Fight Facts: LFA in March

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF LFA EVENTS: 104
TOTAL NUMBER OF LFA FIGHTS: 862
TOTAL NUMBER OF LFA FIGHTS IN MARCH 2021: 24
TOTAL NUMBER OF LFA FINISHES IN MARCH 2021: 16

The Legacy Fighting Alliance held court in the Grand Casino Hotel & Resort in Shawnee, Okla., for a trio of events this March. On back-to-back-to-back weekends, the LFA staged LFA 101, LFA 102 and LFA 103 with plenty of action between the three cards. This March slate featured a litany of undefeated fighters protect and lose their 0’s, the dramatic end to the semifinals of the middleweight tournament and the quickest knockout in LFA women’s divisional history.

LFA 101

Most Left Undefeated: LFA 101 was titled “The Undefeated,” making the card the first numbered LFA event to not feature fighter names in its heading.

No Main, No Problem: Per the promotion, there was no main event or co-main event, with the card one where undefeated fighters were mostly pitted against unbeaten opponents. In a move akin to Dana White's Contender Series, LFA 101 was the first headliner-free LFA show.

Expected Outcomes: As the name suggests, every bout on the card contained at least one competitor with an unblemished record. Not counting matches where two undefeated fighters faced off, only one unbeaten fighter suffered a defeat against a fighter who already had losses on their ledger: Miguel Jacob Elmokdisi Neto.

To A Tee: Still young in his career entering his third pro bout against Anthony Kalani, Tee Cummins laid waste to his opponent in the third round. All three of Cummins’ wins have come by knockout.

Chopping Through Vines: Jalin Fuller, who missed the welterweight cap by 6.2 pounds, is now 5-0 after knocking out Treston Vines in the first round. Fuller has stopped four of those five foes before the final bell.

Climbing the Hawaiian Mountains: Keeping his perfect record alive at 5-0, Mark Climaco needed the full 15 minutes to overcome Pololu Nakanelua. The LFA newcomer went the distance for the second time in his career, snapping a three-fight finish streak in the process.

The Disciple Is Learning: A.J. Nichols is the lone competitor on the card to upset his unbeaten opponent, when he knocked out Jacob in the third frame. “The Disciple” earned his first career win by knockout, as he had previously only gotten his hand raised for submissions or a lone disqualification.

The Quack Attack is Back, Jacque: Jaqueline Amorim tapped out the debuting Taisha Gandy in 33 seconds to earn her third career win. “Jacque” has notched all three of her career wins by submission in the opening round, and all with different maneuvers.

Easy Out: Amorim’s rear-naked choke in 33 seconds clocked in as the second-fastest finish in women’s LFA history. The only one quicker is Maycee Barber’s 31-second tapout of Kaila Thompson at LFA 33 in 2018.

Hunting Season: Hunter Colvin needed more time than ever before to record a win, taking 2:49 to tap out Obinwa Ikebunna with a rear-naked choke. His previous victories had come at the 72- and 77-second marks.

LFA 102

Fighting to Their Strengths: Bruno Souza, formerly listed as Bruno Assis de Souza Filho, won against Elijah Johns in the LFA 102 thanks to all three rounds and two judges on his side. In Johns’ career, he has only lost by split verdict.

Dead or Alive, You’re Coming with Me: The second leg of the LFA middleweight tournament bracket, where the winner earns the vacant 185-pound title, finally went down between Gregory Rodrigues and Al Matavao. As “Robocop” wrecked Matavao in the second round, he will face Josh Fremd in the near future for the gold.

Old Gregg: Rodrigues did miss the middleweight limit by 1.4 pounds, but he was still allowed to compete. Despite coming in heavy, he will still advance in the tourney.

Brandon on a Break: Making a comeback after nearly three years away, Brandon Lewis kept his perfect record intact by taking a split decision over Jimmy Meza. The last time Lewis competed was in July 2017, and at that time, nine of the other 15 fighters on the card had yet to make their professional debuts.

In the Arms of the Angel: Needing only 72 seconds to put away Chris Mecate, Alberto Rodriguez earned his third pro win. Through his pro career that began 18 months ago, “Angel” holds one win by knockout, another by submission and a third on the scorecards.

LFA 103

Thy Ginger Consumed: In his return to the promotion, Spike Carlyle throttled Batsumberel Dagvadorj in the first round. As a pro, the man formerly known as “Alpha Ginger” now posts a finish rate of 90 percent.

The Power of the Crystal: Crystal Vanessa Demopoulos destroyed the heavy Cynthia Arceo in 37 seconds with a barrage of punches and a questionably legal knee. In doing so, Demopoulos recorded the fastest knockout in any women’s LFA match, as well as the third-quickest stoppage among all female LFA fighters.

All Hail Demopoulos: With her quick victory over Arceo, Demopoulos scored her fifth win inside the LFA cage. “Lil Monster” is now tied with Hailey Cowan for the most wins of any female fighter in LFA history.

Demolition Woman: The stoppage due to strikes is Demopoulos’ first in her career. Each of the past finishes for the Ohio native came by submission, and through her pro and amateur career, each of her tapouts had come by armbar – her inverted triangle of Sam Hughes put the latter to sleep without any surrender.

Fortis Back on the Rise: In under a round, Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady bounced back from a pair of first-round stoppage losses to knock out Jake Sebastian. The Fortis MMA product now sports a finish rate of 82 percent.

Fearless Fernie: All five of Fernando Garcia’s LFA fights have been left to the judges’ scorecards. Winning a decision over Isaiah Batin-Gonzalez, “Fernie” has gone the distance more times than any other LFA fighter.

Good Test Taker: Garcia’s decision win under the LFA banner was his fourth, tying Bryce Logan and Victor Altamirano for the most LFA wins via the scorecards.

The Renegade Who Had It Made: In the third round, Josh Quinlan tapped out Dallas Jennings with a rear-naked choke. “The Renegade” is now a flawless 5-0 as a pro, with all five of his wins coming inside the distance.

It’ll Come One Day: On the card opener, Giovanna Canuto made her successful pro debut by snagging an armbar on Amanda Lovato with nine seconds remaining in Round 1. Lovato is now 0-6 as a pro, and five of those six defeats have come by stoppage.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into these three events, 10 fighters had never been defeated, seven had never been knocked out and three others had never been submitted.