LFA kicks off Super Bowl weekend in southern California at LFA 81
December 23, 2019 7:50 pm.LFA 81 – EMMERS vs. BARBOSA
MAIN EVENT:
LFA + LOOKIN’ FOR A FIGHT STAR
JAMALL “PRETTY BOY” EMMERS
vs.
LFA + LOOKIN’ FOR A FIGHT STAR
RAFAEL “COXINHA” BARBOSA
FEATHERWEIGHT SHOWDOWN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31st
LIVE on UFC FIGHT PASS®
THE HANGAR at the OC FAIR & EVENT CENTER
COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA
TICKETS on sale NOW through LFAtix.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will kick off Super Bowl weekend in southern California. LFA 81 will showcase two of LFA’s most prominent fighters when the promotion returns to southern California in January.
The main event of LFA 81 will feature a featherweight showdown between LFA and ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight’ standouts Jamall “Pretty Boy” Emmers and Rafael “Coxinha” Barbosa. LFA 81 – Emmers vs. Barbosa takes place Friday, January 31st at The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. The entire main card of LFA 81 will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
“I am excited to announce that LFA is returning to my native southern California at LFA 81,” stated Soares. “Jamall Emmers and Rafael Barbosa are two of the most accomplished fighters in LFA. They are both 2-0 for the promotion and they both impressed UFC President Dana White on his reality television show ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight’. This is the perfect way to kick off Super Bowl weekend on January 31st.”
Tickets for LFA 81 – Emmers vs. Barbosa are available for purchase through LFAtix.com.
Emmers (16-4) is one of the only people to have fought for LFA, RFA, and Legacy FC. “Pretty Boy” became the third fighter to complete this rare hat trick of promotional appearances when he co-headlined LFA 5 shortly after the merger of RFA and Legacy FC in 2017. That night, Emmers lived up to the hype surrounding him after the praise he received from UFC President Dana White on Episode 7 of the inaugural season of ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight’. Emmers traveled to the high-altitude of Colorado and defeated the highly-touted Cory Sandhagen, who is currently a top-ranked fighter in the UFC. Emmers followed up that breakthrough performance with a scorching KO of Guilherme Faria in the co-main event of LFA 36. He landed a big right hand early in Round 3 to secure the win in front of his home crowd. Now the powerful 30-year-old hopes to shine once again and perhaps punch his own ticket to the UFC with another big win in the main event of LFA 81.
Barbosa (12-2) is one of the most exciting prospects to come out of Brazil in 2019. The man known as “Coxinha” has trained extensively with former UFC champion Lyoto Machida and RFA great Chinzô Machida and deploys a similar striking style. The Fábio Simões karate black belt won his LFA debut last 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 the main event of LFA 68. He scored a beautiful standing elbow KO of former LFA title challenger Nate Jennerman. Now at the age of 22, Barbosa looks to make good on White’s inspiring words by continuing that growth by winning the main event of LFA 81.
Currently Announced Main Card (Watch worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
- Jamall “Pretty Boy” Emmers (16-4) vs. Rafael “Coxinha” Barbosa (12-2)
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 170 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC. In 2018, the promotion joined the London Trust Media Holdings group of companies. In 2019, the promotion announced a broadcast partnership with UFC FIGHT PASS®.
LFA 81 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 81 will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® 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 to markets including Atlanta, Minneapolis, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Based in Las Vegas, NV, LFA is one of the most active and respected MMA organizations in the fastest growing sport in the world.
About UFC FIGHT PASS®:
UFC FIGHT PASS® is the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. Since launching in 2013, FIGHT PASS is now available in more than 200 countries and territories. FIGHT PASS provides its members with unlimited access to live UFC FIGHT PASS Prelims; live mixed martial arts and combat sports from around the world; original series and historical programming; special features; behind-the-scenes content; in-depth interviews; and up-to-the minute reports on the world of combat sports. FIGHT PASS subscribers also have 24/7 access to the world’s largest fight library, featuring more than 17,000 bouts from dozens of combats sports organizations, as well as every fight in UFC history. Fight fans can access FIGHT PASS on personal computers, iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs, and Sony TVs with Android TV. For more information, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com.
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 londontrustmedia.com for more information.
About OC Fair & Event Center:
The OC Fair & Event Center is the home of the annual OC Fair, which welcomes more than 1.3 million visitors each summer. The venue is also home to more than 150 year-round events including the OC Market Place every weekend, as well as Imaginology, a free STEAM-related event; Centennial Farm, a three-acre working farm; Heroes Hall, a veterans museum and education center; and Table of Dignity, an agricultural workers memorial. Visit OCFair.com for more information.
Tags: Featured
Categorized in: Featured, News
This post was written by Ryan Bevins
