Women’s Championship Belt On The Line In New York At LFA 211

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will kick off its busy summer season in New York with a Championship Headliner at LFA 211. In the main event, the women’s bantamweight world title will be on the line. LFA 211 will be the ninth LFA event to take place in the Empire State.

LFA 211: Mesquita vs. Dinwoodie, presented by Monster Energy, takes place Friday, June 20th at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca, New York, which is located 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border in western New York. The main event will feature a women’s bantamweight title fight when 10x Jiu-Jitsu world champion Bia Mesquita faces top undefeated Canadian prospect Sierra Dinwoodie. The entire main card will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

“We are excited to bring the Women’s Bantamweight Championship to New York at LFA 211,” stated Soares. “We have an incredible fan base that attends our events at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, which is a world-class venue in Upstate New York. The venue will now host two of the top female prospects in the world that will be competing for our vacant 135-pound title. Bia Mesquita is the greatest female jiu-jitsu competitor of all time and a fierce Brazilian competitor. She will face top Canadian prospect Sierra Dinwoodie for the vacant LFA women’s bantamweight world title in a battle of undefeated prospects. The winner will take home the title and solidify their status as the top bantamweight prospect in women’s MMA.”

Tickets for LFA 211: Mesquita vs. Dinwoodie are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com.

Mesquita (4-0) returns to the LFA Octagon after making the most highly-anticipated transition to MMA of any prospect in 2024. The Brazilian phenom began training Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 5. By the time she was 10, she had won the Brazilian National Junior Championships, three State Championships, and several other major tournaments. After receiving her black belt from Jiu-Jitsu legend Leticia Ribeiro fourteen years ago, Mesquita would embark on a black belt career that would earn her the nickname “BJJ Lady GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)” as she is now a member of the Guinness World Records and International Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Hall of Fame. She accomplished this by becoming the only person to win 10 gold medals, which is the record for the most IBJJF World Championship titles at the black belt level.

Mesquita made the switch to MMA last year with her LFA and American soil debut coming at LFA 194. The Jiu-Jitsu sensation showed off her world-class grappling chops by submitting Shannel Butler in the first round of their bout. Mesquita then made a quick turnaround by competing in the co-main event of the LFA’s year-end event at LFA 198. Mesquita would submit Brazilian veteran Fernanda Araujo to give her three wins by Rear Naked Choke in her first three MMA bouts. The fans in turn voted her the 2024 LFA Fans’ Choice Awards: Female Fighter of the Year. Mesquita quickly showed why the fans love her with another masterful performance in Las Vegas against Hope Chase at LFA 203. The Brazilian was dominating the fight before Chase threw an illegal upkick that resulted in a disqualification win for Mesquita.

Dinwoodie (4-0) will be the woman awaiting Mesquita as the LFA prepares to crown its third women’s bantamweight champion on the first day of summer. The top undefeated Canadian grew up in British Columbia in western Canada, but now calls Ontario home. The Canadian province shares a border with the state of New York and Canadian fans and media have been out in full force for Dinwoodie’s last two wins, which both took place inside the LFA Octagon. The first took place last year, when she also defeated 20x Karate world champion Hope Chase. 

Chase is the only previous opponent (and victory) that Dinwoodie shares with Mesquita, but it was the second of her two LFA wins that is perhaps the most interesting. That win came against another top women’s bantamweight prospect in Nikol Aguirre at LFA 202, who entered the bout with a lot of hype due to her Jiu-Jitsu black belt, undefeated record, and familiarity with Mesquita. In fact, Aguirre had been vocal about wanting to face Mesquita with a win, but Dinwoodie quickly put an end to that talk with a decisive victory against the top Basque fighter.

Dinwoodie’s win over Aguirre did more than derail a possible MMA fight between old Jiu-Jitsu rivals, it showed the world that the 5-foot, 11-inch specimen is a complete fighter. She was able to out-strike a 20x Karate world champion at LFA 177 and she then out-grappled a Jiu-Jitsu black belt at LFA 202. That was enough to convince LFA brass that she was ready to become the sixth Canadian woman in LFA history to fight for a world title. The five previous Canadian women include Loopy Godinez, Jamey-Lyn Horth, Ashley Nichols, Melissa Croden, and Shannon Clark. Godinez, Horth, and Clark all won titles, but Dinwoodie would become the first Canadian to win the LFA women’s bantamweight world title with a victory.

Currently Announced Fight Card (Main Card on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT):

Main Event | Women’s Bantamweight Title Bout (135 lb)

Bia Mesquita (4-0) vs. Sierra Dinwoodie (4-0)

Women’s Strawweight Bout (115 lb)

Giovanna Canuto (5-1) vs. Flor Hernandez (4-2)

Lightweight Bout (155 lb)

JaCobi Jones (7-3) vs. Shovkhal Churchaev (6-2)

Middleweight Bout (185 lb)

Jake Woodley (4-1) vs. David Gladfelter (6-3)

Light-Heavyweight Bout (205 lb)

Corey Norman (2-0) vs. Quentin Pasley (2-0)

Featherweight Bout (145 lb)

Derrick Patterson (2-2) vs. Soufiane Kabil (1-0)