LFA will return to Southern California this fall, and the vacant featherweight title will be on the line.
Tyler Diamond (10-1), whose resume includes a stint on Season 27 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and a follow-up UFC bout, meets Rafael Barbosa (12-1) in the LFA 79 main event, the promotion recently announced.
LFA 79 takes place Oct. 11 at Riverside Municipal Auditorium in Riverside, Calif. The main card airs on AXS TV.
“I am excited to bring the LFA featherweight championship to southern California,” LFA CEO Ed Soares stated. “This will be our second trip to the Inland Empire and we will be crowning a new featherweight champion. Tyler Diamond and Rafael Barbosa will give our West Coast fight fans a memorable title fight at LFA 79.”
On “TUF 27,” Diamond picked up a second-round submission win over Dulani Perry, but was stopped by Jay Cucciniello in his next fight in the semifinal round. Still, he got a UFC shot at the TUF 27 Finale in July 2018, but dropped a majority decision to Bryce Mitchell.
Diamond, a former D-1 wrestler who trains at the famed Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Calif., rebounded in May in his promotional debut with a unanimous decision win over Jon Neal in the LFA 66 main event. Six of his 10 career wins have been by stoppage.
Barbosa, from Brazil, is a protege of former UFC light heavyweight champion and current Bellator standout Lyoto Machida. In his promotional debut at LFA 63, he took a unanimous decision from Cameron Graves with UFC president Dana White looking on. He followed that up with a first-round TKO over Nate Jennerman at LFA 68 in May. The win was his seventh straight.
