CFFC 6 Cancelled, Promoter Says
Cage Fury Fighting Championships' Oct. 12 card in Atlantic City,
New Jersey, is off, CFFC president Felix Martinez said in a
statement released Friday on the promotion's Web site.
Citing an inability to recover from the loss of a "major" investor who "decided to pull out at the last moment," Martinez expressed regret for having to cancel the card, which was to be headlined on pay-per-view with a fight between David "Tank" Abbott and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson.
Earlier this week, rumors circulated that the card was going to be postponed. According to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, the deadline to secure pay-per-view lapsed on Monday and the investor, claiming personal issues with family, failed to deliver the money.
CFFC attempted to salvage the card by having it streamed live on the Internet, but when the investor again failed to provide the funds by Thursday, the promoters decided they had no choice but to call off the card, said NJSACB's Nick Lembo.
While the focus of CFFC 6 was the clash between street brawlers Abbott and Ferguson, a strong local flavor, including the return of Ricardo Almeida to MMA, had area fight fans planning to attend.
Almeida alone, said Lembo, was the reason for upwards of 2,000 tickets sold. "Big Dog" had not fought since 2004 and is the proprietor of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy in Hamilton, New Jersey.
CFFC attracted attention in June of this year, when it promoted an exhibition fight between "Slice" and former professional boxer Ray Mercer.
Bas Rutten (Pictures), Ferguson's trainer for the Oct. 12 bout, told Sherdog.com that his charge was "really messed up" after hearing the news. "He's devastated," Rutten said. "He doesn't know what to do."
Citing an inability to recover from the loss of a "major" investor who "decided to pull out at the last moment," Martinez expressed regret for having to cancel the card, which was to be headlined on pay-per-view with a fight between David "Tank" Abbott and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson.
Earlier this week, rumors circulated that the card was going to be postponed. According to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, the deadline to secure pay-per-view lapsed on Monday and the investor, claiming personal issues with family, failed to deliver the money.
CFFC attempted to salvage the card by having it streamed live on the Internet, but when the investor again failed to provide the funds by Thursday, the promoters decided they had no choice but to call off the card, said NJSACB's Nick Lembo.
While the focus of CFFC 6 was the clash between street brawlers Abbott and Ferguson, a strong local flavor, including the return of Ricardo Almeida to MMA, had area fight fans planning to attend.
Almeida alone, said Lembo, was the reason for upwards of 2,000 tickets sold. "Big Dog" had not fought since 2004 and is the proprietor of a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy in Hamilton, New Jersey.
CFFC attracted attention in June of this year, when it promoted an exhibition fight between "Slice" and former professional boxer Ray Mercer.
Bas Rutten (Pictures), Ferguson's trainer for the Oct. 12 bout, told Sherdog.com that his charge was "really messed up" after hearing the news. "He's devastated," Rutten said. "He doesn't know what to do."
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