An interim light heavyweight title was on the line in the main event of Saturday’s LFA 159, going down live at the CIDE Casa Branca Sports Complex in Caraguatatuba, São Paulo, Brazil.
With LFA’s current light heavyweight champion, Bruno Lopes, set to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series shortly, Rodolfo Bellator and Acacio Dos Santos faced off for interim gold. It was an opportunity to either earn a shot at Lopes should he come up short on DWCS, or end up promoted to undisputed champ should the champ earn a UFC deal on the show.
Bellato had come up short in his own DWCS opportunity last year, as had Dos Santos. With both losing on the Contender Series, Saturday represented a second chance to crack the big leagues, given the graduation rate for LFA champs moving on to the UFC, Bellator, and PFL.
Also on the card, heavyweight prospect Hugo Cunha looked to bounce back from the first loss of his career, under the ONE Championship banner, when he took on Fernando Batista.
LFA 159 goes down live on Saturday, May 27, 2023, with the main card airing live on UFC Fight Pass. Full results from the event can be found below.
LFA 159: Bellato vs. Dos Santos Results
Main Card
Rodolfo Bellato def. Acácio Dos Santos by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) — for the vacant LFA interim light heavyweight championship
Anderson Ferreira def. Junior Luiz by knockout, Round 1, 3:31
Geraldo Neto def. Argemiro Delmandes by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:18
Lucas Rocha def. Matheus Da Silva by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Vinicius Pires def. Kauã Fernandes by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:46
Hugo Cunha def. Fernando Batista by TKO, Round 1, 2:52
Preliminary Card
Marcos Degli def. Hugo Paiva by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:16
Isaias Simões def. João Paulo Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Juan Pablo Vieira def. Manuel Robson Minoto by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 4:55
Levi Rodrigues def. Jose Carlos Lima by TKO, Round 2, 1:28
Aieza Bertolso def. Rafaela Silva by submission (armbar), Round 1, 4:02
