LFA 57 kicked off in Denver Colorado. There were some good fights and quick finishes. LFA will be stepping it up this year and putting on more shows, so, you’ll be seeing a lot of reviews here.
Main event.
Youssef Zalal vs Chepe Mariscal – Featherweight
Round 1
Fight starts off with a bang, Mariscal takes Zalal down. Zalal then gets up and takes Mariscal down. They both get up and clinch-work ensues. Mariscal’s strategy seems to be to put pressure on Zalal early. Mariscal finishes the round on top
Round 2
Mariscal takes down Zalal early. Zalal slaps an armbar on, Mariscal twists out of it. Mariscal then survives 2 guillotines. Mariscal takes Zalal down and finishes the round on top.
Round 3
Zalal is looking good good on the feet, he then gets taken down. Zalal reverses the position, and proceeds to take Mariscal’s back. Zalal beats on Mariscal for a significant part of the round, then the fight ends as Mariscal twists out of an inverted triangle. 🚩 Mariscal wins by Unanimous decision.
The result of this fight shows how MMA scoring has to change. The judges put a premium on Mariscal getting takedowns, and didn’t give Zalal credit for the submission attempts. In my opinion Mariscal wasn’t very active on top, and Zalal should have gotten the win. I can also see a case for a draw, but I do not think that Mariscal deserved to win this fight. Zalal looked crisp on the feet, but he looked lacking in the wrestling department, and his Jiu Jitsu can be much tighter. Mariscal is all wrestling, and someone with some good Muay Thai knees can stop him easily. I think Zalal has the bigger upside.
Josh Cavan vs Anthony Adams – Welterweight
Round 1
Adams’ kicks are on point. Adams hurt Cavan with a knee to the body, and he showcases good footwork. Cavan seems desperate for a takedown in the middle of the round and tries is darndest for nothing. Cavan starts to open himself up and has no regard for his body. Adams tees of on him and wrecks him with elbows and finishes him. 🚩 Adams wins by TKO
Cavan looked desperate, looked sloppy and offered nothing. Adams needs to fight a more cerebral fighter to test himself
Lucas Rota vs Adam Stroup – Middleweight
Round 1
Stroup using mostly kicks to start off this disjointed fight. Rota has poor footwork, Stroup is not able to capitalize on holes in Rota’s game.
Round 2
Stroup is looking to establish some sort of dominance in the fight, but he does not seem like he wants to finish the fight. Rota gets aggressive in spurts, but is always second to the punch.
Round 3
Rota start off aggressive, and looking like he could end the fight, and then he starts clinching for some reason. Stroup takes Rota down, it goes back to the feet, and there is more disjointed striking to end this competition. 🚩 Stroup wins by Unanimous decision.
Rota actually looks like a better raw talent in this fight. We see that he has some power, and he moves well, some of the time. This fight teaches us nothing about his ground game nor his wrestling though. All we learn about Stroup in this fight is that he has a good chin and uses his length well. I maintain that I think Rota may have the higher upside.
Calen Born vs Austin Jones – Welterweight
Round 1
Jones takes Born down. It goes back up to the feet. There is a feeling out process of striking, Jones then gets a couple of takedowns. Jones then ends the round on top.
Round 2
Born looks gassed. Jones is just looking for the takedown. Born is looking totally spent in the middle of the round. The round ends with clinching and knees, as Jones has the edge.
Round 3
I think someone should throw in the the Towel for Born. At times, he’s a walking practice dummy. He has the habit of just hanging his head and taking punishment, which is very dangerous. Guillotine choke is sunk in by Born as a last gasp effort. Jones pops out, ends up on top, and proceeds to hammer Born to the body. At this point Jones looks spent as well. 🚩 Jones wins by Unanimous decision.
Jones’ striking looked toothless, and he was always looking for the takedown in this fight. Even when it wasn’t necessary. Born should start from the drawing board, he fought a very dangerous fight
Jonathon Wyderko vs Matt Johnson – Lightweight
Round 1
Wyderko starts off striking and clinching. Its and intimate fight, plenty of knees to the body. Knees and elbows win in it for Wyderko. 🚩 Wyderko wins by TKO
Johnson showed nothing. Looked like a lamb to the slaughter here.
Madie Meacham vs Pauline Macias – Strawweight
Round 1
Meacham is making her pro debut, and is looking very lean. She impressively gets back up after being taken down. It is clear that she needs a lot of wrestling work and better footwork and head movement. Macias takes Meacham down, but is cautious to get in her guard. Macias ends the round on top
Round 2
Meacham gets rocked by Macias and complains about her mouthpiece. She stops fighting and loses. 🚩 Macias wins by TKO/retirement.
Meacham has a lot of upside, but at time she looks flatfooted, and slow. She needs some quality wrestling to supplement what looks to be a competent BJJ game. Macias does not look aggressive enough, she should have imposing her will on the less experienced fighter. she also may need to improve her top game.
Taylor Johnson vs Aaron Chambers – Middleweight
Round 1
Johnson kicks off the show with some sick wrestling. He takes Chambers down via a belly to back suplex, puts him face down in the mat, puts him in a full nelson, and proceeds to beat the crap out of him. Johnson just imposes his will on Aaron Chambers and ends the fight by ground and pound. 🚩 Johnson wins by TKO
Johnson looks very impressive, and always looked two steps ahead of his opponent in this fight. I’m very interested to follow up with him and see where he goes from here, but he’s a wrestling talent for sure.
Taylor Johnson was unbroken