LFA 78 Archives - Cageside Press Cageside Press - Everything MMA! Fri, 15 Nov 2019 12:42:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 https://cagesidepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cropped-cagesidepress512-3-32x32.png LFA 78 Archives - Cageside Press 32 32 Fighter Spotlight: UFC Sao Paulo’s Ricardo Ramos https://cagesidepress.com/2019/11/15/fighter-spotlight-ricardo-ramos/ https://cagesidepress.com/2019/11/15/fighter-spotlight-ricardo-ramos/#respond Fri, 15 Nov 2019 12:42:56 +0000 https://cagesidepress.com/?p=59008 At UFC Sao Paulo this weekend, featherweight Ricardo Ramos is flying under the radar — but he shouldn’t be. UFC Sao Paulo is the UFC’s final trip to Brazil this year, and as is usually the case, the card is brimming with local talent. While that can sometimes be too much of a good thing, […]

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]]> At UFC Sao Paulo this weekend, featherweight Ricardo Ramos is flying under the radar — but he shouldn’t be.

UFC Sao Paulo is the UFC’s final trip to Brazil this year, and as is usually the case, the card is brimming with local talent. While that can sometimes be too much of a good thing, once fighter that deserves the spotlight is featherweight Ricardo Ramos.

Featherweight, Ricardo Ramos (13-2)

UFC Sao Paulo is the host of a few up and coming fighters, a few debuts, and some well-established fighters. It’s clear as day, however, that the spotlight should be on the unranked Ricardo Ramos. Ramos is 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the UFC. His only loss in the UFC came to a future contender in Said Nurmagomedov.

Ramos the owner of a Performance of the Night bonus, and is a fighter of the future at only 24-years-old. Ramos is a killer who has a high finish rate and is a well-rounded athlete. He’s a fighter that does lack on volume at times but is diverse and explosive. Ramos does get hit more than what he should, which is a concern. Still he’s a solid kickboxer, very sharp with his hands, and dangerous off the clinch. Something he has only shown glimpses of in his UFC run is his grappling, which he should use more of. The wrestling of Ramos is decent but on the mat he’s dynamic. He can go from submission to submission and really thrives in scrambles.

Ramos will be taking on the undefeated Eduardo Garagorri at UFC Sao Paulo, who’s 13-0. Garagorri is 1-0 is the UFC beating Humberto Bandenay, but it wasn’t a great performance, which is not a good look at all. Garagorri relies mainly on his counter striking and his flurries. He’s very wild though and lacks angles and technical ability. His takedown defense is lackluster, having been taken down by poor competition and off his back, he struggles as well. This should be an easy win for Ramos as he has the advantage everywhere.

Ramos is only 24 so and it would be nice to see him built up slowly. He has a few kinks he needs to have worked out. He is moving back up to featherweight here, and that can only improve his cardio, which will allow for more output. Ramos should look like a much better fighter as he’s had bad weight cuts to 135. In the next three years, expect Ramos to be in the top 15.

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Bantamweight, Jose Johnson (10-5)

After starting his pro career at 5-4, Jose Johnson made a complete turnaround and has made himself into a top prospect. Now on a 4-fight win streak, Johnson won the Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting title in his last bout.

For someone that has half as many losses as he has wins, Johnson has looked stellar as of late. He will struggle with takedown defense but is good off his back with solid jiu-jitsu. On the feet is where he excels and is a very dangerous fighter. Johnson is good at range with long strikes and an effective teep kick. He’s lethal in the clinch with excellent muay thai bringing in deadly elbows and knees.

At LFA 78, Johnson will take on Brazilian Rafael Costa, who is 11-2 as a pro. Costa is a good test, maybe the toughest opponent he’s had in a while. This will also be the LFA debut on UFC Fight Pass and Johnson’s debut in LFA so a lot of eyes are on this card.

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]]> https://cagesidepress.com/2019/11/15/fighter-spotlight-ricardo-ramos/feed/ 0 Get to Know Undefeated Georgian Fighter Zviad Lazishvili https://cagesidepress.com/2019/10/02/get-know-zviad-lazishvili/ https://cagesidepress.com/2019/10/02/get-know-zviad-lazishvili/#respond Wed, 02 Oct 2019 10:43:24 +0000 https://cagesidepress.com/?p=54402 Zviad Lazishvili was supposed to compete at LFA 78. However, with the event postponed, Lazishvili’s return to action will have to wait. Undefeated featherweight Zviad Lazishvili was expected to return from a multi-year layoff at LFA 78. While the event’s postponed, it’s still a good time to get to know the fighter, who is just […]

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]]> Zviad Lazishvili was supposed to compete at LFA 78. However, with the event postponed, Lazishvili’s return to action will have to wait.
Undefeated featherweight Zviad Lazishvili was expected to return from a multi-year layoff at LFA 78. While the event’s postponed, it’s still a good time to get to know the fighter, who is just now hitting his prime.
First of all, how did you get into MMA?
I grew up in a wrestling family but at the age of 19, I officially started training combat sports in order to learn self-defense. I was very fortunate that I was surrounded by so many professional training partners since the beginning and I got hooked with MMA. I loved MMA because it was a little more diverse and I love the fact that I could learn multiple combat sports. I can say that MMA changed my life in so many different aspects. It taught me to be more calm, patient and focused in everything that I do and never back down until I achieve my goal.
Do you have any background in any other sports? If so, explain?

As I mentioned I grew up in a family where wrestling was the main sport. My father is a wrestling coach but he didn’t want me to get involved in it as much as he wanted me to go to school and achieve higher education so grappling was the first sport I got involved in.

What is your career, or would MMA be your full-time job?
Even though I have experience of running a business in Georgia and Russia, MMA is my biggest passion, I left everything and came here to fight and build a career. But at the same time, I know that the fight life is too short so I’m also finishing my MBA program at BAU Atlantic University and have some interest areas as well but for now, MMA is first place.
Talk about your nationality like where you’re from, where you moved to, and why?
I’m from the Republic of Georgia, It is known as the Birthplace of the wine and honey. Also from the ancient times, it was called the Land of the Wolves – because of the numerous brilliant warriors. Right now I live in Washington DC and again, the reason why I’m here is because of the huge appreciation of MMA and I want to fight for big leagues and be a part of this game.
Who are you currently training with?

When I moved to the US I looked around and I found Kaizen MMA as my home. I signed with Kaizen MMA and Fighters Management Inc. Also, I have trained in Russia and Eastern Europe and my coaches allow me to go to training camps and level up my game.

List of accomplishments such as titles, belt ranks, etc…?
My first international accomplishment was in 2012 when I won the World Cup in Turkey. After that I won the Georgian Championship in Grappling 6 times in 3 different weight division (61kg,66kg,77kg). I also won the Moscow Open tournament in Grappling (66kg). In 2014, took second place in the amateur World Championship (WKF) in Czech Republic, and in 2015 I became World Champion by Kombat League version in Italy.
What are your favorite striking and grappling technique?
I like almost every effective, simple technique which can lead me to a victory.
This is your first time fighting in the US. How different has it been preparing for this fight?
To be honest, back in my country we never had the chance to prepare for a fight. I never knew who my opponent was, we were happy to get any kind of fight and if anybody would offer us a fight we were agreeing right away to not miss a chance to fight. When I moved to Russia things were much better. I had very good fight camps with an amazing coach, Taras Kyashko but unfortunately, I never had a chance to fight. During that period I had four fight camps but four of them were canceled in last days of the fight. But now I feel I have more opportunities and a lot of supports like doctors, fitness coaches. Shout out to my biggest supports like sponsors Active Family Wellness and Quantum Movement and most importantly my amazing coaches.
You’re set to fight Josh Huber coming up. What do you think about him as an opponent and how do you see this fight playing out?
He is a very experienced and tough fighter, I really respect him and understand that it won’t be an easy fight so I’m preparing for It very well. Another thing is I know who I am going to face during this fight but he doesn’t know anything about me which in my opinion will play a big role. I will look forward to finishing him early but I don’t mind a three round bloody fight either.
If you weren’t fighting where would you be today?
I think I maybe still in the fighting business like matchmaker or even a coach.
Your last fight was in June of 2015. Can you explain the long layoff?
Yes, my last fight was in 2015, I stopped training for some personal reasons but I continued training in Russia where I was not able to fight due to fight cancellations. Then, unfortunately, I injured myself and had to do surgeries and it took a long time to recover.
You were fighting at 145 so what made you decide to move down to 135?
My walking weight has always been around 155 and because most of my fights were short notice fights, I fought at 145. In the US it’s a lot more organized. You know when you fight so I can diet and fight at 135.
Last question. Why do you fight and who do you fight for?
First of all, I fight because I want my family and my country to be proud of me. Also on a personal level, I love the feeling of being in the moment when you’re not only facing your opponent but also all your fears, temptations, weaknesses, fatigue and the fight through all to be victorious. In the end, I love to have this as my career and make those Million Dollars.

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]]> https://cagesidepress.com/2019/10/02/get-know-zviad-lazishvili/feed/ 0 LFA Announces Postponement of LFA 78 and LFA 79 As New Broadcast Partner Sought https://cagesidepress.com/2019/09/25/lfa-announces-postponement-lfa-77-lfa-78-new-broadcast-partner-sought/ https://cagesidepress.com/2019/09/25/lfa-announces-postponement-lfa-77-lfa-78-new-broadcast-partner-sought/#respond Wed, 25 Sep 2019 21:25:33 +0000 https://cagesidepress.com/?p=53820 LFA has been forced to put two events on hold due to the lack of a broadcast partner, leaving LFA 78 and LFA 79 in limbo. The fallout from the demise of AXS TV carrying LFA has begun. News broke barely a couple of weeks back that the cable TV station would no longer carry […]

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]]> LFA has been forced to put two events on hold due to the lack of a broadcast partner, leaving LFA 78 and LFA 79 in limbo.

The fallout from the demise of AXS TV carrying LFA has begun. News broke barely a couple of weeks back that the cable TV station would no longer carry Legacy Fighting Alliance action, despite the promotion calling the network home for years. It was a hot topic backstage at UFC Vancouver, where a number of former LFA athletes were competing.

On Wednesday, LFA announced via social media that two of its upcoming shows, LFA 78 and LFA 79, had been postponed due to the lack of a broadcast partner. LFA 77, where the promotion intends to crown a heavyweight champion, will go ahead as scheduled.

Legacy Fighting Alliance was born out of the merger of two existing promotions, RFA (Resurrection Fighting Alliance) and Legacy FC, in 2017, following talks the previous year. LFA hosted its inaugural show on January 13, 2017, which saw champions from both organizations competing in title unification bouts.

With Legacy and RFA among some of the biggest players in the regional scene, LFA became something of a proving ground for fighters looking to get into the big show, mainly the UFC and Bellator MMA.

AXS TV, formerly known as HDNet, was the home of LFA from the start. It was also, in its earlier incarnation, home of WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting), which was eventually scooped up by and merged into the UFC in the Zuffa era. However, a controlling interest was recently acquired by Anthem Media, which also owns the Fight Network. That channel once aired ONE Championship, KSW, and UFC events in Canada. However, after purchasing a majority stake in TNA wrestling in 2017, they scaled back their MMA coverage, dropping several on-air personalities including Robin Black.

UFC content, which had been sub-licensed by Bell Media (TSN), was lost in 2018 when Bell opted to drop the deal as the UFC broadcast rights were up for renewal.

The casualty of their involvement with AXS TV is LFA, who following LFA 77 this Friday have a very uncertain future ahead of them. LFA CEO Ed Soares addressed the matter in a press release Wednesday.

“Anthem Sports & Entertainment recently acquired a majority interest in AXS TV, at which point LFA was advised that AXS TV would be discontinuing its live televised programming of LFA” stated Soares in Wednesday’s release, posted on the promotion’s official website. “As a result, we are in the process of seeking a new broadcasting partner. Once our new broadcasting deal is finalized, we will continue developing the next generation of MMA stars in front of a large televised audience. In the meantime, we are excited to be doing just that on Friday, when we bring the LFA Heavyweight Tournament Final to Minnesota. Daniel James and Brett Martin advanced to the final of our four-man heavyweight tournament and will face each other with the title on the line at LFA 77.”

Soares added that the “fights on Friday will be recorded for broadcast at a later date. LFA 78 in Colorado and LFA 79 in California will also be postponed until a later date. Those dates will be released in conjunction with the announcement of an exciting new broadcasting deal.”

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