CFFC 12: Official Results & Breakdown by Shawn Baran

CFFC 12 came and went and you can consider it an early Christmas present.  This show was fantastic from the start.  The match-ups were perfect.  The action was intense and fast paced.  The finishes were outstanding and the decisions were wars.  Greg Soto walked away as the new CFFC Welterweight Champion, yet another chapter was added to Chris Liguori’s career, and George Sullivan put on a wrestling/takedown clinic.

The main event saw UFC vet, Greg Soto get off to a slow start, but found his rhythm and was able to execute his game plan at will while following instruction from AMA’s Mike Constantino.  Chip Pollard was never able to really get into this fight, but gave it his best shot.  Soto was just a little too much for Pollard to handle.  Soto put on a ground and pound show and showed some great scrambling as well.

The end came in the second round where Soto had gained the mount and transitioned it into a triangle choke.  Chip Pollard had no choice, but to tap out.  The largely pro-Soto crowd rose to their feet to give their hometown fighter the standing ovation to congratulate him on his championship victory.  Soto looked sharp in the cage Saturday night and there is no doubt that CFFC has themselves a fighting Champion.

The co-main event wound up being a number 1 contender’s bout as Pellegrino MMA’s George Sullivan came out to make a statement.  Sullivan did just that with three rounds of wrestling and takedown after takedown.  While on the feet, George pressed the action and landed strikes and had Mike Winters backed up against the fence quite often.  Winters gave it his all, but Sullivan was a little too strong on this night.  Sullivan dominated the three rounds and got the unanimous decision victory.

Now with Soto winning the Welterweight Title and Sullivan winning his fight, this sets up a title fight between two training partners.  They know each other well and both agreed to the fight, verbally.  Both fighters know what is at stake and both agree that it is business, not personal.  Soto has the belt.  Sullivan wants the belt.  Now we all have to wait patiently for Arias Garcia and the CFFC to get this one signed, sealed , and delivered.

Chris “The Story” Liguori and Don Carlo-Clauss came to fight Saturday night.  They did just that and more than likely earned themselves fight of the night.  This was a back and forth brawl which has become quite the norm for Liguori.  Chris is never in a bad or a boring fight.  This fight went all three rounds and never had a dull moment.  Both fighters landed some heavy punches, but neither would go away.  The first round was a razor close one as Carlo-Clauss had top position for a while, but Liguori showed that you can score points from your back as he stayed incredibly busy and landed elbows and punches from his back.

Neither fighter seemed to be able to get an edge and just when you thought one of them was on the brink of being defeated, they fired right back.  Round two saw Carlo-Clauss land some great strikes, but Chris was countering every time Don threw a punch.  Round three really saw Liguori come alive and began landing combinations and some heavy handed strikes.  Carlo-Clauss kept coming though as this guy is as tough as they come.  Liguori ended up with the split-decision win, but a rematch may definitely need to be in order as this one could have easily gone the other way.

Mtume Goodrum found himself on the receiving end of a flying knee and another knee at the hands, well…knees of Paul Felder that knocked the fighter out.  Goodrum had to be taken to the hospital, but returned shortly after and appeared to be fine.  Ozzy Dugulubgov was also impressive with a submission finish over  Mario Martinez.  Two and a half minutes into the fight, Ozzy got the fight to the ground and locked in a tight rear naked choke that forced Martinez to tap.

Artur Rofi continued his winning ways with another great performance.  There were some words at the weigh-ins between Rofi and his opponent, Brian Kelleher that made this fight a bit more personal.  The bell rang and both fighters came out swinging.  The fight eventually spilled to the mat where Rofi’s BJJ took over and at the 4:57 mark, Rofi locked in a straight armbar that had Kelleher verbally tapping out.  Rofi is 4-0 now and should find himself with a title shot sooner than later.

CFFC returns in 2012 on February 4^th.  Superbowl weekend just became a lot more exciting.  CFFC is building themselves quite a reputation and quite the stable of fighters.  These guys are getting better and better with every show.  2011 has been a solid year for this organization and I am very excited to see what 2012 brings for Cage Fury Fighting Championships.  Check www.cffc.tv for more information on the upcoming cards.  With that, have a safe and happy Holiday season!!

Here are the offical results from the NJSACB:

EVENT-

CFFC 12
Professional MMA
December 10, 2011

Cage Fury Fighting Championships
Resorts Hotel and Casino's Superstar Theater, Atlantic City

BOUTS-

11
170
TITLE-five rounds of five minutes
Greg Soto vs. Chip Pollard
Soto 170.6. Pollard. 170.4
Ref Miragliotta
Judges Sanidad, Castro and Urso
Soto wins via triangle at 4:06 of round two.

10
170
3rds of 5min.
George Sullivan vs. Mike Winters
Sullivan 169.8 Winters 171
Ref Miragliotta
Judges Sanidad, Castro and Urso
Sullivan wins unanimous decision in three rounds, all three judges 30-27.

9
160
3rds of 5min.
Chris Liguori vs. Don Carlo-Clauss
Liguori 160.2 Clauss 160.8
Ref Miragliotta
Judges Sanidad, Castro and Urso
Liguori wins split decision in three rounds, 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29 Sanidad.

8
205
3rds of 5min.
Daniel Holmes vs. Chris Sydnor
Holmes 203.6. Sydnor. 202.4
Ref Carolei
Judges Krawiec, Sanidad and Castro
Holmes wins via guillotine at 0:19 of round two.

7
147 Catch
3rds of 5min.
Steve Perez vs. Dan Cion
Perez. 147. Cion 149.6
Cion fined $300 and payable to Perez
Ref Oliver
Judges Krawiec, Castro and Urso
Perez wins unanimous decision in three rounds, all three judges 30-27.

6
145
3rds of 5min.
Artur Rofi (117-650) vs. Brian Kelleher (100-336)
Rofi. 145.4 Kelleher 144.6
Ref Oliver
Judges Krawiec, Sanidad and Castro
Rofi wins via verbal tap due to armbar at 4:57 of round one.

5
185
3rds of 3min.
Michael Wilcox vs. Emmanuel Walo
Wilcox 184.8 Walo 184.4
Ref Carolei
Judges Krawiec, Sanidad and Urso
Wilcox wins unanimous decision in three rounds, all three judges 30-27.

4
170
3rds of 5min.
Ozzy Dugulubgov vs. Mario Martinez
Dugulubgov 170.8 Martinez 168.6
Ref Carolei
Judges Krawiec, Castro and Urso
Dugulubgov wins via rear naked choke at 2:32 of round one.

3
135
3rds of 5min.
Evan Chmielski vs. Julio Rosario
Both fighters weigh 135.2
Ref Oliver
Judges Krawiec, Sanidad and Castro
Chmielski wins unanimous decision in three rounds 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 Krawiec.

2
155
3rds of 5min.
Mtume Goodrum  vs. Paul Felder
Goodrum 155.8. Felder 156
Ref Miragliotta
Judges Sanidad, Castro and Urso
Felder wins via KO knee at 2:31 of round two.
Felder suspended 60 days for facial laceration healing.
Goodrum suspended indefinite pending CT head scan.
Goodrum suspended 90 days for KO.

1
190
3rds of 5min.
Rex Harris  vs. Ariel Sepulveda
Both fighters weigh 189.8
Ref Carolei
Judges Krawiec, Castro and Urso
Sepulveda wins via straight armbar at 3:15 of round one.
Harris suspended indefinite. pending xray of left elbow.