With a bantamweight title fight planned for the evening’s main event, there was plenty of action to look forward to in Tampa.

Albania’s Vilson Ndregjoni put his 135lb belt up for grabs against Tariq Ismail in that headlining fight, with Ismail taking on the role as Snow Bird, originally hailing from Canada. A member of the famed TriStar gym in Montreal, Ismail was coming in off a win over UFC veteran Walei Watson, who had shared the cage with TJ Dillashaw, Cody Gibson, and Brett Johns, among others.

CFFC 126 takes place live on Friday, October 13, 2023 streaming live on UFC Fight Pass. Full results from the event can be found below. Prelims start at 7PM, with main card action getting underway at 9PM ET.

CFFC 126: Ndregjoni vs. Ismail Results

Main Card

Vilson Ndregjoni (c) vs. Tariq Ismail – for the CFFC bantamweight championship main event cancelled
Chris Alvidrez def. Will Rentz by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 4:42
Morquez Forest def. Jordan Harrington by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:44
Alonzo Turner def. CJ LaFragola by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 1:48
Cedric Gunnison def. Julio Cesar Chaves by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Brandon Lopez def. Jesus Hernandez by TKO (strikes), Round 2, 4:34
William Tarpley def. John Lopez by KO (right hook), Round 2, 1:55

Preliminary Card

Devin Flores vs. Elijah Garcia
David Camacho def. Argenis Castro by unanimous decision
Matt Allison def. Yventon Nelson by TKO, Round 1, 0:56
Bill Lewis def. Blandino Oliviera by KO (punch), Round 1, 1:30
Dylan Patlan def. Matt Mulcahy by unanimous decision

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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.

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Although he’s ascended quickly up the regional ladder and at a relatively young age, Gunnison didn’t get started in MMA until a little later than a lot of his contemporaries. However, he did already have somewhat of a base prior to MMA training.

“I used to box in the streets with my brothers and stuff,” Gunnison said with a laugh. “I didn’t start training until I was 19-years old. It looks like I’ve been doing this a long time because I’m fairly good at it, but I’ve put in a lot of work in these last few years to get to where I’m at.”

While some parents might be a little hesitant watching their kids mix it up in the streets with boxing gloves on, Gunnison’s mother was nothing but supportive of his martial arts journey.

“She’s just always been so supportive, man,” he said. “She had four kids and was a single mom growing up. Watching her struggle and watching her do everything we need – I want to be able to give back.”

Gunnison knows with a second big title over his shoulder, opportunities like the Contender Series can’t be that far away. Being able to sign a contract with the UFC would help him reach his ultimate goal, which is to pay his mom back for some of that everlasting support.

“The first thing that got me started is that I really want to get my mom a house through this. It’s something that I’m actually pretty good at – I think I’ve shown that a little bit,” Gunnison said. “I do believe that I could do that and I would love to give back to my family through mixed martial arts.”

He’ll look to take that next step Friday as he takes on Zulkarnaiyn Kamchybekov for the CFFC 155lbs title. That fight will serve as the main event and will be aired on UFC Fight Pass.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:04.

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Cedric Gunnison Interview (2:04)

Kicking off the show this week, we are joined by ROC lightweight champion and CFFC lightweight contender, Cedric Gunnison. Gunnison discusses the opportunity to move over to CFFC after being disrespected with his prior organization. Plus, he tells how he came to the sport from a background of boxing his brothers in the street and how he hopes one day to use martial arts to buy his mother a home.

Combat Countdown: PFL Season Predictions (15:14)

We return with another of our favorite segments, the Combat Countdown. This week, we’re looking at all the divisions in PFL and picking a season winner out of them. Anything can happen in these crazy rundowns, but the guys do their best to pull you out a winner or two. Plus, they chat a little about this weekend’s upcoming PFL 1 event, which includes a banger between Thaigo Santos and Rob Wilkinson.

Ty Flores Interview (23:33)

Next on the docket, we’re joined by PFL light heavyweight Ty Flores. Flores fights at PFL 1 this weekend against Delan Monte. With a loaded light heavyweight roster, some people might be looking ahead to what’s to come. However, Flores has no fears or preferences. Afterall, if you’re used to getting grappled by Curtis Blaydes and Devin Clark, you might not be too worried about what coming up next.

Patrick Brady Interview (34:28)

Closing out the show, we chat with PFL heavyweight, Patrick Brady. Despite being a professional for less than a year and a half, Brady finds himself in the thick of the million dollar PFL season. He discusses what that’s like and how he got into the sport a little later than most. In addition, we also discuss his fight next weekend at PFL 2. He’ll be taking on Michał Andryszak while looking to take his first steps towards life changing money.

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