Aside from the shows it’s held in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Atlantic City-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) has another area where their fights have proven popular: Tampa, FL. Whenever the promotion treks to the city, it’s a foregone conclusion that the cards will always be sold-out affairs.
The popularity of CFFC events in the area has forced president Rob Haydak to seek out a larger venue for their upcoming date in Tampa, CFFC 126. Rather than hold the show at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, they’re taking their act to the Florida State Fairgrounds this Friday night.
Bantamweight Belt at Stake in CFFC 126 Main Event
Highlighting the night’s activities is the battle for the Vacant CFFC Bantamweight Championship in the CFFC 126 main event. Former titleholder Vilson Ndregjoni (8-3 MMA, 5-1 CFFC) looks to return to the championship after missing weight earlier this year when he squares off against Tariq Ismail (7-1 MMA, CFFC promotional debut.)
As with all CFFC championship fights, the CFFC 126 main event is an advertised maximum of four rounds at five minutes per round to close the show. Should the scorecards produce a draw after 20 minutes of action, the fight then proceeds to a fifth round as a tiebreaker.
If only every week was a CFFC week!
DON'T MISS #CFFC126 this Friday at 6 pm PT ONLY on #UFCFIGHTPASS!! pic.twitter.com/9tymGDNBBV
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 9, 2023
CFFC 126 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the CFFC 126 main event on Friday night, Tariq Ismail stands as the taller man at 5-foot-8, compared to Vilson Ndregjoni’s 5-foot-7 frame. No reach advantage information was accessible online at press time.
Vilson Ndregjoni Hungry for a Second Reign as Champ After CFFC 126 Main Event
Vilson Ndregjoni enters Friday night’s main event having gone 3-2 in his last five bouts. At present, he’s on a three-fight winning streak.
Back in June, although Ndregjoni scored a second-round knockout (punch) of Wendel Araujo (7-4 MMA, 0-1 CFFC) during CFFC 120’s main event, he was unable to walk out of Atlantic City with the championship upon exceeding the 136-lb. title fight maximum afforded by the promotion at the weigh-ins a day before.
Ndregjoni’s frustration has since turned into motivation for the headliner on Friday. He wants to show UFC President Dana White that he’s ready for the big show.
“I’m going to show that Tariq is not better than me,” the former champion said. “I am going to win, and hopefully after this one, I’m going to be in the UFC. For my country, for my supporters around the world, I’m going to go there and do my thing, and hopefully I’m going to make everybody proud.”
Having lost a shot at a championship is never easy, but Ndregjoni essentially won another opportunity to claim the belt with his victory over Araujo late this past spring. Can he get the strap back?
Tariq Ismail Ready to Make Most of CFFC Debut in Main Event
In the other corner, Tariq Ismail has gone 4-1 in his last five fights. Last time out, he stopped Walel Watson (15-15 MMA) by second-round knockout in Durham Fight Series 1 on June 3.
He’s a man who’s been around the block in MMA over the years. Prior to Durham Fight Series 1 in June, he was on BRAVE CF’s active roster between October of 2019 and August of 2020 following a brief stint in TKO MMA in Canada, where his training camps are based.
With a resume containing internationally-known promotions, the time has come for Tariq Ismail to take his talents stateside. Given that Vilson Ndregjoni is a proven champion at 135 lbs., it’ll be a tall order for him this Friday night.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the CFFC 126 main event looks to favor Vilson Ndregjoni, a former wrestler in his native Albania, compared to Tariq Ismail’s background as a boxer and Muay-Thai fighter.
Watch For Ndregjoni’s Crisp Punches
In looking over the footage of Vilson Ndregjoni’s most recent bouts, one can see that there’s a constant: He can end the fight with one blow. His last contest vs. Araujo is a textbook example.
Round two saw Ndregjoni absorb a kick, followed by a left-handed counterpunch. While Araujo missed on a spinning kick attempt, he came back with a variety of shots, including a leg kick.
Ndregjoni had his back against the wall at this point, but Araujo made some ill-timed moves to give the former a much-needed opening to connect on a right hand to knock him down. A slew of hammerfists put an exclamation point on the knockout.
Tariq Ismail Has Great Takedown Defense
Given that Vilson Ndregjoni is a wrestler by trade, it stands to reason that he’ll try his best to take Tariq Ismail down. Luckily for the Ismail camp, their fighter can defend any such opportunity without much hassle.
During round one of the fight between Ismail and Cedric Doyle in BRAVE, Doyle worked to dump Ismail from the clinch, but he popped back up almost immediately. A second effort saw Ismail grab onto Doyle’s neck and sprawl with him, eventually scoring a takedown himself.
At this point in the contest, Ismail attempted to use his defense to create offense, taking him down again and searching for a D’arce choke submission, softening Doyle up with punches to the head.
Even though Doyle tried to get the momentum back to his column, Ismail was having none of it, wrestling with Doyle and mounting a guillotine. Time ran out in the first round before he could lock it in.
If Ndregjoni tries to dump Ismail down, look for him to try and stand back up at the earliest opportunity.
Final Thoughts
A battle for a vacant championship is always an exciting one. The CFFC 126 main event could heat up a chilly autumn night for most of the country with some fireworks.
Prediction: Vilson Ndregjoni by Unanimous Decision.
Live coverage of CFFC 126 begins with the undercard at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on OnlyFans. Main card action follows at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass. Barring any postponements between now and then, the final version of CFFC 126 features 12 fights.
