CFFC champ Vilson Ndregjoni maintains clear ambition: 'My dream is to become a UFC fighter'
Former Albanian national team wrestler looking to claim spot on MMA's highest stage with continued big wins.
CFFC bantamweight champion Vilson Ndregjoni didn't always know that MMA would be his path to combat sports glory. "The Strong Eagle" initially rose to the highest level of wrestling in his home nation of Albania, eventually representing his country in elite competitions, but it was during one such meet that his life began to take a different course
"I came here for the first time to the United States for the World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas in 2015," Ndregjoni explained. "I competed for Albania. Me and another guy, we were the only two from our country that had a chance to compete in the World Championships. So I came the first time, and after that, I really liked the United States because I had almost half of my family here."
Ndregjoni began traveling back and forth between Albania and the United States as time allowed. During one such trip, a casual game of soccer ended up proving a life-changing moment.
"I hurt my Achilles tendon, and I had to do surgery," Ndregjoni recalled. "Because of that, I chose to stay here to do the surgery."
The road back to full health was a challenging one, and Ndregjoni realized returning to his previous level in wrestling would be even tougher.
"After I did the recovery for my leg and everything, I stopped wrestling because it was very difficult to return after two years out," Ndregjoni said. "So I chose to change from wrestling to MMA because I loved MMA, but in my country, we didn't really have MMA – only wrestling, weightlifting and soccer. MMA didn't have much support, so I was one of the first guys from Albania, born in Albania, that wanted to start to fight."
Ndregjoni made his professional debut in 2019, winning four of his first five contests in the featherweight division. But a frustrating 1-2 stretch in 2022 gave him pause, forcing him to consider the best strategy for his career moving forward. Eventually, he landed on a move down to the bantamweight division, a change that has provided instant dividends.
"It was not easy, but I walk around at like 155 or 158 pounds, so I was fighting very big guys," Ndregjoni said. "I'm 5-foot-7, so I think it was a good decision for me. I was fighting very good at 145. All my losses at 145 were just because of my mistakes, not because the guys were bigger than me or better than me or something. But you know, we thought that to move on, to get further and have a big career, it was a great choice to go 135.I think that's very good for us and for my team and for everybody."
Standing at 3-1 in CFFC, Ndregjoni was given a shot at the promotion's vacant bantamweight title in April, and the 31-year-old Albanian delivered with a third-round TKO of Dana White's Contender Series veteran Ashiek Ajim to claim the belt.
"I was feeling good," Ndregjoni said. "We thought we were going to do much better, but we finished it perfectly. We always want to finish the fights, and everything was great, you know? Our team is great, and we're fighting for Cage Fury, so everything is great."
Ndregjoni (7-3) now seeks the first defense of his title when he returns to action in the main event of CFFC 120, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on Friday, June 16. "The Strong Eagle" takes on Brazilian challenger Wendel Araujo (7-3), who makes his promotional debut.
"Every guy they bring me to fight, I never say no," Ndregjoni said. "I want to be on top of the world, so I fight anybody, anytime. I just need to make sure that I don't have an injury, and that I have six weeks or eight weeks to train to be ready.
"We watched this guy we are fighting, and he's a good fighter. He is from Brazil. I'm from Albania, so we are from different countries, but we both came here to follow our dreams, so we are kind of the same. I respect all the guys I fight. I respect him, but I also think I'm better than him – from the experience I have, from my wrestling, from everything. I think I'm better than him, so hopefully we're going to remind everybody who is the champion. On June 16, I remind everybody."
A victory would prove another statement in Ndregjoni's journey, which he believes will ultimately lead him to the UFC. While just 10 fights into his professional MMA career, Ndregjoni has more than 20 years of combat sports experience, and he's ready to reach the pinnacle.
"The first day I started to train MMA, my dream was to become a UFC fighter," Ndregjoni said. "I never dreamed about being a champion of New Jersey. I never dreamed about being a champion of New York. I want to be champion of the world because I know my level, and I know my time is going to come.
"This fight, I'm going to make sure Dana White, the matchmakers of the UFC, and everybody around knows my goal. I can fight anybody in the world. I've been training with the best guys in the world, the champions from my weight class, other guys at 145, 155. I know my level, and my moment is going to come, for sure."
