LFA will showcase two featherweight prospects on Friday night, as Bruno Souza and Elijah Johns will compete in the main event of LFA 102. The fight headlines an eight-bout card from the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA.
Follow along throughout the evening for live coverage of the event.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Bout 1: Archie Colgan def. Andrew Claborn via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 3:49)
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 2: Haris Talundzic def. Luis Iniguez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Alberto Rodriguez def. Chris Mecate via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:12)
Bout 4: Brandon Lewis def. Jimmy Meza via Decision, Split
Bout 5: Javier Garcia def. AJ Cunningham via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 6: Nikolay Veretennikov def. Steve Jones via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 8: Bruno Souza def. Elijah Johns via Decision, Split
Live Coverage:
Bout 8: Bruno Souza (8-1) vs. Elijah Johns (7-1) (Featherweight)
Souza Takes Split Decision Title Eliminator Win Against Johns
Bruno Souza continued his success in LFA in the main event, defeating Bruno Souza via split decision (29-28 Johns, 29-28 Souza & 29-28 Souza). The fight saw Souza succeed with his striking to get the win.
Souza’s sharp striking allowed him to win rounds early in the fight. He kept the distance while being able to land his own shots on the feet.
Johns was able to use his wrestling in the final frame of the bout, taking down Souza and keeping him on his back for most of the round.
The bout was being billed by LFA as a featherweight title eliminator.
Souza now has four consecutive wins in the LFA cage. His previous bought prior to Friday was a stoppage win against Guilherme Santos in November.
Johns had an impressive five-fight win streak stopped on Friday. The run of wins came completely within LFA between 2019 and 2020.
Bout 7: Gregory Rodrigues (7-3) vs. Al Matavao (8-3) (LFA Middleweight Tournament Semi-Finals)
Rodrigues Scores Two Knockdowns To Earn Title Shot
Gregory Rodrigues punched his way into a title shot in the co-main event, stopping Al Matavao with strikes in the second round. The finish of the fight saw Rodrigues floor Matavao with an uppercut, causing the referee to stop the fight.
Matavao got rocked early in the second round with a left hook. He was able to return to his feet later in the round, although he was stopped shortly after with the uppercut that called an end to the bout.
Rodrigues was able to take Matavao down in the opening minute, slamming him on his head hard before taking his back.
Rodrigues is now set to fight Josh Fremd in the final of the middleweight tournament at an event that has not been announced yet. Fremd won on his side of the bracket in January, defeating Bruno Oliveira.
“Josh I’m coming. I’m going to be hungry and ready … This belt’s gonna be mind,” said Rodrigues in his post-fight interview.
Both fighters were returning after taking a loss on “Dana White’s Contender Series” last year.
Rodrigues missed weight for the fight by just over a pound on Friday.
Bout 6: Steve Jones (6-1) vs. Nikolay Veretennikov (7-3) (Welterweight)
Veretennikov Earns Seventh Consecutive Win
Nikolay Veretennikov continued his win streak with a unanimous decision performance against Steve Jones (30-27, 29-28 & 30-27).
Veretennikov was able to use control on the ground and striking to win the fight.
Veretennikov dropped Jones in the third round after landing a knee in the final round. Jones was able to stop Veretennikov’s momentum by landing a takedown in the second half of the round.
Jones held control of the fight for most of the second round after landing a takedown.
Veretennikov has now won his last seven fights as a pro. He was returning after somewhat of a layoff on Friday as his previous bout was in 2019.
Jones had a five-fight win streak broken in the bout.
Bout 5: AJ Cunningham (7-1) vs. Javier Garcia (5-3) (Featherweight)
Garcia Earns Decision Victory Against Cunningham
Javier Garcia put together a solid three-round performance to defeat AJ Cunningham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).
Garcia was more active on the feet throughout the fight, dipping in and out with strikes on Cunningham.
Cunningham’s left leg got hurt in the second round, as he started to limp after being hit by a leg kick.
Cunningham’s best round was the second, where he was able to score two takedowns.
Garcia had a strong finish to the fight, landing a takedown and moving into full mount for a moment on Cunningham.
Garcia was competing after a year outside of the cage.
Cunningham entered the bout after earning three wins in 2020.
Bout 4: Jimmy Meza (2-0) vs. Brandon Lewis (4-0) (Bantamweight)
Lewis Prevails In Striking Battle Against Meza In Return Fight
Brandon Lewis won a hectic striking battle against Jimmy Meza, defeating him in a split decision after three rounds (29-28 Lewis, 29-28 Meza & 30-27 Lewis). The win continued Lewis’ undefeated record and gave him his first win in nearly four years.
The back-and-forth fight saw both fighters land hard shots throughout, both scoring knockdowns at some point.
The fighters became significantly exhausted for the second half of the bout, starting to throw wailing shots and have weaker balance. Lewis noted afterwards that he was surprised how much an adrenaline dump hurt him in the fight.
Meza suffered some sort of arm injury late in the fight, seemingly getting hurt during a striking exchange in the third round.
Lewis’ previous fight dated back to July of 2017, where he submitted Cameron Miller on an LFA card.
“It felt good to be back in there. I love the adrenaline, I love the rush,” said Lewis in his post-fight interview.
Meza was handed his first pro loss with the fight. He was stepping in the LFA cage for the first time after two pro wins since 2019.
Meza missed weight for the bout by over four pounds.
Bout 3: Alberto Rodriguez (2-1) vs. Chris Mecate (1-0) (Featherweight)
Rodriguez Lands Right Hook To Stop Mecate Within A Round
Alberto Rodriguez earned a quick win on Friday, catching Chris Mecate with a right hook that helped lead to the end of the bout in the first round.
The right hook dropped Mecate in the second minute of the fight. Rodriguez landed some shots on the ground before the referee stopped the bout.
Rodriguez bounced back from his sole pro loss, which came last year.
Mecate was returning after winning his pro debut in under a minute last year.
Mecate missed weight for the fight, coming in one pound over the limit.
Bout 2: Haris Talundzic (1-0) vs. Luis Iniguez (3-0) (Welterweight)
Talundzic Uses Takedowns To Earn Second Pro Win
Haris Talundzic used takedowns to control Luis Iniguez through a three round bout on Friday (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28). Talundzic was able to keep Iniguez on his back for most of the fight, scoring multiple takedowns per round.
Talundzic’s other MMA bout was in December, where he defeated Adam Valcourt on a regional card.
The fight was Iniguez’s first loss as a pro. The fight was his return to MMA after nearly two years outside of the sport.
Bout 1: Andrew Claborn (0-0) vs. Archie Colgan (0-0) (Welterweight)
Colgan Earns Dominant Pro Debut Win
Archie Colgan had a strong pro debut on the prelims, stopping Andrew Claborn in the third round after a grinding performance. He was able to control Claborn throughout the fight, often charging forward for takedowns then landing ground and pound.
Claborn’s amateur record included three quick first-round fights in 2019 and 2020.
Colgan was also making his pro debut.
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