LAS VEGAS – LFA CEO Ed Soares recently announced details about the promotion’s debut event in Kentucky. The main event and co-main event of LFA 160 will feature a pair of interim title fights in the bantamweight and middleweight divisions. These interim opportunities became available as the promotion awaits the return of its sitting champions Muin Gafurov and Lucas Fernando. LFA 160 will be the first LFA event to take place in the Bluegrass State. This will also be the 28th state that the promotion has visited.
LFA 160 takes place Friday, June 16 at the Owensboro Sportscenter in Owensboro, Kentucky. The main event will feature an interim bantamweight title fight between top contenders John “Hollywood” Sweeney and Allan “Mini” Begosso. Then in the co-main event, Dylan “The Mindless Hulk” Budka meets Azamat “Kingpin” Bekoev for the interim middleweight title. The entire main card will be available worldwide on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET.
“We are excited to bring a championship doubleheader to Kentucky,” stated Soares. “John Sweeney is a Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson protege, and Allan Begosso is one of the most feared knockout artists in the bantamweight division. Then in the co-main event, we will have rising prospect Dylan Budka from nearby Ohio face off against Russian standout Azamat Bekoev at middleweight. The world will be watching on the third Friday in June, when we bring a pair of interim world title fights to the Bluegrass State at LFA 160.”
Tickets for “LFA 160: Sweeney vs. Begosso” are available for purchase through OwensboroTickets.com.
Sweeney (12-3) is a Karate black belt and protege of UFC star “Wonderboy” Thompson. The South Carolinian is known as “Hollywood,” as he possesses the same dynamic striking prowess and star qualities that has carved out a legendary career for his mentor. Sweeney began his own career by winning his first two professional bouts for the LFA all the way back at LFA 8 and LFA 17 in 2017. However, he really made his mark after returning to the promotion in 2022. After re-signing with the LFA, Sweeney defeated LFA standout Ricardo Dias in the co-main event of LFA 137. He then continued his success in January by upsetting seven-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Ary Farias in the main event of LFA 150. The flashy karateka now looks to add LFA gold to his impressive fight résumé.
Begosso (7-2-1) also has a long and successful history in the LFA after signing with the promotion in 2020. The Brazilian dynamo made an immediate impact by handing the highly touted Sean McPadden the first loss of his career. The win came by knockout in just 48 seconds of their contest at LFA 90 and earned him a nomination for “Knockout of the Year” in the LFA Fans’ Choice Awards. Begosso would then showcase his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills by submitting Kyrgyz prospect Samarbek Sabyrzhan Uulu at LFA 107. That win earned him a title fight against Richie Palencia at LFA 119, but he dropped a narrow decision. “Mini” would bounce back with another LFA Fans’ Choice Awards “Knockout of the Year” nominated performance at LFA 135 and now looks to make good on his second shot at an LFA title.
The co-main event of LFA 160 will feature an interim middleweight title fight between two of the division’s top prospects as Budka (5-1) and Bekoev (15-3) vie to become the LFA’s 10th middleweight champion. The winner of Budka vs. Bekoev will face the sitting champion Fernando in a title unification bout later this year.
Budka hails from Findlay, Ohio and will be traveling to the nearby Ohio Valley in Kentucky in search of his first world title. The American has been dominant in that quest with a perfect 3-0 record for the promotion. He will face a Russian standout who was dominant in his LFA debut, which took place this past February in the main event of LFA 152. Now the surging American and Russian contenders will meet with a title on the line in the co-main event of LFA 160.
