Rangel de Sá (10-1) vs. Ismael Bonfim (14-3)
The Legacy Fighting Alliance has a special treat in store for its fans this weekend. The longtime feeder league for the UFC is headed to Brazil for a pair of shows this weekend. It starts on Friday with LFA 111. The card is loaded with prospects, including lightweight headliners Rangel “Anaconda” de Sá and Ismael “Marreta” Bonfim.
The 24-year-old de Sá has been competing as a professional since 2016. He won his first four fights before dropping a decision to Henrique Gomes. Anaconda responded to the setback by reeling off six straight wins while facing progressively more experienced and skilled fighters. His most recent fight lasted less than two minutes before he was rewarded with a slam knockout of Ary Santos to secure the Shooto Brazil 166-pound belt. Four wins in his current streak have come via first-round knockout, which brings his career tally to five victories via strikes and three by way of submission.
Rob Wilkinson (13-2) vs. Sam Kei (8-5)
The Hex Fight Series returns this weekend with a card that’s heavy on amateur bouts and only includes a handful of professional contests. However, the headlining title tilt is certainly worthy of our attention. Light-heavyweight kingpin and former UFC fighter Rob Wilkinson puts his belt on the line against the company’s heavyweight champion, Sam Kei.
Wilkinson has spent much of his career, including his UFC tenure, at middleweight. He had the misfortune of meeting the formidable duo of Siyar Bahadurzada and eventual UFC champ Israel Adesanya in his two Octagon appearances. Needless to say, Wilkinson did not fare well in either affair. Prior to his time with the UFC, though, the Aussie had compiled a perfect 11-0 mark since his 2011 debut. Once he departed the UFC, he took a detour into the realm of kickboxing and won two fights. He returned to MMA in late 2019 and added his 12th career win with a first-round submission of fellow UFC castof
Billy Pasulatan (5-2) vs. Brando Mamana (9-3)
A light schedule this week from the larger regional promotions gives us a chance to look at some international promotions that don’t often grace this preview series. The first stop this week is Indonesia, where One Pride MMA is set to host its 41st “Fight Night” show. The key contest of the night is a strawweight title affair between champion Billy Pasulatan and challenger Brando Mamana. These two men fought once before, in 2019, with Mamana tapping Pasulatan in the first round.
Sulut MMA’s Pasulatan is seven fights into his pro career. The taekwondo practitioner lost his 2017 debut to Zaenudin, but he rebounded with four straight wins, including two via kimura submission. The One Pride mainstay then suffered the loss to Mamana, which came by way of a rear-naked choke. Despite this stumble, Pasulatan returned to action a year later as the challenger against Gunawan and ended up claiming the strap with an 86-second submission fin
Image via The Golden Cage
Italy is as sports-crazed as any country on earth, but so far, mixed martial arts has not caught on inside its famous, boot-shaped border. The Golden Cage, an upstart MMA promotion based in Rome, is hoping to change that.
TGC is the brainchild of President Luigi Perillo, a tax lawyer and the president of the Swiss MMA Federation, and Steve Dapper, a music industry executive and expert in linguistics. After two successful events in 2017 and 2018, the TGC team will promote its third this Saturday in Rome. The card, which will feature 10 pro bouts and 10 amateur bouts, will mark the promotion’s debut on UFC FIGHT PASS.