LFA will finish off their busy month of July with a seven-fight card on Friday night. In the main event of their return to the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas, USA, Vernon Lewis and Thomas Petersen will compete for the promotion’s vacant heavyweight championship.
Follow along throughout the evening for live updates.
Quick Results:
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Bout 1: Keith Smith def. Jettre Hampton via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:35)
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 2: Patrick Ferguson def. Cezly Collard via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:44)
Bout 3: Giovanna Canuto def. Kathy Solorzano via Submission, Heel Hook (RD 1, 2:10)
Bout 4: Alden Coria def. Donnie Ballou via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 3:35)
Bout 5: Chris Brown def. Glaucio Eliziario via Verbal Submission, Slam (RD 2, 4:59)
Bout 6: Ricky Camp def. Greg Fischer via Decision, Split
Live Coverage:
Bout 7: Vernon Lewis (8-4) vs. Thomas Petersen (4-0) (Vacant LFA Heavyweight Championship)
Petersen Wins LFA Heavyweight Belt In Just 62 Seconds
Thomas Petersen maintained his career-long reputation of first-round finishes in the main event, stopping Vernon Lewis in the second minute to become the new LFA Heavyweight Champion.
A left cross from Petersen during a combination of punches in the first minute dropped Lewis. While Petersen thought the referee would stop it immediately, he had to land a few follow-up shots on the ground before the fight came to a close.
Friday’s main event could have gone five rounds in total, but Petersen needed only 62 seconds.
Petersen’s longest fight as a pro remains just over two minutes. He is still in his rookie pro year and has scored four wins in LFA.
Petersen became somewhat emotional after the fight, mentioning that his wife is currently pregnant.
“I got a baby on the way … A lot of hours spent away from my wife. She’s going through all this, I’m just so proud that she’s my wife,” said Petersen in his post-fight interview.
Lewis, the more experienced of the two, was entering the bout after winning four of his last five fights. He had previously challenged for a belt in Legacy FC in 2014, although he lost to Cody East in that bout.
The fight on Friday was Lewis’ first LFA loss through five appearances in the promotion.
Bout 6: Ricky Camp (11-4) vs. Greg Fischer (10-2) (Bantamweight)
Camp Snags Split Decision In LFA Debut
Ricky Camp took a close split decision over Greg Fischer in the co-main event of the evening for his first LFA win (29-28 Fischer, 30-27 Camp & 29-28 Camp).
Camp prevailed in what was a wrestling-heavy fight through all three rounds.
The fighters often engaged in back-and-forth scrambles that made it a hard fight to score.
Camp’s slick striking on the feet gave him the edge over Fischer in some exchanges.
Camp was making his LFA debut after a six-fight win streak from other regional promotions.
Fischer was attempting to bounce back from a submission loss he took against Jimmy Flick in an LFA title fight last year.
Bout 5: Chris Brown (6-3) vs. Glaucio Eliziario (9-6) (Catchweight 175 lbs)
Brown Injures Eliziario With Slam, Continues Win Streak
Chris Brown scored a win in front of his home state on Friday, stopping Glaucio Eliziario in the second round with a slam takedown.
Brown scored a loud, hard takedown from the clinch position in the final moments of the second round. It was hard to tell at the moment why the fight stopped, but Brown claimed afterward that Eliziario said he was injured.
Brown had scored a similar slam earlier in the round.
Brown is now on a two-fight winning streak. His previous fight came in April, where he earned a unanimous decision win over Kelvin Rayford.
Eliziario has lost three consecutive fights in LFA now.
Bout 4: Alden Coria (4-0) vs. Donnie Ballou (7-4) (Flyweight)
Coria Keeps Undefeated Record Alive With Submission Win
Alden Coria’s undefeated pro run extended to five consecutive wins on Friday with a win over Donnie Ballou.
Coria was able to catch Ballou with a guillotine choke in the fourth minute after controlling Ballou on the ground.
Coria was quick to connect with hard shots, hitting Ballou with a pair of hooks to the head and a leg kick in the opening seconds of the bout. He scored a takedown shortly after.
Coria looked for a guillotine choke as they both returned to the feet. Coria held on to the tight choke and pulled guard with it, causing Ballou to tap out eventually.
Coria now has three wins in LFA. His previous appearance saw him use punches to stop Rashaad Robinson in the second round.
Bout 3: Giovanna Canuto (1-0) vs. Kathy Solorzano (0-1) (Strawweight)
Canuto Stops Solorzano Early With Heel Hook
Giovanna Canuto’s grappling skills were displayed yet again on Friday, submitting Kathy Solorzano in the first round with a heel hook for her second pro win.
Solorzano started the fight strong, coming forward with punches that were landing clean on Canuto.
After being hit with some punches, Canuto effortlessly took Solorzano to the ground. Canuto switched positions on the ground and attempted numerous submissions before fully committing to a heel hook for the win.
Canuto, 18, made her pro debut under LFA earlier this year, submitting Amanda Borg in the first round with an armbar.
Solorzano has now lost both of her pro fights. Her prior bout was in 2019, against Flore Hani.
Bout 2: Patrick Ferguson (1-1) vs. Cezly Collard (1-0) (Bantamweight)
Collard Wins LFA Debut Within A Minute
Cezly Collard showed his quickness and awareness on the ground to open the main card, using a position from his back to submit Patrick Ferguson within a round.
Ferguson shot for a takedown only moments into the fight, but Collard was quick to slip in a triangle choke from his back. Ferguson eventually tapped out to this choke, causing the fight to end at the 44th second.
Collard was returning for his second pro fight. He won his first pro fight just two months ago, stopping Cameron Krael within a round with strikes on a Fierce FC card.
Ferguson was returning after over a year outside of the cage.
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