UFC veteran Ercik Silva makes his return to the cage at LFA 45 against Nick Barnes on July 20. The event will be held at the Morongo Resort and Casino.
Legacy Fighting Alliance announced their 45th event for July 20th with a welterweight clash between UFC veteran Erick Silva and promotional stand-out Nick Barnes. Silva enters LFA after a seven year stint in the UFC. Barnes has a record of 12-3 and hopes to get on the UFC radar with what would be the biggest victory of his career. The event will be held at the Morongo Resort & Casino.
.@LFAfighting brings welterweight showdown to the Coachella Valley at #LFA45!
Main Event:
15-time UFC Veteran@ErickSilvaMMA
vs.
3-time LFA Headliner@Nick_Phoenix170Friday, July 20th at @MorongoCasino
Tickets on sale Tuesday, June 19th through https://t.co/rlTBgUmMIv pic.twitter.com/BLULaKymRG
— LFA (@LFAfighting) June 13, 2018
Erick Silva exploded onto the UFC scene in 2011, finishing two of his first three fights by first round stoppage. Then 25 years old, the buzz for “The Tiger” was high as the promotion was looking for the next star to break into the established guard in the weight class. However, those expectations were quickly tempered as Silva alternated wins and losses for the next several years. In fact, he put together back-to-back victories only once in the UFC. Starting in 2015, he would go on a 1-4 skid that led to his release this past December. At 33 years old, a UFC return is not out of the question for Silva should he put together several impressive victories.
Nick “The Phoenix” Barnes opened his professional career on a nine fight win-streak, fighting mostly in California. His most notable opponent is former Ultimate Fighter winner Jesse Taylor whom he lost to in 2015. Most recently, he has split fights in two appearances in LFA. He is looking to bounce back from a loss to current UFC fighter Curtis Millender this past January. A win over Silva would be the biggest victory of Barnes’ career and be a huge feather in his cap toward entering a major promotion like the UFC or Bellator.
The event will be only the fourth LFA event to be held in California and the second to be held at the Morongo. LFA’s previous ventures to California were in Burbank and Costa Mesa. Tickets for the event go on sale on Tuesday, June 19.
