Phil Caracappa hopes 'performance of a lifetime' at CFFC 88 will lead to his ultimate goal

Phil Caracappa had hoped to fight for the CFFC bantamweight title, but timing prevented him from competing for the belt in September. Instead, he'll headline Wednesday's CFFC 88 event in a non-title affair.

"The Hitman" said it would have been nice to potentially add another belt to his trophy case, but his ultimate goal remains unchanged either way.

"It would have been nice to get another belt, but I have bigger plans," Caracappa said. "I talked to my manager Ali Abdelaziz, and we're going to try to get a short-notice UFC fight after this, or we're looking at 'The Ultimate Fighter,' too. So I'm excited."

Caracappa is certainly thinking big, but it's not without reason. He had a glimpse of life on the big stage in an August 2019 appearance on Dana White's Contender Series, where he suffered a split-decision loss to Ricky Steele. It stands as the only professional loss of Caracappa's career.

"It was definitely a tough one to deal with because I was so close to getting to my lifetime goal of getting to the UFC, and it was all taken away," Caracappa said. "I had a terrible performance from my end from what I thought, and it just hurt a lot. But at the end of the day, I'm a winner."

Caracappa looked to rebound quickly from the disappointing result but had his problems compounded after suffering a torn MCL and a fractured fibula. Thankfully, the Dante Rivera BJJ product was able to avoid surgery and fully recovered from the injuries through intensive physical therapy.

At August's CFFC 82, Caracappa returned to the cage for the first time in a year, picking up a decision win over Terry Bartholomew. Caracappa admitted it was an important result.

"I was coming off my first serious injury, and it was my first loss as a professional, so it was a lot for me to get back in there," Caracappa said. "I felt like I had a lot of pressure on me and my back was against the wall, but I realized that's when I do my best, and it just showed. I came out there and put on a really good performance. It was exciting to get back in there and shake off a year of being inactive."

Carcappa (9-1) returns to action again at Wednesday's CFFC 88 event, where he faces promotional newcomer Tycen Lynn (7-4) in the night's headlining bout at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The card streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

"I had no idea who he was," Caracappa admitted. "Basically Dante, my head coach, sent me his name and said, 'This is who they want you to fight.' I just said, 'I'm good. I'm ready to go.'

"I did look him up after. He seems like a pretty tough kid. He's fought three guys in the UFC, so he's definitely battle-tested, and he's going to fight another guy that's soon to be in the UFC, and that's me, so I'm ready to take on that challenge. I'm excited."

Caracappa hopes a CFFC 88 win will earn him a call to the UFC or a spot on "The Ultimate Fighter," which is set to begin filming this month following a two-year hiatus. The 28-year-old insists he's not looking past the challenge Lynn will present, but his goals ultimately are a little higher up the ladder.

"My last fight, I was very patient, and I fought smart," Caracappa said. "I didn't take a lot of risks. I took a year off, and I just knew I needed to get that win back to get my mind right. Now that I have it, I'm ready to go out there and just let everything hang out and just let my hands go and show what I've been really working on.

"I'm going to go in there, get a win, put on the performance of a lifetime, and then hopefully get a big step up from there."

CFFC 88 kicks off a two-night run for the promotion at 2300 Arena. Both cards stream live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

CFFC 88 OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD

Tycen Lynn (7-4) vs. Phil Caracappa (9-1)
Bantamweight Main Event

Josh Jackson (4-2) vs. Nazim Sadykhov (3-1)
Claudia Baril (1-0) vs. Criszaida Adames (2-0)
Miguel Diaz (2-1) vs. Dilshod Zaripov (2-0)
Chris Vasil (3-1) vs. Fadi Shuman (3-1)

Russ Korbul (5-2) vs. Manny Morales (3-2)
Brett Floyd (4-2) vs. Shawn Stefanelli (4-3)

CFFC 89 OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD

Bassil Hafez (5-2-1) vs. Christien Savoie (8-0)
Vacant CFFC Welterweight Title Fight

Sitik Muduev (8-2) vs. Frankie Buenafuente (10-4)
Joshua Smith (8-5) vs. Charalampos Grigoriou (3-1)
Mike Gonzalez (3-2) vs. Vilson Ndregjoni (2-1)
Jonathan Piersma (DEBUT) vs. Tyler Bunting (DEBUT)
Jerome Macalino (1-0) vs. Tommy Majeski (1-0)