More championship action is on the way this Friday night in Philadelphia. After taking the month of January off from MMA to begin a Muay-Thai promotion, Atlantic City-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships is back for more action this weekend.
2300 Arena is the host venue for CFFC 129. Fights kick off with the prelims at 7 pm ET/ 4 pm PT on the promotion’s OnlyFans page before moving to UFC Fight Pass at 9 pm ET/ 6 pm PT for main card fights. In total, absent of any postponed contests between now and Friday night, 11 fights will be held, including two title fights at the top of the bill.
After the promotion’s middleweight championship is awarded in the CFFC 129 co-main event, the scene shifts to 125 lbs. for the CFFC 129 main event. Rarefied air could be achieved in this headlining bout, as well.
Fatima Kline Can Attain Double-Champ Status Friday
Incumbent CFFC Women’s Flyweight Champion Fatima Kline (5-0 MMA, 1-0 CFFC) hopes to become a two-division champion in the main event when she takes on challenger Andressa Romero (6-3-1 MMA, CFFC promotional debut) for the strawweight title. The CFFC 129 main event is an advertised maximum of four rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
If, by chance, the main event is level on the scorecards after four rounds of action, it’ll advance to a fifth and final round as a tiebreaking procedure.
It already feels like it has been too long…
Cage Fury is BACK with #CFFC129 THIS FRIDAY on #UFCFIGHTPASS!! pic.twitter.com/QhwlUUqbe0
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 5, 2024
CFFC 129 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the CFFC 129 main event on Friday night, Fatima Kline stands as the taller combatant at 5-foot-6, compared to the 5-foot-2 frame of Andressa Romero. Kline owns a 67 1/2-inch reach, with no such information accessible for Romero at press time.
Presently, the oddsmakers have Fatima Kline installed as a -1408 favorite on the money line, with Andressa Romero countering as a +600 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Could Fatima Kline Head to UFC After a Win in CFFC 129 Main Event?
Fatima Kline is undefeated thus far in her professional career. Returning to her amateur MMA days, she’s gone 6-0. Last time out, she scored the CFFC Women’s Flyweight Championship with a third-round knockout due to punches against Sara Cova (5-4 MMA, 0-1 CFFC) on Nov. 3 in a reworked CFFC 127 main event.
Initially, Kline was scheduled to fight Jazmin Navarrete (6-0 MMA, 0-0 CFFC) in the Nov. 3 fight for the strawweight title, yet the latter withdrew from the card in the final days ahead of fight night. Kline remained on the card and turned her focus to supremacy in the 125-lb. division for a fight against Cova.
Before the reworked fight, Kline discussed how sports runs in her family with CFFC.tv.
“It is a little crazy when you’re a kid and you’re like, ‘I want to grow up to be a fighter'”, Kline began. “It’s like, “OK, we’ll see where things go,’ but I stuck with it and my parents were definitely behind me all the way. My dad actually used to box. My mom has always been an athlete. She does CrossFit, so I come from a very athletic background, and they were 100 percent supportive of me, and my brothers and sisters, they helped me actually train in the gym, sometimes and everything, so I definitely am grateful to have the support system that I do.”
If all goes well, Fatima Kline may be off to the big leagues after the CFFC 129 main event. Being a double-champ in a regional organization like CFFC would be next to impossible for UFC President Dana White to ignore.
Andressa Romero Looking to Return to Win Column on Friday
In the other corner, Andressa Romero has posted a record of 3-2 in her last five fights. Most recently, she dropped a unanimous decision to Eva Dourthe (8-5 MMA) in June during Hexagone MMA 9.
Romero has had an up-and-down stretch lately, alternating wins and losses in her last four fights. She hasn’t had a sustained unbeaten streak since she emerged victorious from three of her first four professional fights, picking up her only career draw in her second bout versus Julie Mezabarba (11-5-1 MMA) back in October 2018.
Friday’s CFFC 129 main event is, by far, Romero’s most important contest of her MMA life. The stakes couldn’t be higher for her with a chance at securing a strawweight title in one of America’s top regional MMA organizations.
This is her first career championship fight. She needs to tune out the distractions and focus on the task at hand.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
Stylistically, the CFFC 129 main event looks to favor Fatima Kline, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, though Andressa Romero has a brilliant ground game in her own right.
Look for Kline to Land a Rear-Naked Choke
Kline has shown herself to be adept on the ground. Watch the video of her opening-round fight in Medusa 4 vs. Sofia Landi.
Upon a restart of the match, Kline was hungry to secure a submission, yet Landi’s defense proved tough. Around three minutes into the contest, Kline dumped Landi and exposed her neck, giving her enough torque to lock in a rear-naked choke in three and a half minutes.
If Fatima Kline can take Andressa Romero to the cage mat, it’s her world in the CFFC 129 main event.
Romero Can Use Ground and Pound to Her Advantage
In the other corner, if this fight goes to the ground, Andressa Romero has the skill set to try to bring momentum to her side of the ledger. Look no further than the opening round of her fight against Pamela Mara.
A minute and 20 seconds into the fight, Romero backed Mara up against the cage fence and took her down. From there, she immediately began piecing her up with ground and pound shots to soften her up for a possible submission.
While these punches didn’t result in Romero scoring a knockout (the referee stood Romero and Mara back up due to inactivity later in the period), her performance was enough to take the fight by decision after 15 minutes.
All that Romero needs to do is beat Fatima Kline to her game. If she can shoot for the takedown first, she’ll be the one to seize control of the fight.
Final Thoughts
A high-stakes fight is in the offing on Friday night during the CFFC 129 main event. If Kline wins, she could be on the fast track to the UFC.
If Romero wins, it’ll be a highlight on her career resume for certain. Don’t miss this contest.
Prediction: Fatima Kline by Second-Round Submission.
https://mmasucka.com/2024/02/09/cffc-129-co-main-event-breakdown/
