Jason Eastman not buying Phumi Nkuta hype ahead of CFFC 104: 'He's just a standard wrestler'

Jason Eastman believes Phumi Nkuta is a good fighter, but if he's being honest, "Sunshine" doesn't think the CFFC flyweight champion is anything too special.

"I didn't even know who he was when I knew that I wanted to fight for the title," Eastman said. "I hadn't looked him up or anything prior to that. I have now, obviously, and yeah, he's pretty much just a standard wrestler. I don't see much that he has that's going to pose a problem to me. I mean, he's going to be like every other MMA fighter in the world as far as he's tough and whatever.

"He comes from a great gym. He's got good training partners, as well. Everything he does, I just feel like I have the upgraded version of, you know?"

Eastman, who trains at American Top Team, made his promotional debut in September, scoring an impressive submission win over a previously undefeated Andrew Richardson, who had been briefly linked to a title shot of his own. Once Eastman scored the win, he went straight to CFFC officials to see if he could be given the same courtesy.

"As soon as I beat Andrew, it was part of my plan," Eastman said. "Like, 'Hey, this guy was supposed to fight for the title. I just smashed him, so it only makes sense to put me in there for the title now.'

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease, I always say, so immediately I went back there, and I know they were impressed with my performance, and I was just like, 'Hey, man, I want to fight for the title,' and they were like, 'After that, no problem. Let's line it up.'"

Eastman (7-3) now challenges for the flyweight belt against the undefeated Nkuta (4-0) in the co-main event of Friday's CFFC 104, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in New Jersey. Many have Nkuta pegged as UFC-ready, but Eastman believes his own skills will match up just fine.

"I feel like I'm a better striker," Eastman said. "I feel like I can defend his wrestling, and if the fight does hit the ground, I've got a lot of tricks right there for him, you know? But I believe we'll be able to end the fight. I'll be able to end the fight, I think anywhere in this fight, and I'm just excited, man, to show my hard work, you know – put it out there for everybody, man, and paint a masterpiece."

If he's able to deliver on his promise, it will certainly be an impressive accomplishment. After all, Nkuta has been nearly untouchable in his CFFC run, but Eastman doesn't necessarily view that as a positive for "Turbo."

"I'm going to bring a lot of pressure to this fight," Eastman said. "I don't think he'll be used to that. You know, I don't think he'll be used to getting hit. He prides himself on, 'Oh, I've never been hit, never been taken down.' Well, that's bad. That's bad. Like, how are you going to react if you don't know since you've never been hit?

"We're going to find out. We're going to find out how he reacts."

While Eastman does have three losses in his professional career, they all came via decision, and two were of the split variety, so a couple of points on scorecards could have given his record a much different look. But the 29-year-old Eastman doesn't worry about any of that. He's all in right now, and he knows the opportunity that's in front of him. If he can deliver, he knows he can take some of Nkuta's shine.

"I'm going to hit him," Eastman said. "I'm going to touch him, and we'll see, but I'll be breaking him. I'll be breaking him in this fight, and I'll be getting the finish, and I think I can do that in pretty much any area that the fight hits.

"I think it will be an exciting, fun fight for sure."