In that featherweight headliner, seven-time Jiu-Jitsu world champ Ary Farias took on another BJJ black belt in Erick Visconde, with plenty of bragging rights on the line. Also on the card, heavyweight Josh Hokit, who had a brief stint in the NFL before transitioning to fighting, was looking for his third win as a pro. The Bellator alum faced John Lopez in the night’s co-main event.

Where to Watch LFA 199

Friday, January 10, 2024 sees LFA 199 take place at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort in Lemoore, California. The main card streams live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 10PM ET, 7PM PT following online prelims. Those kick off at 8:30PM ET. The event will be followed by a pair of post-liminary fights (no broadcast planned). Full results from the event can be found below.

LFA 199: Farias vs. Visconde Results

Main Card

Erick Visconde def. Ary Farias by knockout (spinning back elbow), Round 2, 1:08
Josh Hokit def. John Lopez by TKO, Round 1, 2:53
Rafael Do Nascimento def. Brandon Altomare by submission (calf slicer), Round 1, 2:06
Shovkhal Churchaev def. Enkhur Bayartsogt by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Theo Haig def. Said-Magomedov Abdulgaziev by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 1:49
Billy Ray Valdez def. Larry Gonzales by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Edmund Kwan def. Sheldon Struble by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:33

Preliminary Card

Sczar Charles def. Ueslei Alves by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Gabrielle McComb def. Esmira Mammadova by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 3:16
Shealor Ladd def. Tylando Mattress by knockout, Round 2, 1:43

Postliminary Card (After Main Card)

Abraham Del Toro vs. Jermaine Edwards
Julio Larrave vs. Allen Silhanek

The post LFA 199: Farias vs. Visconde Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Atop the card was a bantamweight main event, as Ary Farias faced John Sweeney, a grappling vs. striker battle featuring a BJJ world champion (Farias) against a protégé of UFC star Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (Sweeney).

Sweeney had won his last five bouts prior to Friday night, while Farias had won his last two, including his LFA debut last August. Prior to that run, Sweeney had run up against current UFC fighter Cody Durden in his most recent loss.

Full results from Friday, January 13, 2023’s LFA 153, with a main card airing on UFC Fight Pass, can be found below.

LFA 150: Farias vs. Sweeney Results

Main Card

John Sweeney def. Ary Farias by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Thomas Petersen def. Richard Foster by KO (Ground N’ Pound), Round 1, 3:48
Mark Climaco def. Miguel Sanson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jalin Fuller def. Scott Writz by technical submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 1, 1:14
Mitch McKee def. Ira Lukowsky by KO (Punches), Round 2, 0:21
Dylan Budka def. Wes Schultz by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Quang Le def. Henry Huff by submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round 3, 4:44

Preliminary Card

Isaac Thomson def. Gary Konkol by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Ganbat Bayasgalan def. Adamu Isah by KO (Left Hook), Round 1, 0:35
Kyle Zimick def. Connor Penka by submission, Round 2, 2:50 – amateur bout
Dominic Dagostino def. Dominic St. George by TKO, Round 2, 2:51 – amateur bout
Shamar Williams def. Saw Dah by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27) – amateur bout
Brady Steinhorst def. Scott Zeller by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 2, 3:00 – amateur bout
Darren Coleman def. Zach Gehl by KO, Round 1, 0:20 – amateur bout
Tyler Jones def. Casey Boykin by TKO, Round 1, 2:12 – amateur bout
Noah Gasho def. Moy Medina by KO, Round 3, 2:38 – amateur bout

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The event was topped by a promising bantamweight bout, featuring UFC veteran Michinori Tanaka taking on multiple time BJJ champ Ary Farias. Tanaka was undefeated since parting ways with the UFC in 2017, winning three straight including a fight with Rogerio Bontorin.

Also on Friday’s LFA 138 card, Askar Askar, the man who had almost made the UFC last year. Askar had been scheduled to face Cody Stamann in February of 2021, but was not medically cleared to compete. That led to him being cut by the promotion before ever making his debut; he’s 2-1 since, and will look to make it three straight wins against Diego Silva.

Silva missed weight for the fight, coming in 1.2 pounds over the non-title bantamweight limit.

LFA 138’s main card airs live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 9PM ET. Full results from the event can be found below.

LFA 138: Farias vs. Tanaka Results

Main Card

Ary Farias def. Michinori Tanaka by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Diego Silva def. Askar Askar by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Elijah Johns def. Masuto Kawana by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
A.J. Cunningham def. Shea Conley by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Nick Talavera def. Jota Ninomiya by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:41
Chris Mecate def. Motaz Askar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Preliminary Card

Kallum Parker def. Ashton Kirby by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Ryan Hoover def. Jared Brown by TKO, Round 2, 4:46
David Wright def. Gabe Conner by TKO, Round 1, 1:36 – amateur bout
Triston Gwaltney def. Abbas Mounshed by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 3, 1:00 – amateur bout

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We’ve got ten names the UFC could add on to 135lbs all lined up. But first, here’s a look at last year’s list, featuring the only current UFC roster member, Timur Valiev, signing with the UFC in 2020. Jamie Siraj unfortunately retired recently due to health issues, while Magomed Magomedov was one of Bellator’s biggest signings last year.

Daniel Marcos
Francesco Nuzzi
Jack Cartwright
Jamie Siraj
Jose Johnson
Khusein Askhabov
Magomed Magomedov
Rustam Kerimov
Stephen Loman
Timur Valiev

Now on to this year’s list!

The post 10 Bantamweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2021 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Taura MMA 10 | Friday | Brazil

Flyweight, Felipe Gheno (9-1)

After losing a fight in late 2013, Gheno would not lose again as he’s currently on a seven-fight win streak. He’s progressed through his career and is one of the most exciting flyweight out of Brazil. He has a background in kickboxing competing in WGP. He’s always throwing in offset patterns attacking the outside of the leg and the inside of the leg. Gheno has good movement and slips and returns very well. His striking is always coming in bunches with tons of output. He fights Bruno Rodrigues (11-3-1) which is a very stiff test.

Bantamweight, Ary Farias (9-2)

Farias is a well-accomplished BJJ ace. He is a BJJ black belt; some of his many accomplishments are 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2011, 1st Place IBJJF European Open in 2011, and 1st Place IBJJF World Championship in 2011 and 2016. He’s fought for a top promotion before in ACB and has even fought in the United States for LFA. He fights Johnny Campbell (20-12).

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In this feature, we take six journalists including our own Shawn Bitter, plus four hardcore MMA fans/Podcasters to get their take on who the UFC should sign by year’s end. So far this year, the UFC has signed major prospects like Jiri Prochazka, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Roman Bogatov, Umar Nurmagomedov, Jai Herbert, Manel Kape, Modestas Bukauskas, Nate Landwehr and more. Here, each member of our panel will give their picks on who they think the UFC should sign by the end of 2020.

The Journalists

Shawn Bitter

Middleweight, Roberto Soldic (17-3): Soldic has beaten some stiff competition in his career including Lewis Long (16-5), Borys Mańkowski (19-7-1), and Dricus Du Plessis (12-2), winning five titles including the KSW middleweight title. Soldic is easily one of the best welterweights on the global scene and the UFC would be very wise to try and pry him from KSW. Soldic is always coming forward and always looking for the finish in a controlled chaos manner. KSW has had talent that went to the UFC like Jan Błachowicz, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Aleksei Oleinik, and others.

Featherweight, Igeu Kabesa (12-1): Kabesa’s only loss is to UFC fighter Danny Henry, which was a rematch of their first meeting, which Kabesa won. Of the two, Kabesa has a much higher ceiling. “Smiley” is one of the two best prospects out of South Africa along with Demarte Pena. He is the current EFC Worldwide featherweight champion and on a four-fight win streak. Kabesa is a very decorated wrestler being a 10-time Wrestling Nationals Champion. He is young and solid everywhere. Kabesa has amazing wrestling and grappling, he can move well on the mat and can reach mount fairly easy. His striking is good too, moving in-and-out with explosive punches quickly and his slips and counters are solid.

Featherweight, Joanderson Brito (11-2-1): Brito has been on a roll since his last loss in 2015, going 10-0-1 in his last eleven fights. He’s fought for the likes of Future FC and Thunder Fight which are two top promotions out of Brazil. He’s also the former Fusion FC champ, a promotion based in Peru. In his most recent fight, he made his U.S. debut for LFA and beat a top prospect in Jose Mariscal. Brito is a bull walking his foes down and throwing huge looping hooks with big power. He’s a power striker on the feet but has some good wrestling and better top position to fall back on. He’s arguably the best prospect right now out of Brazil.

Featherweight, Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1): Parnasse in my opinion is the best prospect worldwide. Parnasse didn’t really become noticeable until he signed with one of the biggest European organizations in KSW in late 2017.  In April of last year, Parnasse beat Roman Szymański to become the interim KSW featherweight champion. Last December he beat the well-known Ivan Buchinger to retain his interim title. Parnasse would prefer to keep the fight on the feet where he can use his effective movement and a good kickboxing base. This would be one of the biggest if not the biggest signing if somehow the UFC could snatch him up.

Strawweight, Melissa Martinez (7-0): Martinez is currently signed with Combate Americas and is their current 115-pound champion. Recently, Combate champion Gustavo Lopez was able to be released from his contract. Rafa Garcia who is also a champion there has vacated his contract to sign to another promotion. So there is hope for the UFC picking up Martinez. “Super Melly” has the ability to break an opponent down with her chopping leg kicks. She also displays a quick release with her dangerous head kick that she has won a couple of times with. She looks really promising at such a young age and so early in her career.

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Left out will be fighters that fought on the previous three seasons, though some may return.

If you missed them, check out parts one and two of our series.

Korey Kuppe

Welterweight | 31 | Macomb, Michigan, US | 8-3 | Win Streak: 2 | 1 KO/TKO, 7 Submissions

Korey Kuppe, although he still has a lot of growth left in his career, is a quality talent and his personality catches attention. He’s had a few setbacks but his last two wins are over J.P. Saint Louis and Kenny Cross who are both good fighters. Kuppe has a background in Karate being a 3x WKC world champ and a 4th-degree black belt in tang soo do. His tall build at 170 standing at 6’5″ will give a lot of guys problems, making him a very interesting prospect.

Ramiz Brahimaj

Welterweight | 27 | Dallas, Texas, US | 8-2 | Win Streak: 1 | 8 Submissions

Ramiz Brahimaj was supposed to fight last year on Dana White’s Contender Series but an injury forced him out. He’s had some fights he lost where he should’ve won but is back in the win column. Don’t forget Brahimaj trains out of Fortis MMA which is an outstanding team. He’s a former IBJJF NoGi world champion and someone I think will be in the UFC with or without the Contender Series.

Elijah Johns

Lightweight | 23 | Dallas, Texas, US | 6-1 | Win Streak: 4 | 3 KO/TKOs

Elijah Johns is the younger brother of Contender Series contract winner and now UFC fighter Miles Johns. Like Brahimaj above, Johns is also a product out of Fortis MMA. His sole loss is from being on the wrong end of a split decision. The level of competition he’s fought hasn’t been great but has looked to be a cut above. Johns is still young so it wouldn’t hurt if he skipped this year and came on next year but he should be looked at no doubt.

 Christopher Daukaus

Heavyweight | 30 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | 8-3 | Win Streak: 1 | 7 KO/TKOs

Christopher Daukaus’ last name by be familiar to the Contender Series audience and that’s because his little brother Kyle was on the last season. Christopher was on the verge on a UFC shot, many would think, before he lost to former UFC fighter Azunna Anyanwu. Prior to that loss, Daukaus was on a 5-fight win streak. He’s back on the board with a win getting his fifth first-round stoppage.

Santos Curatolo

Flyweight | 24 | Staten Island, New York, US | 4-0 | Win Streak: 6 | 3 KO/TKOs , 1 Submission

Santos Curatolo’s competition hasn’t been too good and his strength of schedule needs work. But that said Curatolo has still looked stellar thus far and has treated his lack of competition the way he should’ve. Curatolo is an excellent wrestler rag-dolling guys around. He’s a pure athlete who I think can jump into the UFC and do well.

Carlos Ulberg

Light-heavyweight | 29 | Auckland, New Zealand | 2-0 | Win Streak: 2 | 1 KO/TKO

Carlos Ulberg is a product out of City Kickboxing with the likes Brad Riddell, Shane Young, Kai Kara-France, and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. Ulberg isn’t only a fighter but also an actor and a model. Known for his background in kickboxing Ulberg is a two-time King of the Ring tournament winner, the same tournament Adesanya won three times. He may have the least experience in all these fighters but I would love to see him get a chance.

Chelsea Hackett

Flyweight | 21 | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia | 3-0-1 | Win Streak: 3 | 1 KO/TKO

Chelsea Hackett comes from a Muay Thai background as she’s a two-time world Muay Thai champion and a former WBC Muay Thai Champion. In her MMA career, the girls so far have tried mainly to put her on her back. However, Hackett has shown good takedown defense and is the one getting takedowns herself. She is much better on the feet, notably in the clinch, with good kickboxing, and combos from the outside. A fight with Casey O’Neill would be awesome even if they do fight at different weight classes.

James Gonzalez

Featherweight | 29 | East Patchogue, New York, US | 6-3 | Win Streak: 2 | 1 KO/TKO, 3 Submissions

Gonzalez may have a 6-3 record but his losses are to Bill Algero and Mike Trizano twice so no shame in that. In his last fight, he fought a top prospect in Pat Sabatini. He was expected to lose but got it done with a nasty armlock finish in under a minute. Gonzalez is the current CFFC featherweight champion. He’s still growing and at least in the grappling department, being a BJJ black belt, he’s a threat to anyone.

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