FRIDAY, APRIL 18
LFA 207: LEWIS vs. MIRANDA
PRESENTED BY: MONSTER ENERGY
MAIN EVENT:
CHAMPION
RICHIE “SAVAGE” LEWIS
vs.
CHALLENGER
RICHIE “EL MACHETE” MIRANDA
LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
SANFORD PENTAGON
SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA
LIVE on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT
Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will return to South Dakota in April with a Championship Headliner at LFA 207. In the main event, the lightweight world title will be on the line. This will be the nineteenth LFA event to take place in the state. RFA hosted four events in the “Mount Rushmore State” before the merger of RFA and Legacy FC that created LFA.
LFA 207: Lewis vs. Miranda, presented by Monster Energy, takes place Friday, April 18th at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The main event will feature a lightweight world title fight when champion Richie “Savage” Lewis defends his title against top contender Richie “El Machete” Miranda. 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 Lightweight World Championship to South Dakota at LFA 207,” stated Soares. “The main event will feature the first title defense of the LFA lightweight champion Richie Lewis. He will face top contender and fellow LFA standout Richie Miranda. Both men won their LFA debut in Sioux Falls and now they finally get to face off with a world title on the line. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is one of our most frequented destinations and this is the perfect headliner to add to our 11-year history at the Sanford Pentagon.”
Tickets for LFA 207: Lewis vs. Miranda are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com.
Lewis (6-0) is one of the most talked about prospects in MMA for good reason. Born and raised in New Jersey, the Rutgers University alum followed in the footsteps of a UFC champion that happened to be from his hometown in the “Garden State”. That would be the legendary Frankie Edgar. The two men are 13 years apart in age, but are both graduates from Toms River High School East. Naturally, Lewis drew inspiration from the UFC Hall of Famer on the mats, and now in the cage, and the results have been undeniable. In junior college, he was a two-time NJCAA All-American at Iowa Central. Then at Rutgers, Lewis became an automatic NCAA Division I national qualifier after notching a 27-7 overall mark and 16-1 dual record in his first season with the program. However, it was what he did after college on the international wrestling scene that really turned heads. In November 2017, Lewis became the first American to win a U23 World medal after winning the gold medal at 70 kg. Presently, the man known as “Savage” is fully immersed in MMA, where he is currently undefeated and dethroned Kegan Gennrich to capture
Miranda (10-1) is a man that has grown up in the LFA promotion with his sights set on the LFA lightweight world title for the past three years. Like Lewis, Miranda has deep roots in wrestling. The southern Californian was a standout wrestler at Segerstrom High School in Santa Ana, California. In junior college, he competed at the NJCAA level at Santa Ana College (SAC) and placed in the Top 4 at the California CC State Wrestling Championships. That earned him the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division II level at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), which is the same wrestling program that produced LFA greats and MMA champions Kamaru Usman and Raufeon Stots. Miranda is now following in their footsteps in MMA with an ultra aggressive fighting style that has earned him 10 career victories (7 in the LFA) and an avid fan base wherever he competes. That raucous “Miranda Mafia” will only be amplified when he fights for the LFA lightweight title in front of the same crowd where he won his LFA debut. “El Machete” earned his well-deserved title shot after going 3-0 and being nominated for the “Male Fighter of the Year” in 2024.
Currently Announced Fight Card (Main Card will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS®):
Main Event | Lightweight Title Bout (155 lb)
Richie Lewis (6-0) vs. Richie Miranda (10-1)
Co-Main Event | Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Mitch McKee (8-0) vs. TBD
Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Bryce Logan (13-8) vs. Landry Ward (8-3)
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Haris Talundžić (7-2) vs. Sarek Shields (6-2)
Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Nikita Kulshin (6-0) vs. Rudson Caliocane (9-3)
Women’s Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Chey Bowers (5-2) vs. Elizabeth Rodriguez (3-3)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Ansar Khamzaev (2-0) vs. Abbas Abasaov (4-0)
Catchweight Bout (160 lb)
Gift Harding (0-0) vs. Juan Velasquez Jr. (0-3)
About LFA:
LFA is a professional Mixed Martial Arts promotion that was formed by the powerhouse merger between RFA and Legacy FC in 2017. It has launched the careers of over 330 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC. LFA presents live Mixed Martial Arts events on a monthly basis around the world including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Based in Las Vegas, NV, LFA is one of the most active and respected MMA organizations in the fastest growing sport in the world. The promotion owns and operates LFA FIGHT NETWORK™, a premium YouTube channel that features live combat sports events alongside live LFA Prelims and historical fights.
Please visit LFA.com for updates and information. Visit the official LFA YouTube channel (LFA FIGHT NETWORK™) at @LFAfights. LFA is on Facebook at Facebook.com/LFAfighting. LFA is also on Instagram at @LFAfighting and X (formerly Twitter) at @LFAfighting.
About UFC FIGHT PASS®:
UFC FIGHT PASS® is the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. Since launching in 2013, UFC FIGHT PASS is now available in more than 200 countries and territories. FIGHT PASS provides its members with unlimited access to live UFC FIGHT PASS Prelims; live mixed martial arts and combat sports from around the world; original series and historical programming; special features; behind-the-scenes content; in-depth interviews; and up-to-the minute reports on the world of combat sports. UFC FIGHT PASS subscribers also have 24/7 access to the world’s largest fight library, featuring more than 20,000 bouts from dozens of combats sports organizations, as well as every fight in UFC history. Fight fans can access UFC FIGHT PASS on personal computers, iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs, and Sony TVs with Android TV. For more information, please visit UFCFightPass.com.
About SANFORD SPORTS:
Sanford Sports is the modern athletics arm of Sanford Health, the premier rural health system in the United States. Rooted in science and health care, Sanford Sports offers a combination of programs, services, events, facilities and partnerships intended to make active lifestyles accessible and rewarding for people of all ages and abilities. Based on the 500-acre Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sanford Sports has been changing the way athletes play for 25 years. With operations in three states, more than one million athletes use Sanford Sports facilities each year. Visit SanfordSports.com for more information.
