Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA): 30 Recap, Official Results And Photographs

CALIFORNIA (Sat, January 13, 2018)– The Costa Mesa Hall at the OC Fairgrounds played host to Legacy Fighting Alliance’s first event of 2018. LFA 30 took place on Friday night and had a strong turnout as people were looking for good MMA action kick off the long holiday weekend. LFA delivered the action as the night had a ton of action and knockouts.

The night was headlined by a welterweight bout between Curtis Millender (13-3) and Nick Barnes (12-2).  Both Millender and Barnes are familiar with the LFA and have both competed under the RFA/LFA banner throughout the years. Hailing from Fullerton, California, Millender was the hometown hero and the crowd was vociferously in his corner. The bout had heavy implications in the LFA welterweight division, as the winner could very well be next in line for a shot at the title.

Below are the full results from LFA 30.

Main Card Results:

(170lbs): Curtis Millender def. Nick Barnes via KO in Round 2 at 2:51

Round 1: Both fighters trade hard leg kicks and punches to start the first round. They go tit for tat in kicks and punches. Neither fighter looks to be giving an inch. Barnes lands with a kick below the belt and the action is stopped. As it resumes Barnes eats a hard kick from Millender. Barnes closes the distance and lands a takedown and keeps Millender down the remainder of the round.

Round 2: The two open up on each other to start the second. Millender pokes the eye of Barnes and the action is stopped momentarily. Millender lands a hard kick to the head of Barnes but Barnes eats it. Barnes lands a low kick but Millender counters with a right cross and head kick combo that knocks Barnes out cold. Millender’s shin lands perfectly behind the ear of Barnes. Barnes is out before he hits the ground. The crowd erupts and it takes several moments before Barnes come to.

(145lbs): Talison Soares def. Fernando Padilla via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)

Round1: Padilla starts the fight by landing hard kick to the lead leg of Soares. After a few moments for strike exchanges Soares shoots for a takedown and lands it. Padilla tries to get back to his feet but his quickly taken back down by Soares. Soares tries to work his way to the full mount but Padilla fights it off. Soares instead goes for the back of Padilla. Soares peppers Padilla with shots to the ribs and head but Padilla is in no real danger. Soares does little to advance his position as the round comes to a close.

Round 2: Soares goes in for the takedown to start the second round. Padilla cannot keep Soares from closing the distance and gets taken down to the canvas. Padilla manages to climb up the body of Soares like a snake wrapped around a tree branch. The crowd cheers as it is a unique sight. Soares is able to shake him off and get top position on the ground. After a brief position exchange on the ground Soares regains control and does little but lay on to of Padilla. Boo’s start to come from the crowd as the round ends.

Round 3: Padilla charges forward to start the third round. He is behind in the scorecards and needs a finish to win this fight. Soares is able to dodge the striking of Padilla and takes him back down. The crowd jeers in disapproval as not much action is happening whenever Soares has Padilla on the ground. The remainder of the round sees Soares on top of Padilla doing the bare minimum to win the fight.

(125lbs): Maikel Perez def. Charlie Alaniz via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-26)

Round 1: Perez lands an easy takedown to start the fight but Alaniz scrambles back to his feet Alaniz lands a few combos to but Perez does not seem fazed by them. Perez gets Alanzi back to the ground and quickly gets his back. Alaniz does a decent job trying to defend the choke but Perez is all over him. Perez locks in a half nelson and almost pulls Alaniz’ shoulder over his head and out of its socket. Perez lets it go and goes back to the rear naked choke but the bell sounds.

Round 2: Alaniz comes out aggressive to start the second round. Perez pushes him away with a few jabs. Perez shoots in for a takedown and lands it. Alaniz gets back to his feet and eats an uppercut for it. Perez gets his arms around him again and takes him down. Perez is forcing Alaniz to carry him this fight. Alaniz is sweating buckets as Perez takes him down again. Perez goes for a rear naked but switches to throwing punches to the head of Alaniz. Alaniz is able to survive the strikes and Perez goes back to looking for the choke. Alaniz gets back to his feet but Perez is still all over him. Alaniz getst back to his feet and lands a hard shot that gets a big reaction from the crowd. Perez withstands the small blitz from Alaniz and takes him back down before the round ends.

Round 3: Perez easily takes Alaniz down and we are back right where we left off in the previous round. Alaniz has no answer for the wrestling of Perez. The crowd is starting to become restless, as Perez is not really doing any damage once he has Alaniz on the ground. The remainder of the fight stays the same, as Perez seemed more than happy with keeping Alaniz down on the ground and attempting a rear naked choke.

Jordan Wright def. Craig Wilkerson via submission (rear naked choke) in Round 1 at 1:29

Round 1: Wright knocks down Wilkerson but Wilkerson quickly gets back to his feet. As Wilkerson composes himself Wright throws a spinning back kick but it misses. Wilkerson shoots for a takedown but its stuffed by Wright. Wright quickly moves towards the back of Wilkerson and goes for the rear naked choke. Wright has a tight grip on Wilkerson and repositions himself to better sink in the choke. After a few brief moments, Wright is able to get the choke fully locked in and Wilkerson is forced to tap.

(170lbs): Christian Aguilera def. Maycon Mendonca via KO in Round 1 at 0:27

Round 1: Aguilera lands with an overhand right as the round starts and drops Mendonca. Mendonca gets back to his feet but is in trouble. Aguilera stalks him down and lands another overhand right that finishes the job. Mendonca is out cold before his head hits the canvas. Aguilera stands over him and the fight is stopped.

(135lbs): Vince Cachero def. Nohelin Hernandez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Round 1: The two fighters exchange leg kicks to start the bout. After a few exchanges Cachero lands clean with a left hook that rocks Hernandez. Hernandez appears to have recovered and even throws a flying knee. After a few more exchanges Cachero lands a hard uppercut and drops Hernandez. Hernandez quickly recovers and gets back to his feet. Despite getting hit hard Hernandez looks to keep this fight standing. Cachero shoots for a takedown but it gets stuffed. As the two get back to their feet Hernandez finally lands the hard high knee and drops Cachero but the bell sounds before he could follow up.

Round 2: The crowd smells a knockout in the air as both men trade hard shots. Hernandez continues to eat hard shots from Cachero and his nose starts to get bloody.  Cachero starts to mix up his strikes with takedowns but cannot finish as Hernandez has good defense. Hernandez keeps going for the hard flying knee but to no success.

Round 3: Both fighters look fresh as the final round begins. Cachero takes the center of the cage and is the more aggressive fighter. Hernandez seems to be looking for the right opening to attack.  Hernandez is landing at a consistent rate with his jab but Cachero looks more active as he is the one driving forward with strikes. Hernandez goes for a takedown in the final 20 seconds of the fight. Cachero is able to defend it and gets free. As the final 10 seconds wind down the two fighters trade blows in the middle of the cage as the crowd erupts in approval.

(205lbs): Blake Troop def. Khadzhi Bestaev via TKO in Round 1 at 2:49

Round 1: Troop quickly rushes towards Bestaev and grab ahold of him. Troop easily slams him down and gains side control. Troop drops elbows from the top. Bestaev eats the strikes and moves towards getting a heel hook. Troop is able to escape any real danger and starts laying in some hard strikes from the top. Troop reigns down with hard punches and knees to the body of Bestaev. Bestaev turtle ups and the fight is stopped.

Preliminary Fight Results:

Jeff Glossner def. Jose Avalos via TKO in Round 2 at 0:40

Photo Credit: Amy Kaplan/Legacy Fighting Alliance