CFFC champ Bassil Hafez joins new team, says title win just the start

For some, winning a CFFC title might serve as proof of where one stands in the sport of MMA. But for Bassil Hafez, it was only a marker along the path of where he intends to be.

"To me, it was another step forward in improving and showing what I can do as a fighter in the cage," Hafez said.

Hafez claimed CFFC's welterweight crown in November, scoring an impressive first-round submission over a previously unbeaten Christien Savoie to win the vacant title. Hafez's impressive grappling skills were on full display, as he chained together transition after transition until he finally earned a tap with just 45 seconds left in the opening frame.

"In my head, I was thinking, 'Damn, this round's over,'" Hafez said. "I didn't think I was going to land the upkick and he was going to come into my guard, but I took the opportunity when I saw it."

It was a big moment in Hafez's career, and one of which he's quite proud. But rather than rest on his laurels, Hafez took time to reflect and determine the best path to improving as a fighter. That led him to linking up with Denver's famed Factory X, under the tutelage of Marc Montoya.

"I had to figure out things in my camp, in my training," Hafez said. "I ended up switching things up and going to Denver thanks to Iridium, my management group. They connected me to coach Marc Montoya, and I'm really happy where I'm at right now.

"I'm very grateful for everything at Balance with Andy Russell and Ricardo Migliarese. I'll always be a Balance black belt, a Ricardo Migliarese black belt, but I'm excited to see what I can do and advance as an MMA fighter overall, fight IQ, and just overall as a fighter. I'm learning so many things at Factory X and increasing my game in so many different ways."

Hafez (6-2-1) will get a chance to show his improvement on Thursday, April 1, when puts his title on the line for the first time. Top-rated Texan Evan Cutts (11-4) steps in as a challenger at Philadelphia's 2300 Arena, and the two headline CFFC 94, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS as part of CFFC's latest two-night event series.

Hafez said he's excited for the challenge presented by Cutts, who has already faced a handful of UFC veterans in his career thus far.

"Evan Cutts is a tough guy, and I know what he's going to bring, and I'm excited for it because I know what I'm going to bring is better, and I'm going to hopefully get a finish for this fight," Hafez said. "He hasn't been finished, but the last guy I fought hadn't been beaten, so my goal is to get a finish and beat a guy who's beaten guys who are in the UFC right now. Evan's a tough guy, and I'm excited to hopefully finish him."

If he can accomplish that goal, Hafez believes the sport's biggest organizations will have to take notice. Already a proven submission threat, Hafez said his overall game is only getting better by the day, and he's anxious to prove he belongs at the sport's top level.

"There's a lot of great fighters in the UFC, or Bellator, or ONE FC, but I know that I have what it takes to be able to beat up a lot of these top guys and hang in there with a lot of the top guys in the world, so I'm excited to continue growing as a fighter," Hafez said. "I feel like I'm getting better with every single fight, but if I get the call after this fight, if it happens two fights from now, I'm ready whenever I get the call – hopefully after I go out there and show that I am a tough fighter and I have what it takes and I get a finish of Evan and a title defense. Maybe that means that I have what it takes and they will want to sign me."

But Hafez insists he doesn't want to put too much energy into anything he can't control. Future contract opportunities will sort themselves out if he delivers in the cage.

At CFFC 94, he plans on doing just that.

"Everyone looks good on film, but once I put my hands on him and he puts his hands on me, we'll see who has the strength and who has the power," Hafez said. "I'm going to go in there and treat this motherf-cker like he's trying to kill me and take food off my plate, so I'm going in there to do the same to him."