CFFC 133 preview: History on the line in champ vs. champ battle in Florida

Reigning lightweight champ Robert Watley, interim titleholder Morquez Forest headline Friday's event in Tampa.

Cage Fury Fighting Championships returns this Friday night to "The Sunshine State" for the ninth time in promotional history, but the evening's main event provides a first in company history closing the show at Tampa's Florida State Fairgrounds. 

The headlining bout of "CFFC 133: Watley vs. Forest" features the first ever CFFC title unification bout as reigning lightweight kingpin Robert Watley and current interim titleholder Morquez Forest clash to determine an undisputed champion. 

The bout tops a stacked lineup featuring some of Florida's top up-and-coming fighters, as well as athletes traveling in from Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and more, all set to move their career forward in a night sure to provide fireworks from start to finish.

Limited tickets remain available at CFFC.tv.

The CFFC 133 main card streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS, while prelims stream on OnlyFans. Veteran MMA broadcaster and journalist John Morgan will call the action alongside veteran sports commentator Geena Lucille, who makes her CFFC debut.

MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS, 9 p.m. ET)

• Champ Robert Watley vs. Interim champ Morquez Forest (lightweight title unification bout)

• Max Quinones vs. Gustavo Villamil

• Gabriel Morales vs. William Rentz

• Matt Allison vs. Bimysola Attobra

• Anthony Guarascio vs. Justin Harbison

• Blake Smith vs. Keith Speed

PRELIMINARY CARD (OnlyFans, 7 p.m. ET)

• Kaushik Saikumar vs. Joel Winters

• Ali Abouzalam vs. Joshua Sierra

• NextGen: Dylan Patlan vs. Adam Snyder

• NextGen: Ramon Betanzo vs. Greg Kalouris

• NextGen: Daemar Harleston vs. Reggie McFarlane

MAIN EVENT: ROBERT WATLEY VS. MORQUEZ FOREST

Reigning lightweight champion Robert Watley (14-3 MMA, 4-0 CFFC) is currently in the midst of a Cinderella return to MMA following nearly four years on the sidelines as he battled through personal demons and contemplated his future in the sport. 

Fighting professionally since 2014, "Contact" was invited to compete in the PFL's 2018 season, where he qualified for that season's playoffs before suffering a quarterfinal loss to Chris Wade that ended his $1 million dream. Watley would fight once more in 2019 before quietly receding into the shadows.

Buoyed by a supportive family who encouraged Watley to give his dream one more go, Watley returned to the cage in 2023 and immediately claimed the CFFC lightweight title with a decision win over then-champ Cedric Gunnison, then defended the title with a submission victory over Armando Gjetja. Watley hoped those two performances would be enough to score another big-show invite, though his patience has not yet been rewarded.

Meanwhile, Florida's Morquez Forest (5-0 MMA, 5-0 CFFC) has been absolutely tearing through the competition since turning pro just 15 months ago. Competing entirely under the CFFC banner, "Black Clover" has racked up four stoppage wins, with the lone decision in that stretch coming in an absolute war with a gritty Nick Caracappa.

Most recently, Forest scored a submission win over fellow blue-chip prospect Robert Varricchio, claiming an interim lightweight title in the process. After previously scoring CFFC's NextGen welterweight belt during his amateur run, Forest joined undefeated light heavyweight champ Luke Fernandez as the only two fighters ever to claim CFFC belts in the pro and amateur ranks.

Now Forest gets a chance to join Fernandez as undisputed champion as he takes on his most experienced opponent to date.

Both titleholders are hoping an impressive performance is enough to score a UFC invite, even though each is at an incredibly different time in their careers. 

Nearing his 35th birthday, Watley knows there is no time to waste and needs to make this opportunity count. Meanwhile, Forest has only competed in the professional ranks for a little more than a year, but he does have an undefeated eight-fight amateur run to lean on for experience, as well. One of these two athletes will etch their names into the CFFC history books with a win – and that could just be the start.

CO-MAIN EVENT: MAX QUINONES VS. GUSTAVO VILLAMIL

The night's co-main event features a key clash in CFFC's incredibly deep flyweight division, as Tampa's own Max Quinones (5-1 MMA, 5-1 CFFC) takes on Miami resident Gustavo Villamil (6-2 MMA, 0-0 CFFC).

Quinones is a familiar face to CFFC fans, competing under the promotion's banner for the entirety of his professional career. "The CandyMan" seemed to be on fast track to a title shot early on, racking up four wins – including three stoppages – in just a 12-month period. However, a disappointing decision loss to Israel Galvan this past September left Quinones one step short of living out that destiny.

The 29-year-old prospect has since bounced back with a March win over Jimi Natividad and said the loss only served to fuel his drive to becoming a global superstar.

Meanwhile, Villamil enters the CFFC cage for the first time, bringing a three-fight win streak into the matchup. Representing Puerto Rico, "Pretty Boy" is a standout grappler who will likely see Quinones' loss to Galvan as the perfect blueprint for victory over a proven commodity in his promotional debut.

With the CFFC flyweight title currently vacant and 23-year-old wunderkind Bilal Hasan waiting in the wings, Quinones vs. Villamil is expected to serve as a No. 1 contender matchup, meaning both Florida bragging rights and a future title shot likely hang in the balance.

GABRIEL MORALES VS. WILLIAM RENTZ

Lightweights Gabriel Morales (4-4 MMA, 0-0 CFFC) and William Rentz (3-2 MMA, 3-2 CFFC) may not have the most sparkling records on paper, but their positioning on the card in a featured slot is certainly no accident.

Venezuela's Morales developed under the Combat Global and LUX Fight League banners, making his way up the Latin American regional scene with a reputation for putting on exciting fights, win or lose, as illustrated by six of his eight professional fights ending in a knockout.

Meanwhile, "Iron Will" Rentz has also proven himself as a must-watch commodity, with four of his five professional bouts also ending due to strikes. However, after illness forced him to withdraw from a planned March appearance, Rentz believes the added time away from competition has given him ample time to improve overall as a fighter and enters CFFC 133 ready to make a serious statement in front of the Tampa crowd.

Expect fireworks.

MATT ALLISON VS. BIMYSOLA ATTOBRA

Two talented bantamweight prospects collide in a matchup that seems sure to entertain, when Matt Allison (2-1 MMA, 1-1 CFFC) takes on promotional newcomer Bimysola Attobra (2-2 MMA, 0-0 CFFC).

Marine Corps veteran Allison returns to the CFFC cage looking to avenge the first setback of his career after suffering a first-round loss in March to fellow top prospect Hunter Starner. Frustrated by the setback and with a desire to put on a show for his hometown crowd, "Matty Ice" has promised non-stop action.

Meanwhile, representing Nigeria, Attobra is just 26 years old and has big-show aspirations as he makes his CFFC debut. "Naija Boy" looks to build on a decision win in February, and his record is a bit deceiving, considering it includes a loss via split decision, as well as taking common opponent Starner the distance but coming up short on the cards.

Both Allison and Attobra have shown impressive potential and look to stand out from the pack with a CFFC victory.

ANTHONY GUARASCIO VS. JUSTIN HARBISON

The lone heavyweight contest of the night features undefeated promotional newcomers, with Anthony Guarascio (2-0) vs. Justin Harbison (1-0).

Tampa's own Guarascio has racked up a pair of first-round stoppage victories thus far in his professional run, the longest of which took just 78 seconds. That early success has fueled great excitement around "The Daywalker," who also boasts amateur boxing and kickboxing experience.

Meanwhile, Harbinson makes the journey in from Montana, hoping to build on the success of a first-round knockout in his professional debut this past October.

A former NAIA All-American wrestler at the University of Providence, Harbinson has seen multiple scheduled bouts fall apart at the last minute, but now that he's under the CFFC banner, "Bad Idea" hopes to prove his worth as a top prospect at 265 pounds.

BLAKE SMITH VS. KEITH SPEED

Former CFFC lightweight champion and Tampa's own Blake Smith (7-4 MMA, 2-1 CFFC) has something to prove in his return to the promotion following a one-fight stint under the Bellator MMA banner, and he'll look to send a message against Ohio's Keith Speed (5-7 MMA, 0-2 CFFC)

Smith claimed the CFFC title in 2021 in the promotion's Florida debut, scoring a third-round submission over then-champ Zulkarnaiyn Kamchybekov. After two more CFFC appearances, Smith was called up to Bellator for a featherweight bout with Cris Lencioni, but he missed weight for the contest and then suffered a submission loss to "Sunshine."

Complicating matters, a training injury then forced him to the sidelines, and Smith now returns to CFFC following 15 months away from the cage.

Meanwhile, Speed seeks his first win under the CFFC banner but has shown a willingness to take on absolutely anybody on the roster after suffering decision losses to top-tier prospects Anthony Dilemme and Mark Grey, each of whom was undefeated at the time of the fight.

In between those results, Speed picked up a Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA win over infamous MMA legend "Felony" Charles Bennett.

Smith believes his return to CFFC should be just a pit stop on his road back to one of the sport's biggest promotions, but he's facing a game opponent who isn't intimidated by anybody's track record.

KAUSHIK SAIKUMAR VS. JOEL WINTERS

The night's featured prelim sees a pair of intriguing bantamweight prospects collide, as India's Kaushik Saikumar (3-0) takes on Georgia native Joel Winters (2-1).

The 26-year-old Saikumar started his martial arts journey in kyokushin karate before adding taekwondo, boxing and muay Thai to his routine. After finishing college, "The Pride of Chennai" relocated to Virginia, where he trains under noted grappling ace and UFC veteran Ryan Hall and has impressed early in his professional MMA run.

Meanwhile, Winters made his amateur debut in 2019 and embarked on a very unremarkable 4-4-1 journey there. However, currently training with Georgia's highly respected ATT Team Lima, Winters has rebounded from a setback in his professional debut to score back-to-back victories and now has his biggest opportunity to date.

ALI ABOUZALAM VS. JOSHUA SIERRA

The night's first professional contest of the night sees two athletes making their professional debuts following amateur runs that included work across multiple combat sports disciplines, as Ali Abouzalam (Pro debut) takes on Joshua Sierra (Pro debut).

Abouzalam wrapped up his amateur MMA run with back-to-back knockouts. "The Lebanese Lion" also boasts experience in boxing, kickboxing, and muay Thai, as well.

Meanwhile, Sierra compiled a 100 percent finishing rate during his amateur MMA run and also earned wins while competing in kickboxing and submission grappling. 

DYLAN PATLAN VS. ADAM SNYDER

The final NextGen contest at CFFC 133 sees a returning Dylan Patlan (3-2) take on promotional newcomer Adam Snyder (1-0).

Patlan opened his amateur run with back-to-back submission losses but has since roared back with three consecutive victories, including a pair of decision wins under the CFFC banner.

Meanwhile, Snyder made his amateur debut in April in scintillating fashion, needing just 32 seconds to score a knockout win on the Florida regional scene.

RAMON BETANZO VS. GREG KALOURIS

Florida bragging rights are in the line in the NextGen bantamweight division, as Palm Bay's Ramon Betanzo (1-0) takes on Tarpon Springs' Greg Kalouris (3-2).

Betanzo returns to action following an amateur MMA debut win in February but also owns positive results in previous kickboxing and muay Thai matchups.

Meanwhile, Kalouris opened his amateur run at just 1-2 but has righted his career total with a 2-0 stretch already in 2024 and now looks for his third straight win of the calendar year.

DAEMAR HARLESTON VS. REGGIE MCFARLANE

The opening bout of CFFC 133 features a pair of NextGen fighters looking to right the ship following recent setbacks, as Daemar Harleston (1-2) takes on Reggie McFarlane (0-2).

Harleston regularly competes in kickboxing and muay Thai, as well, but has turned his attention to MMA in 2024 but suffered a pair of decision losses in the process. "The Hammer" will be looking to end that streak when he faces McFarlane, who opened his amateur run at 0-2 in 2022 but now returns to action after nearly two years on the sidelines.