Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) 74 Recap and Results

The Legacy Fighting Alliance kicked off the holiday weekend with hard-hitting MMA action. LFA 74 took place on Friday night at the historic Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, California. The event was headlined by a big time heavyweight bout between the 6’10 Renan Ferreira and the 6’4 Jared Vanderaa. Ferriera is a native of Brazil while Vanderaa hails from Southern California.

Heavyweights are an attraction in combat sports. Nothing seems to excite fight fans more than when two big men duke it out. They got that on Friday night as Ferreira defeated Vanderaa in a brutal and bloody battle. The first round was competitive but it was the range of Ferreira that proved to be too much for Vanderaa to overcome. At the end of the first round Vanderaa had a bloody mouth from a head kick by Ferriera.

The second round saw Ferriera land harder shots but the game Vanderaa stood his ground. It was not long until Vanderaa was turned into a bloody mess. Ferriera was able to drop Vanderaa with a solid punch. Fierriera tried his best to finish Vanderaa on the ground but Vanderaa was able to survive and managed to get back to his feet. The crowd went wild when Vanderaa stood back on his feet and went even more nuts when he landed a takedown. Unfortunately the takedown from Vanderaa would prove to be the beginning of the end as the Brazilian was able to lock in a triangle choke from his back and force Vanderaa to tap.

The LFA has become the prime location for fighters to showcase their skills if they wish to be signed to the UFC. It seems every week the UFC is signing up LFA talent. It is a nice problem to have if you president Ed Soras. The LFA has no problem getting the best young talent to come into their organization in hopes of showcasing their skills and landing that UFC contract.

LFA 74 had a total of seven bouts featured on its AXS TV card. The event was filled with young talent looking to prove that they are worthy of one day of fighting under the bright lights of the UFC. The night got started off with a bang when Spike Carlyle knocked out Matthew Colquhoun with a spectacular spinning back elbow.

The night had two other featured bouts aside from the main event; a middleweight bout between Lucas Rota and Moses Murrietta and the co-main event between Ryan Lilley and Kevin Wirth.

In the middleweight bout Rota came out charging like a bull and landed punches to the stunned Murrietta. Rota landed hard and often with his fists and there was nothing Moses could do. Moses fell back to the cage and then to the canvas shortly after. Rota did not let up and landed hard shots while it was clear Moses was out. The referee did his best to get in and stop Rota as quickly as he could but Rota was soo fast that he landed those extra blows. The official time of the fight was only 24-seconds.

The co-main event lasted a bit longer than 24-seconds. Wirth and Lilley took part in a more technical bout. The action was back and forth for the first two rounds. Lilley was able to open up Wirth with a pretty deep cut under his left eye. Lilley spent the early moments of the third round targeting Wirth’s wound.  Wirth did his best to circle on the outside and land with lunging strikes. As the round came to a close, Wirth had blood running down the side of his face. The crowd booed the two after the final bell but it was technical bout and both men did not want to risk a big loss. In the end it was Wirth who walked away with the unanimous decision win.

Below you can find the full results from LFA 74.

LFA 74 Results:

• Heavyweight: Renan Ferreira def. Jared Vandera via submission (triangle choke) in round 2 at 2:37

• Bantamweight: Kevin Wirth def Ryan Lilley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• Middleweight: Lucas Rota vs. Moses Murrietta KO in round 1 at 0:24

• Bantamweight: Liudvik Sholinian def. Vince Cachero decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28)

• Lightweight: Salvador Bacerra Jr. def. Steve Kozola via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)

• Bantamweight: Leandro Gomes def. Anthony Jimenez via submission (kneebar) in round 1 at 3:05.

• Lightweight: Spike Carlyle def. Matthew Colquhoun via KO (spinning back elbow) in round 1 at 3:58

Postlim Pro Bout Results:

• Featherweight: Gianni Vazquez def. Lance Lee via submission  (rear naked choke) in round 1 at 4:29

Prelim Amateur Bout Results:

• Lightweight: Jason Allen def. Kasen Matsch via submission (rear naked choke) in round 1 at 1:29

• Welterweight: Jeffrey Craig def. Rob Perlman via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Credit Mike Jackson/Legacy Fighting Alliance