Lightweights Terrance McKinney and Michael Irizarry will have the chance to showcase their skills on Friday night in the main event of LFA 109. Their fight sits atop what is set to be an eight-fight card in total from the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA.
Here’s a preview of the evening.
Click here to skip to a preview of the main card.
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Bout 1: Ingrid Sewa (0-0) vs. Luis Schwenke (0-0) (Heavyweight)
Heavyweights Ingrid Sewa and Luis Schwenke will turn pro when matched for a fight on the prelims.
Schwenke is turning pro after a long run as an amateur, earning six consecutive wins from 2015 to 2019.
There is little information public on Sewa, although photographs from Facebook show that he is a tall and slim fighter for the heavyweight class.
Bout 2: Haris Talundzic (2-0) vs. Gabriel Gideon (0-0) (Welterweight)
Gabriel Gideon will get a tough challenge in his pro debut, facing Haris Talundzic on the prelims. Talundzic won his LFA debut earlier this year, handing Luis Iniguez his first pro loss through four appearances.
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM EDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 3: Jacobi Jones (1-0) vs. Caleb Hall (2-0) (Lightweight)
Both early in their pro careers, undefeated lightweights Jacobi Jones and Caleb Hall will clash in the opening bout of the main card.
Jones won his pro debut earlier this year, stopping Cam Ansel within a round with an arm triangle choke. He was moving to pro MMA after earning five wins as an amateur.
Hall picked up his two pro wins in late 2019 in regional promotion Colorado Combat Club. His appearance on Friday will be his first fight after over a year outside of the cage.
Bout 4: Manuel Medina (1-1) vs. Kevin Fernandez (0-0) (Flyweight)
Returning after his first pro win, Manuel Medina will face debuting flyweight Kevin Fernandez.
Medina’s last win was in February, where he stopped Chancey Wilson in just over a minute with a triangle choke. The win came six months after he lost his pro debut to Clayton Carpenter on a different LFA card.
Fernandez’s amateur career includes three wins, with the oldest of the trio dating back to 2016. He last competed just weeks ago, submitting Brandon Gutierrez with a guillotine choke in mid-May.
Fernandez has competed for LFA before, losing an amateur fight on a card in 2017.
Bout 5: Gerrica Trias (1-0) vs. Ky Bennett (1-2) (Flyweight)
Returning after a strong pro debut earlier this year, Gerrica Trias will fight Bellator vet Ky Bennett.
Trias made her pro debut earlier this year, using strikes to take Kawehi Wallace out of a fight early in the third round. The stoppage win came after a dominant win on the feet for Trias, who had previously competed as a pro in kickboxing and Muay Thai.
Bennett has the chance to even her pro record on Friday. Bennett last fought all the way back in March of 2019, where Deborah Kouzmin defeated her via unanimous decision on a Bellator card.
Bout 6: Edwin Cooper Jr. (3-1) vs. Robson Junior (3-0) (Featherweight)
Undefeated featherweight Robson Junior will make his LFA debut against Edwin Cooper Jr. on Friday night.
Junior has had quick appearances in the cage since he turned pro in late 2019. All three of his pro fights on the Brazilian regional scene have lasted less than two minutes, and have finished due to strikes or submission.
He now fights Cooper Jr., who is coming from notable gym Jackson Wink MMA. Cooper Jr. bounced back from his first pro loss in his last outing, defeating Ethyn Ewing in October.
Bout 7: Askar Askar (11-1) vs. Justin Wetzell (6-1) (Bantamweight)
After nearly reaching the UFC earlier this year, Askar Askar will return to LFA to face Justin Wetzell in the co-main event of Friday’s card.
Askar was set to make his UFC debut earlier this year, stepping in for Andre Ewell in a fight against Cody Stamann. However, this plan was scrapped after Askar wasn’t able to be medically cleared for the fight. Surprisingly, Askar was cut from the UFC roster after his fight fell through.
Askar’s last fight was in October, where he defeated Kevin Wirth via unanimous decision in the main event of an LFA card. The fight put him back into the win column after suffering his first pro loss earlier in the year.
Wetzell is entering Friday night on a strong run of momentum. The 29-year-old is currently on a five-fight win streak that includes two appearances in LFA. He stopped the undefeated pro run of Teshay Gouthro in his last fight, defeating him on scorecards in October.
Bout 8: Terrance McKinney (9-3) vs. Michael Irizarry (12-3) (Lightweight)
Michael Irizarry will compete in LFA for the first time when facing fellow rising lightweight Terrance McKinney in the main event of LFA 109.
Irizarry has been an active fighter since turning pro in 2013. He has picked up 12 wins through 15 appearances and enters Friday night on a two-fight win streak. Both of Irizarry’s last two wins, which both came via rear naked choke, were over a year ago now.
McKinney is getting a main event LFA fight just two months after he scored a fast promotional debut win. The 26-year-old needed just 17 seconds in his last fight, stopping Toninho Gavinho early with a head kick in April.
The win scored McKinney his second win since he lost a fight against Sean Woodson on “Dana White’s Contender Series” in 2019. A victory for McKinney on Friday would earn him a big win in his climb back up to the UFC.
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