Tag Archives: Ciro Rodrigues

LFA, mixed martial arts, MMA

LFA HEADS TO NEBRASKA WITH LFA 25 COCHRANE vs. RODRIGUES

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MAIN EVENT:
DAKOTA COCHRANE
vs.
CIRO “BAD BOY” RODRIGUES
 
WELTERWEIGHT WAR
 
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20th LIVE on AXS TV
RALSTON ARENA in OMAHA, NEBRASKA
 
Tickets are on sale NOW through CAGETIX.com
HOUSTON, Texas – Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will head to Nebraska, the birthplace of RFA, next month at LFA 25.

The main event of LFA 25 will feature the battle-tested Nebraskan and RFA mainstay Dakota Cochrane. He will face the explosive Brazilian powerhouse Ciro “Bad Boy” Rodrigues in a welterweight war. LFA 25 – Cochrane vs. Rodrigues takes place Friday, October 20th at the Ralston Arena in Omaha, Nebraska. 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 LFA to Nebraska, the birthplace of RFA,” stated Soares. “RFA hosted six events in the Cornhusker State and LFA will continue our great history in the state on October 20th. Dakota Cochrane is one of the most accomplished fighters in Nebraska. He will headline LFA 25 against Ciro Rodrigues, who is coming off a huge knockout win last month in his LFA debut.”
Tickets for LFA 25 – Cochrane vs. Rodrigues are available for purchase online NOW at CAGETIX.com and will be available at the box office at 10:00 am on Monday, September 18th.
Cochrane (29-12) was the most active fighter in RFA history before the promotion merged with Legacy FC earlier this year to form LFA. He made his debut for the promotion at its inaugural event RFA 1 in December 2011. Cochrane went on to compete for RFA at five of its first six events and holds the record for most fights in RFA history with eight RFA fights to his credit. During his time with the promotion, Cochrane headlined three RFA events and fought for the inaugural RFA lightweight title. The proud Nebraskan also fought for Legacy FC last October and made his LFA debut in April. Cochrane now looks to add another chapter to his lengthy history with the promotion by headlining LFA 25 in his hometown of Omaha. He will be looking for his thirtieth career win in the process.
Rodrigues (21-6) signed with LFA this summer after making a name for himself in his native Brazil for the past 11 years. The Brazilian known as “Bad Boy” made his professional MMA debut when he was 17-years-old and rose to prominence in his home country. The Nova União trained fighter won one of Brazil’s most prestigious titles, when he captured the Jungle Fight world title in 2015. That win came during an impressive streak, which has seen Rodrigues win eight of his last nine fights over the past four years. The biggest of those wins, however, came last month in his LFA and international debut. In that fight, Rodrigues knocked out three-time UFC vet David Michaud in less than two minutes in the main event of LFA 19. He now looks to double-down in the main event of LFA 25.
RFA visited the state of Nebraska a total of six times and produced an incredible amount of talent at those six events. Fourteen fighters went on to sign with the UFC. Tim Elliott, James Krause, Derrick Lewis, Jessamyn Duke, Jordan Rinaldi, Julian Marquez, Mirsad Bektic, Pedro Munhoz, Kamaru Usman, Efrain Escudero, Andrew Sanchez, Luke Sanders, Grant Dawson, and Anthony Smith are the fourteen fighters that competed for the RFA in Nebraska before signing with the UFC.
Currently Announced Main Card (Televised on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
– Dakota Cochrane (29-12) vs. Ciro Rodrigues (21-6)
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 25 will serve as the first LFA event to take place in the state of Nebraska. RFA visited the “Cornhusker State” six times before the merger. That includes the inaugural RFA event in December 2011. Further information about LFA 25 will be announced soon. The entire main card of LFA 25 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.
LFA, mixed martial arts, MMA, UFC

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

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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 RETURNS TO MMA HOTBED IN SOUTH DAKOTA WITH LFA 19: MICHAUD vs.RODRIGUES

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 MAIN EVENT:
“BULLDAWG”
DAVID MICHAUD
vs.
“BAD BOY”
CIRO RODRIGUES
 
WELTERWEIGHT WAR
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18th LIVE on AXS TV
SANFORD PENTAGON in SIOUX FALLS, SD
 
Tickets are on sale NOW through Ticketmaster.com
HOUSTON, Texas – Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will continue its tradition of MMA excellence in South Dakota at LFA 19. This is a rich and exciting history that began three years ago at RFA 17, which served as the state’s first sanctioned MMA event.
The main event of LFA 19 will feature a welterweight war between three-time UFC vet David “Bulldawg” Michaud and Brazilian powerhouse Ciro “Bad Boy” Rodrigues. LFA 19 – Michaud vs. Rodrigues takes place Friday, August 18th at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.
“LFA 19 will add to an exciting MMA history in South Dakota that began three summers ago with the RFA,” stated Soares. “We brought the first sanctioned MMA event to the state at RFA 17, we hosted the first MMA world title fight in the state, and ten of the fighters that competed for us in South Dakota have gone on to fight in the UFC.”
Tickets for LFA 19 – Michaud vs. Rodrigues are available for purchase NOW at Ticketmaster.com. You can also support your favorite fighter by purchasing your tickets at CombatTickets.com.
Michaud (11-3) is one of the most beloved and successful fighters to hail from the state of South Dakota. Born and raised in Pine Ridge, South Dakota on the western side of the state, Michaud won a state title in wrestling for Pine Ridge High School during his senior season. He went on to wrestle at the NCAA Division I level for South Dakota State University (SDSU) before crossing over into MMA. The man known as “Bulldawg” has competed at the highest level of MMA as well. Michaud was a contestant on the sixteenth season of the UFC’s hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF 16) and fought three times for the UFC. Since leaving the UFC, Michaud has earned dominant wins for the RFA and LFA. The MMA LAB product now returns to his home state in the main event of LFA 19.
Rodrigues (20-7) has run roughshod over the MMA scene in Brazil for the past 11 years. The Brazilian known as “Bad Boy” made his professional MMA debut when he was only 17-years-old. He has since made an indelible mark on the fight scene in his home country. The Nova União trained fighter won one of Brazil’s most prestigious titles, when he captured the Jungle Fight world title in 2015. That win came during an impressive streak, which has seen Rodrigues win seven of his last eight fights over the past four years. Rodrigues is now looking to make his name known on a global scale when makes his highly-anticipated international debut on August 18th. That will happen when he faces his toughest and most accomplished opponent to date in the main event of LFA 19.
LFA 19 will continue a rich and fascinating history of MMA greatness in the state of South Dakota. This history began three summers ago at RFA 17. That event was the first sanctioned MMA event in the state’s history. RFA 17 hosted the first two world title fights in South Dakota history and also served as the first MMA event in the state that was televised worldwide. RFA 37 was the final RFA event in the state of South Dakota and it was featured on UFC President Dana White’s hit reality show Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight. Five fighters from that event were signed to the UFC and another two signed with Bellator. That includes every fighter that won on the main card and another fighter that won on the undercard.
RFA visited South Dakota a total of four times and produced an incredible amount of talent at those four events. Ten fighters went on to compete for the UFC and five more would go on to fight for Bellator. Christos Giagos, Luke Sanders, Devin Clark, Geane Herrera, Khalil Rountree, Matthew Lopez, Terrion Ware, Jordan Johnson, Joe Gigliotti, and Brian Camozzi are the ten fighters that competed for the RFA in South Dakota before signing with the UFC. Justin Lawrence, Mark Dickman, Francisco France, Leandro Higo, and Logan Storley are the five fighters that competed for the RFA in South Dakota before signing with Bellator.
Currently Announced Main Card (Televised on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
– David Michaud (11-3) vs. Ciro Rodrigues (20-7)
Feature Bout | Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
– Clarence Jordan (9-3-1) vs Marcus Edwards (12-5)
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 19 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. That includes RFA 17, which was the first sanctioned MMA event to take place in the state of South Dakota. Further information about LFA 19 will be announced soon. The entire main card of LFA 19 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.