Fresh off his run on the latest season of UFC reality TV program “The Ultimate Fighter,” Shamidkhan Magomedov will return to his high-level position on the regional scene.
Magomedov is scheduled to return to the LFA, a promotion where he previously captured an interim title in the welterweight division. He’ll put that belt on the line for the first time on October 18th, meeting Alfonso Leyva in the main event of a card from the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York, USA.
30-year-old Magomedov moved up to middleweight to compete on this year’s season of “TUF,” which just wrapped up airing on Tuesday. Competing on Team Valentina Shevchenko, Magomedov was eliminated in the quarter-final round of the tournament by Omran Chaaban via submission. While the defeat ended his run toward a potential UFC contract, the fact that “Ultimate Fighter” bouts are exhibitions instead of pro bouts meant that the outcome didn’t break his current winning streak as a pro.
The loss was just a slight setback for Magomedov, who remains in a good position as a prospect. He scored his fifth consecutive win earlier this year when he captured the vacant interim LFA welterweight belt, stopping Devin Smyth in the opening minutes of a five-round fight with ground and pound shots.
He’ll now try to get past Leyva, a solid prospect out of Mexico who has built up a reputation in the LFA as of late.
Leyva joined the LFA roster in 2022 after a run of five finish wins on the Mexican regional scene. After getting past Daniel Reis in his debut for the brand, he suffered an upset loss against Chris Brown for the promotion’s welterweight title. He bounced back last year with ba highlight reel flying knee finish win against Sarek Shields late last year, lining him up for another chance at a title this year.
A total of 11 fights were announced for LFA 194 on Friday, including a co-main event matchup between former CFFC champ Cedric Gunnison and undated prospect Mirafzal Akhtamov. Here’s the full lineup:
Bout 11: Shamidkhan Magomedov (8-1) vs. Alfonso Leyva (7-1) (Interin LFA Welterweight Championship)
Bout 10: Cedric Gunnison (7-3) vs. Mirafzal Akhtamov (7-0-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Erick Viscondi (13-3) vs. Busurmankul Abdibait (15-4-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Giovanna Canuto (4-1) vs. Ershirley Kessy (3-0) (Strawweight)
Bout 7: Josiah Harrell (7-0) vs. Uelliton Silva (6-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Jacob Bohn (14-12) vs. Lance Lawrence (8-4) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Matt Adams (3-1) vs. Saulo Cavalari (3-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Jake Hixenbaugh (3-2) vs. Adam Livingston (4-0) (Lightweight
Bout 3: Kevin Carrier (2-0) vs. Tyler Jones (2-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 2: Vincenzo Iannuzzo (2-0) vs. Derrick Patterson (1-2) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Freddy Vidal (0-0) vs. Mike Kennedy (1-1) (Light Heavyweight)
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