CFFC 83: Elise Reed claims strawweight title, Bill Algeo calls out Giga Chikadze

Elise Reed marked the occasion of her second professional fight with a championship win as she captured the vacant Cage Fury Fighting Championships strawweight title in the main event of CFFC 83 Thursday night.

Reed’s only prior pro fight actually came on a bigger stage, as she claimed a first-round TKO victory against Rebecca Bryggman at Bellator 231 last October. That big-show experienced seemed to serve the 27-year-old well as she produced a nerveless performance against the more fancied Jasmine Jasudavicius to capture the 115-pound title at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The event was streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.

Despite conceding a height and reach advantage to her opponent, Reed (2-0) used excellent footwork to move in and out of striking range and effectively counter Jasudavicius (4-1) with a smart mix of punches and kicks as she earned scores of 28-29, 29-28, 29-28 to capture the strawweight strap.

“She obviously really likes her knees and she’s a taller fighter. I was a taekwondo person, so kicks are kinda my gameplan,” said Reed after her win, before saying she hopes to get back into the cage to fight again as soon as possible as she bids to build a winning streak with the CFFC belt over her shoulder.

“I don’t think anybody comes into the game planning to lose, and I’m sure as not hell going to stay here for 20 years and put (up) 40 records and 40 fights,” she said. “So, we’re taking over. We’re coming in, and we’re coming in hot, and you’ll probably see me again soon.”

In the night’s co-main event, featherweight Bill Algeo (13-4) bounced back from his Contender Series defeat to Brendan Loughnane last June with an entertaining unanimous decision win over Tim Dooling, then delivered a direct callout to UFC 145-pounder Giga Chikadze.

“I feel great,” he said after the fight. “I’ve beaten everybody on the east coast for the most part. You look at the top 10, I’ve beaten them all.

“I’d really like to fight Giga Chikadze. He’s fighting Bruce Leeroy coming up in about a month in the UFC. I think he sucks. I’m ready to smash him. He was an average dude in Glory, now he’s a below-average MMA fighter. Giga, let’s get it. You’re a (expletive) punk!”

The night also featured impressive victories for former CFFC lightweight champion Joseph Lowry (9-1) and bantamweight prospect Paul Capaldo (5-0), while Isa Dalipaj produced a thrilling comeback performance to claim a first-round TKO win on his professional debut. Dalipaj (1-0) looked close to being finished early in the fight after a blistering start by Javier Guzman, but the Renzo Gracie Philly-trained prospect rallied well to turn the tables and score a stunning first-round finish of his own.

CFCC 82 full results include:

• Elise Reed def. Jasmine Jasudavicius via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Bill Algeo def. Tim Dooling via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Joseph Lowry def. Piankhi Zimmerman via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:09
• Paul Capaldo def. Jamal Johnson via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Isa Dalipaj def. Javier Guzman via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 2:52