LFA brings Bantamweight Showdown to the Valley of the Sun at LFA 72
June 15, 2019 2:27 pm.LFA 72 – BIRCHAK vs. HERNANDEZ
MAIN EVENT:
UFC VETERAN
ANTHONY BIRCHAK
vs.
TOP PROSPECT
NOHELIN HERNANDEZ
BANTAMWEIGHT SHOWDOWN
CO-MAIN EVENT:
BJJ BLACK BELT
DANIEL MADRID
vs.
TOP PROSPECT
CHRIS HARRIS
MIDDLEWEIGHT WAR
FRIDAY, JULY 26th LIVE on AXS TV
COMERICA THEATRE
in PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Tickets are on sale NOW at Ticketmaster.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will return to the Valley of the Sun in July. The main event of LFA 72 will feature a showdown between two of the LFA bantamweight division’s top contenders.
The main event of LFA 72 will bring a high-stakes showdown to the state capital of Arizona. The headliner will see UFC veteran and Arizona’s own Anthony “El Toro” Birchak face top prospect Nohelin “Suave” Hernandez in a pivotal bantamweight bout. LFA 72 – Birchak vs. Hernandez takes place Friday, July 26th at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. The main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
“LFA is returning to Arizona in July with a fantastic main event,” stated Soares. “Anthony Birchak is one of the biggest MMA stars from the state of Arizona. He has fought all over the world, including four times in the UFC. He will face Nohelin Hernandez, who is one of the division’s top contenders. This will be an exciting main event at LFA 72, which will be our seventh event at Comerica Theatre in downtown Phoenix.”
Tickets for LFA 72 – Birchak vs. Hernandez are available for purchase NOW at Ticketmaster.com.
Birchak (13-6) has fought all over the world for nearly every major MMA promotion. The decorated amateur wrestler will now make his LFA debut in the same city where he made his UFC debut four and a half years ago. The 33-year-old will be bringing a stellar MMA résumé with him to the LFA Octagon. Birchak is a four-time UFC veteran, he fought on the fourth season of Bellator, and he competed in Japan three times for RIZIN. “El Toro” also made a name for himself on AXS TV by winning a bantamweight title on the network for the now defunct MFC promotion in Canada. Now the talented Tucsonan returns to the network looking to take out one of LFA’s top prospects in the main event of LFA 72.
Hernandez (10-2) returns to the LFA Octagon riding an impressive four-fight win streak. One of those wins came a year ago in his Bellator debut, but the biggest win during his current run as well as the biggest win of his career came this past fall in the co-main event of LFA 51. The man known as “Suave” defeated BJJ and Judo black belt Rolando Velasco via Unanimous Decision to solidify his status at the top of one of LFA’s deepest and most talented divisions. Now the AKA standout looks to up the ante. The 25-year-old will do this by leaving the comforts of the Bay Area in his native northern California to trek into the hostile territory of Arizona to face the biggest name opponent of his career at LFA 72.
The co-main event of LFA 72 will feature a high-stakes showdown between two of the promotion’s most respected fighters. Daniel Madrid (16-6) returns to the LFA Octagon riding the momentum of a three consecutive wins. The most recent win came against eleven-time UFC veteran Seth Baczynski, who also competed on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. Madrid, who is a black belt in BJJ, needed less than a round to submit Baczynski at LFA 59 this past February.
Madrid now looks to take another step into title contention when he faces Chris Harris (11-3) in the co-main event of LFA 72. Harris, like Madrid, is also looking for his second LFA win. His first came with a dominant performance against Cortez Coleman in the co-main event of LFA 15. More recently, Harris has picked up back-to-back wins over Bellator veterans Zak Bucia and Marcelo Alfaya. He now looks to run that streak to three when he heads to enemy territory on July 26th.
Currently Announced Main Card (Televised on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
- Anthony Birchak (13-6) vs. Nohelin Hernandez (10-2)
Co-Main Event | Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
- Daniel Madrid (16-6) vs. Chris Harris (11-3)
Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
- Kevin Natividad (8-1) vs. Roman Salazar (13-8)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
- Mike Hamel (6-2) vs. Flavian Pilgram (5-1)
In 2017, RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA, the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts. The combined forces of LFA launched the careers of over 160 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC. In May 2018, the promotion joined the London Trust Media Holdings group of companies.
LFA 72 will be the seventh LFA event to take place in the state of Arizona. All seven of these events have taken place at the Comerica Theatre in the Grand Canyon State’s capital city of Phoenix. The entire main card of LFA 72 will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Please visit LFA.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.
About LFA:
LFA is a professional Mixed Martial Arts promotion that gives rising stars and top contenders the opportunity to prove their talent to fans and leaders in the industry. LFA was formed by the powerhouse merger between RFA and Legacy FC. LFA presents live Mixed Martial Arts events on a monthly basis around the United States including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, and Houston. LFA can be seen live in over 53 million homes nationally through its television deal with AXS TV. Based in Las Vegas, NV, LFA is one of the most active and respected MMA organizations in the fastest growing sport in the world. (The Octagon, Ultimate Fighting Championship®, UFC®, and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC. All rights reserved).
About AXS TV FIGHTS:
AXS TV FIGHTS presents more LIVE mixed martial arts and kickboxing events than any other television network every Friday night at 9pE/6pP. Events taking place on the west coast will be televised at 10pE/7pP. UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich, and veteran broadcaster Ron Kruck call all the action and Phoenix Carnevale reports from cageside as champions, challengers, and top prospects take center stage. AXS TV Fights can be found online, on Facebook, and on Twitter. AXS TV is widely distributed in the U.S. via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH, Sling TV, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other cable, satellite, telco and streaming providers. The network is also carried in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
About LONDON TRUST MEDIA:
London Trust Media is a diversified business focused on the Internet and media industries – bringing the Internet back to its original state and bringing power back to the people. London Trust Media runs the leading no-log VPN service provider in the world Private Internet Access (PIA) as well as Kore Asian Media, Linux Journal, freenode, Snoonet, JOG, BlockExplorer, and Provocateur. Please visit their website at www.londontrustmedia.com for more information.
About COMERICA THEATRE:
Comerica Theatre is a 5,000 seat entertainment venue located in the heart of downtown Phoenix. The unique design of Comerica Theatre has changed the way people think about live entertainment, as it marries the classic theatre style with the pulsating excitement of modern arena technologies. The theatre’s state-of-the art music & sound systems are perfect for concerts, comedy performances as well as theatre and family friendly shows.
Tags: Featured
Categorized in: Featured, News
This post was written by Ryan Bevins
