roy Echeverria with his kicks, Pololu Nakanelua’s ground and pound could be the aspect of the fight game that tells the tale on Friday. One need look no further than the footage of his fight against Keaneo Moyer.
Round one saw Moyer try to wrap up the fight in a hurry with a standing guillotine, but Nakanelua fought it off. For a while, it looked as though the former would have the upper hand in the contest, grappling with the latter to slow down the pace.
As soon as Nakanelua got back up, Moyer tried to finish him with a barrage of shots, but after the fight got to the clinch, Nakanelua reversed the script, taking Moyer down and scoring with punches in bunches to score the TKO.
If Nakanelua can get Echeverria to the mat just once, it could be game, set, and match on Friday.
Final Thoughts
It looks to be a good one in the CFFC 125 main event. Whichever combatant has the crisper punches against his opponent will be the fighter to win.
Prediction: Pololu Nakanelua by Unanimous Decision.
Live coverage of Friday night’s event begins with the undercard at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on OnlyFans. The main card immediately follows at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass.
Next month, the promotion will set up shop in Tampa for a return engagement in CFFC 126, but it’s at a new venue this time around. Due to the popularity of previous Cage Fury events in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, the Florida State Fairgrounds will play host to the Oct. 13 show.
