After stellar CFFC debut, Tycen Lynn remains intent on taking toughest fights available

Tycen Lynn made quite the splash in his CFFC debut, choking out a highly-touted bantamweight prospect in Phil Caracappa this past November. But the man known as “Shin to Chin” said he wasn’t among those who were surprised with the upset victory.

“I was very happy with the result,” Lynn said. “I thought everything went well, pretty much to plan. He ended up taking me down, and I just got back to my feet. Like I said before we fought, I just thought I was better technically standing up, so keep it standing and get back to what I’m best at, which is kicking fools’ heads off.”

Lynn did exactly that at CFFC 88, delivering a high kick to the dome that wobbled Caracappa, followed by a brief trip to the floor and a lightning-quick transition to a rear-naked choke that put “Hitman” to sleep.

“I feel like I can compete with the best in the division,” Lynn said. “Whoever they want to throw at me, I’m fairly confident that if I can’t win, I’m at least going to make it a hell of a fight.”

The impressive performance earned Lynn (8-4) an invite back to the organization, and this time a title will be on the line. The Charlie’s Combat Club fighter takes on Saidyokub Kakharamonov (7-2) on Thursday, March 11 at CFFC 92, which streams live on UFC Fight Pass from Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena. The vacant CFFC bantamweight belt is up for grabs in the contest.

An Uzbekistan native, Kakharamonov most recently saw action in February 2020, where he scored a first-round knockout over recent UFC signee Askar Askar. He also went the distance with highly touted UFC bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, in a 2019 PFL contest.

That all sounds great to Lynn, who has made it his career mission to take on the toughest opponents available.

“I didn’t know anything about him when they offered him, but I did watch one of his fights in the PFL that he had a couple of years ago, and he looks pretty well-rounded,” Lynn said. “He fought Khabib’s cousin, and he looked pretty good, so I’m excited. His standup looked pretty decent, and he’s from Uzbekistan, so I’m sure he’s got wrestling. So yeah, I’m excited. I’m excited for the challenge.”

Lynn has always taken that path, as witnessed by his career record, where he faced current UFC fighters Sean O’Malley, Journey Newsom and Louis Smolka, all within his first eight contests as a professional. The result is a career record that may not sparkle on paper but has worked to prepare Lynn for the sport’s biggest stage.

“I’m looking for another big finish, so if I can take him out, another big prospect, I think hopefully I can move up to that next level coming here shortly,” Lynn said. “I’ll take what comes my way. If the offer comes to go to the big shows, obviously I want to face the best guys. If it’s in the CFFC again, it’s a great organization, so I don’t mind fighting there if I’ve got to defend my belt once or twice, but obviously I’m looking to get into the bigger shows to showcase my skills against the top guys.”

A CFFC title would certainly help Lynn make that case – and if his sophomore effort in the promotion is anything like his debut, it’s a very real possibility.

First, of course, is Kakharamonov, and Lynn said while he’s hoping he can add to his highlight reel, he’s not entering the cage expecting anything less than to be pushed to his limits.

“You always go into a fight training for a war,” Lynn said. “If you don’t have that mentality, I don’t think you’re going to win. I’m training for him like this is going to be the toughest dude I’ve ever fought.”

This story was first published at CFFC.tv.