Lion Fight invades L.A. & London live on UFC FIGHT PASS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 26, 2021
Lion Fight 70 – Friday, October 8 – Los Angeles, USA
Roberto “The Butcher” Oliva vs. Dechsakda “Num” Sitsongpeenong – Lion Fight World Lightweight Title
Natalie Morgan vs. Selina Flores – Lion Fight Women’s North American Super Bantamweight Title
Jefferson Silva vs. Carlos Guerra – Lion Fight North American Welterweight Title
Yusuf Karakaya vs. Ardany Mora – Light Heavyweight
Two additional main-card bouts to be announced soon.
Lion Fight 71 – Saturday, October 23 – London, UK
Jakub Benko vs. Joe Boobyer – Lion Fight World Cruiserweight Title
Five additional main-card bouts plus undercard lineup to be announced soon
LION FIGHT has set the stage to bring world-class Muay Thai to two of the world’s most-famous cities.
Lion Fight 70 will take place on Friday, October 8th at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California, USA, with Lion Fight 71 taking place just two weeks later – Saturday, October 23rd at the Windsor Leisure Focus Centre in London, England, United Kingdom. Both events will be airing live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading streaming service for combat sports.
“We are coming off a historical moment with three shows in 28 days with eight title fights, and we very excited to be making more history with our long-awaited return to both Los Angeles and London,” said LION FIGHT CEO Scott Kent.
“I think it’s true sign of how far Lion Fight has come in such a relatively short period of time for us to say we are about to 70-plus shows in eight different countries. And despite all the pandemic-related issues we’ve faced this year, we are doing shows in places like Boston, Glasgow, Los Angeles, and London. We are very pleased about what we’ve been able to accomplish so far this year and with what’s yet to come, and all of taking place on UFC FIGHT PASS is quite spectacular for Lion Fight and the sport of Muay Thai.”
Tickets for Lion Fight 70 in Los Angeles are on sale now exclusively at www.lionfight.com. Ticket information for Lion Fight 71 in London will be announced soon.
High stakes with three titles on the line with LF70 at Commerce Casino
Lion Fight 70 will see the crowning of a new World Lightweight champion following in the footsteps of the legendary Lerdsila who recently retired. Vying for that honor will be fellow Thai and former Lumpinee Stadium champion Dechsakda “Num” Sitsongpeenong and Road to Lion Fight – Italy winner Roberto “The Butcher” Oliva.
Sitsongpeenong (160-80-10) recently re-located to the United States and brings a wealth of experience from his home country. Oliva is unquestionably one of the top young stars in Europe as the 20-year-old boasts a perfect 16-0 record and is a multi-time national champion. Oliva gained this opportunity through an outstanding performance at Road to Lion Fight – Italy when won the one-night tournament with back-to-back finishes.
In the night’s co-main event, Natalie “Kill Face” Morgan returns to her hometown of Los Angeles for a shot at the Women’s North American Super Bantamweight title as she faces fellow Californian Selina Flores. Morgan (8-3) moved into the title picture after coming away with a unanimous decision win over Candice Mitchell back in February. Flores, who fights out of San Diego, is a three-time silver medalist at the IFMA World Championship and Pan American Games.
The other title bout on the LF70 card will see the crowning of a new North American Welterweight champion. In that showdown, fiery competitor Jefferson Silva (19-2), a native of Brazil who now fights out of San Antonio, Texas, will battle against top-ranked Carlos Guerra (31-3) of Mexico City, Mexico.
A main-card bout has also been set in the light-heavyweight ranks as former Bangla Stadium champion Yusuf Karakaya (19-4) meets one-time Lion Fight North American title challenger Ardany Mora.
Karakaya (19-4) was born and raised in Turkey but now calls Los Angeles home where he trains under renowned coach Antonio McKee. The 26-year-old has competed in both the King’s and Queen’s Cup tournaments in Thailand. Mora (5-2), who now fights out of San Diego, California, stepped up on short notice to challenge Brett Hlavacek at LF54 and went the distance with the former champion.
Two more main-card bouts will be announced shortly for the LF70 lineup, including the return of super cruiserweight heavy-hitter Hassan Oseni and a matchup for Los Angeles’ own Lance Dixon. Four prelims have been set for LF70 including the pro debut for former Lion Fight amateur champion Ashley Smallwood, who will square-off against Melissa “The Axe” Cramer. Also set for the night’s prelims:
*John Garcia (Inglewood, California) vs. Julio Rios (Santa Ana, California)
*Raul Navarette (Ventura, California) vs. Wilson Ha (La Puente, California)
*Cisco Cosio (Las Vegas, Nevada) vs. James Acosta (Los Angeles, California)
Newly crowned champ Benko defends title at LF71
Calling it the “greatest moment of my life” Jakub Benko clutched the Lion Fight World Cruiserweight title belt after dethroning previously undefeated champion Chip Moraza-Pollard at Lion Fight 67 in Italy. Benko now gets the opportunity to defend the championship for the first time when he faces British standout Joe Boobyer in the main event of LF71.
Boobyer will have the home-crowd advantage fighting for the title in the UK, but Benko, who fights out of Bratislava, Slovakia, quite likely earned the Upset of the Year when he dispatched Moraza-Pollard via split decision.
Five more main-card bouts plus prelim bouts for Lion Fight 71 will be announced shortly.
Please visit LIONFIGHT.com for news, information and event updates, and follow on Twitter @LIONFIGHT and on Instagram @LionFightofficial.
To sign up for UFC FIGHT PASS, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com, or download the UFC app.
ABOUT LION FIGHT:
Founded in 2010 by Owner/Chief Executive Officer Scott Kent, Lion Fight is recognized as a worldwide leader in Muay Thai events. Now in its 10th year of operation, Lion Fight has showcased elite-level fighters in over 60 events staged in seven countries worldwide, including iconic events at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, and the Indigo at O2 Arena in London, England. Already a worldwide leader in Muay Thai, Lion Fight is dedicated to growing the sport and is driving that cause with the creation of its Road to Lion Fight events, featuring up-and-coming talent vying for their opportunity to earn a Lion Fight contract.
ABOUT UFC FIGHT PASS®:
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