LFA 179: Neto vs. Antunes Fight Card and Start Times

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — LFA CEO Ed Soares announced that the promotion will return to Brazil with the Welterweight Championship in March. LFA 179 will be the sixth LFA event to be held on a Saturday and it will be the fifteenth LFA event to take place in Brazil after the promotion’s international expansion began in the summer of 2021. This will also be the fifth LFA event to take place in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which is home to Brazil’s most famous city with an eponymous name. LFA has also visited the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Pernambuco.

LFA 179: Neto vs. Antunes, presented by BetOnline, takes place Saturday, March 23rd inside Arena 1 at Parque Olímpico (Olympic Park) in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main event will feature a welterweight title fight when champion Geraldo Neto defends his title against top contender Vanilto Antunes. The entire main card will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT.

“We are excited to bring the Welterweight Championship to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at LFA 179,” stated Soares. “Rio de Janeiro is where the LFA began its international expansion in the summer of 2021 and there is no city like it on earth. LFA 179 will take place at Parque Olímpico, which serves as the Olympic Training Center in the country and hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics. The main event will feature the first title defense of the LFA welterweight champion Geraldo Neto. He will face top prospect Vanilto Antunes. This is the perfect title fight for our return to Cidade Maravilhosa!”

Neto (18-6) knew his LFA debut bout against Argemiro Delmandes could have title implications riding on the outcome of their bout at LFA 159. The BJJ black belt’s intuition was right. Neto came into that bout with a reputation for his fierce finishing ability and wasted no time displaying it by locking in a Rear Naked Choke in the first round. The win earned him a shot at the title against Vanilto Antunes at LFA 162, when Carlos Prates withdrew from the bout to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series. However, Antunes was then forced to withdraw with an injury. Neto was then rebooked to face Magnus Conrado for the title at LFA 166. The man known as “Luan Santana” dominated the fellow BJJ black belt to capture the title. The 33-year-old Mato-Grossense is now set to defend his title against Antunes in a championship bout that fight fans have been anxiously awaiting.

Antunes (15-6) is a man that earned his shot at the LFA welterweight title the good old-fashioned way. This happened when the Muay Thai stylist left zero doubt about who the new “King of Rio” was by emerging victorious in a winner takes all double title fight in December of 2022. This happened when two of Brazil’s top regional promotions The Conqueror and Favela Kombat squared off in the state of Rio de Janeiro with the winner of the main event taking home both promotions’ titles. The Tata Fight Team product defeated UFC and TUF veteran Wendell Oliveira via TKO. The end came when a doctor called a stop to things after two rounds and Antunes walked away with both The Conqueror and Favela Kombat welterweight titles. Now the 29-year-old Fluminense looks to add his first world title to his collection when he battles Neto in a long-awaited title fight.

Currently Announced Fight Card (Main Card will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® ):

Main Event | Welterweight Title Bout (170 lb)

Geraldo Neto (18-6) vs. Vanilto Antunes (15-6)

Co-Main Event | Featherweight Bout (145)

José Delano (13-3) vs. Allan Villalba (17-6)

Middleweight Bout (185 lb)

Lucas Fernando (9-3) vs. João Paulo Silva (8-2)

Women’s Strawweight Bout (115 lb)

Yasmin Castanho (6-1) vs. Natalia Alves (5-0)

Featherweight Bout (145 lb)

Icaro Brito (7-1) vs. Felipe Oliveira (9-3)

Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)

Mateus Soares (6-1) vs. Alexandre Junior (5-1)

Flyweight Bout (125 lb)

Luis Felipe (6-0) vs. Werick Douglas (5-2)