So the Cage Fury Fighting Championship has rebooted and will be returning to Atlantic City in February, which should be great news for both fans and fighters alike looking for another dose of fistic goodness. “Wait,” you may say. “Didn’t the CFFC crash and burn years ago?” Why yes, they did. But until that fateful day when their moneyman saw how much every fighter was being paid and pulled the plug, they were kicking ass like no other promotion before (and few since). Therefore, a walk down memory lane is in order. Get ready for… CFFC’s greatest hits!
- Kimbo vs. Ray Mercer – Once upon a time there was this big, scary dude who would fight people in backyards and the bouts would be posted on the Internet. Everyone thought he was badass, so an MMA match-up – against a former heavyweight boxing champ, no less – was in order. And that’s how we got Kimbo Slice vs. Ray Mercer, which was an exhibition bout and the main event of CFFC 5.
- Josh Rhodes – Josh Rhodes was to face-punching what dynamite is to blowing holes in cave walls, and he was the CFFC light-heavyweight champ. Seriously, no one could stand with this guy, and the West Virginian retired undefeated when CFFC bit the dust.
- Tamdan McCrory – Before he made it to the UFC, Tamdan McCrory established himself as a badass in Northeast with three consecutive dominant performances in CFFC. Watching McCrory then was like watching a runaway freight train loaded with fissionable nuclear material: scary up close, but fun to watch if you’re not caught in the mushroom cloud.
- Dante Rivera, Alexis Aquino and their postfight riot – In 2007 Alexis Aquino was pure, unbridled meanness. Dante Rivera, meanwhile, was your everyday hero. When they met their battle was epic, and when Rivera ended it with a heelhook, the postfight brawl that erupted in the cage between Rhino Fight Team and Ricardo Almeida’s BJJ academy was just as epic. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and nothing got too out of hand. But for a second there, it looked like that scene in West Side Story where the two gangs snap their fingers and dance and sing. Only with no snapping fingers, dancing or singing. Be cool, Frankie Edgar, be cool!
- 7,300 people – That’s how many spectators packed into Boardwalk Hall to watch Kimbo and Mercer fight, and outside of UFC events, that’s a whole hell of a lot of people. Hopefully, CFFC can get creative with their matchmaking and recapture some of that magic.
