The 100th Cage Fury Fighting Championships event delivered a number of highlight-reel moments, including a controversial moment in the main event title fight.
A new lightweight champion was crowned as Blake Smith forced a tap from now-former champ Zulkarnaiyn Kamchybekov. Initially, the moment was met with controversy as there was a brief debate about whether or not a tapout occurred from the submission.
The milestone event, CFFC 100, took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa, Fla., and aired on UFC Fight Pass.
In what was a hard-fought battle, both fighters were putting it all on the line to make a statement to walk away with the lightweight title. Kamchybekov was getting the better of the challenger through the first two rounds, as his bigger frame and longer reach proved to be a tough problem for Smith to figure out early on.
Kamchybekov had success on the mat in the first round, putting a stamp on the opening frame by ending it with a few hard ground and pound strikes. His technique shined in the second round as well, as he landed cleaner strikes throughout. Everything changed quickly after the third round began.
Kamchybekov looked for a takedown early in the round, but the attempt was countered by a guillotine choke attempt from Smith as they fell to the ground. Smith had it locked in tight and squeezed until he forced a quick tap that Kamchybekov tried to argue against immediately after the referee stopped the action. The replay clearly showed a tap from the submission.
During his post-fight interview, Smith issued a message to UFC president Dana White.
We'll pass the message along, champ #AndNew
🎙️ @CMPunk | 👑 Blake Smith | @CFFCMMA
[ #CFFC100 💯 | Replay Available | on UFC FIGHT PASS ] pic.twitter.com/wl3xsaQZZs
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 17, 2021
“Uncle Dana, if you’re impressed, give me a shot, I’ll take care of the rest,” Smith said. “If not, I’ll come back and defend, do what I need to do, Contender Series, let me know. I don’t walk around big Dana, if you get one of those 155 pounders drop out at the last minute, ring my line, baby. I’m gonna answer.”
The services of the judges were not needed at CFFC 100 on Thursday night, as the entire six-fight main card resulted in finishes.
Complete results of CFFC 100 include:
- Blake Smith def. Zulkarnaiyn Kamchybekov via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 0:49
- Jason Eastman def. Andrew Richardson via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 3:17
- Paris Artis def. Feraris Golden via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:15
- Michael Dufort def. Troy Gerhart via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1
- Charlie Radtke def. Brandon Lopez via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 3:31
- Brandon Murphy def. David Romano via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:56
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