From master's degree to The MMA Lab, CFFC newcomer Loai Abushaar ready to make an impact: 'There's definitely going to be blood'
Abushaar meets Joe Boerschig at Friday's event at North Dakota's 4 Bears Casino & Lodge.
CFFC has seen no shortage of interesting fighters come through the doors, and Loai Abushaar (3-1) is no exception to that trend. The University of Arizona master's graduate will make his very first walk to the CFFC cage on Friday, live from the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in New Town, North Dakota, and streaming live on UFC FIGHT PASS.
Abushaar initially cut his teeth with Fight Ready MMA to start his career, which houses names like Chan Sung Jung, Henry Corrales and Henry Cejudo. Receiving top-tier training from them in his early career, Abushaar ultimately started his professional MMA journey in 2022, where he fought on the Arizona regional scene.
The 6-foot-4 lightweight has thus far finished all three of his victories inside of one round and has suffered only one defeat. While out recovering from his unfortunate knockout loss to Kevin Bowen in 2023, Abushaar parted ways with Fight Ready in favor of The MMA Lab, home to an abundance of high-level MMA talent, as well, including Jared Cannonier, Alex Caceres, Bryan Barberena and more, with Benson Henderson at the helm.
Abushaar feels the quality of his training and development has improved with the change in scenery. He expresses no ill will to his old gym and is grateful for the time he spent at Fight Ready, wishing them nothing but the best, but Abushaar does admit that his new gym houses some of the most unique individuals he has ever met.
"I just decided that I needed a change in my life," Abushaar said. "I met coach John Crouch, and he was very welcoming. All the guys at MMA Lab just had an open door to me. Now I feel like I'm really getting into my career, and the team around me really wants to help me develop my career. John Crouch is helping me a lot.
"In my gym, Jared Cannonier, Benson Henderson, Alex Caceras, when I speak to these men, just through normal conversations with them, I can tell that their understanding and wisdom is very high. ... In all my years of athleticism, I've never met anyone that trains like Benson Henderson. That man is a machine that needs to be studied. He's always telling me what I need to do and what is expected of me, which helps develop my skills."
Abushaar now looks to use his evolving skills to obtain a spectacular victory come fight night. Despite his many interests outside of the cage, as well, Abushaar is highly motivated to succeed in his MMA career and will look to steal the show in his very first fight in CFFC.
His first challenge will come from Joe Boerschig (6-9), another promotional newcomer, which will take place on the CFFC 136 main card at a catchweight of 165 pounds. Abushaar (3-1) predicts the matchup will take place primarily on the feet, as he expects a kickboxing match against Boerschig.
Abushaar believes that there will be blood shed, but not from him.
"He's going to come close and try to strike," Abushaar said. "It'll be a nice kickboxing match. Probably a lot of striking, probably a lot of muay Thai. Trading back and forth. I'm going to go in there and fight like I love to. There's definitely going to be blood: his blood on me.
"The fans are going to see a man who is going to go in there calculated, pick out his strikes, and once the opportunity presents itself, the finish will happen. I see a hurt body, and then finishing off with a nice '2' right to his chin."
