LFA brings Featherweight Championship to Southern California at LFA 79
August 31, 2019 1:09 am.LFA 79 – DIAMOND vs. BARBOSA
MAIN EVENT:
NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLER
TYLER DIAMOND
vs.
KARATE BLACK BELT
RAFAEL “COXINHA” BARBOSA
FEATHERWEIGHT WORLD TITLE FIGHT
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11th LIVE on AXS TV
RIVERSIDE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM
in RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA
Tickets are on sale NOW through LFAtix.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion is headed to southern California this fall to crown a new featherweight champion. LFA 79 will see the promotion visit the Inland Empire for a second time and Riverside will be the host city when LFA’s fourth-ever featherweight champion is crowned.
The main event of LFA 79 will feature a featherweight title fight when UFC veteran Tyler Diamond faces Brazilian karateka Rafael “Coxinha” Barbosa for the vacant championship. LFA 79 – Diamond vs. Barbosa takes place Friday, October 11th at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, California. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
“I am excited to bring the LFA featherweight championship to southern California,” Soares exclaimed. “This will be our second trip to the Inland Empire and we will be crowning a new featherweight champion on October 11th. Tyler Diamond and Rafael Barbosa will give our west coast fight fans a memorable title fight at LFA 79.”
Tickets for LFA 79 – Diamond vs. Barbosa are available for purchase NOW at LFATIX.com.
Diamond (10-1) will return to the LFA Octagon fresh off an impressive debut for the promotion in May. Before signing with LFA, Diamond competed on the 27th season of the UFC’s hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter. The 28-year-old Team Alpha Male standout submitted LFA standout Dulani Perry in the quarter-finals of the tournament, which featured an entire cast of undefeated fighters. Diamond would advance to the semi-finals before eventually making his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 27 Finale. He fought former RFA/Legacy standout Bryce Mitchell in a three-round war, but dropped a narrow Majority Decision. Diamond would then make his aforementioned LFA debut in the main event of LFA 66. That night he became the first man to defeat top prospect Jon Neal. Neal was 10-0 entering the bout. Now the former NCAA Division I wrestler is looking to win LFA gold in his sophomore appearance for the promotion at LFA 79.
Barbosa (12-1) is one of the most exciting prospects to come out of Brazil this year. The man known as “Coxinha” is a highly-decorated Karate black belt world champion. The world-class karateka won his LFA debut in March with UFC President Dana White sitting cageside. Barbosa’s win over Cameron Graves at LFA 63 was featured on the Season 4 premiere of Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight. In fact, White had some encouraging words about Barbosa on the show before the fight took place, “Barbosa is 10-1…he’s 21-years-old though. This kid has so much more time to learn and grow.” The talented karateka doubled-down in his second outing for LFA with a beautiful standing elbow KO of former LFA title challenger Nate Jennerman. The KO came in the main event of LFA 68 at the end of May. Now Barbosa looks to make good on White’s inspiring words by continuing that growth by capturing LFA gold at LFA 79.
Main Card (Televised on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Featherweight Title Bout (145 lb)
- Tyler Diamond (10-1) vs. Rafael Barbosa (12-1)
In 2017, RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA, the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts. The combined forces of LFA have 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 79 will be the ninth LFA event to take place in the state of California. RFA hosted eight events inside “The Golden State” before the merger. Further information will be announced soon. The entire main card of LFA 79 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 RIVERSIDE MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM:
The Riverside Municipal Auditorium (RMA) is a Riverside landmark designed in 1928, which also serves as a World War I memorial to the 87 military members from Riverside County who died in service of our country and was commemorated by the National Register of Historic places in 1978. The RMA has been enhanced and upgraded through a $10 million renovation by the City of Riverside in 2011 and continues to serve the community as a meeting, special event, and live performance venue. The RMA is situated in the heart of Riverside’s downtown district within walking distance of many of Riverside’s prominent attractions
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This post was written by Ryan Bevins
