Undisputed bantamweight title fight headlines LFA 160 in Kentucky

LFA CEO Ed Soares has announced that the main event of LFA 160 will now be for the undisputed bantamweight championship when the promotion makes its first trip to Kentucky on Friday, June 16.

Top contenders John “Hollywood” Sweeney and Allan “Mini” Begosso were originally set to battle for the interim bantamweight title, but the fight was elevated to undisputed status when champion Muin “Tajik” Gafurov was signed by the UFC.

LFA 160 will be the first LFA event to take place in the Bluegrass State. This will also be the twenty-eighth state that the promotion has visited.

LFA 160 takes place Friday, June 16th at the Owensboro Sportscenter in Owensboro, Kentucky. The main event will feature the aforementioned bantamweight title fight between Sweeney and Begosso. In the co-main event, Dylan “The Mindless Hulk” Budka meets Azamat “Kingpin” Bekoev for the interim middleweight title. The entire main card will stream worldwide on UFC Fight Pass.

“John Sweeney and Allan Begosso will now fight for the undisputed LFA bantamweight title at LFA 160,” said Soares.

“They were originally going to fight for the interim bantamweight title, but our champion Muin Gafurov was just signed by the UFC. We will now visit Kentucky for the first time with the undisputed LFA bantamweight title on the line. We will also hand out hardware in the co-main event as Dylan Budka and Azamat Bekoev fight for the LFA interim middleweight title.”

Sweeney (12-3) is a Karate black belt and protege of UFC star Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. The South Carolinian is known as “Hollywood” as he possesses the same dynamic striking prowess and star qualities that has carved out a legendary career for his mentor.

Sweeney began his own career by winning his first two professional bouts for the LFA all the way back at LFA 8 and LFA 17 in 2017. However, he really made his mark after returning to the promotion in 2022. After re-signing with the LFA, Sweeney defeated LFA standout Ricardo Dias in the co-main event of LFA 137. He then continued his success in January by upsetting 7x BJJ world champion Ary Farias in the main event of LFA 150. The flashy karateka now looks to add LFA gold to his impressive fight résumé.

Begosso (7-2-1) also has a long and successful history in the LFA after signing with the promotion in 2020. The Brazilian dynamo made an immediate impact by handing the highly touted Sean McPadden the first loss of his career. The win came by knockout in just 48-seconds of their contest at LFA 90 and earned him a nomination for Knockout of the Year in the LFA Fans’ Choice Awards.

Begosso would then showcase his BJJ skills by submitting Kyrgyz prospect Samarbek Sabyrzhan Uulu at LFA 107. That win earned him a title fight against Richie Palencia at LFA 119, but he dropped a narrow decision. “Mini” would bounce back with another LFA Fans’ Choice Awards: Knockout of the Year nominated performance at LFA 135 and now looks to make good on his second shot at an LFA title.

The co-main event of LFA 160 will feature an interim middleweight title fight between two of the division’s top prospects as Budka (5-1) and Bekoev (15-3) vie to become the LFA’s tenth middleweight champion. The winner of Budka vs. Bekoev will face the sitting champion Fernando in a title unification bout later this year.

Budka hails from Findlay, Ohio and will be traveling to the nearby Ohio Valley in Kentucky in search of his first world title. The American has been dominant in that quest with a perfect 3-0 record for the promotion. He will face a Russian standout who was dominant in his LFA debut, which took place this past February in the main event of LFA 152. Now the surging American and Russian contenders will meet with a title on the line in the co-main event of LFA 160.

LFA 160: Confirmed fight card

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