CFC 444: IsMore v Inarritu
Date: 12 Dec 2021
City: Tokyo
Arena: Tokyo Bowl (93,607)
Main Event For the Heavyweight Championship
265 lbs More IsMore (-170) (32-11, 2-1) v Felix Inarritu (+138) (31-14, 1-0)
The first and reigning Heavyweight champion of the new CFC era is no more. More "The Hungarian Giant" IsMore lost in his second title defence to "El Dragon" Felix Inarritu halfway through the first round. Inarritu left no doubt from the start, dodging some wild punches from IsMore and countering with a plethora of strikes, landing 14 before the final sequence of events. IsMore blocked a hook, but didn’t see the follow-up right hand which sent him crashing to the floor. The challenger allowed him to stand, a risky move given IsMore’s pedigree, but knocked him out with the next punch. Hopefully IsMore will be okay because it was nasty. Result: New Heavyweight Champion, Felix Inarritu by KO
Co-Main Event
145 lbs Lemmy Bang (-122) (11-3, 1-0) v Justin Case (+100) (12-6, 0-1)
I don’t like Justin Case, I love him. His stoic portrait, resplendent in RCMP red with a handsome and regal beaver in his arms, brings me to tears every time. So it breaks my cold Canadian heart to see him lose his first CFC fight against Lemmy Bang. Bang is undefeated under new manager, Pablo Spezziale, and used everything in his ample bag to pull out the decision. It was a very active first round with both fighters throwing many hard strikes with little regard to defence. Bang came out on top and carried the momentum into the second round. The fight slowed down a bit as both men decided a toe-to-toe fight wasn’t in their long-term health’s best interest. A combo in-tight late in the second cut Case, but his corner was able to patch it up quickly and it ended up being a non-factor. Down 2-0 on the cards, Case came out more aggressive in the third, breaking an early clinch and letting it all hang out. It was enough to win the round, but not the fight. Lemmy Bang was more accurate standing up, and aggressive in the clinch. Result: Lemmy Bang by Unanimous Decision
Undercard
155 lbs Karol Orlowski (-186) (15-5, 0-2) v Tom Rivers (+150) (29-16, 2-0)
According to some Montreal-based bookies, Tom Rivers was the underdog coming into this fight, but he improved his CFC record to 2-0 after a tough battle with Poland’s Karol "Eagle" Orlowski. Lots of first round action, but little substance as the two fighters pawed and looked for openings. Better defence by The Eagle gives him the first round. The second was much of the same, great stand-up action by both fighters, much to the appreciation of the 92,387 in attendance. Rivers took the round with some late clinch work. Not much changed in the final round; Rivers was steady, avoiding most of the major blows as Orlowski picked up the pace. Rivers survived a couple of late uppercuts and came out with the win. Result: Tom Rivers by Unanimous Decision.
155 lbs Veikko Keskinen (16-15, 1-1) v James Smith (29-19, 2-0)
Not a good night for Veikko "Peikko" Keskinen. He falls to 1-1 in the new CFC after suffering a first round TKO. James Smith improves to 2-0, making it look easier than it actually was. Keskinen was very aggressive, landing multiple shots early, but lunged too far at the two-minute mark, giving Smith a nice opening. He didn’t miss, rocking Keskinen with a nice right counter and following up with a huge left which sent the already-wobbly Keskinen stumbling backwards. The ref jumped in before more damage could be done. Result: James Smith by TKO
135 lbs Moganesh Jain (20-10-1, 1-0) v Ono Kuronoa (10-13, 0-1)
CFC debuts in the bantamweight division. Moganesh "The Monkey God" Jain and Ono Kuronoa fought hard for three rounds, and it was Jain who came out on top. Not much separated the two fighters in the first two rounds as both tried to assert their game plans on the other. A frustrated Kuronoa, not able to grab hold of the wiggling Jain, lashed out and kicked him square in the nuts. Jain went down hard in incredible pain, but managed to get back to his corner to fight the third round. An entertaining third round, early brawling followed by some decent groundwork. Both tried to lock their respective submissions in, but no doing. Result: Moganesh Jain by Unanimous Decision
205 lbs Luther Jackson (33-22, 1-1) v Tomomisan Tsuruta (20-13-1, 1-0)
After a long Grunge career, Tomomisan "Jumbo" Tsuruta joined CFC and immediately put the light heavyweight division on notice. "Submission Master" Luther Jackson was a disgusting mess by the end of this fight, getting cut early in the first, a head wound his corner just couldn’t get taken care of. It wasn’t what stopped the fight, but it sure distracted him. The usually efficient Jackson missed twenty takedowns and was only able to attempt one submission before Tsuruta planted him on his ass for good. Result: Tomomisan Tsuruta by KO
170 lbs Tevin Felix (13-8, 0-1) v Cathail Murphy (8-13, 1-0)
Some fans cringed when seeing this matchup; Tevin Felix, winless in three vs Murphy, winless in five. And we’ll be honest, it wasn’t pretty to watch at times, but it wasn’t the calamity that some expected. Felix jumped Murphy right away, taking him down to the canvas and working away at the ground and pound. Most missed, but the thudding on the mat was impressive. Murphy got cut in the early seconds of the second round and smartly took the fight to the mat to try and protect it from further damage. Controlling from the top, the judges gave him the second round. The third was a mixture of the first two, with Felix gaining the upperhand early. Murphy managed to escape from Felix’s grasp and slowly fought his way to victory. Result: Cathail Murphy by Unanimous Decision
155 lbs Jeff Baker (12-11, 1-0) v Steven Petersen (17-15, 0-2)
Nothing looks better than a nasty ol’ head kick. Baker supplied us with it at 51 seconds of third round, a beast of a head kick that earned him the KO of the night. Steven Peterson, falling to 0-2 in his CFC career, survived a first round cut and a late-second round rocking before finally succumbing to the onslaught. Result: Jeff Baker by KO.
155 lbs Brando Reigns (20-19, 0-3) v Cyber Bully (20-17-1, 1-1)
Brando "The Tragedy" Reigns lost his third CFC fight in a row, a three round decision against 1-1 Cyber Bully. The majority of the fight was spent on the mat where Reigns supplied zero offence against Bully’s accurate ground and pound. It was an easy decision by the judges; the exceptional wrestling skills from Bully didn’t give Reigns a chance.
170 lbs Quinoa Smiff (20-19, 0-1) v Ken Vrjalya (1-2, 1-1)
I hate quinoa. Not the person, the food. Ken Vrjalya wins his very first MMA fight, making Smiff tap halfway through the first. A less than sportsmanlike Smiff suggested post-fight that Vrjalya was on steroids, something the CFC said it won’t be looking into.
