CFFC champ Blayne Richards has no issue playing villain role: 'It takes a special person to want to be hated, and I'm that guy'

Richards puts his welterweight title on the line in highly anticipated rematch with Eric Nolan at Saturday's CFFC 142 in Atlantic City.

Ahead of Saturday's CFFC 142 championship tripleheader, spare reigning welterweight titleholder Blayne Richards any questions about having to travel to enemy territory for his intriguing rematch with Eric Nolan. After all, at this point in his CFFC run, it's pretty much par for the course.

"To be honest, I don't know if CFFC likes me or not," Richards said, perhaps only half-jokingly. "I'm the champion, and we're doing it in his backyard. But I've done the tour. I did Philadelphia, which I felt like was Eric's backyard in the first place. I did Tampa and Hugh Pulley's hometown, and then I did a short-notice fight against Raheam Forest in the middle of nowhere, so I don't know if they like me being the bad guy, but it seems like it turns out to be that every time.

"Everybody likes to be loved. It takes a special person to want to be hated, and I'm that guy."

While CFFC brass certainly doesn't view Richards (9-2 MMA, 3-0 CFFC) as the villain, there's absolutely no question the vast majority of the crowd at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City will on Saturday night. After all, New Jersey native Nolan (7-3 MMA, 7-3 CFFC) has spent his entire career competing under the CFFC banner, many of those in the exact same venue, and he's developed a worthy reputation as an all-action fighter.

That was certainly on display in the pair's 2023 meeting, which saw Nolan bloodied early, though he fought back valiantly, even wobbling Richards on occasion before ultimately succumbing to a second-round rear-naked choke. Since that setback, Nolan has openly called for a second crack at Richards, and he gets it now with a title on the line.

Richards said he wasn't surprised to see Nolan cross his path once again and is more than ready for a repeat performance.

"He said my name since day one, so I knew where he wanted to go with it," Richards said. "I'll give credit where it's due. He's a game opponent again. The first time, it was a banger. It was a short-notice fight for me, kind of a little situation, some stuff before that didn't work out my way, so they asked me to come out there, and we know how it went last time, so I know that he's going to be gunning for me, but I'm ready for that.

"I'm ready for a war. Let's go. Like, you want to have a fight, like cut up, eyelid hanging off and sh-t like that? I'm down. Let's go. You want a war, who's ready for it? I think I'm ready for it. I know I'm ready for it."

Richards, who seeks the first defense of the title he won this past September, has traveled the world in recent times bettering his game. His friendship with top bareknuckle boxer Carlos Trinidad-Snake led him to getting in work in Dubai. He's trained in Las Vegas alongside Jamahal Hill and Ode Osbourne, making a connection with legendary striking coach Dewey Cooper. There was time spent in Kansas City with Trey Ogden, Denver with Marc Montoya.

He's also enlisted the help of fellow Nebraskan Anthony Smith, the recently retired former CFFC champion and current UFC analyst who will be in his corner on Saturday night.

"Honestly, he is so smart in the game," Richards said of Smith. "That's why he is an analyst and everything. He breaks it down on a different level than most people can actually do, and then just giving me confidence, honestly. Like, 60 fights, never pulled out, fought everyone. You can't ask for anything better, honestly. He is a legend as far as the respect that he gets in the game. It is wild.

"To even have like a quarter of the respect in this game after done – a quarter would be amazing – an eighth of the respect that this guy has in the game, I wish I could have. That's the goal that I'm aiming for. World champion is the main goal, but obviously just to know that people know my name, I think that's a big deal to me, and I'm working towards that."

Richards knows a win on Saturday night would help in that effort. There was talk of him joining this past season of "The Ultimate Fighter," though those plans didn't ultimately come to fruition. Perhaps Dana White's Contender Series is a possibility this summer, or even a direct UFC call-up under the right circumstances.

Don't mention any of that stuff to Richards, either. Right now, there is one focus, and one focus only.

"I don't give a sh-t about any of that," Richards said. "May 24th is the only thing on my mind right now. Eric Nolan. Finishing Eric Nolan, and doing it in style. Putting these hands on him. That's the only thing that's on my mind. The rest of that sh-t comes after the fact. May 25th rolls around, then people can call me. I am that guy.

“There's a reason he's calling my name out. People want what I have. I've got to take care of that first, and then everything else follows."