The Legacy Fighting Alliance returns to television on Friday June 2nd with LFA 13. The event will take place at the Burbank Convention Center in Burbank, CA and air live on AXS TV. The night will be headlined by a welterweight matchup between Curtis Millender and Kevin Holland. Both fighters helm from the Southern California area which should make for a high energy crowd on Friday night. This will mark the first time the organization has held an event in Southern California since its formation.
The LFA was born when the Resurrection Fighting Alliance and the Legacy Fighting Championship merged to form one organization. The RFA held numerous events in Southern California in the past and current LFA CEO Ed Soras looks to continue the California expansion under the LFA banner, “I am excited to bring the LFA to southern California in June,” said Soares in a released statement. “RFA hosted several successful shows in my home state and LFA will continue that tradition with LFA 13 – Millender vs. Holland.”
LFA’s debut in Southern California is primed to be an exciting night as the card has been filled with fighters from all over the region. Take a closer look at the night’s main and co-main event.
Main Event: 170lbs – Curtis Millender (11-3) vs. Kevin Holland (9-2)
Millender has been a pro since 2013 and started off his career with a seven fight win streak. He has fought for Bellator MMA on four occasions where he split his wins and loses. He is coming off a knockout win over Johnny Cisneros at Bellator 170 and is 3-1 in his last four fights. Millender struggled at first with his transition from regional MMA promotions to the nationwide ones but has now seemed to gather the momentum he had when he first started professional career.
Millender’s opponent, 24 year old Kevin Holland, is currently on a five fight win streak with all of those wins coming by way of knockout or submission. In fact, all off Holland’s wins have either come by KO/TKO or submission. Since turning pro in 2015 only one of his bouts has gone to the judge’s scorecards and that was a unanimous decision loss to Ramil Mustapaev in only his fourth professional fight.
Holland is a proven finisher and with Millender fresh off a TKO win, add that to the local crowd rooting for the hometown fighters, the main event should prove to be an exciting fight both in person and on television.
Co-Main Event: 155lbs – Sam Liera (12-9) vs. Karen Darabedyan (12-6)
The night’s co-main event will be a lightweight bout between veteran fighters with over10 years of professional MMA experience.
Karen Darabedyan made his pro debut in 2006 and has notable wins over Bellator MMA standout Saad Awad and top ranked UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson. After winning 10 of his first 11 bouts Darabedyan hit a rough patch when he dropped four consecutive bouts. He bounced backed to rattle off three straight wins but dropped his last fight via a TKO. He has been out of action since June of 2016 but has always been one of the most active fighters out there.
Sam Liera also made his pro debut in 2006 and has fought in Strikeforce and has been a staple for King of the Cage since 2012. He is currently on a two fight skid but he has never lost more than two fights in a row during his entire career. Liera has a total of seven career knockout victories and only two of his fights have gone to a decision.
This co-main event features two long time fighters who have a chip on their shoulder and definitely have something to prove on the big stage of the LFA.
Other feature bouts include:
135lbs: Trent Meaux (6-2-1) vs. Maikel Perez (2-1)
205lbs: Dominick Reyes (5-0) vs. Jordan Powell (8-6)
135lbs: Kyler Phillips (3-0) vs. Jonathan Quiroz (2-1)
LFA 13 will air live on AXS TV starting at 9 p.m. ET.
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