Tag: Bryce Logan

LFA returns from coronavirus shutdown with four July events in South Dakota

No one is confusing South Dakota for “Fight Island,” but LFA is kicking back into full gear nonetheless.

It’s not exactly “Fight Island,” but LFA will return to action in July after four months away due to the coronavirus pandemic with a set of shows in South Dakota.

On four consecutive Fridays, from July 10-31, LFA, which last held an event on March 6, will run fights at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Similar to the UFC’s model since returning in May, LFA’s Sioux Falls events, which will air on UFC Fight Pass, will be held behind closed doors and follow strict safety protocols.

“I am excited to announced that LFA will be returning with live weekly MMA events in July,” LFA CEO Ed Soares said in a statement. “We brought the first sanctioned MMA event to the state of South Dakota six summers ago and have a great working relationship with South Dakota Athletic Commission and Sanford Pentagon. This will allow us to set up a safe environment for our fighters and staff, while implementing strict coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and safeguards to control and ensure a healthy LFA residency on our fight campus in Sioux Falls.”

Each event will be headlined by a championship fight:

  • On July 10, [autotag]Justin Gonzales[/autotag] (10-0) meets [autotag]Jake Childers[/autotag] (8-0) for the vacant featherweight title.
  • July 17’s LFA 85 main event is [autotag]Sam Hughes[/autotag] (4-0) vs. [autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag] (4-1) to crown the company’s inaugural strawweight champ.
  • July 24 sees [autotag]Greg Fischer[/autotag] (10-1) and [autotag]Jimmy Flick[/autotag] (13-5) square off at LFA 86 to fill the flyweight title vacated when Brandon Royval signed with the UFC.
  • The slate closes July 31 with LFA 87, where South Dakota’s own [autotag]Bryce Logan[/autotag] (11-4) and SoCal’s [autotag]Jacob Rosales [/autotag](12-5) fight for the vacant lightweight title, a bout that was scheduled for April 17 and then postponed due to the pandemic.

Bryce Logan vs. Jacob Rosales vacant lightweight title fight headlines LFA 86

The lightweight title will be up for grabs when LFA returns to South Dakota next month.

The lightweight title will be up for grabs when LFA returns to South Dakota next month.

South Dakota’s own [autotag]Bryce Logan[/autotag] (11-4) takes on [autotag]Jacob Rosales[/autotag] (12-5) for the vacant 155-pound title in the LFA 86 main event. The promotion announced the booking Tuesday. The card will be LFA fifth in South Dakota.

LFA 86 takes place April 17 at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass.

“I am excited to bring the LFA lightweight championship back to South Dakota,” LFA CEO Ed Soares stated. “Bryce Logan and Jacob Rosales are two of our most popular fighters – they both got their start in RFA before the merger. They will face each other for the vacant LFA lightweight. This will add another chapter to the state’s MMA history, which began with its first sanctioned event at RFA 17.”

Logan has back-to-back wins after a pair of losses for Bellator and CES MMA. But when he returned to LFA nearly a year ago, he took a split decision win over Kenneth Glenn, then this past September beat Jonas Flok by unanimous decision at LFA 77. Logan is from Doland, S.D. and is a Dakota State University product.

Rosales had a four-fight winning streak, including victories under the Bellator and LFA banners. But in a Dana White’s Contender Series bout in July 2019 he was knocked out by Jonathan Pearce in the third round. In January, though, he bounced back with a unanimous decision over Salaiman Ahmadyar, giving him five wins in his past six fights.