In the “Valley of the Sun,” LFA 149 will start off the New Year with a flyweight title bout. This will be the LFA’s first trip to Chandler, Arizona. The LFA 149 main event will crown the promotion’s tenth 125-pound champion in the promotion’s eleventh visit to the Grand Canyon State.
LFA 149: Bunes vs. Horiuchi is scheduled for Friday, January 6th at the Gila River Resorts & Casinos – Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, Arizona, a Phoenix suburb. The main event will pit top Brazilian prospect Felipe “Felipinho” Bunes against top Japanese prospect Yuma “Ichiban” Horiuchi for the flyweight belt.
How to watch free LFA 149 Live:
Viewers around the world can watch the action live on the following channels and here for free:
Live Stream: LFA 149 Bunes vs Horiuchi Live (it’s free)
When LFA 149:
LFA 149 will happen on Friday 6th January 2023 at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Where is LFA 149:
LFA 149 will take place at Gila River Resorts & Casinos, Chandler, Arizona, United States.
LFA 149 Preview:
“We are thrilled to begin 2023 by bringing the Flyweight Championship to Arizona at LFA 149,” Soares said. “Felipe Bunes and Yuma Horiuchi are two of the world’s best flyweight prospects, and their paths have crossed.
They were set to fight last month, but an injury put the fight off. Carlos Mota, the LFA flyweight champion at the time, had signed with the UFC. The stakes have risen even higher, as the victor of Bunes vs. Horiuchi will become the LFA flyweight champion’s tenth.
Bunes (12-6) will make his LFA debut after joining the league in 2022. In his first two appearances for the promotion, the Pitbull Brothers product, who is also a primary training partner of UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo, was quickly scheduled for headlining and co-headlining bouts.
He was supposed to face former UFC flyweight star Jussier Formiga at bantamweight in his debut for the organization, however, Formiga failed to make weight at 139 pounds. Bunes returned to his original weight class of 125 pounds in his second encounter for LFA.
The BJJ black belt shone in the co-main event of LFA 135, defeating Dominican standout Wascar Cruz by unanimous decision. He was then scheduled to face Horiuchi at LFA 144 last month, but an injury prevented them from the meeting. He will now compete against his Japanese adversary for LFA gold at LFA 149.
Horiuchi (10-5) became the LFA’s first professional fighter from Japan when he signed with the organization in 2020. “Ichiban” immediately became a fan favourite thanks to his flamboyant kickboxing prowess, but it was his long-awaited drop to flyweight that caused the most uproar. In his 125-pound debut for the promotion, Horiuchi quickly dispatched Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Donavon Frelow by armbar. This led to his first title defence for the promotion against Charles Johnson in a back-and-forth battle at LFA 110 that had fans and judges torn.
The official outcome was a Split Decision in Johnson’s favour, and he went on to defend the championship twice before signing with the UFC. Meanwhile, Horiuchi had a pair of thrilling LFA stoppage victories over top prospects Mark Climaco and Juan Puerta.
LFA 149 Complete Fight Card:
- Main Event | Flyweight Title Bout (125 lb)
Felipe Bunes (12-6) vs. Yuma Horiuchi (10-5) - Flyweight Bout (125 lb)
An Ho (2-0) vs. Edwin De Los Santos (2-1) - Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
Eric Fimbres (1-0) vs. Tony Charles (2-1) - Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Luciano Ramos (8-7) vs. Marcus McGhee (5-1) - Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
Billy Elekana (4-1) vs. Eric McConico (5-2-1) - Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Adam Garcia (1-0) vs. Cedric Katambwa (2-0)
