UFC veterans Chris Daukaus, Tafon Nchukwi return to CFFC cage for heavyweight showdown
Hard-hitting knockout artists clash at CFFC 134 on Friday, August 16 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
While much of the pre-fight discussion surrounding this month's CFFC 134 event will center on undefeated light heavyweight champion Luke Fernandez's drive to the UFC, the night's co-main event features a pair of big-show veterans returning to the CFFC cage in a heavyweight showdown, with Chris Daukaus vs. Tafon Nchukwi.
Both Daukaus (12-7 MMA, 4-2 CFFC) and Nchukwi (6-4 MMA, 2-0 CFFC) used their previous runs in the CFFC to catapult their careers forward and earn their way into the UFC.
For Daukaus, that run started in 2015 at CFFC 50. There, opponent Jeff Blachly suffered an injury and was forced to verbally submit in the second round, giving Daukaus a victory in his promotional debut. Five months later, Daukaus endured a setback in his return to the organization, taking a decision loss to future Bellator MMA fighter Shawn Teed. However, that bump in the road was followed by an impressive five-fight win streak that included a pair of wins under the CFFC banner, one of which was a knockout of Plinio Cruz, current coach of UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.
Daukaus would fall short in a 2019 bid for the CFFC heavyweight title against Azunna Anyanwu, though he would again rebound in his following outing, needing just 90 seconds to score a TKO stoppage of Danny Holmes. A rematch with Shawn Teed was expected to follow, but Daukaus instead was signed by the UFC, where he would go on to compete eight times, registering victories over the likes of Parker Porter, Rodrigo Nascimento, Aleksei Oleinik and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
Daukaus' time in the octagon ended after he came up short against the upper echelon of the UFC's heavyweight division, including setbacks against Derrick Lewis, Curtis Blaydes and Jairzinho Rozenstruik, all of whom remain ranked contenders in the promotion.
A brief move to light heavyweight also proved unfruitful, though the loss came to Khalil Rountree Jr., who is currently on a five-fight winning streak and is ranked No. 8 in the UFC's 205-pound division.
Meanwhile, Nchukwi competed twice under the CFFC banner in his first three fights as a professional. He debuted as a pro in 2019 at CFFC 73, scoring a knockout over future 3-time FURY Professional Grappling competitor Alex Myers. That win came on the same night that Daukaus came up short in his bid for the CFFC heavyweight title.
Nchukwi then returned to the promotion eight months later for a special "Fight for the Troops" event at CFFC 80, where he earned a knockout of future seven-time UFC veteran William Knight. That result was enough to earn Tafon "Da Don" a shot at Dana White's Contender Series, where a head-kick knockout of Al Matavao secured him a UFC deal.
Nchukwi struggled for consistent results in the octagon, bouncing between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. He did register wins over fellow DWCS contract winners Jamie Pickett and Mike Rodriguez but suffered losses against currently ranked light heavyweights Azamat Murzakanov and Carlos Ulberg, as well as the always exciting Jun Yong Park and top prospect A.J. Dobson, ending his time with the promotion.
Both Daukaus and Nchukwi now return to the CFFC cage to face off against each other. Each man is competing for the first time since leaving the UFC, and both have every intention of earning their way back to the sport's highest stage.
Nchukwi has earned 67 percent of his career victories by knockout, and Daukaus stands at an even more impressive 83 percent of his wins earned by strikes, leaving little question as to how things will likely unfold when the two meet in the center of the cage.
Watch the action unfold on Friday, August 16 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, streaming live on UFC FIGHT PASS. Tickets are available at CFFC.tv.
