Undefeated prospect Waldo Cortes-Acosta showed his power on Friday night, stopping Thomas Petersen in the third round of a fight to earn the LFA Heavyweight Championship.
The championship bout headlined LFA 129 from the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA on Friday night.
Cortes-Acosta backed Petersen up in the third round with a strong right cross to the head. Following up with hook punches to the head against a shelled fighter, Cortes-Acosta dropped Peterson and caused the referee to end the fight.
Petersen was successful in the fight prior to the stoppage.
Petersen took Cortes-Acosta down twice in the first round, giving him the opportunity to land ground and pound shots. A similar moment occurred in the next round, as Petersen landed a single leg takedown and scored with some punches on the ground.
Cortes-Acosta, a former Bellator fighter, was making his second appearance in LFA. His previous fight in the promotion came in February when he stopped Derrick Weaver in the second round of a bout with strikes.
Petersen entered Friday as champion. He earned the belt with a quick performance in July 2021, scoring a first-round finish win against Vernon Lewis.
Friday was the first time that Petersen fought longer than three minutes in a pro bout.
Amil Takes Split Decision Over Sewell
Undefeated Hyder Amil had a strong performance in the co-main event, battling for three rounds against Devante Sewell in a split decision outcome.
Amil landed the better shots in the opening round as the fight mostly remained in stand-up positions.
Sewell had more to show in the second round on the feet. Amil was able to control the fight by taking Sewell down and ending the second round on top.
The matchup became somewhat of a brawl early in the third round. Sewell took Amil down briefly, although Amil was quick to return to the feet. Amil secured a takedown of his own later in the round before the fight wrapped up.
Amil’s flawless pro record now includes five wins as a pro, with three in Bellator. He won his LFA debut last year, stopping Robson Junior with strikes at LFA 117.
Sewell was returning to LFA for the first time since 2019. He is now on a two-fight losing streak, having lost last month against Corey Jackson.
White Returns With Quick Submission
Tyus White had a quick win against Jeff Jepsen on Friday night, closing out a smothering grappling performance with a darce choke.
The choke from White came after numerous minutes of him grappling on the ground. After cutting Jepsen with a strike, White slipped in a darce choke to end the bout.
The fight on Friday put White back into the win column after losing a decision to Tony Laramie late last year. His record is now a strong five wins and one loss, with four victories via first-round finish.
Jepsen has now lost three of his last five fights. This includes a loss in LFA he took in 2020 against Mando Gutierrez.
Budka Submits Cummins For Third Win Since March
Dylan Budka won his LFA debut against former title challenger Tee Cummins, submitting him in the second round with a rear naked choke.
Budka took Cummins down halfway through the second round and then took his back shortly after. He quickly applied the rear naked choke, causing Cummins to tap eventually.
Most of the fight was on the feet prior to the finish from Budka.
Cummins was coming off his first pro loss, which came in a title fight against Josh Silveira last year. Before then, he had put together three wins via stoppage as a pro.
Budka has now scored three consecutive wins in just two months.
Undefeated Le Uses Wrestling For Win
Quang Le kept his undefeated record intact to open the main card, defeating Sam Paneitz via unanimous decision.
Le’s win came from his wrestling skills throughout the fight, taking Paneitz down numerous times. The fight started close, as both fighters engaged in clinch positions for a large portion of the first round.
The contest started to favor Le much better in the second and third rounds once he started to secure takedowns and take control time. Le’s best moment came late, as he hurt Paneitz with a head kick in the closing seconds of the fight.
Le has now earned four wins in his rookie year as a pro, with three of these victories in the LFA. His previous appearance for the promotion was a first-round submission win against Austin Robinson late last year.
Paneitz entered the weekend on a three-fight winning streak.
Quick Results
Main Card (9:00PM EDT / 8:00PM CDT) (UFC Fight Pass)
Bout 13: Waldo Cortes-Acosta def. Thomas Petersen via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:53) (LFA Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 12: Hyder Amil def. Devante Sewell via Decision, Split
Bout 11: Tyus White def. Jeff Jepsen via Submission, Darce Choke (RD 1, 4:44)
Bout 10: Dylan Budka def. Tee Cummins via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:11)
Bout 9: Quang Le def. Sam Paneitz via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card
Bout 8: Scott Writz def. Derek Smith via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 4:11_
Bout 7: Miguel Sanson def. Gonzalo Ponce via TKO, Injury (RD 1, 5:00)
Bout 6: Reshal Malik def. Kyles Vang via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Austin Robinson def. Mike O’Gorman via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 0:22)
Bout 4: Gabriel Wanderley def. Santos Verdinez via Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 2:55) (Amateur)
Bout 3: Scott Zeller def. Andrew Wilson via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:22) (Amateur)
Bout 2: Mitchell Wilson def. John Fudge via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
Bout 1: Gunner Charbonneau def. Eric Newman via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 1:07) (Amateur)
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