By Press Release

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will retrace its roots and return to the birthplace of RFA with a bantamweight showdown when the promotion heads to Kearney, Nebraska in September. This will be the LFA’s first trip to Kearney since RFA and Legacy FC merged to create the promotion.

The main event of LFA 48 will feature a bantamweight showdown when two-time NCAA Division II national champion wrestler “Supa” Raufeon Stots faces the heavy-handed knockout artist Ryan “The Lion” Lilley. LFA 48 – Stots vs. Lilley takes place Friday, September 7th at the Viaero Center in Kearney, Nebraska. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

“RFA started in Kearney, Nebraska back in 2011. Four of the first five RFA events took place in the central Nebraska town and we are excited to retrace our history by bringing LFA to the birthplace of RFA at LFA 48,” stated Soares. “The homecoming will be similar for Raufeon Stots. He is a local legend having won two national championships in wrestling at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. He will be fighting Ryan Lilley in a top-tier bantamweight match-up. Lilley is coming off a huge knockout win in the co-main event of LFA 45. Stots and Lilley are two of the top 135-pounders in the world and will give our fans in Kearney a fantastic main event on September 7th.”

Tickets for LFA 48 – Stots vs. Lilley will be available for purchase Friday, August 10th at KearneyEvents.net.

Stots (9-1) will be making a homecoming on two fronts as LFA returns to the birthplace of RFA. The first will be his return to Kearney, the town where he won two NCAA Division II national championships in wrestling. The University of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK) wrestling legend will be looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Loper greats that transitioned from UNK athletics to the Octagon. Kamaru Usman, T.J. Hepburn, and Joshua Smith all competed for UNK in wrestling before fighting for RFA on AXS TV. Dakota Cochrane also competed for UNK in Track & Field before racking up the most appearances in RFA history. The second homecoming for Stots will be his return to the promotion where he had his second professional fight. Stots came from the Legacy FC side of the merger and is eager to reintroduce himself to LFA fans in the main event of LFA 48.

Lilley (9-3) also known as “The Lion” is looking to show why the lion is the king of the jungle. He earned his spot in the LFA 48 headliner with a devastating first round knockout win over top-ranked prospect Jordan Winski in the co-main event of LFA 45. Winski was soaring high on prospect lists after winning a short notice fight in a higher weight class at LFA 31. Lilley then took a page out of Winski’s book by taking the fight with Winski on 7 days’ notice last month. Lilley wasted no time in his co-headlining encounter with Winski at LFA 45. The Bas Rutten protégé starched Winski midway through the opening round with a beautiful knockout that quickly made its way around the Internet. The end came when Lilley expertly countered a low left kick with a big right hand upstairs. Now “The Lion” looks to roar again in the main event of LFA 48.

Currently Announced Main Card (Televised on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT):

Main Event | Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)

– Raufeon Stots (9-1) vs. Ryan Lilley (9-3)

Co-Main Event | Flyweight Bout (125 lb)

– Sid Bice (8-2) vs. Charles Johnson (7-1)

Welterweight Bout (170 lb)

– Kassius Kayne (12-5) vs. Calen Born (5-0)

Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)

– Ryan MacDonald (9-0) vs. Trevor Ward (5-4)

Featherweight Bout (145 lb)

– Darrick Minner (21-8) vs. Kevin Croom (18-9)

In 2017, RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA, the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts. The combined forces of LFA launched the careers of over 130 athletes that have reached the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC.  In May 2018, the promotion joined the London Trust Media Holdings group of companies.

LFA 48 will serve as the second LFA event to take place in the state of Nebraska. RFA visited the “Cornhusker State” six times before the merger. The inaugural RFA event in December 2011 and four of the first five RFA events took place in Kearney, Nebraska. Further information about LFA 48 will be announced soon. The entire main card of LFA 48 will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Please visit LFAfighting.com for bout updates and information. LFA is on Facebook at Legacy Fighting Alliance. LFA is also on Instagram at @LFAfighting and Twitter at @LFAfighting.

In 2017 RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA, the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts. The combined forces of LFA launched the careers of over 130 athletes to reach the pinnacle of MMA by competing in the UFC.  In May of 2018 the promotion joined the London Trust Media Holdings group of companies.