LFA 185: Gennrich vs. Lewis (Hammond, Indiana)

We return after a couple of weeks off with TWO title fights, our 9th and 10th title fights of 2024. Our main event is for the 155lb strap as Wisconsin’s Kegan Gennrich (8-2) returns to defend his title for the first time against undefeated Richie Lewis (5-0). Gennrich captured the title back in January in our first event of the year against former champion JaCobi Jones, winning via Round 5 submission. Gennrich is a high school state champion wrestler and also wrestled at D-1 University of Wisconsin. Gennrich is making his 7th LFA appearance and has won 6 fights in a row. Lewis also has a wrestling pedigree. He was U-23 World Champion for Team USA in 2018 and wrestled in college for D-1 Rutgers. Originally from New Jersey, he now trains with the killers at Kill Cliff FC. He brings 2 wins via TKO into his second LFA appearance and second Pro Title fight. These two have combined for 7 finishes, 5 of those coming in Round #2.

The Interim Strawweight title is on the line in our co-main event as Interim Champ Natasha Kuziutina (5-1) defends her strap for the first time against Brazilian and 9-fight Bellator-vet Bruna Ellen (7-4). The current LFA Strawweight Champion is Rose Conceicao who is set to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series in a couple of months. Kuziutina is an Olympic Bronze Medalist in Judo and is coming off a win over Giovanna Canuto for the Interim 115lb title at LFA 173 in December. Originally from Russia, she now trains at ATT in Florida with Artem Levin and King Mo. She has 3 finishes in 5 victories, all 3 via Armbar. Ellen makes her LFA Debut after 9 fights with Bellator where she made her debut at age 19. In 7 years with Bellator she went 5-4 and fought big names like Ilima-Lei MacFarlane and Juliana Velasquez. She has 1 TKO win in 7 Pro victories and has never been finished as a Pro. The Co-Man Event at LFA 185 will be her first fight at Strawweight and first Title Fight.

Also on the Card:

– Jose Ferreira (11-1, 1 NC) takes on Cassio Barao (8-0-1) in a battle between Chile and Brazil. Ferreira is coming off his first loss as a Pro in September. Originally from Santiago, he now trains in Chicago at Valle Flow Striking Academy alongside Belal Muhammad and fellow countryman Ignacio Bahamondes.  The Chilean brings 8 finishes (3 KOs, 5 Subs) into his LFA Debut at LFA 185. Barao fought twice for the LFA down in Cajamar (where he’s from) going 1-0-1, but LFA 185 will be his first fight in the U.S. He has a 100% finishing rate (Also 3 KOs & 5 Subs) and Black Belts in both BJJ and Muay Thai. These two have combined for 11 first-round finishes.

– Surging newcomers Tyler Scott (8-3) and Joey Hart (5-1) square off in our third fight of the night. Scott is an Illinois-native and has won 4 straight fights. He is a 4th Degree Black Belt in Karate and has 7 finishes in 8 wins. Hart hails from Minnesota and trains under UFC and Legacy FC-vet Brock Larson. Also a striker, Hart is riding a 3-fight win streak and has knockouts in all 5 of his Pro wins. These two come in with a combined 7 first-round finishes.

– Our second fight of the night also features new welterweights as Chicago-based Sadeck Sanon (5-2) takes on Memphis’ Paul Kimble (3-0). Sanon is the first fighter ever from Burkina Faso to fight in the LFA Octagon. He is a kickboxer and former college soccer player now training at Valle Flow Striking Academy in Chicago. He has won back-to-back fights and has 2 wins via KO/TKO in 5 wins. Kimble is 3-0 as a Pro, but has won 5 fights in a row going back to his Amateur Career. As a Pro he has a 100% finishing rate (2 KOs, 1 Sub) and he trains under former Legacy FC title challenger Brian Hall.

– We start the main card off with 4-1 bantamweights Zach Vaci (4-1) and John Beckett (4-1). Both fighters are LFA-vets, but this will be Beckett’s main card debut. Vaci is a Chicago-native fighting out of Valle Flow Striking Academy. He is 2-0 in the LFA Octagon, his last win coming at LFA 142 in September 2022. He comes in riding a 3-fight win streak and has a 75% finishing rate. Beckett hails from Springfield, MO and is coming off back-to-back wins. He got a win in his LFA Debut at LFA 163 last summer and has 1 KO and 1 Sub in 4 Pro wins.