Kyle Daukaus returns to UFC; Richie Lewis vs. Benny Orozco now headlines CFFC 145
New Jersey native Lewis gets main event in homecoming on Saturday, August 30 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Two-time CFFC middleweight champion Kyle Daukaus is returning to the UFC.
The seven-time UFC veteran, who was a perfect 8-0 during his two stints under the CFFC banner, will return to the sport's biggest promotion on August 23, where he'll meet Brazil's Michel Pereira at UFC Fight Night 257 in Shanghai, China. "The D'Arce Knight" last competed for the UFC in 2022, making seven appearances and facing the likes of Brendan Allen, Eryk Anders, Roman Dolidze, Phil Hawes and Kevin Holland, among others.
Daukaus (15-4 MMA, 8-0 CFFC) had been scheduled to defend his CFFC title against Guram Gochashvili (4-0 MMA, 1-0 CFFC) at CFFC 145, which takes place Saturday, August 30 at New Jersey's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. Instead, Gochashvili will now face interim titleholder Chris Brown (12-5 MMA, 2-0 CFFC) at a later date to declare a new undisputed champion.
That change left room for a new headliner at CFFC 145, which will now feature an intriguing lightweight clash between promotional newcomers Richie "Savage" Lewis (6-1) and Benny Orozco (5-1).
Hailing from Toms River, New Jersey, Lewis was a two-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships qualifier at Rutgers University and was the U23 United World Wrestling champion in 2017. He turned his attention to MMA in 2021 and rattled off six straight wins to open his professional career, taking home the Titan FC and LFA lightweight titles along the way. However, in April, he suffered the first loss of his career, ceding the LFA belt in the evening's "Fight of the Night."
Since the setback, Lewis has shifted his training to New Jersey and now fights in his home state for the first time in a long-awaited homecoming.
Meanwhile, California's Orozco travels to hostile territory for his promotional debut on the strength of three straight victories, including two by submission. In fact, the grappling specialist has earned four of his five professional victories by tapout, showing his danger on the ground.
The CFFC 145 main card streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS following prelims on OnlyFans. Limited tickets remain available at CFFC.tv.
The complete CFFC 145 lineup currently includes:
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS, 8 p.m. ET)
Richie Lewis vs. Benny Orozco
Nick Galanti vs. Ty Gwerder
Joshua Sierra vs. Busurman Zhumagul
Jojo Gonzalez vs. Jose Rodriguez
Annabel Kelly vs. Karli Jo Thomas
Ben Coyle vs. Oscar Jurado
PRELIMINARY CARD (OnlyFans, 6 p.m. ET)
Justin Patton vs. Frank Wells
Tyler Berger vs. Jeremiah Delgado
Tom Hinz vs. Alex Rios
Darwin Pena vs. Michael Pino
Jacob Guerrero vs. CJ LaFragola
Justin Meyers vs. Khetag Moraov
Reggie Northrup vs. Jose Soto
