By Michael Fiedel

This Saturday, June 15, New England-based regional powerhouse Cage Titans brings Cage Titans FC 44 live to Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts, streaming at 6 PM ET, exclusively on FloCombat. 

Watch Cage Titans FC 44 LIVE on FloCombat

In the main event of the evening, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 27 finalist and Cage Titans legend Joe Giannetti (7-1-1) will look to continue his climb back to the UFC Octagon against battle-tested veteran D’Juan Owens (17-13-1). This marks Giannetti's third fight since his time on TUF. 

Giannetti, 23, reached the finals of the Ultimate Fighter Season 27 in 2018, submitting both John Gunther (7-1) and Allan Zuniga (13-1) in the first round of their matchups, the former in a lightning-fast 17 seconds. 

In the TUF 27 Finale, Giannetti came up short to tournament winner Mike Trizano (8-1) in a somewhat lackluster, at times unusual, split-decision. Six weeks later, Giannetti was given his walking papers. In an Instagram post that announced his UFC release, Giannetti acknowledged the decision did not come as a total surprise: “I don’t blame them, I didn’t fight like I wanted too or carry myself as I should”. 

Since leaving the UFC, Giannetti has yet to lose. In his return to Cage Titans, the promotion in which he built his career, Giannetti drew with then-undefeated, eventual NEF featherweight champion Josh Harvey (5-0-1). 

Giannetti returned to the win column at Cage Titans 42, where he secured a third-round TKO victory over Connor Barry in the co-main event of the evening.

Now, “Skeletor” will look to continue his momentum against D’Juan Owens.

Owens, 33, has fought professionally 31 times, almost four times as many as Giannetti has. A veteran of Titan FC and CES MMA, Owens captured the vacant lightweight title in Fight Lab Promotions, a North Carolina-based regional organization, in 2017.

Owens has faced his fair share of notable opponents, including UFC veterans Jordan Rinaldi (14-7) and Marlon “Chito” Vera (15-5-1), along with Tiger Muay Thai coach George Hickman (9-3). 

“Dirty South” has won three of his last five, only losing in championship bouts to new Fight Lab champion Mike Stevens (8-5) and ex-CES champion and PFL contender Nate Andrews (15-2), respectively.

In his last fight, Owens defeated Sabah Fadai (11-6), the owner of Rise FC, by split-decision in the main event of Rise FC 3. Owens will look to parlay that victory into another high-profile win, this time against Giannetti. 

Watch Cage Titans FC 44 LIVE on FloCombat

In the co-main event of Cage Titans 44, two of New England’s most explosive staples are set to go to war in what is sure to be an all-out lightweight firefight, as Peter Barrett (9-3) takes on Zach DiSabatino (5-1).

Barrett, 32, is a longtime veteran of the New England fight scene. A 12-fight professional, all of his contests have come under either the Cage Titans or CES banner. 

“Slippery Pete” kicked off his pro career with a blistering 8-0 start, seven of which came by either knockout or submission. Barrett picked up six submissions wins, adding a guillotine choke as his lone submission in his impressive run.

Since, Barrett has hit a rough patch, winning just one of his last four. Despite the skid, each of Barrett’s fights has been exciting; only one of his 12 professional fights needed the judges’ scorecards.

A multi-time Cage Titans headliner, Barrett will look to get back to his winning ways against fellow human highlight reel Zach DiSabatino.

DiSabatino, 25, had a similarly red-hot genesis to his budding MMA career. Since turning pro in 2017, DiSabatino has had a busy, successful run in Cage Titans.

The South Shore Sportfighting product alternated devastating knockout and slick submission victories en route to a 5-0 start to his career before dropping his first career bout to Darius Estell at Cage Titans 42. 

Including his 4-0-1 amateur career, DiSabatino will make his 12th Cage Titans appearance at Cage Titans 44 as he looks to rebound from his first career loss.

The Plymouth Memorial Hall is set to erupt when these two get into the cage, and with 20 combined amateur and professional finishes to their names, that’s for good reason. Make sure you have your popcorn ready when Peter Barrett and Zach DiSabatino get in there.

Watch Cage Titans FC 44 LIVE on FloCombat

In addition to a stacked professional lineup, Cage Titans 44 will also feature an extensive amateur portion to the event. 

Headlining the amateur half of the card is a bantamweight title fight between two of New England’s top prospects, as Cage Titans amateur bantamweight king Arthur Mpofu (3-0) takes on Jeff Joy (2-0) in a battle between former training partners. 

Mpofu, a product of SBG East Coast, captured the promotion’s amateur bantamweight title at Cage Titans 42 back in January. Since beginning his MMA career in August of 2018, Mpofu has fought and won three times in the Cage Titans cage. 

At Cage Titans 44, Mpofu will face his toughest test yet in Jeff Joy. Still, Mpofu is not short on confidence, saying, “This fight is going to play out like all my other fights: no matter where it goes, it ends with my hand being raised in victory”.

Joy, as one might expect, disagrees. “I see myself walking away the new bantamweight champ,” Joy told Cage Titans.

Also turning pro in 2018, Joy has fought twice under the Cage Titans banner, scoring one of those wins by first-round submission. 

Joy will look to continue his undefeated record against Mpofu, who will be looking to do the same. The winner of this amateur bantamweight title clash will emerge with bragging rights, as the Cage Titans champion, and as the top prospect in New England.