Blaine Shutt defends flyweight title vs. Richie Santiago in CES MMA 61 main event

The flyweight title will be on the line when CES returns to Rhode Island in April.

Flyweight champion Blaine Shutt (8-4) will put his belt on the line for the first time when he takes on challenger Richie Santiago (8-2) in the CES 61 main event. The promotion announced the headliner Tuesday.

CES MMA 61 takes place April 24 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Shutt won the promotion’s inaugural 125-pound title in January at CES MMA 60 with a split decision over Johnny Lopez, who has three Bellator fights on his resume. That got Shutt back in the win column after a loss under the CFFC banner. He has alternated wins and losses for his past seven fights.

Santiago started his career 5-0 with five stoppage wins, but then hit a stretch of two losses in three fights. In June 2019, he lost a decision to Miles Johns on Dana White’s Contender Series. But at CES MMA 60, he got back on track with a second-round TKO of Giorgi Kudukhashvili. Apart from his DWCS fight, all of Santiago’s pro fights have been under the CES MMA banner.