CFFC NextGen 1 results: James Lledo, Giorgi Kantroshvili claim inaugural titles in action-packed night of thrillers
Next Generation series launches in spectacular fashion at Saturday's event at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – The launch of Cage Fury Fighting Championships' new Next Generation series proved a rousing success, with two titles awarded to cap off a night that had a sold-out crowd on its feet from start to finish.
In the night's headliner, James Lledo walked away with inaugural 175-pound gold following a first-round doctor's stoppage, while the co-feature saw Giorgi Kantroshvili take home the promotion's first 147-pound belt following a rather bizarre ending to a thrilling three-round affair.
The action all unfolded at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and streamed live at OnlyFans.com/cffcmma.
In the main event, Lledo (6-1) and the previously undefeated Joe Teguia (3-1) engaged from the start, with each flashing glimpses of incredible wrestling along with impressive power. However, the high-paced scrambles generally found Lledo in the dominant spot, and he would take advantage of his positioning to land ground-and-pound blows at every opportunity.
Teguia showed resilience in scrambling out of bad positions, but he was taking damage along the way, and as the round wore on, his right eye began to wear the worst of the shots. Teguia survived until the bell, but as he returned to his corner, the attending physician was brought in to assess the quickly closing area and determined that the fighter should not continue, awarding the title to Lledo.
With a vocal contingent of supporters in the building, the new champ made it clear their presence ensured his result.
"It doesn't matter who it was tonight; no way I'm losing in front of this crowd. My people showed out tonight. Nobody could have stopped me tonight. I fight all day. Nothing could stop me."
Meanwhile, the night's second title fight was one of several contests that was well-matched and hotly contested, with both Kantroshvili (5-1) and Liam O'Toole (4-1) having moments of success in a back-and-forth battle. In the end, it took several minutes of deliberation and a few double and triple checks of the tallies to award a Kantroshvili a split-decision nod that featured a rarely seen 30-29 scorecard among the results.
Full CFFC NextGen 1 results include:
MAIN CARD (OnlyFans)
James Lledo def. Joe Teguia via TKO (doctor's stoppage) – Round 1, 3:00 – to claim inaugural 175-pound title
Giorgi Kantroshvili def. Liam O'Toole via split decision (30-29, 28-29, 29-28) – to claim inaugural 147-pound title
Maksim Tsybulka def. Michael O'Brien via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 1:37
Kayana La Torre def. Olivia Schwender via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jack Lledo def. Robert Scopelliti via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sam Van Wynen def. Liam Gray via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Christion Anigilaje def. Huthayfah Karoush via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:14
Kson Young def. Phoenix Delvecchio via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:46
Cody Harrison def. Dalton Pedrick via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Amir Akmatov def. Antonio Cummings via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 1:39