Written by Dylan Knostman
Legacy Fighting Alliance 186 goes down this Saturday, June 22nd at the Magness Center in the mile high city of Denver, Colorado. LFA has had a tremendous year, with this being their 12th event thus far. They have once again proven to be more than just regional promotion, as this is the 8th US state they have visited this year, while also hosting three events in Brazil. In the main event, long time US regional MMA veteran Chauncey Foxworth challenges reigning Middleweight Champion and Russian standout Azamat Bekoev. In the co-main event, Colorado based Bosnian Fighter Nejra Repp returns after her TKO finish of Whittany Pyles just three months ago, and takes on former Naiza FC flyweight champion Veronika Borisova. Also featured on this card, electric heavyweight prospect Stephen Asplund returns for his third fight of 2024, Colorado staple AJ Robb is back in action, and Dante Schiro makes his first return to the cage since his Bellator run.
Azamat Bekoev (17-3) vs Chauncey Foxworth (19-9) – LFA Middleweight Championship
In the main event, Louisiana based Chauncey Foxworth makes his LFA debut as he challenges Azamat Bekoev for the Middleweight title. Many thought Bekoev would be signed to the UFC after his first defense of the belt vs Lucas Fernando at LFA 173, but he did not receive the call so the Russian fighter returns to once again prove why he is worthy of the next level. Bekoev is a very strong wrestler, and has an extremely credentialed record fighting for organizations such as ACA and Octagon. Very large for the division, Bekoev typically employs forward pressure to control and wrestle his opponent, mixing in some ground and pound but sacrificing damage for control. On the other side, Foxworth has fought for just about every regional promotion you could think of, and most notably had a short stint with Bellator. A physical threat at the weight class, Foxworth often dominates lower level fighters with aggressive boxing, lowkicks, and relentless takedowns. He certainly relies more on athleticism and less on technique than Bekoev does with his wrestling, so this fight will be a matter of who can establish their pace and forward movement. Chauncey has a great gas tank and has gone five rounds before, so expect this fight to go late and the fighter with the better long term cardio to win.
Pick: Bekoev by Decision
Nejra Repp (3-1) vs Veronika Borizova (5-0)
We move to the women’s flyweight division for the co-main event, with hometown fighter Nejra Repp welcoming another Russian prospect Veronika Borizova to the LFA cage. Nejra Repp is a physical force, oftentimes dominating her opponents by strength and aggression, as was showcased in her last fight vs Whittany Pyles, in which she took her down and ground and pounded Pyles for the finish in round 1. The one blemish on her record came the last time she fought in Colorado vs Shannon Clarke, who recently received an invite to Dana White’s Contender Series after capturing the LFA flyweight title earlier this year. This loss was mostly due to the extremely similar skill sets Clarke and Repp both have, and this fight may be a similar story. Clarke dominated Repp physically, and won the decision. Borizova is coming from the top promotion in Kazakhstan, Naiza FC, in which she was undefeated and won the Naiza Flyweight title before signing with the LFA. An extremely strong wrestler in her own right, she has submission skills on the ground and is violent with her ground and pound. Her most notable victory is over Sora Rakhmonova, the younger sister of UFC star Shavkat Rakhmonov. This fight will tell us a lot about Repp’s potential vs higher level competition, and Borizova could be one to watch as a future title contender for the LFA.
Pick: Borizova by Submission
Stephen Asplund (3-0) vs Denzel Freeman (4-1)
The son of former MMA fighter Kevin “Concrete” Asplund, Stephen Asplund has begun to make a name for himself this year in the LFA cage. He has two wins this year, and is looking for a third against Denzel Freeman, who makes his first appearance since his short stint with the PFL. Asplund has primarily operated as a striker in his young career, showing a variety of kicks, good footwork and cage craft. Freeman is a southpaw who almost looks exclusively to run his opponent onto his left hand and left kick, oftentimes backing up most of the fight waiting for the opponent to chase him. Asplund has faced southpaws in his career thus far, and showed a very educated approach with good body kicks, a sharp left hook over the top and great lead foot awareness in the stances. Freeman lost to Isiah Pinson in his last fight, allowing Pinson to time his counters and build his offense throughout the fight, which led to the decision loss. If Freeman wants to win this fight, he’s going to need a significantly improved gameplan and understanding of the open side matchup, or rely on his wrestling more than prior fights. This is a quality fight for the heavyweight division, and whoever wins will be poised for a great next opportunity.
Pick: Asplund by Decision
David Mgoyan (3-0) vs AJ Robb (6-3)
This is an interesting fight, as one half of the matchup has virtually no information about them available. David Mgoyan is a Russian fighter with a 3-0 record who trains at American Top Team, but outside of that there is little to be known about the soon to debut featherweight fighter. He is taking on AJ Robb, who is looking to bounce back after his decision loss to Isaac Thompson in his last fight. Robb is a stocky and explosive fighter, and can dominate lesser athletes in the grappling department and has shown great power in his strikes as well. He can be a bit of a front runner, but his only losses have come to high level opposition. Robb lives and trains in Denver, so if he can get ahead in the first round here there’s a good chance he can take this fight in front of his home crowd.
Pick: Robb by Decision
Benjamin Bennett (5-1) vs Luis Iniguez (6-4)
Benjamin Bennett returns to the LFA cage after 2 years, following his loss to now UFC fighter Trey Waters. What jumps off the page about “Mr. Alaska” is his 17-4 amateur record, and has fought for the IMMAF, an international amateur MMA organization that hosts global tournaments. In his last amateur fight he defeated the now Ares FC welterweight champion Axel Sola. Bennett has been an active MMA competitor since 2014, he was even scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev early in his pro career. An extremely well rounded fighter, he is a tremendous wrestler with great timing on his shots, and he loves his left hook after he squares his opponents hips with level change feints. He is taking on regional veteran Luis Iniguez, who is coming off a loss at UFL 3 in Arizona last August. A member of American Top Team Portland, Iniguez has fought for Bellator as well. This is a showcase bout for Bennett who will look to prove why he is a top prospect at welterweight.
Pick: Bennett by KO
Other Fighters to Watch
Elsewhere on the card, 9-5 Bellator veteran Dante Schiro takes on the well traveled 14-10 Austin Jones, Combate Global veteran Carlos Calderon makes his LFA debut, and many other exciting bouts line this tremendous card. You can watch the prelims on YouTube around 4pm PST/7 PM EST and the main card goes live on UFC Fight Pass at 7 PM PST/10 PM EST.
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