A bumper weekend in the world of mixed martial arts is now in the rearview mirror. While UFC London perhaps failed to live up to it's promise, Cage Warriors 186 and ONE 172 between them delivered plenty of jaw-dropping moments.
As always, life moves quickly in this sport and we now turn our eyes to the week ahead which has three exciting fight cards for MMA fans to get their teeth into.
LFA 205 (Friday)
Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) 205 takes place in Brasilia, the capitol of Brazil this Friday night and is set to be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass.
The vacant bantamweight title will be on the line in the main event as Vinicius "Bad Boy Killer" Pires (10-1) is set to take on Lionel Abojer (11-2). Both fighters are unbeaten under the LFA banner and any sporting rivalry involving Brazilian and Argentinian athletes usually carries a little added spice.
Former Bellator/PFL star Manoel Sousa (11-1) returns in the co-main event to take on Lucas Barros (8-2-1), while promising female prospect Gabriela Fujimoto (6-0), who has fough her entire professional career inside the LFA cage, looks to continue her impressive run as she faces Uruguay's Xiomara Piriz (13-4).
RIZIN 50 (Saturday)
Former UFC fighter Naoki Inoue (18-4) will look to make the first defense of his bantamweight title at RIZIN 50 on Saturday. The Japanese star, who trains at Longo's MMA in New Yourk, faces veteran striker Yuki Motoya (37-12).
Inoue submitted Motoya when the pair first fought in Decemeber of 2020, and will be hoping for a similar outcome this time around.
UFC Mexico (Saturday)
A fiesta of fights await the home fans at Mexico City's Arena CDMX this weekend, with the event set to be headlined by a fascinating contest between former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno (22-8-2 MMA, 10-5-2 UFC) and former title challenger Steve Erceg (12-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC).
The co-main event promises fireworks as Manuel Torres (15-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC), whose last six wins all came within the opening round, takes on Drew Dober (27-13 MMA, 13-9 UFC), who is tied with Dustin Poirier for the most knockouts (9) in UFC lightweight history.
Also on the main card, Kelvin Gastelum (19-9 MMA, 13-9 UFC) returns to the middleweight division to face Joe Pyfer (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC), while Mexican prodigy Raul Rosas Jr. (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) will face Vince Morales (16-9 MMA, 3-7 UFC).
