This Friday, the Legacy Fighting Alliance takes over Arizona for LFA 196. In the main event, two of the top bantamweight prospects in the U.S. battle it out to inch themselves closer to company gold. The hometown hero, Kasey Tanner, will have his hands full against the Dominican Republic’s Micaias Ureña, who is riding a massive five fight win streak. In one of the promotion’s last cards of the year, the Grand Canyon State will have plenty of solid bouts on deck for fights fans in attendance and around the world.
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Dissecting Kasey Tanner
Kasey Tanner
Record: 7-1
Age: 32
Height: 5’7″
Reach: 69.0″
Since losing a unanimous decision to Jean Matsumoto on Dana White’s Contender Series last year, the formerly undefeated Tanner rebounded with a slick first round submission at LFA 188 in July over Thiago Belo. The defeat was the first for the Illinois native of not only his professional career, but also his entire combat sports legacy, having gone a perfect 5-0 as an amateur.
With just two of his seven wins going to the judge’s scorecards, Tanner is a tried and true finisher, having compiled an almost even amount of submission and knockout victories. He even holds the rare distinction of ending a fight with an uncommon suloev stretch, accomplishing said move in just his second professional bout.
Looking at Micaias Ureña
Micaias Ureña
Record: 9-2
Age: 29
Height: 5’9”
Reach: 70.0”
Making his LFA main event debut, Micaias Ureña brings with him a ton of hype into the evening’s headlining attraction. Being the proud owner of a stupendous highlight-reel of impressive stoppages. This includes four first round knockouts, all of which ended in less than three minutes. In fact, he is currently riding the momentum of an 11 second finish of Ashiek Ajim from his last appearance in the LFA cage back in August.
The striking enthusiast from the Dominican Republic also has experience competing in high stakes fights, as “The Pink Ranger” had previously captured the Fighting Force Promotions Bantamweight Championship back in 2020 in his home country.
Prediction: Micaias Ureña by decision
If it’s one thing Ureña has made clear over the course of his journey as a mixed martial artist, it’s that he is always looking to put his opponent’s lights out as violently as possible. However, his latest adversary, Tanner, has shown to be an incredibly durable competitor, suffering his only setback as a professional by decision. Still, while he hasn’t been finished as of yet, the older man will surely have a hard time getting past the sheer power of the Dominican. For all his toughness, the damage brought on by Ureña throughout the match will likely lead to Tanner becoming too hurt and tired to mount any kind of significant offense as the fight goes into the championship rounds.
