Nikolas Motta dominated Juan Gonzalez to win the lightweight title at CFFC 79.

In a four-round title fight in the headliner, Motta (11-3) beat Gonzalez (7-2) with scores of 40-36 and a pair of 39-37s. His win included three first-round knockdowns – yet that didn’t afford him a 10-8 round from any of the three judges. Still, his performance mostly was a lopsided one to win the belt.

Gonzalez kicked early, then bog backed up by Motta’s pressure. Motta tried to kick high, then followed it with a left hand. Moments later, a short right hand from Motta put Gonzalez on the canvas, but he was up quickly. But not long after that, Motta again fired away and knocked Gonzalez down again with a punch. Midway through, Motta put another good combination on Gonzalez, who was forced to back out quickly to avoid more damage. With 20 seconds left, Motta landed his third knockdown of the round, but let Gonzalez back up.

Motta’s output slowed down in the second and he became a little more deliberate in his attack. That gave Gonzalez some opportunities for offense. But with two minutes left, Motta charged forward again and with Gonzalez retreating, Motta landed a high kick and a few punches. A takedown for Gonzalez may have been a morale booster at the end of the second frame.

Just past the first minute in the third, Motta landed a kick that knocked Gonzlez to the canvas. But Gonzalez popped right up and went after Motta’s back. He took it, worked for a choke, then went after an armbar. But Motta slipped it and got back to his feet in the center of the cage.

Motta put things mostly on cruise control in the fourth and final round. (CFFC has four-round title fights, with a fifth sudden victory round if necessary.) It likely cost him with two of the judges, who had it 39-37. But the reading of the scores mostly was academic.

Teed stops exhausted Reiter to win heavyweight title

In the co-main event, Shawn Teed overcame a rough first two rounds and became CFFC’s new heavyweight champion with a stoppage of Ben Reiter.

Reiter (17-3-1), who was fighting for the first time in nearly three years and moving up from five Bellator fights at middleweight, dominated the first two rounds against Teed (6-2-1). But in the third, Reiter came out with very little left in the tank, and Teed took advantage to win the vacant heavyweight belt. Teed got the TKO stoppage at the 2:27 mark of the middle round.

Reiter kicked early, then threw big overhand punches against the taller Teed. When Teed tried to answer back, Reiter kept swinging with bombs in the opening minute. Ninety seconds in, they clinched briefly and traded uppercuts and body shots before Reiter backed Teed to the fence. When Teed eventually reversed things to put Reiter’s back to the fence, Reiter landed heavy elbows to continue to win the striking battle.

Thirty seconds into the second round, Reiter landed a big takedown along the fence and went to work on top with ground-and-pound from half-guard. Reiter worked his way to side control without much effort and kept the pressure on. Teed got hold of Reiter’s left arm and tried to secure an Americana, but got elbowed in the face for his troubles. Reiter broke free and landed heavy punches while Teed worked his way back to his feet.

Reiter came out looking gassed to open the third, and Teed’s corner called for him to take advantage. Nearly two minutes in, Teed took Reiter down and took his back fairly easily. He took full back mount and started raining down punches while Reiter did his best to cover up. But when it was clear Reiter had nothing in the tank to stop things, Teed got the stoppage win.

Curatolo submits Castilhos in first

In a fast and furious flyweight fight, Santo Curatolo (4-0) stayed perfect with a first-round submission of Aleczander Castilhos (3-2). Curatolo put on a striking display early against Castilhos with punches and knees. Then he worked for a slam and easily took Castilhos’ back to sink in a rear-naked choke. Curatolo got the stoppage at the 3:35 mark of the opening frame.

Richmond dominates, but settles for split call

In a fight that Kenny Richmond (4-1-1) appeared to be dominating, he had to settle for a split decision against Jordan Morales (7-5). Richmond got takedowns in all three rounds and likely thought he was cruising to a sweep of the judges’ scorecards. But while a pair of judges gave him the fight 30-27, a third scored it 29-28 for Morales.

CFFC 79 results included:

• Nikolas Motta def. Juan Gonzalez via unanimous decision (40-36, 39-37, 39-37) – to win vacant lightweight title
• Shawn Teed def. Ben Reiter via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 2:27 – to win vacant heavyweight title
• Danny Rodriguez def. William Tucker via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Santo Curatolo def. Aleczander Castilhos via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:35
• Kenny Richmond def. Jordan Morales via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)