The second leg of Cage Fury Fighting Championships’ double-header delivered another spectacular night as fans at the 2300 Arena saw three new champions crowned in Philadelphia.
The main event saw CFFC fan-favorite Charlie “Chuck Buffalo” Radtke capture the promotion’s welterweight title with a first-round submission of previously undefeated champion Raheam “Rambo” Forest.
The pair traded big shots early, and Radtke was hurt twice, once by an unfortunate eye poke from the champion, then by some big punches that appeared to stun him. But Radtke threw back with interest as he connected with big shots of his own as the pair looked set to slug it out on the feet.
However, the fight was eventually decided on the mat, as Radtke moved from top position to the champion’s back before locking up a rear-naked choke to force the tap at the 4:20 mark of the opening round.
The bantamweight title was up for grabs in the co-main event, and “The Strong Eagle” Vilson Ndregjoni produced a big shot to transform his fortunes as he finished Ashiek Ajim via third-round TKO to capture the vacant belt.
A big right hand clipped Ajim behind his ear and sent him to the canvas. Ndregjoni saw his moment and pounced, landing vicious hammerfists to knock Ajim out cold and force the stoppage.
After his victory, proud Albanian Ndregjoni called for a chance to represent his country in the UFC, either via a direct chance, or via the Contender Series.
“In UFC, we don’t have a fighter from Albania and I think UFC has to give me a shot. Maybe Contender, maybe right away in the UFC. I’m ready, I’m healthy, and hopefully I get that call. I have my country with me everywhere I go.”
The featured non-title bout of the night saw Blayne Richards and Eric Nolan battle back and forth in a bloody war before Richards eventually locked up a rear-naked choke for the win.
Richards had to work hard for his victory but, after bloodying his opponent’s nose earlier in the fight, he turned to his grappling to take Nolan’s back, lock up a body triangle to control his position, then secure a tight rear-naked choke to force the tap
The second and third bouts on the main card produced back-to-back buzzer-beating submissions as Dylan Mantello and Riley Palmer scored last-gasp first-round finishes to wow the Philly crowd.
The first finish came from “The Quiet Man” Mantello, who dramatically came back from being badly rocked earlier in the round to finish Charlie Alexander via guillotine choke with just one seconds left in the round.
Then, incredibly, we saw another first-round late show, as bantamweight prospect Riley Palmer locked up an armbar to force Donzeill Marshall to tap with just four seconds left in the opening stanza as he claimed a memorable submission victory on his professional debut.
The main card kicked off with a first-round TKO finish as heavyweight Daikwon Buckley needed less than half a round to finish Ian Allston with strikes to improve his record to 4-1.
There was also a new champion crowned on the preliminary card, as MA Yah edged a razor-thin split decision to defeat Nick Galanti for the promotion’s amateur “NextGen” middleweight title. It was the only bout of the night to go to the scorecards, with eight bouts on the nine-fight card finishing inside the distance.
CFFC 118: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Charlie Radtke def. Raheam Forest via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:20 – for welterweight title
- Vilson Ndregjoni def. Ashiek Ajim via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 1:09– for vacant bantamweight title
- Blayne Richards def. Eric Nolan via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:41
- Riley Palmer def. Donzeill Marshall via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 4:56
- Dylan Mantello def. Charlie Alexander via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:59
- Daiqwon Buckley def. Ian Allston via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:19
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Thomas Picciano def. Joseph Schick via technical submission (anaconda choke) – Round 2, 1:06
- MA Yah def. Nick Galanti via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) – for NextGen middleweight title
- Nick Gebhard def. Michael Shivecharan via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:37 – amateur bout
Photo credit: Cage Fury Fighting Championships