LAS VEGAS, Nevada – LFA CEO Ed Soares introduced right this moment that the promotion will make its third journey to Indiana in June. The stacked occasion will characteristic a Championship Doubleheader within the light-weight and ladies’s strawweight divisions, when the promotion heads to the northwestern a part of the state. RFA hosted one occasion within the “Hoosier State” earlier than the merger of RFA and Legacy FC that created LFA.
LFA 185: Gennrich vs. Lewis, offered by BETONLINE, takes place Friday, June seventh at The Horseshoe On line casino Hammond in Hammond, Indiana, which is situated within the Chicago metro space.
The principle occasion will characteristic a light-weight title bout when champion Kegan “Machine Gun” Gennrich battles prime undefeated contender Richie “Savage” Lewis. The co-main occasion will characteristic an interim girls’s strawweight title combat when interim champion Natasha “Kuzya” Kuziutina faces longtime Bellator star Bruna Ellen. The complete foremost card might be out there worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
Tickets for LFA 185: Gennrich vs. Lewis might be out there Might third at 10:00 am CST at Ticketmaster.com.
“We’re excited to carry a Championship Doubleheader to Chicagoland in June,” said Soares. “The principle occasion will characteristic the primary title protection of the LFA light-weight champion Kegan Gennrich. He’ll face prime undefeated prospect and fellow LFA standout Richie Lewis. Then within the co-main occasion, LFA interim girls’s strawweight champion Natasha Kuziutina will defend her title in opposition to longtime Bellator star Bruna Ellen. The combat followers within the Chicago metro space and all through Indiana present wonderful power for our fighters and we look ahead to one other nice occasion.”
Gennrich (8-2) began the yr in a giant means by turning into the primary man in MMA to seize a serious world title in 2024. He did this by dethroning JaCobi Jones within the mein occasion of LFA 174 on the second Friday of the brand new yr. The win made Gennrich the ninth light-weight champion in LFA historical past, however the proud Wisconsin native has greater objectives in thoughts for the promotion he first signed with in 2020. He’s now seeking to develop into simply the second of these 9 champions to efficiently defend that prestigious title. Gennrich’s run for the title was spectacular. It features a 6-fight win streak with a pair of wins in 2023 that earned him the shot on the title. Extra impressively, is the extent of opposition he has been beating alongside the best way. Final yr, he grew to become the primary and solely man to defeat prime prospect Richie Miranda. He then ended the yr with a bloody submission win over Donald Bush. That win earned him the title shot in opposition to Jones, which he gained with a dominant efficiency that ended with a submission win within the ultimate spherical. Now the previous College of Wisconsin wrestler appears to proceed his run by defending his title in the principle occasion of LFA 185.
Lewis (5-0) is without doubt one of the most talked about prospects in MMA for good cause. Born and raised in New Jersey, the Rutgers College alum naturally drew inspiration from a UFC champion that occurred to be from his hometown within the “Backyard State”. That will be the legendary Frankie Edgar. The 2 males are 13 years aside in age, however are each graduates from Toms River Excessive College East. Naturally, Lewis drew inspiration from the UFC Corridor of Famer on the mats, and now within the cage, and the outcomes have been plain. In junior faculty, he was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Iowa Central. Then at Rutgers, Lewis grew to become an automated NCAA Division I nationwide qualifier after notching a 27-7 general mark and 16-1 twin file in his first season with this system. Nonetheless, it was what he did after faculty on the worldwide wrestling scene that basically turned heads. In November 2017, Lewis grew to become the primary American to win a U23 World medal after profitable the gold medal at 70 kg. Presently, the person often called “Savage” is absolutely immersed in MMA, the place he has gained a regional title in Florida, dominated his LFA debut, and now has his sights on LFA gold.
The co-main occasion of LFA 185 will characteristic the primary title combat of the evening and it is going to be for the LFA interim girls’s strawweight title.
Kuziutina (5-1) ended final yr with the largest win of her profession at LFA 173, which was the LFA’s year-end present in Las Vegas. She did this by turning into the primary and solely girl to defeat the five-time IBJJF champion and the reigning LFA Followers’ Selection Awards: Feminine Fighter of the 12 months, Giovanna Canuto. The win earned “Kuzya” the LFA interim girls’s strawweight title, which made her the primary girl from Russia to win an LFA title. Previous to that, Kuziutina had transitioned to MMA as essentially the most adorned judoka to ever compete within the strawweight division of MMA. She represented Russia at each the 2012 and 2016 Summer season Olympics. It was on the 2016 Summer season Olympics, the place she earned an Olympic bronze medal. Kuziutina additionally gained a silver medal on the World Judo Championships in 2019 and has gained 5 gold medals on the European Judo Championships. She now appears to develop into simply the second LFA girls’s strawweight champion to efficiently defend her title.
Ellen (7-4) would be the girl difficult for the title after spending the previous eight years competing as probably the most revered names within the Bellator promotion. In that point, she fought for the promotion 9 instances. In actual fact, a tenth combat for the promotion was set to happen final yr in opposition to Keri Melendez, the spouse of Gilbert Melendez, however was canceled when Melendez withdrew with an damage. The favored Brazilian is broadly kmown for her gameness as she has fought a few of the greatest names within the sport, together with bouts in opposition to former Bellator champions Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez. She additionally holds notable victories within the promotion over Ilara Joanne, Desiree Yanez, Elina Kallionidou, and Veta Arteaga. Extra impressively is the actual fact she gained this success and notoriety, whereas competing in a division 10-pounds heavier than her pure weight class resulting from flyweight being the lightest weight division that Bellator provided. Ellen is now excited to problem for an LFA strawweight title at LFA 185.
At present Introduced Combat Card:
Foremost Occasion | Light-weight Title Bout (155 lb)
Kegan Gennrich (8-2) vs. Richie Lewis (5-0)
Co-Foremost Occasion | Interim Girls’s Strawweight Title Bout (115 lb)
Natasha Kuziutina (5-1) vs. Bruna Ellen (7-4)
Function Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Busurmankul Abdibait Uulu (5-2) vs. Cassio Barao (8-0-1)
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Tyler Scott (8-3) vs. Joey Hart (5-1)
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Sadeck Sanon (5-2) vs. Paul Kimble (3-0)
Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Zach Vaci (4-1) vs. John Beckett (4-1)
Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Miguel Sanson (4-2) vs. John Burkholder (5-1)
Light-weight Bout (155 lb)
Bunyod Majidov (4-0) vs. Ilay Barzilay (4-0)
Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Alberto Rodriguez (4-3) vs. Cauata Samuel (6-3)
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Omoyele Gonzalez (3-3) vs. Jerry Arreola (1-0)
Light-weight Bout (155 lb)
Luis Unzueta (3-2) vs. Daniel Jeschke (2-0)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Zhiian Suliev (4-1) vs. Mauricio Rodriguez (4-0)
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Govt Author, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a ardour for Fight Sports activities and likewise a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s additionally a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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