LFA 245 wrap: Ansar Khamzaev stays unbeaten and takes the vacant lightweight title with a first-round D’Arce, and Alberth Bahamondes needs 60 seconds

The finish was more impressive for who it came against. Prescendo arrived 12-3 with twice as many professional fights as his opponent and a 2-1 record in LFA, the kind of experienced veteran who tends to drag a young prospect into deep water. Khamzaev never let it get there. He now moves to 7-0, with five of his previous six wins having ended inside the distance and four of them under the LFA banner, and adding a title-fight submission to that record is exactly the kind of result that gets noticed by bigger promotions. For Prescendo, it is a fourth career loss and a setback in his bid for LFA gold.

The co-main event was the only fight on the main card to reach the judges. Featherweight Tom Picciano, a veteran of the CFFC circuit, beat Santos Verdinez by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards, in a close fight that rewarded his consistency over three rounds.

The fastest result of the night came at welterweight. Alberth Bahamondes knocked out Joey Hart at exactly one minute of the first round, the kind of finish that travels quickly on highlight reels. At light heavyweight, Wildemar Santos submitted Sharaf Davlatmurodov with a rear-naked choke, and on the prelims, Isaiah Parks stopped Delsin Gray with punches from mount at 2:13 of the first round, also at 205 pounds.

LFA has built its reputation as one of the sport’s most reliable feeder promotions, a place where fighters earn their call-ups by finishing fights. Friday’s nine-fight card, broadcast on Vice TV with prelims on YouTube, did its part. The biggest beneficiary is Khamzaev, who leaves Niagara Falls with an unbeaten record, a championship belt and a performance that will put him on the radar of the promotions that watch LFA most closely.