CFFC 147– The cage door locks on the Florida State Fairgrounds, and the gang leans in. No pyrotechnics. No superstar walk-ins will probably be present in CFFC 147, simply metal, sweat, and the faint scent of carnival meals reminding everybody that is the place fighters come to show one thing—to not themselves, however to the idea financial system that constructed Florida MMA.
The place Perception Was Born
“An enormous neighborhood of Brazilians got here to Florida within the ’90s,” remembers longtime coach and ESPN analyst Din Thomas, “presumably as a result of the local weather felt like residence. They introduced jiu-jitsu and vale tudo with them.”
These early mats—rolled out in garages and warehouse gyms—constructed a struggle tradition that prizes grind over glamour.
Thomas says that mindset nonetheless defines the scene:
“Do you actually imagine in your self in case you bum-hunt your solution to the UFC? Those who make it struggle whoever, even underneath dangerous circumstances, and nonetheless discover a solution to shine.”
That problem—the quiet conviction to take onerous fights—is Florida’s unofficial foreign money. Name it the idea financial system.
The Fairgrounds Impact for CFFC 147
CFFC 147 has turn out to be the proper testing floor for that religion.
“Tampa is enriched with a lot MMA expertise that it was actually a no brainer to come back right here,” matchmaker Arias Garcia advised MMA Sucka. “We’ve acquired Gracie Pac with Billy Quarantillo and DefWar with Daniel Mendoza proper within the space—plus Kill Cliff and American High Group only a drive away.”
CFFC CEO Rob Haydak echoed the sentiment within the promotion’s launch for CFFC 147, calling Tampa “a blue-collar struggle city” and promising that “the Fairgrounds will probably be rocking as soon as once more.”
CFFC first touched down in Tampa with CFFC 133 in July 2024, then returned three extra instances in 2025—April, July, and now October. The consistency isn’t unintended. Tampa crowds present up and imagine.
CFFC 147: The place Religion Meets the Grind
The primary occasion for CFFC 147 pits Florida’s Kevin “Candy Peas” Pease towards Michigan’s Ethan Pauley for the vacant welterweight title—a struggle that embodies all the things this promotion stands for.
Only a yr in the past, Pease (6-0 MMA, 4-0 CFFC) appeared destined for gold earlier than the Skilled Fighters League known as. He notched a win there, however when a return invitation didn’t materialize, CFFC provided him the title shot he’d been chasing since 2022. He accepted instantly, decided to finish his climb towards the UFC.
His opponent for CFFC 147, Pauley (7-1 MMA, 0-0 CFFC), brings six submission wins and the type of momentum that makes scouts take discover. The Warrior Approach Martial Arts standout has fought six instances up to now fourteen months and arrives in Tampa on a four-fight streak.
“My coaching at Warrior Approach is the rationale I’ve gotten this far,” Pauley advised MMA Sucka. “It’s one of many authentic, true martial-arts gyms in Michigan.”
Pease: Wrestling Roots, Skilled Mindset
Pease enters from Kill Cliff FC, surrounded by elite expertise like Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman.
“It’s extraordinarily useful whenever you’re surrounded by like-minded people,” Pease stated. “Everybody there may be centered on doing the suitable issues to succeed. It’s been an integral piece of my improvement.”
He describes his type as “tenacious” and his basis as “lower from wrestling. That’s the place my biggest strengths come from.”
The southpaw wrestles with precision, packing containers with calculated angles, and carries the identical affected person ferocity that made Pernell Whitaker—his nickname’s inspiration—so harmful.
From the Fighters Who’ve Been There
CFFC veteran Tommy Hinz says the distinction between this promotion and a typical regional card is greater than manufacturing worth—it’s accountability.
“From a regional perspective, what makes combating for CFFC totally different is the professionalism,” Hinz advised MMA Sucka. “All members of the crew and workforce maintain all the things sharp, and the fighters do their half. It’s killers’ row.”
He factors to concrete proof: “My coach Ryan Cafaro gained the featherweight title, and my buddy Eric Nolan captured gold and went straight to the UFC. This group reminds you to maintain working onerous.”
That lineage offers weight to each title bout that follows.
Perception Over Brilliant Lights Forward of CFFC 147
Based on UFC.com, Tampa’s Anthony Guarascio remains to be the one space fighter to succeed in Dana White’s Contender Sequence since 2020—a reminder that the bridge from native to world stays slim. CFFC is the scaffolding that retains it standing.
“Organizations like CFFC present a stage of professionalism that prepares fighters for the UFC,” Thomas stated. “They bridge the hole.”
And that bridge—between fried dough and fame—is the place Florida’s fighters be taught what perception actually means.
On the Fairgrounds, there are not any chandeliers or superstar cageside rows—simply conviction, sweat, and the faint sweetness of powdered sugar drifting via the air.
In Tampa, perception isn’t advertising and marketing. It’s the principle occasion.
Sources: CFFC.television occasion archives; official CFFC press launch; UFC.com DWCS roster listings; interviews with CFFC matchmaker Arias Garcia, ESPN analyst Din Thomas, Tommy Hinz, Kevin Pease, and Ethan Pauley for MMA Sucka.
