Tag Archives: Antonio Paulo Branjao

LFA, mixed martial arts, MMA, UFC

LFA LAUNCHING PAD: LFA SENDS 9 FIGHTERS TO UFC IN 30 DAYS

Leave a comment
THE SUMMER OF LFA

 
 
LFA ALUM IMPRESS IN THE UFC:
TITLE SHOTS, BONUSES and RECORD BREAKERS
 
 
4 SHOWS IN 4 WEEKS:
LFA SET TO VISIT 4 STATES IN 4 WEEKS 
HOUSTON, Texas – Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) has had a busy summer. In last month’s newsletter, it was reported that LFA alum accumulated $200,000 in UFC bonus money in the month of June, former RFA headliner Zach Freeman secured an “Upset of the Year”  nominee in New York City, and three inaugural LFA titles were awarded to get the summer started.

LFA LAUNCHING PAD
The summer continued to heat up in July. The UFC hosted 5 events along with the first 3 episodes of UFC President Dana White’s new weekly web series titled “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series” throughout the month.
The number of LFA alum that participated in those events was staggering. 19 fighters that have fought for LFA or the two promotions that merged to create it (RFA and Legacy FC) competed in the UFC. UFC 213 headliner Valentina Shevchenko would have made that 20 fighters, but Amanda Nunes withdrew from their title fight on the day of the fight.
The presence of LFA alum on Dana White’s new show was just as impressive. In the first three episodes that aired in July, 17 of the 30 competitors (56.6%) had previously competed for LFA, RFA, or Legacy FC.  Each of the three episodes also featured two “LFA vs. LFA” matches. The most impressive stat, however, is the fact that an LFA fighter was signed by Dana White off of each episode.
That trend carried over into August with a fourth LFA fighter being signed to the UFC off of the fourth episode of “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series”. The four LFA stars signed off of the show so far are Boston Salmon (Week 1), Sean O’Malley (Week 2), Geoff Neal (Week 3), and Julian Marquez (Week 4). There are currently 32 fighters from LFA scheduled to compete on theTuesday might summer series. LFA also currently has 19 alum ranked in the latest UFC fighter rankings.
LFA ALUM IMPRESS IN THE UFC
While former LFA fighters impressed in the UFC last month with the sheer number of participants, what they accomplished in those bouts is even more important. Perhaps the biggest shining star of the bunch was former RFA featherweight champion Brian Ortega. The man known as “T-City” improved his perfect record to 12-0 and saw his UFC fighter ranking move up to #6 in the world.
Ortega did this by breaking his own UFC record at UFC 214 on July 29th. Going into his bout with fellow unbeaten star Renato Moicano, Ortega held the UFC record for most consecutive third round finishes. He extended that streak by submitting Moicano in the final frame with a $50,000 UFC “Performance of the Night” bonus winning Guillotine Choke.
The following Saturday at UFC Fight Night 114, RFA great Dustin Ortiz broke another UFC record to secure his own $50,000 UFC “Performance of the Night” bonus. Ortiz accomplished this feat by knocking out Hector Sandoval in 15-seconds to record the fastest finish in UFC flyweight history. His teammate and former RFA flyweight champion Sergio Pettis happened to headline the same card. Pettis won his marquee bout against Brandon Moreno unanimously in a pivotal battle between two Top 10 ranked UFC flyweights.
The UFC will be off for the next few weeks, but September looks to be just as big for the LFA greats competing inside the famed UFC Octagon. UFC 215 on September 9th will feature two LFA alum challenging for UFC world titles. Legacy FC great Ray Borg will headline the card for a shot at the UFC flyweight title, while Shevchenko will finally get a crack at the UFC women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event. Seven other LFA alum have UFC bouts already announced for next month as well.
4 SHOWS IN 4 WEEKS
LFA started August with the first title defense in the promotion’s history. Two of the inaugural LFA champions that were just crowned in June (Eryk Anders and Roberto Sanchez) have already made their UFC debut, but LFA featherweight champion Kevin “Angel of Death” Aguilar was able to defend his title in the main event of LFA 18 this past Friday. He did so by sweeping the scorecards against a very game challenger in #1 contender and world-class BJJ black belt Justin Rader.
LFA is now set to end the summer with four shows in four weeks in four different states. The quadruple-header starts next week in South Dakota at LFA 19. The promotion then heads east to Minnesota the following week at LFA 20. LFA kicks off first day of September in Missouri at LFA 21. Then the final leg of the four week trip will go down in Colorado at LFA 22.
LFA 19 – Michaud vs. Rodrigues takes place Friday, August 18th at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The event will serve as the second LFA event to take place in the state of South Dakota. RFA visited “The Mount Rushmore State” four times before the merger. LFA 19 is headlined with a welterweight war between three-time UFC vet David “Bulldawg” Michaud (11-3) and Brazilian powerhouse Ciro “Bad Boy” Rodrigues (20-7).

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS TO LFA 19

LFA 20 – Curry vs. Barnes takes place Friday, August 25th at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The event will serve as the third LFA event to take place in the state of Minnesota. RFA and Legacy FC hosted a combined nine events in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” before the merger.  LFA 20 is headlined with a welterweight showdown between rising star Chad “Blitz” Curry and former RFA title challenger Nick “The Phoenix” Barnes.
LFA 21 – Noblitt vs. Branjão takes place Friday, September 1st at the Branson Convention Center in Branson, Missouri. The event will serve as the first LFA event to take place in the state of Missouri. RFA visited the “Show Me State” four times before the merger. LFA 21 is headlined with a light-heavyweight battle between undefeated American prospect Kyle James Noblitt (8-0) and undefeated Brazilian prospect Antônio Paulo “Montanha” Branjão (4-0).
LFA 22 – Heinisch vs. Perez takes place Friday, September 8th at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event will serve as the third LFA event to take place in the state of Colorado. RFA visited “The Centennial State” eight times before the merger. LFA 22 is headlined with an LFA middleweight title fight between Colorado’s own Ian “The Hurricane” Heinisch (8-0) and Brazilian dynamo Markus “Maluko” Perez (8-0).
The entire main card of these four events will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
In September 2016, RFA and Legacy FC officials announced that they would be merging to form the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) starting in January 2017. RFA and Legacy FC have launched the careers of over 100 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC.
Please visit LFAfighting.com for bout updates and information. LFA is on Facebook at Legacy Fighting Alliance. LFA is also on Instagram at @LFAfighting and Twitter at @LFAfighting.
mixed martial arts, MMA

LFA HEADS TO MISSOURI WITH A  LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT WAR

Leave a comment
LFA 21 – NOBLITT vs. BRANJÃO

 MAIN EVENT:
UNDEFEATED LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT
KYLE NOBLITT
vs.
UNDEFEATED LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT
ANTÔNIO PAULO BRANJÃO
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT WAR
PLUS:
TOP WOMEN’S PROSPECT
KATY “RED DRAGON” COLLINS
and
LIGHTWEIGHT SHOWDOWN
T.J. BROWN vs. TREY OGDEN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st LIVE on AXS TV
BRANSON CONVENTION CENTER in BRANSON, MISSOURI
Tickets are on sale NOW through CombatTickets.com
HOUSTON, Texas – Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will feature the sport’s top two light-heavyweight prospects when the LFA makes its first visit to Missouri on the first day of September.

The main event of LFA 21 will feature a light-heavyweight war between undefeated American prospect Kyle Noblitt and undefeated Brazilian prospect Antônio Paulo “Montanha” Branjão. LFA 21 – Noblitt vs. Branjão takes place Friday, September 1st at the Branson Convention Center in Branson, Missouri. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
“I am excited to bring the LFA to Missouri in September,” stated Soares. “RFA hosted four shows all over Missouri and it has proven to be one of the most talent-rich states in the country. We look forward to building on that success at LFA 21 on September 1st. Kyle Noblitt is the top light-heavyweight prospect in Missouri and he will face one of the top light-heavyweight prospects in Brazil, when he faces Antônio Paulo Branjão in the main event of LFA 21.”
Tickets for LFA 21 – Noblitt vs. Branjão are available for purchase NOW at Combattickets.com
Noblitt (8-0) is widely considered one of the top prospects in the United States at both heavyweight and light-heavyweight. After making his pro MMA debut in 2015, Noblitt unleashed a path of destruction in both weight classes much to the delight of fans in his home state and MMA pundits alike. The Missouri mauler has finished seven of the eight men he has faced, six inside of round one, and two in the same night. Noblitt was sitting cageside when the RFA visited his hometown in December and now the 27-year-old is set to headline LFA 21 in front of his home crowd as he looks to solidify his claim as the top light-heavyweight prospect in the world.
Branjão (4-0) is ready to make his highly-anticipated international MMA debut after making a name for himself in his home country of Brazil.  After dispatching his first three opponents via KO or TKO in less than a round, the man known as “Montanha” moved up to heavyweight to participate on the third season of the UFC’s hit reality television show The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil (TUF: Brazil 3). Branjão reached the quarter-finals on the show before returning to 205-pounds where he continued his winning ways against Stefano Alves. The 29-year-old now looks for his fifth stoppage win in his fifth fight when he travels to the United States to headline LFA 21.
The co-main event of LFA 21 will feature the LFA debut of the 2016 RFA Fans’ Choice Awards “Prospect of the Year” winner Katy Collins (7-2). “Red Dragon” made a spectacular RFA debut this past December at RFA 46, which was the final RFA event before RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA. Collins is currently ranked in the Top 5 of the AXS TV Fights Women’s Pound-For-Pound Rankings and looks to build on the momentum of a dominant win she earned last month at Bellator 181. She will make her LFA debut in her hometown of Branson, Missouri inside the same venue where she won her RFA debut eight months ago.
In the lightweight division, “Downtown” T.J. Brown (9-4) will make his LFA debut after competing three times inside the RFA Octagon. The Arkansas native is a fan favorite regardless of which state he fights in due to his wildly entertaining, all-action, style of fighting. Brown will need that experience when when he faces Trey Ogden (8-1) in the featured lightweight bout at LFA 21. The Bellator vet Ogden is a surefire prospect that trains alongside UFC stars and RFA greats James Krause and Tim Elliott in Kansas City, Missouri.
Currently Announced Main Card (Televised on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Light-Heavyweight Bout (205 lb)
– Kyle Noblitt (8-0) vs. Antônio Paulo Branjão (4-0)
Co-Main Event | Women’s Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
– Katy Collins (7-2) vs. TBD
Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
– T.J. Brown (9-4) vs. Trey Ogden (8-1)
In September 2016, RFA and Legacy FC officials announced that they would be merging to form the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) starting in January 2017. RFA and Legacy FC have launched the careers of over 100 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC.
LFA 21 will be the first LFA event to take place in the state of Missouri. RFA visited the “Show Me State” four times before the merger. Further information about LFA 21 will be announced soon. The entire main card of LFA 21 will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET /6 p.m. PT.
Please visit LFAfighting.com for bout updates and information. LFA is on Facebook at Legacy Fighting Alliance. LFA is also on Instagram at @LFAfighting and Twitter at @LFAfighting.