Champ Ryan Cafaro knows what's required in his CFFC 149 headliner: 'I need a decisive, emphatic stoppage'
Cafaro puts his title on line in rematch with Justin Patton on December 20 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City
A true veteran of the combat sports game with more than 15 years of competition under his belt, Ryan Cafaro has made it clear there's one last major goal on his list.
The reigning CFFC featherweight champion has been a coach and training partner to an impressive list of athletes who have made it to the sport's biggest stage, but that opportunity has eluded him thus far. At 36 years old, Cafaro knows that he can no longer wait patiently for his shot, and that's why the time is now to seize the moment and make himself undeniable to UFC matchmakers.
"I honestly feel like at this point they know who I am," Cafaro said. "They know who I've worked with. It honestly comes down to my performance in this next fight."
That next fight comes on Saturday, December 20, when Cafaro (13-6 MMA, 8-2 CFFC) takes on Justin Patton (9-4 MMA, 1-0 CFFC) in the main event of CFFC 149, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City following preliminary bouts streaming exclusively at OnlyFans.com/cffcmma.
It's a dream scenario for Cafaro, offering a rematch of 2024 clash at a regional event in Pennsylvania that ended in a no contest following an inadvertent eye poke, a rare infraction for "Korean Thunder" across his lengthy entire career.
"This was the first time I poked someone in the eye, and I was so frustrated," Cafaro said. "I poured a lot of energy and resources into the camp. I had no sponsors for that fight – like, nobody. I lost a lot of money on that fight, you know what I mean? That fight was for the love of the game, and I went all the way out to Pittsburgh in his hometown.
"Nobody bought tickets to watch me fight. I went there into enemy territory to prove a damn point, and then I thought I was winning, and then I poked him the eye. That was it, so it was so frustrating."
Following that result, Cafaro returned to CFFC and picked up two of the most impressive wins of his career, including a hard-fought majority decision over Anthony Dilemme to take home the featherweight belt. A few months later, Patton made his CFFC debut, picking up a decision win over Frank Wells, and the path for the two to meet again started to materialize.
"His teammates were saying, 'You guys need to run it back,' and blah, blah blah, and you know, maybe they might've expected me to say something like, 'Oh, he's not worth my time,' but I was like, 'Yes, run it back! I want it right now!’” Cafaro said. “I want the eye poke back. We need to finish this."
CFFC brass agreed, and the fight was booked for CFFC 149.
It's a contest that has significant personal meaning for Cafaro, both to clear up any questions from the 114 seconds he spent in the cage with Patton a year ago, but also to finalize any statements that need to be made from his 16 years of blood, sweat, and tears.
The dream remains in sight, and Cafaro knows what has to be done to give himself a crack at the UFC.
"I think if I have a close, grindy decision against Patton, they're not interested in me," Cafaro said. "I need a decisive, emphatic stoppage to get where I want to go. So am I willing to take more risk and be more aggressive in this fight than in particular fights? I think so. I think I will be more willing to put myself in danger and at risk if that means I can guarantee myself a finish.
"It's one of the first times in my career that I don't have like any bad blood at all. If anything, I really, genuinely, like Justin Patton. He's a cool guy. December 20, we're gonna try to kill each other, and that's that. He knows it. I know it."
