Lightweight champ Robert Watley 'appreciative of the opportunity' ahead of CFFC 133 unification bout
"Contact" says supporting family is his chief drive as he heads to Morquez Forest's hometown of Tampa.
Reigning CFFC lightweight champion Robert Watley is driven by his support system. Now 10 years into his professional career, the 34-year-old "Contact" has been competing in MMA for one main reason: to provide a better life for his family.
"I guess I have a lot of different motivations, but if I had to say what the main driver is now continuing to get into this cage, it's definitely providing the opportunity to provide a better life for them somewhere down the line," Watley said. "I would say that's probably the main driving factor for me continuing to fight at this age."
Watley's current UFC run came following a four-year layoff from competition, where he nearly walked away from the sport. It was his family that actually encouraged him to give it another go after battling through several personal issues, and that effort was rewarded with a CFFC lightweight title win over then-champ Cedric Gunnison one year ago. Watley then defended that title in December with a submission victory over Armando Gjetja.
Throughout that run, Watley has been balancing several different roles in his life, including those of husband and father along with that of fighter. With his family by his side, Watley said he is grateful for having his loved ones with him on the journey.
"We have three little ones – a 5-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a 9-month-old," Watley said. "So trying to find a way to make fighting work with children has been very, very interesting.
"I'm just learning to juggle the dad hat, the husband hat, and the fighting hat, it's been an interesting ride and I'm really appreciative of the opportunity."
Watley (14-3 MMA, 4-0 CFFC) will attempt to unify the CFFC lightweight championship on Friday, July 26 against current interim titleholder Morquez "Black Clover" Forest (5-0 MMA, 5-0 CFFC) in the main event of CFFC 133, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Tampa's Florida State Fairgrounds.
The undefeated Forest claimed that interim belt in April while Watley weighed additional opportunities, and now the two collide with each looking to secure an invitation to one of the sport's top international promotions. While Watley holds a significant edge in experience, including a previous three-fight run with the PFL, he insists he's not looking past Forest whatsoever.
"I think he's probably one of the most explosive people I've ever faced," Watley said of his opponent. "Probably one of the most athletic. From an athletic standpoint, I think he and I are pretty evenly matched.
"He's a very explosive guy, very fluid. He does a great job of flowing as he fights. You see a lot of people, they look a little blocky or you can tell when they're transitioning between the arts – grappling and striking and vice versa – and he seems to be pretty well versed and does a great job of mixing the arts."
It's an intriguing headlining matchup. The grizzled veteran Watley seeking his way back to the big show, while the undefeated Forest is the flashy newcomer with all the hype. As they each chase similar dreams, Watley said he has no ill will towards his opponent and simply wants to grow every time he enters the cage.
"I think if I could allow him or help him grow in his journey, or if he could help me by giving me another loss so that I could grow on my journey, honestly, that's all that would matter to me," Watley said. "Because this is just really, truly about growing and bettering ourselves, and he signed on the dots so that I could help pay my family's bills, so no ill will towards the guy. I just want to keep growing and lifting each other up."
Still, Watley openly acknowledges that time isn't necessarily on his side when it comes to his ultimate career goal, and that's why he wants to face the toughest challenges possible. If Forest is the one seemingly bound for the next level, bring it. If he has to travel to Forest's hometown to do the job, even better.
Watley has his why. Now it's about going out and simply doing what needs to be done.
"If you look at my career, actually, I've been going to other people's hometowns and fighting in their backyards for most of my career," Watley said. "Pretty much my whole LFA career, every title defense that I had was in my opponent's backyard, so this isn't anything new."
