CFFC 120 marks special moment for C.J. LaFragola, who 'always dreamed' of being a professional athlete

With a heavy heart and a busy schedule, the New Jersey native is excited to make the walk in Atlantic City

With C.J. LaFragola's perfect 5-0 record as an amateur, he is now ready to jump to the next level and compete in his pro debut at CFFC 120 on Friday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

This a big fight for LaFragola, and this next step in his career has been something he has been dreaming of for quite some time.

"I'm super excited, and this is something I've been waiting for a while now," LaFragola said. "Not even just MMA, but as a kid growing up, I always dreamed of being a pro athlete, and now I'm able to make that walk, and I'm doing it with MMA."

LaFragola has dealt with the unthinkable leading up to his pro debut. Sherry Schmidt, a fellow young South Jersey MMA fighter, sadly passed away on June 5. Schmidt was a friend and training partner to LaFragola.

"It's been a rough week," LaFrogola said. "I'm trying to keep my head straight with the passing of my good friend Sherry, but when I'm fighting, I know she will be there watching from heaven. I'm going to be fighting for her."

Even with everything going on, LaFragola feels he is finally ready after two-and-a-half years of full-time MMA training to compete on the professional stage on Friday.

"I think I did enough on the amateur level to get comfortable," LaFragola said. "In that last fight, I had opened up more and mixed up things than I did in my previous fight, so I showed myself I'm prepared to make that step to the next level – and part of me, with everything going on, I put things in perspective."

LaFragola is not just an MMA fighter, he is also an assistant wrestling coach at Drexel University. Handling the two has a lot of moving parts, but he loves it.

"I have a whole room of elite Division I wrestlers I can roll around with pretty much
whenever I need them," LaFragalo said. "They're all MMA fans, so it makes them excited. When they're excited, I get excited, and I like that we feed off each other's energy. It's super rewarding when you see your kids win, and then they can cheer you on and see you get your hammers. You motivate each other."

LaFragola, growing up only 40 minutes from Atlantic City in Little Egg Harbor is looking forward to competing right at home. Many supporters are going to show up for his fight and cheer him on.

"It's surreal that my first professional fight is going to be in Atlantic City," LaFragola said. "I grew up in South Jersey. I run every day and can see Atlantic City across the bay.

"It's important for me to be on home turf. I always say 'home bed advantage.' I'm going to go home and sleep in my bed the night before, and you can't beat that. I look forward to competing at home and having my people with me and having all that support from my friends and family and coaches."

LaFragala is locked in for the task at hand and is hungry for his first professional win on Friday night. The matchup streams live on OnlyFans prior to the evening's main card, which airs live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

"It all starts with getting my hand raised Friday night," LaFragola said. That's my No. 1
goal. I've been visualizing making that walk in AC. Pull off the Band-Aid. Let's go!"

ARTICLE BY: SARA BAYAIT