FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22LFA 197: KUZIUTINA vs. GUIMARÃES Presented By: MONSTER ENERGY MAIN EVENT: CHAMPION NATASHA KUZIUTINA vs. CHALLENGER YASMIN GUIMARÃES INTERIM WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT LIVE on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT LAS VEGAS, Nevada — LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will return to Brazil in November with a Championship Headliner at LFA 197. In the main event, the interim women’s strawweight title will be on the line. This will be the nineteenth LFA event to take place in Brazil after the promotion’s international expansion began in the summer of 2021. This will also be the twelfth LFA event to take place in the state of São Paulo, which is Brazil’s most populous state. LFA has also visited the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco. LFA 197: Kuziutina vs. Guimarães, presented by Monster Energy, takes place Friday, November 22nd at the Ginásio do Polvilho in Cajamar, São Paulo, Brazil. The main event will feature an interim women’s strawweight title fight when interim champion Natasha “Kuzya” Kuziutina defends her title against top contender Yasmin Guimarães. The entire main card will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. “We are excited to bring another world-class title fight to Brazil,” stated Soares. “We have an incredible fan base in São Paulo and throughout Brazil, which is the birthplace of modern day MMA. The country will now host two of our biggest international stars in the main event of LFA 197. Natasha Kuziutina is a three-time Olympian in Judo and the first woman from Russia to win an LFA title. She will defend her interim women’s strawweight title for a second time against Brazilian star and Muay Thai standout Yasmin Guimarães. The winner will get a chance to unify the title against current champion Rose Conceição early next year.” Kuziutina (6-1) is the first woman from Russia to win an LFA title, and once again, she is looking to do something that has never been done. That will happen if she is able to defend her LFA interim women’s strawweight title for a second time as she and Jaqueline Amorim are currently tied with one title defense a piece. Kuziutina won the title by defeating five-time IBJJF champion Giovanna Canuto at LFA 173. She then defended her title for the first time in August by defeating longtime Bellator standout Bruna Ellen in the main event of LFA 189. Prior to her MMA success, Kuziutina enjoyed an incredible Judo career and is now the most decorated judoka to ever compete in the strawweight division of MMA. She has represented Russia at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 (took place in 2021) Summer Olympics. It was at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, where she earned an Olympic bronze medal. She now heads back to Brazil for her second title defense making her the first woman to headline LFA events on two continents. Guimarães (8-1) is a decorated MMA and Muay Thai fighter that has built her world-class skill set by competing around the globe. The Brazilian dynamo built her name and reputation by competing successfully in both sports throughout Europe and the Middle East. In that time, she has competed twice for KSW, which is a leading MMA promotion in Europe. She has also competed and trained in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and her home country of Brazil. This includes challenging for the WBC Muay Thai super-bantamweight title. After competing around the world in multiple disciplines at flyweight and bantamweight, the proud Carioca returned home to Rio de Janeiro in May, where she made her debut in the strawweight division in the main event of LFA 183. Guimarães was triumphant that night by handing top prospect Naizi Cantanhede the first loss of her career. She now looks to capture LFA gold, while defending home turf, as Brazilians have never lost an LFA main event in Brazil. Main Card (Worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT): Main Event | Interim Women’s Strawweight Title Bout (115 lb)Natasha Kuziutina (6-1) vs. Yasmin Guimarães (8-1) Co-Main Event | Lightweight Bout (155 lb) Samuel Dias (10-2) vs. Samuel Silva (12-4-1) Featherweight Bout (145 lb)Felipe Oliveira (10-3) vs. Márcio Barbosa (15-2) Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)Vinicius Pires (9-1) vs. Jhon Rodriguez Tacha (12-2) Heavyweight Bout (265 lb)Edivan Santos (17-5) vs. Jose Augusto (9-4) Lightweight Bout (155 lb)Luann Sardinha (8-0) vs. Marcelo Marques (10-0) Welterweight Bout (170 lb)Michael Oliveira (7-0) vs. Aldo Pereira (12-7) Currently Announced Preliminary Card (Worldwide on LFA FIGHT NETWORK™ at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m PT): Welterweight Bout (170 lb)Richard Martins (8-1) vs. Lucas Batista (7-1) Lightweight Bout (155 lb)Juan Pablo Viera (7-0) vs. Maycon Kevin (5-0) Welterweight Bout (170 lb)Reginaldo Junior (8-1) vs. Dallys Gama (7-4) Women’s Strawweight Bout (115 lb)Janaína Silva (5-1) vs. Aieza Bertolso (4-0) Middleweight Bout (185 lb)Ryan Gandra (6-1) vs. Vladimir Calvo (4-0) Women’s Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)Nicoly Pedroza (5-0) vs. Thalita Diniz (5-2) Women’s Flyweight Bout (125 lb)Beatriz Consuli (4-0) vs. Thaiany Lopes (5-1) |
