Shamel Findley believes he's due for win in CFFC 144 rematch: 'I think I've made bigger leaps since our last fight'

"Badman" takes on a familiar name in Max Quinones at Friday's event from Tampa's Florida State Fairgrounds, live on UFC FIGHT PASS.

Familiar faces step into the cage against each other on Friday, where two high-level flyweight prospects who have made names for themselves under the CFFC banner meet for a second time.

The stakes are a bit different this time around for Shamel Findley (6-3-1 MMA, 2-2 CFFC) and Max Quinones (5-3 MMA, 5-2 CFFC), who will square off live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Tampa's Florida State Fairgrounds as part of CFFC 144. Their first meeting was seven years ago, when Quinones took home a decision win in an amateur contest.

Findley will now look to make his first walk to the cage in just over a year. "Badman" was last seen in a marquee flyweight matchup against undefeated rising star Bilal Hasan, who took home the win and then went on to claim the CFFC title. That setback for Findley followed a failed bid for the title against then-champ Badmatsyren Dorzhiev.

Now on a two-fight skid for the first time in his career, Findley will look to rebound against "The Candyman" in a fight he's been hoping to get back since 2018. Claim victory at CFFC 144, and Findley jokes that perhaps 2025 will prove to be a year of familiar faces in a potential second meeting with Hasan, as well.

"Perhaps it will be the year of rematches for me," Findley said. "If (Hasan) doesn't move up before I get to him, then I'd have no problem with running it back.

"I've never lost two times in a row. It's a weird spot to be in. It's never the way you saw it going for you, but this just adds to my motivation."

While significant time has passed since the pair first stepped in the cage together, Findley has certainly not forgotten that initial meeting. Findley openly stated his desire to rematch Quinones following the Hasan matchup, and now, a year later, he will get his wish.

Though not having competed in the past 13 months, Findley has remained very active in training and has since moved down to Florida to join the branch of fighters competing out of American Top Team's Coconut Creek headquarters. Having relocated from the team's Georgia branch, Findley has enjoyed the work he's getting at the flagship gym and has been training with current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, among others.

The experience has been an awakening of sorts for Findley, as the adjustments he made in camp have been heavily inspired by Pantoja. Findley made sure to take in every bit of info he could from him ahead of his return and has stayed focussed on getting better day in and day out.

"It's made all the difference," Findley said, "It's been really good. I get more rounds in with everyone here. I've been helping people prepare for title fights a little bit, so it's good to be more permanent there.

"The difference now is the relationship with my coaches and teammates. I've been training. I've been in fight shape for a long time before this fight, before even accepting it."

Another big adjustment for Findley was trying to shut out the outside noise, stating in his past couple fights, he may have been giving a bit too much respect to his opponents rather than simply trying to impose his own will.

With his past two competitors each proving themselves at a championship level, Findley felt he needed to fight differently than in his initial rise to the top. However, the braintrust at American Top Team has Findley going back to his roots, and he believes that will be a key in delivering at CFFC 144.

"After a certain level, I believe everyone fights how they fight," Findley said. "When I was winning, I had no real thought of my opponent. I had no hesitation or thought. When you have people telling you this might be a harder fight, you might subconsciously or consciously believe them.

"You start to think about more strategies and how to win – not that it's a bad thing, it's just not what got me this far. I can't have respect for them in the cage. That's how I execute. I can't really think about what other people are going to do too much."

Findley remains very familiar with Quinones' game, as the pair first crossed paths against each other on the amateur circuit. "The Candyman" got the better of the initial meeting before the pair embarked on similar paths in CFFC, amassing great finishes over their careers.

However, now both fighters find themselves in the same predicament on the opposite side of the spectrum. Findley and Quinones both are riding two-fight losing skids, so in addition to wanting to get a little revenge on Quinones, there will certainly be added motivation to simply get himself back into the win column.

Only one fighter will get to break their skid, and for the other, a frustrating losing streak will continue. With much to prove on the line between two high-level prospects, it certainly will make for an exciting night of action for the fans.

Much has changed for the two fighters, but Findley feels he knows the kind of fighter he's facing in Quinones. While he has great respect for his opponent as a person and a fighter, "Badman" has plans to return to form and will look to walk through Quinones just like Pantjoa did recently to Kai Kara-France at June's UFC 317.

"I believe I'm going to finish him this time around," Findley said. "It's nothing personal. I have respect for him. It's just how I feel where our levels are at right now.

"I think I've made bigger leaps since our last fight. It was competitive, but I feel like I'm going to finish him. It's what I believe. This is what I've worked for. I've been training with real elite guys, and I think it'll show inside the cage."

ARTICLE BY: SETH FASSANO