Vacant Bantamweight Gold at Stake Saturday Night in Tampa

Ordinarily, a Saturday night of MMA entails a card from the UFC, but not this week. While Dana White and his team are catching their collective breath from last week’s Noche UFC at the Las Vegas Sphere before heading to France for the promotion’s third annual visit to Paris next weekend, UFC Fight Pass is the place to be for fights in primetime.

Atlantic City-based Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) takes advantage of a rare UFC-free Saturday by holding CFFC 135. The Florida State Fairgrounds is where the promotion sets up shop this weekend for the card inside Entertainment Hall.

Live coverage of the show begins at 6 pm ET/ 3 pm PT on the promotion’s OnlyFans channel with the prelims. Main card action follows at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass. All told, absent of any postponed or canceled fights between now and the weekend, the final version of CFFC 135 features a full 12-fight card.

Set ’em straight, Mr. Hill!

Catch #CFFC135 THIS SATURDAY ONLY on #UFCFIGHTPASS! pic.twitter.com/6Q1seiIBWH

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 17, 2024

Vacant Bantamweight Championship at Stake in CFFC 135 Main Event

Highlighting the night’s activities is the battle for the Vacant CFFC Bantamweight Championship in the CFFC 135 main event. Joey Ruquet (9-4 MMA, CFFC promotional debut) returns to the cage for the first time in 54 weeks against undefeated Khusein Shaikhaev (12-0 MMA, CFFC promotional debut.)

The winner succeeds Vilson Ndregjoni, who was stripped of the 135-lb. belt due to failing to make the bantamweight championship maximum in June of 2023, as the titleholder. As with all CFFC championship fights in the professional ranks, the CFFC 135 main event is an advertised maximum of four rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.

If, however, the scorecards produce a draw after the contracted length of the fight, it then proceeds to a fifth round as a tiebreaking procedure.

CFFC 135 Main Event Fighter Comparison

Heading into the CFFC 135 main event on Saturday evening, Joey Ruquet stands as the taller man at 5-foot-8, compared to the 5-foot-7 frame of Khusein Shaikhaev. Ruquet owns a 64-inch reach, with no such information accessible for Shaikhaev at press time.

Currently, the oddsmakers have no money lines available for CFFC 135 on Saturday night. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening in MMA or combat sports this weekend, please wager responsibly.

Ruquet Looks to Run Winning Streak to Four on Saturday

Joey Ruquet enters the CFFC 135 main event having posted a record of 3-2 in his last five fights. Currently, he’s won three fights in a row.

On Sept. 8 of last year, he scored a second-round knockout (punches) of Joe Penafiel (11-6 MMA) during Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA from VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville. After the fight, he talked about getting back in the cage after a long layoff.

“I think I got a little bit of an adrenaline dump,” Ruquet began. “It’s been a few years since I’ve fought live, so I think that got to me a little bit. Other than that, we stuck to the gameplan, kept our distance, tried to draw out of him. Once he started over-pressuring, the elbows [were] our gameplan. That’s exactly how it worked.”

He hasn’t fought in a traditional MMA contest in over two years, dating back to his time in Combate Global. In July of 2022, he scored a unanimous decision after three rounds against Joe Murphy (10-6 MMA). How much ring rust does Ruquet have going into the CFFC 135 main event?

Only time will tell.

Shaikhaev Set to Make Walk for First Time in Almost Three Years

In the other corner, Khusein Shaikhaev has yet to lose thus far in his professional MMA career. The veteran of Russia’s ACA last bested Pavel Vitruk (19-6-1 MMA) in November of 2021.

Shaikhaev was supposed to have returned to the cage this past April versus Michel Lima (19-6-1 MMA) during LFA 182 but the fight was postponed prior to the show taking place for undisclosed reasons. It’s been close to three years since he’s set foot in the cage.

What kind of training camp has he been able to have coming off of a three-year hiatus? Will that amount of time off be a hindrance to Shaikhaev ahead of the CFFC 135 main event?

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Both fighters are coming in off of lengthy gaps in their respective careers. Who will be the new champion?

Ruquet Can Punch His Way to Victory

Joey Ruquet is a brilliant striker, something that was illustrated in his bareknuckle fight against Joe Penafiel last year. During the second round of a scheduled three, Ruquet scored with some nasty elbows, bloodying Penafiel’s face all the while.

Smelling blood in the water, Ruquet continued to tee off with strikes, including a punch to the body that sent Penafiel to the mat. A flurry of ground and pound shots ended the contest.

Look for Ruquet to come out like a house on fire in the CFFC 135. If he can find a home for the big shots, look out.

Shaikhaev Slick With Subs

In the other corner, Khusein Shaikhaev has finished seven fights inside the distance with five of those stoppages being submissions. One need look no further than his fight against Mateusz Juszczac.

During round two, Shaikhaev dropped Juszczac and scored with some ground and pound shots before transitioning to back mount, continuing to soften up his opponent with punches. From there, he rolled over to apply the torque and lock in a rear-naked choke, forcing Juszczac to tap out.

Khusein Shaikhaev needs to drop Joey Ruquet at his earliest opportunity. If he gets a little daylight, he’s golden.

Final Thoughts

With no UFC fights happening this week, the CFFC 135 main event runs unopposed. You have no excuse when it comes to missing it.

Prediction: Joey Ruquet by Second-Round Knockout.