Armando Gjetja has lofty goals at CFFC 128: 'I'm just trying to knock hard at the door of bigger promotions'

Gjetja credits LAW MMA for six-fight winning streak and hopes CFFC title gets him UFC call.

Armando Gjetja was hoping UFC matchmakers would give him a call after winning the Ring of Combat lightweight title in May. When they didn't, Gjetja decided to defend the belt in September, hoping that might earn the attention of big-show brass. 

That didn't pan out either. 

Undeterred, Gjetja remains committed to his dream, and he's hoping a move to CFFC will do the trick. He'll get the chance to make an immediate impression when he challenges for the promotion's lightweight title in the main event of CFFC 128, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Friday, December 15.

"I've got to be honest: I've always looked forward to join (CFFC), and I knew I was going to join one day," Gjetja said. "Knowing that my results and my record has allowed me to get a title shot, it's great."

The Albania-born prospect didn't have a great start to his MMA career, standing at just 2-3 after his first five professional contests. But after moving to New York's famed Longo and Weidman MMA, Gjetja has since rattled off six consecutive victories.

Gjetja credits the team as a whole and the guidance of Ray Longo as the chief reasons for the impressive turnaround.

"I was lacking some sort of mentorship," Gjetja said. "Not completely, because I was surrounded by coaches and everything, but sometimes it's not even because somebody is not knowledgeable enough. It's just you tend to match and to learn faster from someone than somebody else, and the most important thing was, I don't know, I will say a chemistry. I found that in Ray Longo. 

"I found that mentorship in Ray Longo and at LAW MMA, and another key fact was the fact that I'm surrounded by at least six or seven pro MMA lightweight MMA fighters, so there's not one easy round. You know how they say: You have to surround yourself with people you aspire to become like."

At CFFC 128, Gjetja (8-3) gets an opportunity to display his evolution on the biggest stage he's reached thus far in his career, taking on reigning lightweight champ Robert Watley (13-3). The two have been respectful of each other leading into the matchup, but Gjetja cautions it won't remain that way once the cage door closes.

"Look, I've seen his pre- and post- interviews, too," Gjetja said. "He's just a nice soul. Like, all respect. All respect to him. He's in there for the same exact goal as me, and he's living the dream – and to me, it is, like even right now, regardless of the stage, I always like to remember everybody. It took a whole chapter of my life just to be able to step into this country, so I'm already living the dream.

"He represents to me just another challenge with myself. It's like I'm not fighting him, I'm fighting myself. I'm just trying to always reach the next level. When it comes to him as a person, well, you know, veteran. All respect to him. Strong. Solid. Good wrestling. To me, I know I might sound a little weird, but I actually like it because it's probably just the second fight that I finally get to have some tape on my opponent."

Armed with that tape, Gjetja steps into the CFFC cage for the first time, but he believes there will be a sense of familiarity anyway, with his past nine fights all taking place at smaller venues in Atlantic City.

"I take into consideration everything," Gjetja said. "I'm very meticulous when it comes to preparing all the other aspects of a fight, because I truly, truly believe that you have to align the stars and everything. You've got to come prepared, and I've always said that I'm not going to allow myself to blame an extra pound or the weather or the fact that it's not the same place and that this is a different time zone, it's a different country. All of that can be studied way ahead, but of course, in this case, fighting over and over and over in Atlantic City, it's comfortable. It's my house."

Should Gjetja prove victorious, he's hoping that a call from one of the sport's biggest promotions immediately follows – as it has for many former CFFC titleholders. If it doesn't, Gjetja wants it to be known he's not slowing his chase.

"I'm at this point in my career that I'm just trying to knock hard at the door of bigger promotions," Gjetja. "In the past couple of fights, it didn't work. I'm going to keep knocking on the doors harder."