CFFC 106: Smith vs. Artis is an upcoming mixed martial arts event scheduled for March 17, 2022 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida, United States.
Fight Card
Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Blake Smith vs. Paris Artis 155 lbs Lightweight Championship
Hugh Pulley vs. Eric Alequin 170 lbs Vacant Welterweight Championship
Brandon Lewis vs. Josh Smith 135 lbs
Charlie Radtke vs. Jonathan Piersma 170 lbs
Brandon Lopez vs. Jonathan Fernandez 170 lbs
Dean Hancock vs. Zulkarnaiyn Kamchybekov 155 lbs
Preliminary Card
Jesus Hernandez vs. Solomon Maldonado 170 lbs
David Romano vs. Tyler Keating 155 lbs
Thomas Picciano vs. Vinny Oristaglio 145 lbs
Jorge Molina vs. Itso Babulaidze 170 lbs
Amateur Card
Argenis Castro vs. Riley Palmer 135 lbs Vacant Bantamweight Championship
Background
Blake Smith (6-2 MMA, 1-0 CFFC) returns to the cage to defend his lightweight strap for the first time against undefeated challenger Paris Artis (5-0 MMA, 2-0 CFFC) in Thursday night’s headliner.
Blake Smith enters the CFFC 106 main event having posted a 3-2 record in his last five MMA bouts, most recently scoring a third-round submission due to a guillotine choke during the main event of the landmark CFFC 100 back in September against then-incumbent titlist Zulk Kamchybekov (5-2 MMA, 4-2 CFFC), who will make his return on Thursday’s card versus Dean Hancock (4-4 MMA, CFFC promotional debut.)
In so doing, Smith broke the trend of then-incumbent champions successfully defending the lightweight title in their first fight after gaining the belt and has presented himself with the opportunity of becoming the fourth man to defend the belt in his first try.
Paris Artis enters the CFFC 106 main event on Thursday night having posted a 5-0 record in his last five fights and has won 11 consecutive bouts dating back to his days in amateur MMA.
Last time out, he scored a second-round submission due to an arm-triangle choke versus Feraris Golden Jr. (3-2 MMA, 1-2 CFFC) during CFFC 100 last September.
If a recent interview is anything to go by, Artis is ready to go in the CFFC 106 main event and is hungry for a title.
As is customary in CFFC championship fights, the CFFC 106 main event will be a maximum of four rounds at five minutes per round, with a fifth-round tiebreaker going into effect if necessary after 20 minutes of action.
Additionally, the night's co-main event sees two contenders challenging for the vacant CFFC welterweight title, with Gracie Tampa South product Hugh "The Wolverine" Pulley (8-4) facing a fellow Floridian in the undefeated Eric Alequin (6-0).
