LFA 189: Kuziutina vs. Ellen is a mixed martial arts event promoted by Legacy Fighting Alliance that will take place on August 2, 2024, at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca, New York, United States.
Fight Card
Main Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Women's Strawweight Natalia Kuziutina (ic) vs. Bruna Ellen Interim LFA Women's Strawweight Championship
Lightweight James Gonzalez vs. Ilyor Bakhtiyar Uulu
Catchweight (140 lb) Ashiek Ajim vs. Micaias Ureña
Middleweight Jake Woodley vs. Marco Hutch
Heavyweight Alex Marro vs. Matt Adams
Catchweight (180 lb) Everet Desilets vs. Marc-Ari Lewis
Preliminary Card (LFA Fight Network)
Women's Strawweight Cristina Brador vs. Aline David
Featherweight Michael Pino vs. Soufiane Kabil
Amateur Card
Welterweight Melvin Jovel vs. Xander White
Featherweight Luke Martin vs. Devon Coates
Background
LFA will return to New York in August with a Championship Headliner at LFA 189. In the main event, the interim women’s strawweight title will be on the line. This will be the ninth women’s 115-pound title fight in LFA history. LFA 189 will be the sixth LFA event to take place in the Empire State.
LFA 189 takes place Friday, August 2nd at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino in Salamanca, New York, which is located 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border in western New York. The main event will feature an interim women’s strawweight title fight when interim champion Natasha “Kuzya” Kuziutina defends her title against longtime Bellator star Bruna Ellen.
“We are excited to bring another world-class title fight to New York at LFA 189,” stated LFA CEO Ed Soares. “We have an incredible fan base in the Northeast that attend our events in New York and we are excited to debut at the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casino, which is a world-class venue in western New York. The venue will now host two of our biggest international stars in the main event. Natasha Kuziutina is a three-time Olympian in Judo and the first woman from Russia to win an LFA title. She will defend her interim women’s strawweight title against Brazilian standout and former Bellator star Bruna Ellen. The winner will get a chance to unify the title against current champion Rose Conceição later this year depending on the outcome of her fight on Dana White’s Contender Series this summer.”
Kuziutina (5-1) ended last year with the biggest win of her career at LFA 173, which was the LFA’s year-end show in Las Vegas. She did this by becoming the first and only woman to defeat five-time IBJJF champion and then reigning LFA Fans’ Choice Awards: Female Fighter of the Year, Giovanna Canuto. The win earned “Kuzya” the LFA interim women’s strawweight title, which made her the first woman from Russia to win an LFA title. Prior to that, Kuziutina had transitioned to MMA as the most decorated judoka to ever compete in the strawweight division of MMA. She has represented Russia at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 (took place in 2021) Summer Olympics. It was at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she earned an Olympic bronze medal. Kuziutina also won a silver medal at the World Judo Championships in 2019 and has won five gold medals at the European Judo Championships. She now looks to become just the second LFA women’s strawweight champion to successfully defend her title.
Ellen (7-4) will be the woman challenging for the title after spending the past eight years competing as one of the most respected names in the Bellator promotion. In that time, she fought for the promotion nine times. In fact, a tenth fight for the promotion was set to take place last year against Keri Melendez, the wife of Gilbert Melendez, but was canceled when Melendez withdrew with an injury. The popular Brazilian is widely known for her gameness as she has fought some of the biggest names in the sport, including bouts against former Bellator champions Ilima-Lei Macfarlane and Juliana Velasquez. She also holds notable victories in the promotion over Ilara Joanne, Desiree Yanez, Elina Kallionidou, and Veta Arteaga. More impressively is the fact she gained this success and notoriety, while competing in a division 10-pounds heavier than her natural weight class due to flyweight being the lightest weight division that Bellator offered. Ellen is now excited to challenge for an LFA strawweight title at LFA 189.
So in short. An interim LFA Women's Strawweight Championship bout between interim champion (also 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in judo) Natalia Kuziutina and Bruna Ellen is expected to headline the event. They were originally scheduled to meet at LFA 185 in June 2024, but Kuziutina forced to withdrew in last minute due to illness.
