By Press Release

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) president Ed Soares announced today that the RFA is heading to San Joaquin Valley in central California next month. The main event of RFA 42 will feature a showdown between two of the RFA lightweight division’s top prospects when former RFA lightweight title challenger Zach “Juice” Juusola battles former RFA lightweight champion Christos “The Spartan” Giagos. RFA 42 – Juusola vs. Giagos will take place Friday, August 19th at the Visalia Convention Center in Visalia, California. The entire main card will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.

“I am excited to bring the RFA to central California,” stated Soares. “The main event of RFA 42 features two lightweights that have fought for our title. Zach Juusola and Christos Giagos are action fighters that are both looking to get another shot at RFA gold. I’m looking forward to this headliner and our first trip to Visalia.”

Tickets for RFA 42 – Juusola vs. Giagos are available for purchase NOW through VisaliaTix.com or by calling (800) 640-4888.

Juusola (11-3) is no stranger to high-profile RFA bouts. “Juice” challenged for the RFA lightweight title in the main event of RFA 21 in December 2014. The former collegiate wrestler took Mehdi Baghdad into the fourth round in a bout that saw the winner get signed to the UFC, but Juusola also impressed many in that bout with an impressive display of skill and tenacity. Juusola rebounded in dominant fashion with a Unanimous Decision over the surging Robert Rojas Jr. at RFA 30 and now looks to continue that momentum in August.

Giagos (12-5) is the first man to ever win the RFA lightweight title. “The Spartan” captured the title two summers ago in the first sanctioned MMA main event in the state of South Dakota. Giagos won the title by landing a brilliant flying knee against Dakota Cochrane. The KO immediately got Giagos signed to the UFC. His second fight for the UFC was a flawless victory over Jorge “Blade” de Oliveira in Brazil. Giagos returned to the RFA last month with a spectacular KO win over former WEC star Karen Darabedyan. UFC President Dana White, who was in attendance, had high praise for Giagos, when he spoke to Inside MMA correspondent Ron Kruck in a cageside interview on AXS TV after the bout. “Tonight it looked like he (Giagos) belongs back in the UFC,” stated White. “He looked great. He won in very devastating, exciting fashion. “

The co-main event of RFA 42 will feature a high-stakes flyweight bout between a former regional flyweight champion and a top undefeated prospect. Alex Perez (13-4), who hails from nearby Lemoore will be looking to utilize his home crowd advantage when he faces one of the top prospects in MMA. Ray Elizalde (10-0) made his RFA debut last month and showed the world why he is one of the top flyweight prospects in the sport. “The Bloodhound” smelled blood in the third round of an action-packed bout with Richard Alarcon and defeated the fellow undefeated prospect via TKO at RFA 38. This was the same event that Giagos won at and where UFC President Dana White was sitting cageside.

The full RFA 42 fight card and further information regarding this event will be announced soon. RFA 42 will be the promotion’s eighth event to take place in the “Golden State” of California and the first RFA event to be held in central California. The entire main card of RFA 42 – Juusola vs. Giagos will be televised live and nationwide on AXS TV at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on Friday, August 19th.

Please visit RFAfighting.com for bout updates and information. RFA is also on Facebook at Facebook.com/RFAfighting, Instagram at @RFAfighting, and Twitter at @RFAfighting.