FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22
LFA 197: KUZIUTINA vs. GUIMARÃES
Presented By: MONSTER ENERGY
MAIN EVENT:
CHAMPION
NATASHA KUZIUTINA
vs.
CHALLENGER
YASMIN GUIMARÃES
INTERIM WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
LIVE on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will return to Brazil in November with a Championship Headliner at LFA 197. In the main event, the interim women’s strawweight title will be on the line. This will be the nineteenth LFA event to take place in Brazil after the promotion’s international expansion began in the summer of 2021. This will also be the twelfth 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 197: Kuziutina vs. Guimarães, presented by UFC FIGHT PASS®, takes place Friday, November 22nd at the Ginásio do Polvilho in Cajamar, São Paulo, Brazil. The main event will feature an interim women’s strawweight title fight when interim champion Natasha “Kuzya” Kuziutina defends her title against top contender Yasmin Guimarães. The entire main card will be available worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
“We are excited to bring another world-class title fight to Brazil,” stated Soares. “We have an incredible fan base in São Paulo and throughout Brazil, which is the birthplace of modern day MMA. The country will now host two of our biggest international stars in the main event of LFA 197. Natasha Kuziutina is a three-time Olympian in Judo and the first woman from Russia to win an LFA title. She will defend her interim women’s strawweight title for a second time against Brazilian star and Muay Thai standout Yasmin Guimarães. The winner will get a chance to unify the title against current champion Rose Conceição early next year.”
Kuziutina (6-1) is the first woman from Russia to win an LFA title, and once again, she is looking to do something that has never been done. That will happen if she is able to defend her LFA interim women’s strawweight title for a second time as she and Jaqueline Amorim are currently tied with one title defense a piece. Kuziutina won the title by defeating five-time IBJJF champion Giovanna Canuto at LFA 173. She then defended her title for the first time in August by defeating longtime Bellator standout Bruna Ellen in the main event of LFA 189. Prior to her MMA success, Kuziutina enjoyed an incredible Judo career and is now the most decorated judoka to ever compete in the strawweight division of MMA. She has represented Russia at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 (took place in 2021) Summer Olympics. It was at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, where she earned an Olympic bronze medal. She now heads back to Brazil for her second title defense making her the first woman to headline LFA events on two continents.
Guimarães (8-1) is a decorated MMA and Muay Thai fighter that has built her world-class skill set by competing around the globe. The Brazilian dynamo built her name and reputation by competing successfully in both sports throughout Europe and the Middle East. In that time, she has competed twice for KSW, which is a leading MMA promotion in Europe. She has also competed and trained in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and her home country of Brazil. This includes challenging for the WBC Muay Thai super-bantamweight title. After competing around the world in multiple disciplines at flyweight and bantamweight, the proud Carioca returned home to Rio de Janeiro in May, where she made her debut in the strawweight division in the main event of LFA 183. Guimarães was triumphant that night by handing top prospect Naizi Cantanhede the first loss of her career. She now looks to capture LFA gold, while defending home turf, as Brazilians have never lost an LFA main event in Brazil.
Main Card (Worldwide on UFC FIGHT PASS® at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT):
Main Event | Interim Women’s Strawweight Title Bout (115 lb)
Natasha Kuziutina (6-1) vs. Yasmin Guimarães (8-1)
Co-Main Event | Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Samuel Dias (10-2) vs. Samuel Silva (12-4-1)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Felipe Oliveira (10-3) vs. Márcio Barbosa (15-2)
Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Vinicius Pires (9-1) vs. Jhon Rodriguez Tacha (12-2)
Heavyweight Bout (265 lb)
Edivan Santos (17-5) vs. Jose Augusto (9-4)
Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Luann Sardinha (8-0) vs. Marcelo Marques (10-0)
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Michael Oliveira (7-0) vs. Aldo Pereira (12-7)
Currently Announced Preliminary Card (Worldwide on LFA FIGHT NETWORK™ at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT):
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Richard Martins (8-1) vs. Lucas Batista (7-1)
Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Juan Pablo Viera (7-0) vs. Maycon Kevin (5-0)
Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
Reginaldo Junior (8-1) vs. Dallys Gama (7-4)
Women’s Strawweight Bout (115 lb)
Janaína Silva (5-1) vs. Aieza Bertolso (4-0)
Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
Ryan Gandra (6-1) vs. Vladimir Calvo (4-0)
Women’s Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Nicoly Pedroza (5-0) vs. Thalita Diniz (5-2)
Women’s Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
Beatriz Consuli (4-0) vs. Thaiany Lopes (5-1)
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 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.
