A new LFA welterweight champion was crowned as the promotion held a four-man, one-night tournament Friday – but the road to get there was winding, long, and unusual.
In the end, Carlos Leal (14-3) took home the title at LFA 112 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when he defeated Junior Marques (11-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). While Leal’s road to the top was typical, the opposing side of the bracket was the furthest thing from normal.
The tournament began with two quarterfinal fights of three three-minute rounds. The first matchup was a back and forth brawl, in which Gabriel Bonfim (11-0) finished Brenner Alberth (8-1) via punches at 0:38 of Round 3. On the other side of the bracket, Leal only needed 69 seconds to finish Diego Dias (13-4) with a violent knockout punch.
That’s a bad man!!!!
Carlos Leal moves on to the finals!!!#LFA112 pic.twitter.com/ve4x8YacMg
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 19, 2021
Bonfim vs. Real was lined up for the tournament final – until it wasn’t. Due to concussion like symptoms, Bonfim was removed from the matchup and the promotion turned to two alternates, Quemuel Ottoni and Wendell Giacomo, who won on the non-broadcasted prelims.
However, neither Ottoni and Giacomo received medical clearance. In an unusual turn of events, Marques, who lost to Ottani, was named the No. 3 alternate and was placed into the final against Leal.
While he lasted all three rounds, Marques ultimately lost his second fight of the night when he was swept on all three judges’ scorecards by Leal.
Say hello to your new LFA welterweight champion!
Carlos Leal closes out #LFA112 in dominant fashion. Thank you, Brazil!
Good night from Rio! pic.twitter.com/YikzeqB8BT
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 19, 2021
In the co-main event, Otto Rodrigues snapped Carlos Augusto da Silva’s eye-popping 17-fight winning streak via a unanimous decision that earned six 10-8 rounds across the three judges’ scorecards. Prior to the bout, Rodrigues had not competed since April 2017.
The most violent finish, perhaps occurred when Kayan Krushewsky brutally knocked out Junior Luiz with a pair of punishing punches. The stoppage came 62 seconds into the fight.
VIOLENT END!#LFA112 pic.twitter.com/wdQizWEzu3
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) July 19, 2021
Also on the main card, hyped flyweight standout Carlos Mota (6-0) made his long-awaited return to the cage when he won a fairly one-sided unanimous decision over Jefferson Oliveira (5-1).
Check out the full LFA 112 results below:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass)
- Carlos Leal (14-3) def. Uyran Carlos (11-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Otto Rodrigues (13-1) def. Carlos Augusto da Silva (19-3) via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-26, 30-24)
- Rafael Ramos (10-0) def. Filipe Esteves (7-1) via TKO (ground-and-pound) – Round 2, 2:19
- Kayan Kruschewsky (11-1) def. Junior Luiz (7-4) via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:02
- Carlos Mota (6-0) def. Jefferson Oliveira (5-1) via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dayane Souza (8-1) def. Elaine Lopes (4-1) via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:45
- Carlos Leal (13-3) def. Diego Dias (13-4) via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:39 – welterweight tournament semifinal
- Gabriel Bonfim (11-0) def. Brenner Alberth (8-1) via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:38 – welterweight tournament semifinal
DARK PRELIMS (Not broadcasted)
- Quemuel Ottoni (10-3) def. Junior Marques (9-3) via unanimous decision – welterweight tournament alternate bout #1
- Wendell Giacomo (9-2) def. Uryan Carlos (11-5) via unanimous decision – welterweight tournament alternate bout #2
- Gabriel Alves Braga (6-0) def. Jonathan Cordeiro (5-2) via TKO (strikes)
- Brena Cardozo (5-0) def. Vania Caceres (3-3) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)