By Danny Jones, @Tidy_MMA on X
Throughout the years, athletes competing on Dana White’s Contender Series have often attributed their incentive to the pursuit of a dream, the yearning for a legacy, or the desire to become a UFC champion. Former LFA heavyweight champion Thomas Petersen stated “my goal is to win a world title one day”. Former LFA middleweight champion Ozzy Diaz cited “I want to be the best in the world”. LFA alumni Ignacio Bahamondes asserted “I’m here to be a legend”.
Forge Fight Club’s Phil Latu, however, declared a unique motivation in his Dana White’s Contender Series preview interview – “my goal is to become the most dangerous man alive”. Imperturbable in his delivery, the Tongan-American imparted intrigue and daunt in equal measure with this revelation.
“For me, to be the most dangerous is something I want to be recognized as” Latu explains to LFA.com. “It [has] a different ring to it, and it resonates with me and who I am in nature. We have champions who train for winning, and we have certain individuals who train for destruction. I believe to be dangerous is to be destructive by nature. It just aligns with who I’ve always been”.
Within the realm of mixed martial arts, the 34-year-old has unequivocally evidenced this destructive nature. All but one of his seven professional victories have ended via KO/TKO, with LFA alumni Odell Pantin, Kimo Luis, Maurice Morris, and Dylan Potter all stopped by Latu inside the distance. Only 6-0 Joe Taylor has survived three rounds with “The Doctor” – a bout Latu won via unanimous decision on his promotional debut at LFA 202.
Now in pursuit of an eighth professional victory, the 6’2” Minnesotan returns on August 15th 2025 in the main event of LFA 214 – a matchup with Lucas Fernando for the vacant LFA Light Heavyweight Championship. The first championship bout of his professional career, Latu is the first US-born athlete to compete for the promotion’s 205lbs championship since Josh Silveira and Tee Cummins contested the championship at LFA 115, on September 24th 2021.
The contest between Latu and Fernando presents a fascinating convergence of athletes who most recently competed at weight classes adjacent to light heavyweight; Latu fought Joe Taylor at heavyweight at LFA 202, whilst Fernando contested Pedro Oliveira at middleweight at LFA 191. Factoring the official weigh-in results of those respective bouts, Latu and Fernando were 51.2lbs apart in their most recent professional contests. In essence, Latu and Fernando enter LFA 214 from opposite ends of the weight spectrum.
“I have what I have, and he has what he has” Latu explains. ‘In terms of do I think I have an advantage? I believe that we both have our advantages and disadvantages… I think he’s gonna learn a different lesson when he comes into [light] heavyweight, and I’m gonna have to learn the pace, because he’s had faster paces at middleweight. I have fought at middleweight before, and that pace is different. Then I realise that performance is different. At middleweight, I didn’t hit as hard. I’ve broken both my hands in my fights at light heavyweight and heavyweight because of the power that I throw at when I find my target. I don’t throw hard right away, but when I see it, then I throw all of it – and then you’re sleeping”.
Make no mistake, despite an extensively showcased striking proficiency, Latu is not a one-dimensional athlete. Indeed, the 34-year-old evidenced his wrestling potential at LFA 202 with two takedowns of Joe Taylor in the last 122-seconds of the third round. Speaking with LFA Director of Public Relations Carley Connor in the wake of his LFA 202 bout, the Tongan-American assured this wrestling display was “just the tip of the iceberg”, adding “I want you to expect more wrestling, but also I want you to expect more knockouts too, through the wrestling”.
Training out of High-Altitude Martial Arts in Denver, Colorado under the tutelage of coaches Abdul Razak Alhassan, Cody Donovan, and Danny Chacon, the Forge Fight Club athlete credits the development of his wrestling to his training partners; UFC heavyweight & RFA alum Curtis Blaydes, ONE Fighting Championship heavyweight & LFA alum Ben Tynan, UFC & LFA alum Zac Pauga, and LFA alumni Ty Flores.
“I’m just overall grateful for all my teammates” Latu says. “Working with them, it’s been perfect – a perfect storm for me because I had to weather through learning how to wrestle, do some BJJ, because I am primarily a striker, and I’m a knockout artist… the grit that wrestlers have is kinda crazy, and the pace that they go at is also crazy. I feel that being able to learn these things and then use them in a fight will be like something that nobody’s seen before – a striker that can actually grapple in the heavyweight or light heavyweight division”.
Marking the twentieth LFA event held at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, LFA 214 will host the ninth LFA Light Heavyweight Championship contest in promotion history (excluding two interim championship bouts). With victory on August 15th, Latu will become the eighth undisputed LFA light heavyweight champion.
Capturing the LFA Light Heavyweight Championship would certainly bode well for one in pursuit of the UFC. After all, former champions Ryan Spann, Julius Anglickas, and Bruno Lopes all subsequently earned an opportunity on Dana White’s Contender Series, whilst former champions Fabio Cherant and Uran Satybaldiev were signed outright by the UFC. Rodolfo Bellato also earned his second shot on Dana White’s Contender Series after becoming the interim LFA light heavyweight champion.
For an athlete in pursuit of becoming “the most dangerous man alive”, however, the significance of securing the LFA Light Heavyweight Championship extends beyond the opportunities that may follow. Rather, the accomplishment represents a deeper, more personal victory.
“To me, it’s just me defeating myself – the past version of myself that I’ve always had to fight” Latu explains. “That’s what all this is to me. It’s a belt, that’s great. Being a champion, that’s great. Being the champion of yourself over and over and over, just defeating your past version and trying to recreate who you are, is probably the most important thing there is for me”.
The author extends his utmost gratitude to Phil Latu, Jamie McClintock, and Gina Marcello for making this article possible.
