Bilal Hasan withdraws from CFFC 153; Lucas Seibert vs. Sebastian Ruiz promoted to main event
Hasan's opponent, Ben Coyle, expected to receive new matchup for interim title belt in May
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Next week's CFFC 153 event has a new main event, with the interim bantamweight title matchup between Lucas Seibert and Sebastian Ruiz promoted to the headlining role.
That move was necessitated following reigning CFFC flyweight champion Bilal Hasan withdrawing from the event, and when a suitable replacement opponent for Ben Coyle could not be secured in short order. Coyle is expected to be rescheduled for May's CFFC 154, where he'll look to claim an interim belt at 125 pounds.
Now titled "CFFC 153: Seibert vs. Ruiz," the event takes place on Friday, April 17, at Philadelphia's legendary 2300 Arena. The evening's six-bout main card streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS, while three preliminary matchups will stream exclusively at OnlyFans.com/cffcmma.
Seibert (6-0 MMA, 0-0 CFFC) is unbeaten in 11 combined fights across his amateur and professional run. The 26-year-old prospect now makes his CFFC debut, though he did shine in a previous appearance at FURY Professional Grappling 13, where he scored a submission win over NCAA Division I wrestling champion Lucas Byrd.
Meanwhile, Ruiz (7-4 MMA, 1-0 CFFC) debuted for the promotion in 2025 with a win over Nodir Alidodov. Ruiz was then slotted to face CFFC reigning bantamweight champion Sean Mora in March before the Cuban titleholder withdrew from the event. Ruiz then immediately accepted a rescheduled matchup against Lucas Seibert for an interim belt.
With the changes to the card, the complete CFFC 153 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS, 8:30 p.m. ET)
Lucas Seibert vs. Sebastian Ruiz – for interim bantamweight title
Itso Babulaidze vs. DeWitt Dixon
Tyler Berger vs. Sebastian Seagraves
DeAndre Anderson vs. Anthony Dilemme
Andre Monroe vs. Jordan Morgan
Shane Marshall vs. Anthony Montalvo
PRELIMINARY CARD (OnlyFans.com/cffcmma, 7 p.m. ET)
Razohnn Gross Jr. vs. Ian Russell
Demetri Nictas vs. Lou Raimo
NextGen: Dalton Pedrick vs. Nemateillo Tukhtasinov
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