Lightweight champ Cedric Gunnison looking for 'Fight of the Year' against Robert Watley at CFFC 122
Seeking the first defense of his lightweight title, 'The Gunman' hoping to put on a show in Tampa.
Cedric Gunnison is relishing the opportunity to defend his CFFC lightweight title for the first time, but he's also hoping his opponent is able to provide him the absolute toughest opposition possible. Some fighters might prefer to simply dominate their foes, but "The Gunman" is a little different. He wants challenger Robert Watley to push him to the absolute limit.
"I need somebody to get out there and get in front of me and kind of give me that performance that the bigger stages are going to see or that they're at least going to hear of, and then when they go back and watch it, then they'll be like, 'Oh, wow, who is this kid? Let's maybe give him a call,'" Gunnison said.
The 28-year-old Gunnison fought two of his first three professional contests under the CFFC banner. After scoring an impressive submission win over Nick Olson in 2020, he would suffer the first setback of his pro run in a 2021 decision loss to Charlie Campbell.
That prompted a three-fight run away from CFFC, where Gunnison picked up three consecutive victories to earn his way back to the organization. He returned in March, grinding his way to a split-decision win over former champion Zulkarnaiyn Kamchybekov to claim the title that was vacated when then-champ Blake Smith signed with Bellator MMA.
Gunnison was pushed in that CFFC 117 clash, needing all five rounds to claim the result over a durable Kamchybekov.
"Looking back and being able to watch the fight, I think I looked pretty good out there," Gunnison said. "'Big Zulk' was really tough. I did want a finish, but he was a tough guy. We went at it. I think he wanted the finish, as well, and we were both going for it, so I was proud of my performance, and once I got to watch it back, I was definitely, definitely excited to see what I did out there."
Still, Gunnison remains his own toughest critic. While he was pleased with his performance, he also knew he could do better.
"It was good at this early stage in my career to be able to go 25 minutes, to show myself that I can do that, especially at the high pace that we were fighting," Gunnison said. "We were going at a high, high intensity for a nice, long time, so I think it was a great performance, but I know I can keep pushing even further.
"We did push very hard, but I wanted the finish, so I feel like I needed to push just a little bit more this time, building a little bit more power, being able to dig a little bit deeper whenever we do get pushed very, very far, like in that fourth or fifth round, so I prepared for that this time, and I can't wait to show it."
Gunnison (6-1) will get to show off his improvements in the main event of Thursday's CFFC 122 event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, when he takes on the more experienced Robert "Contact" Watley (12-3).
It's a challenge Gunnison welcomes.
"First of all, I love the record: 12-3," Gunnison said. "That looks really, really good on my resume if I can finish him or beat him. Secondly, I love his movement. I think we're going to put on a really good performance. We both love to move. We both like to strike, so I think it's going to be a really, really interesting fight, and it's going to be fun to see kind of where he pushes me as well, just like 'Zulk' did.
"I'm expecting him to come out there and really, really push me to my limit, so I'm looking forward to this one."
With a four-fight win streak already under his belt, a fifth consecutive victory could bring along some high-profile invitations. The only man to beat him already took a turn on Dana White's Contender Series, so perhaps Gunnison might receive a similar offer as the series starts back up next month.
Gunnison knows each step forward he takes right now is valuable but isn't concerning himself too much beyond Thursday's result.
“I'm kind of getting to the point where I'm getting tired of worrying about stuff like that," Gunnison said. "Now I'm just going to keep my head down and keep grinding away and eventually, eventually they won't be able to pass up on me if I keep beating these guys and I keep putting on the performances that I've been able to put on.
"This will be my fourth main event, fourth title fight, so I think if I just keep doing what I'm doing, there's no way they'll be able to pass up on me eventually."
In the meantime, Virginia's Gunnison insists he's simply going to keep putting in the work necessary for him to meet his dreams.
"First, I just want to shout out my sponsors," Gunnison said. "Billiken's Smokehouse, they've been really, really awesome to me. One other thing is I've always heard all these guys talking about how they're this, they're that, they're better than everybody else. I'm not that type of fighter, man. I'm just another guy who's poured his heart and soul into this game, and I'm going to continue to do so until people start to recognize.
"Tampa is going to be fun, man. I think the crowd is going to bring it. It should be a really loud crowd, and they're probably going to love the way that I fight, the way that Watley fights, so I think we should hopefully get 'Fight of the Year' if he can bring it as much as I know I will."
