LAS VEGAS – LFA CEO Ed Soares announced that the promotion will kick off its busy fall schedule in Minnesota in September. The main event of LFA 168 will feature an All-Minnesota superfight between the top two homegrown talents from the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”
LFA 168 will be the 19th LFA event to take place in the state.
LFA 168 takes place Friday, September 22 at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The main event will feature a bantamweight showdown when University of Minnesota All-American wrestler “Merciless” Mitch McKee faces fellow top Minnesota prospect Sean “Lucky” McPadden. The entire main card will be available worldwide on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET.
“We are excited to kick off our fall schedule with a high-stakes headliner in Minnesota between the top two prospects in the state at LFA 168,” stated Soares. “Mitch McKee and Sean McPadden are Minnesota’s top homegrown talents and will battle for state bragging rights and a place at the top of the bantamweight division. McKee is an All-American wrestler from the University of Minnesota, while McPadden started winning fights for us as an amateur eight years ago in the RFA. Now they are looking to stand alone as the top prospect in the state. Our amazing fight fans in Minnesota will be out in full force when McKee and McPadden square off at Mystic Lake on September 22.”
Tickets for “LFA 168: McKee vs. McPadden” are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.com.
McKee (4-0) is one of the most decorated wrestlers to ever compete for the NCAA Division I wrestling powerhouse program at the University of Minnesota. Likewise, he is now considered one of the most decorated collegiate wrestlers currently competing in professional MMA. During his time competing for the Golden Gophers, McKee was a one-time All-American, four-time NCAA National Qualifier, two-time U.S. Junior Freestyle Wrestling National Champion, and currently ranks 12th all-time for the program with 33 career pins. The man known as “Merciless” has been just as merciless in the octagon as he was on the mats.
In four career MMA bouts, he has finished all four of his opponents by knockout or technical knockout. That perfect 4-0 run includes three wins in the LFA and one in Bellator. McKee always comes prepared with his corner often consisting of fellow Golden Gopher legends Logan Storley and Gable Steveson. Storley competed for LFA before becoming a Bellator champion, and Steveson is a two-time NCAA Division I Wrestling National Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist in Wrestling.
McPadden (6-1) is a man that literally grew up inside the LFA octagon. In fact, he started competing for the promotion as an amateur, when he was just 20 years old in 2015. This was all the way back when the promotion was still called the RFA. McPadden won four amateur fights for the promotion, with two coming in the RFA, and his last two amateur fights coming after the merger for the LFA. Three of those four wins came via three different submission holds, and it became clear early on in his MMA career that he had a knack for the submission grappling aspect of the sport. That would carry over seamlessly once he turned pro at the end of 2018.
McPadden won his first three fights as a pro for the LFA, and four of his six wins have taken place inside the LFA octagon. More impressively, he has an identical 100 percent finishing rate to his instate-rival McKee. He also trains under Greg Nelson at The Academy MN. This is a man and gym that knows exactly the type of challenge a former Golden Gopher legend will pose to McPadden. That is because Nelson is the man that helped turn Brock Lesnar into a UFC champion.
The LFA 168 lineup includes:
MAIN CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 9 p.m. ET)
- Mitchell McKee vs. Sean McPadden
- Bobby Lee vs. Lucas Clay
- Alton Cunningham vs. Darian Weeks
- Kegan Gennrich vs. Donald Bush
- Collin Huckbody vs. Sean Fallon
- Quang Le vs. Sal Guerriero
