Why did Gregg Ellis decide to move up a weight class to headline Friday's CFFC 138? Funny you should ask ...

"The Greatest" reveals he wasn't the first choice to face light heavyweight champ Luke Fernandez but wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

Former CFFC middleweight champion Gregg Ellis didn't want to sit on the sidelines for the past 15 months, but the struggle to keep a fight together over the time proved very real.

"Man, I've accepted at least four fights, all this year," Ellis explained. "Every last one of them fell through for me. We've been trying to get fights all year, but somehow, some way, every time we're scheduled, a guy would not show up, and we accidentally ran into this fight with Luke Fernandez."

Ellis made his CFFC debut in April 2023, claiming the organization's middleweight title with a decision win over then-champion Donovan Beard. Five months later, he looked to defend the belt against seven-time UFC veteran Kyle Daukuas.

Unfortunately for Ellis, he was on the losing side of that decision, and Daukaus took the title to commence his second reign as CFFC champion.

Ellis is the only fighter to take Daukaus to a judges' decision during his second run for CFFC, but "The Greatest" said he's not one to try and seek out moral victories.

"I didn't get the job done, period," Ellis said. "So win or lose, or 'I did OK,' or 'it's Kyle Daukaus out of the UFC' – point blank, I didn't get the job done on that night, even though, you know, I learned a lot. 

"Like they say, you lose, you learn, and I learned a lot about the next level. I noticed in the fourth round, he'd been there before, so he was able to dig, and that's where I fell short. That's where I learned that experience matters."

Ellis had hoped to utilize those newfound lessons to his advantage in his next outing, but that moment simply never materialized. Planned matchups fell by the wayside, and he was forced to remain patient – at least until he couldn't do it anymore.

When Ellis, who was initially planning on competing at Friday's CFFC 138 event against a different opponent, heard that CFFC officials were looking for someone to face undefeated light heavyweight champ Luke Fernandez, he seized the moment.

"My manager was sending me a screenshot that the guy we were supposed to fight fell out, and above his name, I see 'We're looking for opponents for these three guys,'" Ellis recalls with a laugh. "I'm like, 'Light heavyweight title? I've been out all year. Why not? Let's see if we can line that one up,' and we were able to, so that's how I even got this opportunity. 

"This is the guy that seems like everyone is scared to fight. I love the challenges, so I'm like, 'Why not?'"

Ellis (8-5 MMA, 1-1 CFFC) and Fernandez (3-0 MMA, 3-0 CFFC) now headline Friday's CFFC 138 event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. For Fernandez, the matchup marks the return from a year on the sidelines as he seeks the first defense of the title he won in December 2023.

For Ellis, the contest represents a chance not only to claim a CFFC title in a second weight class but also to challenge an opponent whose reputation is well-established. It's that opportunity that appeals to him the most.

"We're not in promotions where we're building our records, or we don't have connections to a friend of a friend that knows Dana White, so these opportunities are what we live for, to step up on a platform so people can actually get to see us," Ellis explained. "I think I have no easy fights. I don't take the fights if I think they're too easy. I'm trying to fight the best guys in the world, and my last three, four fights have been all title fights, main events, so I took this fight just because of the platform. This is my way of getting some type of views on me and getting to the UFC because like I said, nobody has handed me nothing."

So that's the story of the CFFC 138 headliner and how Ellis arrived at the decision to take on arguably the top prospect in the company right now, immediately after coming up short against a two-time champ. 

Is it a tough assignment? Absolutely, but Ellis wouldn't have it any other way.

"You see my name on the contract, you know it's going to be a fight for my opponent," Ellis said. "We're coming in there to do our best. That's one thing you can expect. Two, you can expect that I pray for you the whole camp, so God bless Mr. Fernandez and his family. He has a beautiful family. You know, I peek over there every now and then, so God bless them, but I'm ready to go to war, man. That's what it is." 

"At the end of the day, it's respect, but this is my livelihood, and I feel like I'm at an age and a time in my life where I can't afford another setback. We're ready for it."