FRIDAY, JULY 7
LFA 162: NETO vs. ANTUNES
MAIN EVENT:
“LUAN SANTANA”
GERALDO NETO
vs.
REGIONAL KINGPIN
VANILTO ANTUNES
WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
CO-MAIN EVENT:
BRAZILAIN NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPION
ROSE CONCEIÇÃO
vs.
IFMA MUAY THAI WORLD FINALIST
ELAINE LOPES
INTERIM WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
LIVE on UFC FIGHT PASS®
GINÁSIO DO POLVILHO
CAJAMAR, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — LFA CEO Ed Soares announced that the promotion will return to Brazil in July with a Championship Doubleheader at LFA 162. This event will be a part of UFC International Fight Week and will take place on the eve of UFC 290. This will be the eleventh LFA event to take place in Brazil after the promotion’s international expansion began two summers ago. This will also be the sixth LFA event to take place in the state of São Paulo, which is Brazil’s most populous state. LFA has also visited the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Pernambuco.
LFA 162: Neto vs. Antunes takes place Friday, July 7th at the Ginásio do Polvilho in Cajamar, São Paulo, Brazil. The main event will feature a welterweight title fight between dynamic Brazilian finishers Geraldo “Luan Santana” Neto and Vanilto Antunes. Then in the co-main event, top contenders Rose Conceição and Elaine Lopes meet for the interim women’s strawweight title. 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 a Championship Doubleheader to Brazil at LFA 162 as part of UFC International Fight Week,” stated Soares. “The main event will see Geraldo Neto and Vanilto Antunes square off for the vacant LFA welterweight title. Antunes was originally scheduled to fight Carlos Prates for the title in the main event, but Prates is now set to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series. Neto will now receive the title shot after securing an impressive submission win against Argemiro Delmandes last month at LFA 159.
“Then in the co-main event, Rose Conceição faces Elaine Lopes for the LFA interim women’s strawweight title,” Soares added. “Conceição was scheduled to challenge our women’s strawweight champion Julia Polastri for the title in the main event of LFA 159, but Polastri withdrew from the bout due to an injury. Polastri is now set to return to Dana White’s Contender Series, which created this interim title fight in her absence.”
Neto (17-6) knew his LFA debut bout against Argemiro Delmandes would have heavy implications riding on the outcome of their bout at LFA 159. He just did not realize how high the stakes were until it was all said and done. Neto came into that bout with a fearsome reputation for his incredible finishing ability and wasted no time displaying his killer instinct by locking in a Rear Naked Choke in the first round. That was the 17th win of his career and 16th coming via stoppage to increase his ferocious finishing rate to just over 94%. More importantly, it secured the man known as “Luan Santana” an LFA title shot as Carlos Prates had just signed on to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series. The 32-year-old Mato-Grossense, who trains under UFC and PRIDE veteran Cristiano Marcello at CM System, will now return to the LFA Octagon looking for LFA gold.
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 this past December. 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 28-year-old Fluminense looks to add his first world title to his collection when he battles Neto during UFC International Fight Week.
The co-main event of LFA 162 will feature an interim women’s strawweight title fight between two of Brazil’s top prospects as Conceição (6-0) and Lopes (6-1) vie to become the LFA’s sixth women’s strawweight champion. This interim opportunity became available to both women as the promotion awaits the status of its sitting champion Julia Polastri. The reigning champion was originally set to defend her title against Conceição in the main event of LFA 159, but withdrew due to injury. Polastri is now set to return to Dana White’s Contender Series later this summer.
Conceição vs. Lopes now represents one of the most intriguing grappler vs. striker championship matchups to take place in MMA this year. Conceição is a Brazilian national wrestling champion that is perfect after a half dozen fights in pro MMA. The most recent win came against Mayara Thays in Thays’ home state of Pernambuco at LFA 143. That event drew the largest crowd in LFA history with nearly 10,000 fans in attendance. She will now face a woman with a pedigree just as advanced, but it happens to be in the striking department instead of grappling.
Lopes made her debut for the promotion at LFA 112, which was part of two events in one weekend for the LFA as it expanded internationally in July 2021. Then in the summer of 2022, Lopes would then represent the Kingdom of Bahrain at the International Federation of Muay Thai Associations (IFMA) Senior World Championships, which took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Lopes would receive the silver medal, but is best known in the striking world for another reason. She is also the first woman to defeat Aline Pereira (sister of Alex Pereira) in pro kickboxing.
Main Card (Available Worldwide on UFC Fight Pass):
Main Event | Welterweight Title Bout (170 lb)
Geraldo Neto (17-6) vs. Vanilto Antunes (15-6)
Co-Main Event | Interim Women’s Strawweight Title Bout (115 lb)
Rose Conceição (6-0) vs. Elaine Lopes (6-1)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Wellington Prado (13-2) vs. Márcio Barbosa (13-2)
Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Jefferson Nascimento (9-0) vs. Italo Gomes (12-3)
Women’s Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Fernanda Barbosa (8-5) vs. Estefani Almeida (8-2)
Light-Heavyweight Bout (205 lb)
Rafael Tobias (7-0) vs. Miguel Porto (4-1)
Preliminary Card:
Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Bruno Suema (13-4) vs. Alisson Murilo (8-1)
Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Danilo Adreani (11-3) vs. Igor Taylon (7-2)
Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Cassio Arduini (4-0) vs. Renildo Monteiro (6-0)
Heavyweight Bout (265 lb)
Guilherme Uriel (3-0) vs. Abner Rodrigues (2-1)
Women’s Strawweight Bout (115 lb)
Nawira Ferreira (1-0) vs. Lany Silva (2-0)
Women’s Strawweight Bout (115 lb)
Karla Yasnara (2-1) vs. Gabriela Fujimoto (2-0)
In 2017, RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA, the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts. The combined forces of LFA launched the careers of over 280 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC. In 2018, the promotion joined the Imperial Family Companies group (formerly London Trust Media). In 2019, the promotion announced a broadcast partnership with UFC FIGHT PASS®. In 2021, the LFA expanded internationally by hosting multiple events in Brazil.
Please visit LFA.com for bout updates and information. Visit the official LFA Youtube page at @LFA_Fighting. LFA is on Facebook at Facebook.com/LFAfighting. LFA is also on Instagram at @LFAfighting and Twitter at @LFAfighting.
About LFA:
LFA is a professional Mixed Martial Arts promotion that gives rising stars and top contenders the opportunity to prove their talent to fans and leaders in the industry. LFA was formed by the powerhouse merger between RFA and Legacy FC. LFA presents live Mixed Martial Arts events on a monthly basis around the United States including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, and Houston. 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 Octagon, Ultimate Fighting Championship®, UFC®, and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC. All rights reserved).
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 IMPERIAL FAMILY COMPANIES:
The Imperial Family Companies maintains a diversified portfolio with one common theme: bringing power to the people. The IFC is proud to partner with the LFA management team to showcase the greatest talents of tomorrow. Learn more about the IFC at ImperialFamily.com.
About GINÁSIO DO POLVILHO:
The Municipality of Cajamar, through the Department of Public Works and Services, coordinated the complete renovation of the entire structure. of the Polvilho Gym. Maintenance and repairs were carried out in the entire infrastructure of the gym with new coverage, increase in the dimensions of the court, painting, accessibility to bathrooms, access ramp, installation of a new electronic scoreboard, new hydraulic basketball tables, renovation and installation of LED lighting in the entire indoor and outdoor area of the gym. The restructuring of the space will provide significant improvements for the court to host the numerous competitions held throughout the year and also for the sports projects in various modalities that the City Hall offers free of charge to the population. For more info visit the Cajamar official website.
