Cedric Gunnison is one half of a compelling lightweight fight on Friday’s CFFC 126 main card, and he’ll be looking to shake off his first loss in roughly two years at the show.
The fight against Robert Watley at CFFC 122, ending in a majority decision, came in July, and months on from it, Gunnison (6-2) made the case that he should have picked up the W. “I didn’t go to the hospital after, I know he did. He had to get eight staples; he had to get five stitches in his face, three stitches above his eye, and I went home happy.”
Gunnison understands why the judges went the other way, pointing out that Watley earned a takedown in every round. Still, he pointed out the obvious question: “What did he do with the takedown? He didn’t pass the guard, he didn’t go for submissions, he wasn’t throwing ground n’ pound.”
Ultimately, Gunnison doesn’t “want to be one of those guys either that was like ‘oh I won that fight.’ The judges picked him, I feel like the judges picked him, and I should have done more to keep it from going to the judges.”
CFFC title fights do not have a mandatory fifth round, and Gunnison wishes that had been an option. “I wanted that fifth so bad man. I felt so fresh and good!”
Gunnison heads to Florida for CFFC 126 on Friday the 13th, and he will actually be making the move to the Sunshine state shortly. This time, the plan is to “not leave it up to the judges, and put on a show for everybody there in Florida.”
He’s paired up with Julio Cesar Chaves, who Gunnison thinks highly of. “My favorite thing about him is, he’s a dog, man. He’s not afraid to fight. And I like that. I’ve been ducked and dodged by a lot of these guys that are moving up. I understand that’s part of the sport, which I do not like, that aspect of the sport is like, trying to pick your fights and trying to pick your way to the top.”
“I feel like we’re both dogs, and it’s gonna be a dog fight. We’re going to go at it. He likes to go to decision, because he’s never been knocked out. But we’ll see how he does with me, that’s all I can say.”
Watch our full interview with CFFC 126 headliner Cedric Gunnison above.
Correction: Article updated to reflect that Cedric Gunnison is fighting on the main card, not in the main event.
