Morquez Forest sees CFFC 131 matchup playing out in shades of Shane Burgos vs. Billy Quarantillo
Forest takes on fellow finisher Robert Varricchio for interim lightweight belt at Friday's event on UFC FIGHT PASS.
While Friday's CFFC 131 is perhaps the most stacked lineup the promotion has ever assembled, the night's main event is a contest that seems primed to claim "Fight of the Night" status.
Undefeated lightweights Morquez Forest (4-0) and Robert Varricchio (5-0) clash with an interim title at stake, and it's a matchup not expected to need judges to decide a winner.
"He's very skillful," Forest said of his opponent. "I can honestly say he's good. I think that this is the type of fight that I need to ensure that I am ready for that next level.
"I have this thing about me where I can't turn down a fight, so getting this type of fight, it just gets me so excited. Like, I just want to see how things go. His teammate Shane Burgos fought Billy Quarantillo, and I don't know if you remember that fight, but that was a banger, you know? I expect for us to perform something similar to that with this fight."
Burgos vs. Quarantillo was a thrilling UFC 268 clash that was contested immediately following Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler, with the Madison Square Garden crowd seemingly still recovering from that legendary "Fight of the Night," and leaving the thrilling matchup with perhaps a bit less appreciation than it truly deserved.
Florida's Forest has been cross-training with Quarantillo in recent months and is inspired to put on a similar show on Friday's card, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
"Black Clover" says he put in extra work with high-level partners as he prepared for the opportunity.
"The adjustment really has been training with more of the vets that have done it, such as getting knowledge from Mike Davis, grappling with Mike Davis, getting extra knowledge from Phil Rowe, sparring with Billy Q," Forest said. "Just picking their brains and just seeing the little things that I wasn't seeing before. All this time I've been fighting, and I just recently started going back and seeing the things that these guys have taught me, like, 'Oh, wow. I didn't even notice that,' you know?
"Even one of the guys that I fought as an amateur for CFFC, Theoren Thorn, I train with him heavily now at Kaizen MMA. Coach Vince McGuinness, you know, he allows me to come there, and them guys are always just very knowledgeable. It's just teaching me things – just the little things that you miss when you're in the cage that you should be able to see and I've been missing it, so I'm going to be a different person in the cage this time around."
Incredibly, Forest has been competing as a professional for slightly less than a full year, with the former CFFC NextGen champ making his pro debut on April 20, 2023. Now he's 4-0 and battling for a professional title, a rapid evolution that even Forest admits he didn't necessarily see coming.
"I did not expect to progress this fast, but I knew it was going to come," Forest said. "I had held that amateur title, and people don't like to compare the two, but I still think somewhat you have to compare the amateur level to the pro because you build from that, and I'll continue to take that with me. I took those tough fights to become ready for the pro level."
Forest has certainly proven himself worthy of a professional career, and with a win on Friday, he just might earn himself a look from the sport's top promotions. CFFC champions don't often get many opportunities to defend their titles because athletes are generally quick to get signed to the sport's biggest shows, and Forest said he's well aware of what a victory could mean for his career.
"I'm just taking it day by day," Forest said. "I've already put in my mind that I want to be on Dana White's Contender Series this year. That's already something that's been stuck in my mind. I need to win this fight, I've got to take every fight as they come, dominate, and that's where I want to be at and hopefully get that call."
Stacked cards can often make it difficult for individual fighters to get their due shine. Consider the following night's UFC 300 event and how many talking points will certainly arise from that unbelievably stellar card.
Friday's lineup is one of the absolute best events from top to bottom in CFFC history, but Forest vs. Varricchio has all the potential needed to deliver in the headlining role.
"This is very special to me," Forest said. "It's a special moment because of the person I'm going against. His skillset is very, very, on par to that next level that I want – that I'm chasing – so I think that when I win it, it's just going to highlight how good I am as a fighter and that I deserve to be in the spotlight."
