By Press Release

LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion will have a new title fight at LFA 71. Junior Marques, who was scheduled to fight for the welterweight title, was denied entry into the country due to an immigration issue after his flight landed in the United States.

The main event of LFA 71 will now feature a welterweight title fight between LFA standout Jason “The Ass-Kicking Machine” Jackson and respected Brazilian prospect Hemerson “Toco” Souza for the vacant championship. LFA 71 – Jackson vs. Souza takes place tomorrow Friday, July 12th at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

“Jason Jackson will now face Hemerson “Toco” Souza for the LFA welterweight championship at LFA 71,” stated Soares. “Junior Marques was denied entry into the country due to an immigration issue, so we are moving Souza up from the co-main event to face Jackson for the title. Stylistically, Jackson and Souza will give fight fans in Atlanta a fantastic headliner tomorrow night at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia.”

Tickets for LFA 71 – Jackson vs. Souza are available for purchase NOW at Ticketmaster.com.

Jackson (9-3) is the top MMA prospect to hail from the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica. The 28-year-old Hard Knocks 365 standout has been considered one of the top welterweight prospects in the sport for the last four years. In that time, Jackson has competed on the UFC’s hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter 21, won multiple regional titles, and competed on the first season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. An ankle injury prevented Jackson from showing White his full potential that night, but he quickly rebounded with a pair of wins. The first came last summer via TKO over Jordon Larson at Bellator 204. The second came this past April via Arm-Triangle Choke against Scott Futrell in the co-main event of LFA 64. Now the man known as “The Ass-Kicking Machine” looks to capture LFA gold in the main event of LFA 71.

Souza (7-4) was originally scheduled to face former LFA title challenger Demarques Jackson in the co-main event of LFA 71. Jackson is a teammate of Souza’s new opponent Jason Jackson, who he will now be fighting for the vacant LFA welterweight title. The 29-year-old Evolução Thai MMA product has made a name for himself by competing exclusively in his home country’s talent-rich MMA scene. He made his professional debut five years ago and earned the nickname “Toco” (“Stump”) due to his strong and durable fighting style. The Andre “Dida” Amado protégé has trained with some of the best fighters in the world, including Legacy champion and newly crowned Bellator champion Rafael Lovato Jr. “Toco” earned his LFA contract with an impressive showing in his most recent fight against UFC veteran Wendell Oliveira, who has 43 professional fights to his credit.

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

Main Event | Welterweight Title Bout (170 lb)
– Jason Jackson (9-3) vs. Hemereson “Toco” Souza (7-4)

Co-Main Event | Welterweight Bout (170 lb)
– Demarques Jackson (10-3) vs. Hugh Pulley (7-4)

Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
– Devante Sewell (7-3) vs. Ary Farias (7-2)

Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
– Tanner Saraceno (7-3) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (5-2)

Catchweight Bout (160 lb)
– Robert Hale (6-4) vs. Zach Fears (10-4)

Catchweight Bout (160 lb)
– Yemi Oduwole (5-1) vs. Chris Brown (3-1)