FURY Professional Grappling 13 preview: Promotion's first two champions to be crowned, tournament winner will score $5,000
Plus Chris Weidman vs. Pat Downey, the debut of a reigning NCAA wrestling champion, and more, live on UFC FIGHT PASS.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The crew behind CFFC MMA is proud to bring the organization's high-level showcase for elite grappling competitors and fighters from all around the world – FURY Professional Grappling – to the historic Atlantic City Boardwalk for the first time.
Featuring the first two title matches in promotional history, a stacked $5,000 four-woman, single-night tournament at 125 pounds, a special 215-pound clash between former UFC champion Chris Weidman and former U.S. Open Wrestling Champion Pat Downey, the debut of a reigning NCAA Division I Wrestling Champion, and much more, FURY Professional Grappling 13 takes place Friday, May 23 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and serves as the launch of back-to-back combat sports events at the property, including CFFC 142 the following night.
The FURY Professional Grappling 13 main card streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS, while prelims stream on OnlyFans. Limited tickets remain at CFFC.tv.
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS, 9 p.m. ET)
Patrick Sabatini vs. Joe Solecki – for inaugural welterweight title
Kevin Dantzler vs. Junny Ocasio – for inaugural bantamweight title
Chris Weidman vs. Pat Downey
Semifinal winner #1 vs. Semifinal winner #2 – tournament final
Lucas Byrd vs. Lucas Seibert
Devhonte Johnson vs. Daishi Goto
Amanda Mazza vs. Taylor Clarke
Zach Maslany vs. Pete Shoemaker
Andrew Kochel vs. Cody Jones
Entrant #3 vs. Entrant #4 – tournament semifinal
Entrant #1 vs. Entrant #2 – tournament semifinal
PRELIMINARY CARD (OnlyFans, 7 p.m. ET)
Max Livingston vs. Joshua James
Dietrich Trumbauer vs. Nick Willey
Cole Kelley vs. Tyler Carroll
Christian Hannigan vs. Jordan Juliano
Cameron Scalio vs. Bobby Riordan
Guy Loggi vs. Nick Mancini
Robby Bloom vs. Matt Ferraiolo
Skyler Munson vs. Emily Keck
Nick Digiacomo vs. Aaron Kurzer
Angelina Hernandez vs. Ina Alivio
Nieko Malone vs. Nick Gebhard
MAIN EVENT: PATRICK SABATINI VS. JOE SOLECKI
Two familiar faces collide – perhaps surprisingly, for the first time – in the main event of FURY Professional Grappling 13, where the promotion's inaugural welterweight title will be awarded to the winner, when Patrick Sabatini takes on Joe Solecki.
Sabatini is a former two-time CFFC champion who currently stands at an impressive 7-2 in the UFC's featherweight division. In addition to his spectacular MMA exploits, Sabatini is also a perfect 5-0 in FURY Professional Grappling appearances, including submission wins over fellow UFC veterans Niko Price and Alex Caceres. In total, 13 of Sabatini's 20 career MMA wins have come via submission, and he wants to collect the FURY Professional Grappling title to help make his case that he's the best grappler in his weight class in the UFC.
Meanwhile, fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Solecki is a six-time CFFC veteran who made his professional debut with the promotion and went an impressive 5-1 in the white cage before accepting an invitation to Dana White's Contender Series and launching his octagon run. Solecki recently retired from MMA competition following nine fights in the UFC but now intends to pursue his initial martial arts passion of high-level grappling. Solecki debuted with FURY Professional Grappling in November with a submission win, and now he'll look to claim the CFFC gold that eluded him during his MMA run with the organization.
CO-MAIN EVENT: KEVIN DANTZLER VS. JUNNY OCASIO
In what will serve as the first-ever title awarded by FURY Professional Grappling, the returning Kevin Dantzler and the debuting Junny Ocasio face off for the inaugural 135-pound strap.
Dantzler competed on the very first FURY Professional Grappling card in 2021 and has since put together a stellar 6-0 mark in the promotion, including decision wins over current UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, as well as former titleholder Aljamain Sterling. Dantzler was recently featured on UFC FIGHT PASS at March's EBI 23, picking up two submission wins on the day before bowing out in the tournament semifinals, and he now returns to the FURY Professional Grappling mats looking to claim gold.
Meanwhile, Ocasio is a highly decorated black belt under Murilo Santana and an instructor at New York's Unity Jiu-Jitsu School. He's also the 2023 IBJJF No-Gi World Champion, scored back-to-back titles in both the 2023 and 2024 IBJJF Pan-American and IBJJF European Championships, and is currently sitting at No. 3 in Jits Magazine's no-gi bantamweight rankings. In short, Ocasio is one of the world's best, and he's looking to prove it in his promotional debut.
CHRIS WEIDMAN VS. PAT DOWNEY
In a highly intriguing 215-pound matchup, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will square off with 2019 U.S. Open Wrestling national champion Pat Downey.
While Weidman recently retired from MMA, he is a lifelong grappler as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and former NCAA Division I Wrestling All-American at Hofstra, and he's excited for the opportunity to return to where his martial arts journey began and has promised to bring the heat.
Meanwhile, Downey is a former U.S. Open winner, NCAA Division I All-American at Iowa State and claimed a NJCAA national title for Iowa Central Community College, the same program that also produced the likes of Jon Jones, Cain Velasquez and Colby Covington. Downey is a character and likes to stir the pot but admitted even he respects Weidman so much that he's not sure he has any ammo to fire. Nevertheless, these are two high-octane grapplers that will certainly provide action.
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT
In another first for FURY Professional Grappling, the organization will crown a single-night tournament winner, as four top talents clash in the women's flyweight division, where the bracket winner will take home a $5,000 prize.
Atos' Amanda Bruse, B-Team's Taylor Hishaw, New Wave's Trinity Pun and Team Balance's Cindy Ung will be paired together following Thursday's official weigh-ins, and the two opening-round matchups will kick off the UFC FIGHT PASS broadcast, while the two winners will return to the mat after a short break with ultimate bragging rights and the cash on the line.
On paper, Bruse is the most accomplished of the four, recently finishing third in the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, as well as taking first in the 2024 IBJJF Pan-American Championship, and she's ranked No. 5 in the latest Jits Magainze no-gi 135-pound rankings. However, the 18-year-old Hishaw is already No. 10 in those same rankings, with the 19-year-old Pun right behind at No. 11.
Meanwhile, Ung enjoys homefield advantage, making the short trip from Philadelphia and boasting previous experience for FURY Professional Grappling and the UFC FIGHT PASS Invitational.
It's a talent-rich field that will likely take a special performance from one of the entrants to pick up the two wins needed to make promotional history.
LUCAS BYRD VS. LUCAS SEIBERT
After hosting more than 25 NCAA Division I Wrestling duals on UFC FIGHT PASS the past two years with CFFC Match Day, it's only natural that a standout collegiate wrestler would debut on FURY Professional Grappling, and that honor falls to reigning 133-pound national champion Lucas Byrd, who will take on undefeated MMA prospect Lucas Seibert.
Byrd was a two-time All-American entering the 2024-25 season for Illinois, but he took his game to a different level in his junior year following a medical redshirt, going 23-1 and avenging his lone loss on the season in the final match of the year, edging out Drake Ayala via tiebreaker to claim the national title in dramatic fashion.
Meanwhile, Seibert is a former wrestler at West Virginia University that turned his attention to MMA in 2022, where after an undefeated amateur career, he has since posted a perfect 4-0 mark as a professional, as well. Seibert recently earned his purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and will now look to steal Byrd's championship shine in this unique pairing.
DEVHONTE JOHNSON VS. DAISHI GOTO
Fireworks are expected in a 225-pound clash between two powerful Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts, as promotional newcomer Devhonte "Bones" Johnson takes on a returning Daishi "Gotorilla" Goto.
Johnson is an incredibly decorated competitor, claiming IBJJF world titles as a purple belt, a brown belt, and in 2021 as a black belt, as well, not to mention a host of Pan-American and European titles, too. Johnson owns and runs an affiliate Unity Jiu-Jitsu branch, Bones BJJ Academy, in New Jersey, and now makes his FURY Professional Grappling debut.
Meanwhile, Goto has appeared on the FURY Professional Grappling mats four times previously, taking home victories in each of his past two appearances. Goto competed in the 2024 ADCC World Championship, and was featured on UFC FIGHT PASS in December in the Karate Combat Submission Pit Series, as well.
AMANDA MAZZA VS. TAYLOR CLARKE
In strawweight action, fan favorite Amanda Mazza returns for her seventh FURY Professional Grappling appearance to take on promotional newcomer Taylor Clarke.
Mazza, who also boasts one UFC FIGHT PASS Invitational appearance, has scored four straight wins on the FURY Professional Grappling mats, including a slick Tarikoplata submission in December. She now takes on Gracie Barra Oviedo's Clarke, who travels in from Florida to step on the FURY Professional Grappling mats for the first time.
ZACH MASLANY VS. PETE SHOEMAKER
At 165 pounds, Pennsylvania's Zach Maslany takes on New Jersey's own Pete Shoemaker.
Maslany is an Eddie Bravo black belt and co-founder of 10th Planet Bethlehem. He competed once under CFFC's MMA banner in 2015 and made his FURY Professional Grappling debut one year ago, securing a submission win via heel hook. Meanwhile, Shoemaker is the owner and head instructor of Precision Jiu-Jitsu Spring Mount and is 1-1 in his two previous FURY Professional Grappling appearances, with both results ending via submission.
ANDREW KOCHEL VS. CODY JONES
The night's first non-tournament bout features the return of the all-action Andrew Kochel in a 185-pound matchup with 13-fight MMA veteran and onetime Bellator MMA fighter "Cold Blooded" Cody Jones.
Kochel has made an incredible nine appearances under the FURY Professional Grappling banner, establishing himself as one of the more exciting athletes on the roster and is always willing to take chances. He now meets Jones, a Roberto Traven black belt who has earned six of his 10 career MMA wins via submission and has promised to match Kochel's energy level in the contest.