Lewis, who was highlighted as a “Fighter to Watch” by UFC Fight Pass ahead of the event, defeated Benny Orozco by unanimous decision at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City as he shut out his opponent on the scorecards with a dominant display to bounce back from his first professional defeat.
The first round started in less-than-ideal circumstances as Lewis connected with two separate kicks that connected with Orozco’s cup, leaving him in clear pain on both occasions. The second kick looked a little unlucky, which may have saved him from a point deduction from referee Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro.
But, once the action resumed, Lewis took control, using his wrestling to take Orozco down and control him on the mat for the remainder of the round.
Lewis focused on his striking in the early portion of Round 2 and snapped Orozco’s head back with a pair of big straight lefts. Lewis continued to apply the pressure and had Orozco on the retreat after landing a big right hand to the temple. Then, with Orozco looking to scoot away into space, Lewis converted a perfectly-timed takedown attempt to take the action to the ground once again.
This time, Lewis went for damage, rather than control as he connected with punches and elbows to put the exclamation point on a dominant second stanza.
Lewis looked comfortably in charge heading into the final round, and Orozco started the round looking to push forward and land strikes. But Lewis countered with some solid shots of his own, then returned to his wrestling once again to take Orozco down.
The action eventually returned to the feet, and a big knee and follow up punches had Lewis eyeing a TKO finish, but in the ensuing scramble, Orozco looked to lock up a guillotine choke as he forced Lewis to play defence on the ground for the first time in the fight.
Lewis eventually escaped, before dragging his man to the canvas once again. With the New Jersey crowd chanting his name, Lewis continued to dominate matters on the mat as he shut down his opponent all the way to the final bell.
The judges were all in agreement on the scoring, with all three judges awarding Lewis the victory with 30-27 scores across the board. It meant the former LFA lightweight champion, who lost his title back in April in his only career loss, bounced back into the win column. And after his victory, the New Jersey native said he was going nowhere, and that CFFC was his new home as he looks to build an undeniable case for a shot in the UFC.
Richie SAVAGE Lewis wins by unanimous decision!
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— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 31, 2025
Galanti swaps submissions for strikes en route to TKO finish
In the night’s co-main event, Nick Galanti used his wrestling and grappling skills to claim a unanimous decision victory over former LFA and Bellator veteran Ty Gwerder.
Former CFFC NextGen amateur champion Galanti had a strong opening round as he dominated Gwerder through the majority of the mat exchanges. But in the second, Gwerder was able to counter well, and enjoyed some top control of his own in a much more closely-contested round.
It meant the action headed into the final round with the bout hanging in the balance, and Galanti smartly returned to his bread and butter, his wrestling, to swiftly take Gwerder to the mat. Gwerder tried to battle back to his feet, but Galanti refused to relinquish his hold on the veteran, and eventually took Gwerder back to the canvas again.
This time Galanti wasable to take Gwerder’s back and lock up a body triangle to control position. Gwerder tried to escape, but it opened up the opportunity for Galanti to attack the neck as he looked to lock up a rear-naked choke. Gwerder defended stoutly as Galanti chased the submission. And, with the submission looking unlikely, Galanti switched tactics and hammered Gwerder with unanswered ground strikes to force the finish.
TKO for Nick Gilante! 💥
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— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 31, 2025
Zhumagul delivers, as advertised
Undefeated welterweight Busurman Zhumagul was forced to deal with a little adversity, but the 21-year-old prospect delivered another impressive performance as he backed up his “UFC Fight Pass Fighter to Watch” status with another first-round finish.
After a spirited start to the bout, Zhumagul was able to take Sierra to the mat twice. After the first takedown, “Bushido” was able to land some ground strikes from a standing position before the action returned to the feet. But the bout didn’t stay in the stand-up realm for long, as Zhumagul took Sierra down again.
This time, Sierra tried to lock up a guillotine choke that forced Zhumagul to defend smartly. Then, after the action progressed on the mat, Sierra tried for the guillotine again. This time the hold looked tighter and more dangerous, but once again Zhumagul was able to free himself.
Then, the Kyrgyzstan athlete decided it was time to showcase some submission skills of his own as he locked up a tight rear-naked choke that forced the finish.
He escaped the guillotine and got the RNC!
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— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) August 31, 2025
It took Zhumagul’s career record to 4-0, with all four wins coming in the CFFC cage, and all coming in the first round.
Thomas makes it two out of two
The night’s third UFC Fight Pass Fighter to Watch, Karli Jo Thomas, put things right on fight night after a slip-up on the scale on Friday as she claimed a third-round finish of 3-0 Syndicate MMA prospect Annabel Kelly.
Thomas, who missed weight by 1.6 pounds at Friday’s official weigh-ins, produced a strong performance as she bounced back from a strong opening round from Kelly to deliver an improved second round. Then, in the third, she dominated en route to a rear-naked choke submission as she claimed back-to-back victories under the CFFC banner.
In the opening bout of the night, featherweight Jeremiah Delgado marked the occasion of his professional MMA debut with a hard-earned split-decision victory over Tyler Berger.
CFFC 145: Main card results
- Richie Lewis def. Benny Orozco via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Nick Galanti def. Ty Gwerder via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 3, 4:03
- Busurman Zhumagul def. Joshua Sierra via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:20
- Karli Jo Thomas def. Annabel Kelly via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:47
- Jeremiah Delgado def. Tyler Berger via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
