By Press Release

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – LFA CEO Ed Soares announced today that the promotion is headed south this summer to crown a new welterweight champion. LFA 71 will see the promotion visit Georgia for the first time under the LFA banner and Atlanta will be the host city when LFA’s third-ever welterweight champion is crowned.

The main event of LFA 71 will feature a welterweight title fight when LFA standout Jason “The Ass-Kicking Machine” Jackson faces top Brazilian prospect Junior “Juninho” Marques for the vacant championship. LFA 71 – Jackson vs. Marques takes place 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.

“I am excited to bring the LFA welterweight championship to Atlanta,” Soares exclaimed. “This will be our first trip to Georgia under the LFA banner and we will be crowning a new welterweight champion on July 12th. Jason Jackson and Junior Marques will give our southern fight fans a fantastic title fight at LFA 71.”

Tickets for LFA 71 – Jackson vs. Marques go on sale Friday June 14th at 1:00 pm EST, available 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 via TKO over Jordon Larson at Bellator 204. The second came 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 at LFA 71.

Marques (9-1) is the top welterweight prospect in Brazil, the birthplace of modern day MMA. The 25-year-old Imperio Fight Team (IFTeam) product has taken his country’s talent-rich MMA scene by storm since making his professional debut just before Christmas in 2014. The Brazilian wunderkind has won titles in both MMA and Muay Thai in that time. Marques possesses a similar skill set and fighting style as his teammate Johnny Walker, who has taken the UFC light-heavyweight division by storm since making his UFC debut last fall. This has facilitated Marques’ devastating run in MMA, where he has an 89% finishing rate in the nine fights he has won. Now he is looking to pick up his first world title. The man known as “Juninho” will get that opportunity in his international debut at LFA 71.

Currently Announced 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. Junior Marques (9-1)

Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
– Omar Morales (7-0) vs. Robert Hale (6-4)

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

In 2017, RFA and Legacy FC merged to form LFA, the premier developmental organization in Mixed Martial Arts. The combined forces of LFA have launched the careers of over 160 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 71 will be the first LFA event to take place in the state of Georgia. Legacy FC hosted three events in the “Peach State” before the merger. The entire main card of LFA 71 will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.