LFA 18 emanates from the FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma, this Friday night (August 4th, 2017) and will be televised live on AXS TV at 9 p.m. (ET). LFA featherweight champion Kevin Aguilar will defend his title against Justin Rader in the main event.
Aguilar (12-1) captured the vacant LFA 145-pound title in his last bout, knocking out UFC veteran Damon Jackson in third-round at LFA 4 back in February. The 28-year-old, who trains with LFA welterweight champion Derrick Krantz, carries a four-fight win streak into this championship matchup.
Rader (7-2) heads into this bout on his own four-fight win streak, including a unanimous-decision victory over previously undefeated Emmanuel Rivera at LFA 15 in June. The 30-year-old has split time during his training camp in Toronto training at Evolucao Thai and in New York with TUF champion Ryan Hall and recent Dana White Contender Series’ winner Thanh Le.
In the co-main event, former LFA middleweight title challenger Brendan Allen looks to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in his career when he takes on Bellator veteran Chris Harris. Allen (7-2) is coming off a unanimous-decision setback to Eryk Anders at LFA 14, which snapped his five-fight win streak. The 21-year-old, who spent his entire camp training at Roufusport, has won all of his fights by stoppage.
Also on the card is the return of former UFC flyweight Chris Kelades, who takes on Tyler Shinn in a 130-pound catchweight bout. Kelades (9-3) went 2-2 in the UFC before he was released from the Las Vegas-based promotion last year. The 36-year-old defeated Paddy Holohan and Chris Beal while suffering losses to Ray Borg and Sergio Pettis. The Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia native took this fight on short notice and did not do his training camp at American Top Team this time around. Instead, he’s training close to home with UFC featherwieght standout Gavin Tucker. In addition, Kelades competes for the first time since April 2016.
Shinn (8-3) is coming off back-to-back victories, including a split-decision nod over previously undefeated Kendall Carnahan at LFA 15 in June. The 30-year-old is 2-2 in his last four fights. This matchup was set at a 130-pound catchweight due to this fight being made on short notice.
MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for the following fights on the LFA 18 card today at Several Bookmakers…
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LFA 18: Aguilar vs. Rader
August 4th, 2017
FireLake Arena| Shawnee, Oklahoma
9:00 PM ET – AXS TV
Main Event | Featherweight Title | 145lbs
Justin Rader +140
Kevin Aguilar -180
Here’s my interview with headliner and LFA featherweight champion Kevin Aguilar:
Here’s my interview with Justin Rader:
Co-Main Event | Middleweight | 185lbs
Brendan Allen +125
Chris Harris -165
Here’s my interview with Brendan Allen:
Here’s my interview with his opponent Chris Harris:
Main Card | Catchweight | 130bs
Tyler Shinn +185
Chris Kelades -265
Here’s my interview with Chris Kelades:
Main Card | Welterweight | 170bs
Chauncey Foxworth +235
Braden Smith -315
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Click below to bet on the fights!
