LFA is back in California for the second time this year.
Chris Mecate (10-2) (-250) vs Javier Reyes (20-4) (+170) - 155 lbs
Both guys are usually fighting at 145 lbs, but somehow this fight is taking place at 155 lbs.
Chris has a wrestling background being an all-american twice at Old Dominion University. For a wrestler, Chris is not scare to strike on the feet. He was able to finish his last two opponent with hooks on the feet.
Javier is a colombian fighter who has a wrestling heavy approach. Although his striking skills are limited, he does have power as shown in his last fight against Moctezuma who he was able to knockout using an uppercut. His cardio seems to be his best asset.
Chris resume is impressive with wins against rising UFC prospect Jose Delgado and regional prospects such as Jose Ferreira (12-1) and Shaheen Santana (8-3). Javier's resume is a bit less impressive with his best wins coming against a lower level of regional fighters such as Moctezuma (11-6) and Alvaro Vacacela (16-8-1).
As seen in the Douglas fight, if Reyes is not able to get his takedown, he can be pressured by a power puncher. I'm predicting that Chris will be able to stop the takedown and finish Reyes with hooks against the cage.
Georgii Eivas (10-6) (+155) vs Jacob Rosales (15-9) (-205) - 155 lbs
Georgii has a muay thai background but no major titles as far as I can see. As seen in his last few fights, his best weapon is his calf kick. The main issue with Georgii that you can notice in his Cage Warriors fight against James Lynch is that he has very bad takedown defense and bad BJJ with him getting mounted on multiple occasions.
Jacob is a black belt in BJJ and has high school wrestling experience. Looking at his fights, it seems like he prefer the striking but his defense has been questionable with him often getting countered.
Since losing his Cage Warriors fight, Georgii has been fighting low level opposition (1-5, 18-39 and 5-3). Jacob has fought much better opponents so far in his career with wins over Road to UFC Veteran Kai Liu (8-5) and LFA Veteran Jose Martinez (11-4).
Jacob has an easy road to victory with the wrestling. Although Jacob hasn't used his wrestling effectively in his career so far, it's such a glaring weakness for Georgii. Even if it stays on the feet, Jacob should have an edge with his boxing but he must be careful to not get his leg chewed up. My prediction is that Jacob will get the takedown and finish Georgii with ground and pound.
Luis Francischinelli (4-0) (-400) vs Angelo Rivera Jr. (6-1) (+250) - 170 lbs
At 6'6 in the Welterweight division, Luis is a monster. He has a kickboxing background with vicious knees, kicks and straight punches. Luis has shown very good initial takedown defense and he's able to use a wizard if it goes to the ground to quickly get up or reverse the position.
Angelo has an extensive amateur background where we went 15-9 (losing to MMA prospects Alex Sola and Joseph Luciano). It's a bit funny than his amateur fights are easier to find than his professional fights. His striking or grappling doesn't look particularly great.
Luis is one of the best prospects I've seen recently at 170, he should be able to make quick work of Angelo. My prediction is that Luis will win this fight in the first round by whatever he wants.
Luis Francischinelli to win at -400
Allan Begosso (8-3-1) (-450) vs Davaajamts Batsuren (8-6) (+275) - 135 lbs
At 5'5, Allan is not the biggest bantamweight. He likes fighting on the outside and quickly burts with hooks. He hasn't fought since 2023 but he has a couple of nice knockouts against Sean McPadden and Paris Standford.
Based on the fights I've seen of Batsuren, his grappling is his best asset but it's not high level with him struggling against a debut opponent in his last fight. His striking is tough with him slowly swinging punches from his hips.
Allan should be able to quickly dispose of Batsuren of the feet with a first round knockout.
Allan Begosso to win at -450
Joseph Kropschot (6-3) (-350) vs Adland Benson (5-3) (+225) - 185 lbs
Another monster at 6'7, Adland has a kickboxing background. A purple belt in BJJ, in his last fight where he was a huge underdog, he was able to sweep his opponent from guard to get full mount before finishing the fight with ground and pound.
Joseph is a black belt in BJJ who has competed in multiple grappling tournaments. He's good at finding the back in scrambles on the ground but he's not a dominant wrestler. His striking is fine on the lower level of MMA but it's not good enough to compete with the better regional prospects.
Joseph should have the edge on the ground but I wouldn't be surprised if Adland is able to hurt Joseph in the clinch or with a head kick. My prediction is a sloppy fight where Joseph is able to scramble to the back of Adland and chokes him out with a rear naked choke.
Josh Hokit (4-0) (-1300) vs Eric Lunsford (7-4) (+625) - Heavyweight
Josh is a solid athlete with him wrestling and playing football at Fresno State University. He doesn't have the most explosive takedown but once he is able to get the back or turtle position, he's very good at keeping the position.
Eric is not the most talented athlete but he's heavy handed. His best skillset is probably his boxing with him landing good combinations of hooks and straight punches.
Similar to his fight against Juan Adams, I think Eric will get taken down and from there, Josh is great once he's able to take the back. I'm predicting another first round finish from Josh Hokit.
Chris Mecate (10-2) (-250) vs Javier Reyes (20-4) (+170) - 155 lbs
Both guys are usually fighting at 145 lbs, but somehow this fight is taking place at 155 lbs.
Chris has a wrestling background being an all-american twice at Old Dominion University. For a wrestler, Chris is not scare to strike on the feet. He was able to finish his last two opponent with hooks on the feet.
Javier is a colombian fighter who has a wrestling heavy approach. Although his striking skills are limited, he does have power as shown in his last fight against Moctezuma who he was able to knockout using an uppercut. His cardio seems to be his best asset.
Chris resume is impressive with wins against rising UFC prospect Jose Delgado and regional prospects such as Jose Ferreira (12-1) and Shaheen Santana (8-3). Javier's resume is a bit less impressive with his best wins coming against a lower level of regional fighters such as Moctezuma (11-6) and Alvaro Vacacela (16-8-1).
As seen in the Douglas fight, if Reyes is not able to get his takedown, he can be pressured by a power puncher. I'm predicting that Chris will be able to stop the takedown and finish Reyes with hooks against the cage.
Georgii Eivas (10-6) (+155) vs Jacob Rosales (15-9) (-205) - 155 lbs
Georgii has a muay thai background but no major titles as far as I can see. As seen in his last few fights, his best weapon is his calf kick. The main issue with Georgii that you can notice in his Cage Warriors fight against James Lynch is that he has very bad takedown defense and bad BJJ with him getting mounted on multiple occasions.
Jacob is a black belt in BJJ and has high school wrestling experience. Looking at his fights, it seems like he prefer the striking but his defense has been questionable with him often getting countered.
Since losing his Cage Warriors fight, Georgii has been fighting low level opposition (1-5, 18-39 and 5-3). Jacob has fought much better opponents so far in his career with wins over Road to UFC Veteran Kai Liu (8-5) and LFA Veteran Jose Martinez (11-4).
Jacob has an easy road to victory with the wrestling. Although Jacob hasn't used his wrestling effectively in his career so far, it's such a glaring weakness for Georgii. Even if it stays on the feet, Jacob should have an edge with his boxing but he must be careful to not get his leg chewed up. My prediction is that Jacob will get the takedown and finish Georgii with ground and pound.
Luis Francischinelli (4-0) (-400) vs Angelo Rivera Jr. (6-1) (+250) - 170 lbs
At 6'6 in the Welterweight division, Luis is a monster. He has a kickboxing background with vicious knees, kicks and straight punches. Luis has shown very good initial takedown defense and he's able to use a wizard if it goes to the ground to quickly get up or reverse the position.
Angelo has an extensive amateur background where we went 15-9 (losing to MMA prospects Alex Sola and Joseph Luciano). It's a bit funny than his amateur fights are easier to find than his professional fights. His striking or grappling doesn't look particularly great.
Luis is one of the best prospects I've seen recently at 170, he should be able to make quick work of Angelo. My prediction is that Luis will win this fight in the first round by whatever he wants.
Luis Francischinelli to win at -400
Allan Begosso (8-3-1) (-450) vs Davaajamts Batsuren (8-6) (+275) - 135 lbs
At 5'5, Allan is not the biggest bantamweight. He likes fighting on the outside and quickly burts with hooks. He hasn't fought since 2023 but he has a couple of nice knockouts against Sean McPadden and Paris Standford.
Based on the fights I've seen of Batsuren, his grappling is his best asset but it's not high level with him struggling against a debut opponent in his last fight. His striking is tough with him slowly swinging punches from his hips.
Allan should be able to quickly dispose of Batsuren of the feet with a first round knockout.
Allan Begosso to win at -450
Joseph Kropschot (6-3) (-350) vs Adland Benson (5-3) (+225) - 185 lbs
Another monster at 6'7, Adland has a kickboxing background. A purple belt in BJJ, in his last fight where he was a huge underdog, he was able to sweep his opponent from guard to get full mount before finishing the fight with ground and pound.
Joseph is a black belt in BJJ who has competed in multiple grappling tournaments. He's good at finding the back in scrambles on the ground but he's not a dominant wrestler. His striking is fine on the lower level of MMA but it's not good enough to compete with the better regional prospects.
Joseph should have the edge on the ground but I wouldn't be surprised if Adland is able to hurt Joseph in the clinch or with a head kick. My prediction is a sloppy fight where Joseph is able to scramble to the back of Adland and chokes him out with a rear naked choke.
Josh Hokit (4-0) (-1300) vs Eric Lunsford (7-4) (+625) - Heavyweight
Josh is a solid athlete with him wrestling and playing football at Fresno State University. He doesn't have the most explosive takedown but once he is able to get the back or turtle position, he's very good at keeping the position.
Eric is not the most talented athlete but he's heavy handed. His best skillset is probably his boxing with him landing good combinations of hooks and straight punches.
Similar to his fight against Juan Adams, I think Eric will get taken down and from there, Josh is great once he's able to take the back. I'm predicting another first round finish from Josh Hokit.
