By Danny Jones, @Tidy_MMA on X
Within a year of launching his professional MMA career at LFA 85, Christian Natividad had already amassed a 4-0 professional record with performances that earned consecutive LFA Male Fighter of the Year nominations in 2020 and 2021.
By October 2022, ‘The Hawaiian Punch’ had extended his record to 5-0 following a dominant unanimous decision victory over 5-2 Israel Galvan at LFA 144. Landing 96% of his strikes going into the final minute of that bout, Christian’s performance had UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa – providing commentary alongside Ron Kruck – stating that the flyweight prospect must “start thinking about what’s the next toughest test”.
The next toughest test, however, would not be inside the octagon – it would be the plaguing injuries that rendered Christian unable to compete. The 27-year-old has not competed in a professional bout since; a duration exceeding two years.
“Bro, it’s been pretty dark” Christian admits. “Throughout my pro career, I’ve been having minor injuries here and there. Obviously, you hear it all the time – the snowball effect; injuries get worse, and worse, and worse. Me being the superhero that I am to myself, I’m like ‘I’ll be fine, I’ll just keep going’. Before I knew it, these injuries started to become bigger, and they became bigger issues. So, 2023 was when I decided to take a step back and [say] ‘hey, let’s get healthy again’. Now, throughout that process, I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen. Just with everything going on with having to step away from MMA for a little bit, plus where the economy was at, it was a very tough time for me”.
“With that being said, I kept my head held high” Christian continues. “I have a good support system, and even though it was a very dark place, there’s a little bit of light that showed itself and I just kept walking that direction. Before I knew it, I was able to start training again. Before I knew it, I was working a good job again. It all led up to me here today, where I’m fully healthy, I have a good and stable job, and I’m ready to get back on track and continue where I left off”.
Following an agonizing 749-day absence from professional competition, Christian makes his long awaited – and highly anticipated – return on November 8th 2024 at LFA 196 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Whilst it is the sixteenth LFA event to be held in Arizona, and the thirteenth to be held at the Arizona Financial Theatre, LFA 196 will be the first time Christian competes in a professional bout – and LFA bout – in his home state. Originally from ‘Ewa Beach on O’ahu Island, the Hawaiian has lived in The Grand Canyon State for nine years. Training out of Fight Ready MMA and Arizona Combat Sports, he currently resides just east of Phoenix, in Tempe.
“It’s definitely my home away from home, Arizona” Christian admits. “I love it here. I’ve been here for nine years for a reason. If I hated it, I definitely wouldn’t have been here longer than a year, because it gets hot as fuck! I love the people, I love where I’m training at, and I love the amount of opportunity that was proposed to me over the past two years. For me to make my return from this injury, and for me to have this as my first fight as a professional in Arizona, it’s definitely something special. [Being] able to have a home crowd behind me – cheering me on – stuff like that, it chokes me up. I know I have people all around the world – I have family in Hawaii, I have family in Philippines, and I have family all throughout the United States – all throughout the world actually. I know they’re all supporting me; I know they’re all watching on UFC Fight Pass. But the thing is, I don’t actually hear it. I know they’re there with me in spirit, and come November 8th, just having that crowd behind me, hearing them just cheering my name, I know it’s definitely gonna hit home for me. It’s going to be a special moment”.
Throughout the two years that Christian was unable to compete, LFA has welcomed a new wave of flyweight prospects. Indeed, Chance Ikei (3-0 at LFA), Marcos Degli (3-0 at LFA), Lívio Ribeiro (2-0 at LFA) and Gilbert Nakatani (2-0 at LFA) have all debuted at LFA since Christian’s last professional bout at LFA.
In a 125lbs division LFA CEO Ed Soares touted as the best in the world outside of the UFC, LFA 196 offers Christian an opportunity to remind fans and fellow flyweights alike that he firmly remains a contender amongst a stacked talent pool.
Make no mistake, Christian faces a formidable opponent in LFA debutant Davon Jackson. The 29-year-old, who competes out of Tri-Cities, Washington, notably defeated current UFC flyweight Joshua Van on his professional debut, and currently remains the only athlete to submit Van in a professional bout.
“The guy that I am fighting, he’s tough” Christian says. “He gave Joshua Van that one loss that he had before he got signed to the UFC. So this guy, he’s gonna be tough. He’s down to brawl. He’s down to bang. Just to win over him, it’s definitely going to remind people that ‘hey, I’m still here’. I know a lot of people forgot that I exist because I’ve been gone for two years – and rightfully so; I haven’t fought in two years. After this fight, people are going to start talking about my name again and I’ll get a tougher fight after that. I’m just gonna slowly take it fight by fight, hopefully sometime next year, I’ll make it onto the UFC banner”.
The dominance exhibited by Christian throughout his LFA tenure cannot be overstated. With back-to-back knockouts at LFA 85 and LFA 92 preceding one-sided unanimous decisions at LFA 100 (30-26, 30-26, 30-27), LFA 110 (29-27, 29-27, 29-26), and LFA 144 (3 x 30-27), there is no surprise Michael Chiesa described the Hawaiian as a “very avoided fighter” at LFA 144.
Factor in his five amateur bouts, and Christian enters LFA 196 on a ten-bout win-streak.
Momentum may have halted in the wake of injury, but a dominant performance of an equal or greater calibre in his sixth professional bout – and sixth LFA bout – will undoubtedly reignite the upward trajectory of this sensational flyweight talent.
The author wishes to extend his utmost gratitude to Christian Natividad and Jamie McClintock for making this article possible.
Image kindly provided by Christian Natividad (@christiannatividad on Instagram)
