Written by Danny Jones, @Tidy_MMA on X
During a recent interview on 247 Combat Sports Podcast, Hunter Homistek asked LFA CEO Ed Soares what excited him the most about the fight card for LFA’s highly anticipated return to Louisville, Kentucky with LFA 210 on June 13th 2025. In response, the LFA CEO stated “Well I mean I can tell you this. With the main event that Lance Lawrence put on last year, I mean who cannot be excited about seeing Lance Lawrence coming out there and fighting again? To me, that’s like… a storybook story, it’s like a fairytale sort of thing!”
Of course, Ed Soares refers to the staggering events that preceded and unfolded at LFA’s inaugural Louisville event – LFA 180. Just five days prior to the event, LFA flyweight Kevin Fernandez – who was set to compete against Igor Siqueira in the main event of LFA 180 – was struck by a car whilst out jogging. Consequent to Fernandez’s withdrawal, the main card matchup between Lance Lawrence and Landry Ward was promoted to the main event.
Promotional debutant Lance Lawrence, who was the only Louisvillian competing on the main card of LFA 180, entered the matchup against Landry Ward as a +375 underdog, yet showcased a phenomenal striking prowess to earn a deserved unanimous decision victory. With a combined 477 strikes thrown by both athletes across all three rounds, current UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa, on commentary duties, described the contest as “unarguably, without a doubt, the best fight I’ve ever called”, to which LFA commentator Ron Kruck added “It’s up there for me too”. The bout was subsequently nominated for Fight of the Year at LFA’s Fans’ Choice Awards 2024.
In a powerful post-bout interview with Michael Chiesa, Lance addressed the Kentucky Exposition Center’s Broadbent Arena, stating “Man, I can’t tell you how many times I saw me being right here talking to you at the end of the fight, and it’s really just crazy – the power of your mind, what you can achieve. [Landry Ward’s] a freaking beast man, I knew that going in the camp, and I was the biggest underdog on the card. Look at me now!”.
Perhaps Ed Soares himself summarised that incredible night best in a recent interview with Cory Bosemer of Bosemer Media LLC, stating “If I was gonna write a story, it couldn’t have been better to have the last fight of the night be that fight. I mean the arena left electric with an incredible fight that it was, and having the local guy winning the way that he won”.
“The after-fight speech was from the heart” Lance admits, reflecting on LFA 180. “I can’t say I didn’t practice it… I practiced my speech – I knew what I was gonna say. You get up there, my country accent comes out and starts coming from the heart. You say silly things when you are up there because you’ve got so much adrenaline and stuff going on. I’m happy with it. It was a great day. It was definitely like a little Cinderella story”.
Just shy of seven months later, the 6’1” featherweight continued his sensational year with a statement performance against Jacob Bohn at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York at LFA 194; Lance’s sophomore promotional bout. Entering the contest as a -260 favourite, “The Tornado” – a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu – submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt and 26-professional bout veteran Bohn with an incredible modified guillotine. Earning the 31-year-old a deserved Performance of the Night bonus, the submission was subsequently nominated for Submission of the Year at LFA’s Fans’ Choice Awards 2024.
To say 2024 revivified Lance’s MMA career would be a disservice to his prior accolades. After all, the Louisvillian previously produced a spirited performance on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2019 against an 8-0 opponent who missed weight by 6.5lbs. That bout followed a remarkable 13-fight win-streak composed of an 8-0 amateur record and 5-0 professional record. In his second professional bout, Lance became the first athlete to defeat Jonathan Pearce in professional competition – Pearce, of course, would later earn a contract on Dana White’s Contender Series, and compete in the UFC for half-a-decade.
The manner of Lance’s performances in the LFA octagon across 2024, however, have reinforced his reputation as an authentically entertaining prospect. Indeed, his collective nominations for Male Fighter of the Year, Submission of the Year, and Fight of the Year at LFA’s Fans’ Choice Awards 2024 on the back of just two LFA bouts emphasise the impact he made with his performances.
“It’s definitely brought a lot more attention on me” Lance says. “I was real hot before I got on Contender Series, and then you know I hit a slump in my career, and that took a lot of attention away. But now that I’m fighting for a huge organization like LFA, and I’ve done so well for them, it’s just different now. I mean my hometown’s got billboards of me all over the place as big as a building right now! There are flyers all over the place. People are hitting me up like ‘Dude, I saw you on the billboard downtown/at the fairground’. Yeah, it’s pretty cool man”.
With Owensboro Sportscenter in Owensboro hosting LFA 160 in 2023, and the Broadbent Arena in Louisville hosting LFA 180 in 2024, LFA marks a third consecutive year of events in the Bluegrass State with its return to Louisville on June 13th 2025. For the first time, however, the promotion visits the iconic Freedom Hall with LFA 210 – the same venue an 18-year-old Muhammad Ali made his professional boxing debut on October 29th 1960, against Tunney Hunsaker.
“The Tornado” was originally scheduled to contest 12-1-1 Brazilian prospect Willian Lima at LFA 210. With Lima withdrawing from the bout due to injury however, Lance now contests another formidable opponent in Javier Reyes, a former LFA interim featherweight championship challenger holding a 20-5 professional record. Speaking of his Colombian opponent in a recent interview with Eddie Law of Cageside Press, Lance described the matchup as “a huge fight”, later adding “Javier comes to fight, he comes to win, and I’m coming to stop everything he’s bringing – I think [it has the] makings for a great fight”.
Topping a stacked 17-bout fight card, Lawrence-vs-Reyes serves as the main event for LFA 210. Together with his albeit impromptu main-event at LFA 180, Lance has headlined every LFA event held in Louisville, Kentucky – a city in which the Louisvillian has never lost a professional or amateur bout.
“I don’t feel like I deserve it, but I feel like I earned it” Lance explains. “I love having LFA back in Louisville, and I love having that slot as the main event now. Not just like an accidental ‘your bumped’. It’s like ‘no, we scheduled it for you’. My main opponent dropped out halfway through camp. We got a new opponent, just as tough, even more experienced – he’s been in there. I feel like it’s a really great [opportunity] to show the world, to show the UFC I can handle these guys. I’m ready”.
In a recent interview with 3KO MMA, Ed Soares spoke of the tremendous reception LFA continues to receive from the Louisville community, stating “The community has welcomed us with open arms… It’s just been really overwhelming and very pleasant to be coming back here, and having the support of the local community, which is extremely important to us”.
This incredible relationship was perfectly captured May 12th 2025, where courtesy of valued LFA partner Eddie Donaldson, Louisville’s Goodwood Whiskey Row hosted an exclusive meet and greet. Open to the public and free to attend, the event gave locals an opportunity to meet a number of special guests, including LFA CEO Ed Soares, Louisville Sports Commission President Greg Fante, KY Venues President & CEO David Beck, and Tapology’s #1 ranked featherweight in Kentucky – Lance Lawrence.
Meet & Greet at Goodwood Whiskey Row, Louisville, Kentucky, 12th May 2025.
Pictured L-R: Lance’s coach Scott Smith, LFA CEO Ed Soares, Lance’s training partner Todd Pickett, Lance Lawrence, Eddie Donaldson.
“I’m not big on meet and greets and stuff, but I know it’s a part of the process – it’s a part of my job” Lance admits. “So, I was like I’m gonna show up, I’m gonna do my part for LFA. They’re doing so much for me, they let me headline in my hometown, I’m gonna do whatever I can for LFA. And it was actually a great experience. I got to really talk to Ed [Soares], and man that guy’s so cool. I love LFA, I love fighting for LFA. There’s no one I’d rather fight for than LFA except for the UFC, and I believe that they’re my ticket to the UFC. I’m not going anywhere else. Until UFC calls me, I’m gonna be an LFA guy, because they treat their fighters good. [They] put on an excellent promotion. Just everything, everything about the LFA – I don’t want to fight for anyone else”.
The author extends his utmost gratitude to Lance Lawrence and Jamie McClintock for making this article possible.
