Independent MMA journalismFollow the dispatch
CageDispatch.

The stories
behind the fight.

News2 minute read

Ansar Khamzaev submits Juliano Prescendo to win LFA's vacant lightweight title

The unbeaten prospect finished Juliano Prescendo by first-round submission at LFA 245 on Oct. 30 in Niagara Falls, New York, filling a belt that had sat open since the promotion's previous two lightweight champions each left to sign with the UFC.

Editorial deskPublished · Updated
5 sources
A tall skyscraper hotel tower with a blue and green glass facade in a stepped pyramid pattern near its base, photographed from street level against a clear sky.
The Seneca Niagara hotel tower in Niagara Falls, New York, photographed in 2012. Its adjoining event center hosted LFA 245, including the vacant lightweight title fight between Ansar Khamzaev and Juliano Prescendo, on October 30, 2026. Display crop and resize applied.Buffalutheran / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0

Ansar Khamzaev submitted Juliano Prescendo in the first round to win Legacy Fighting Alliance's vacant lightweight title in the main event of LFA 245 on Oct. 30 at the Seneca Niagara Event Center in Niagara Falls, New York, according to the promotion. Khamzaev, previously unbeaten in six professional fights, finished Prescendo with a choke at 3:20 of the opening round, a result independently confirmed by Sherdog's record for the fighter, which also lists his new mark at 7-0.

The title sat open because LFA's two previous championship claimants both moved up to the UFC. Interim champion Jefferson "Toddynho" Nascimento, who had defended that belt twice, signed with the UFC and made his octagon debut on June 27 against Tahir Abdullayev. His UFC athlete profile still credits him as a former LFA interim lightweight champion. Linear champion Richie Miranda left the same way, reaching the UFC roster and debuting at UFC Vegas 120 on August 8, where he lost a unanimous decision to Manoel Sousa, according to a recap of that card. Neither fighter defended the LFA title again before departing, leaving the promotion to match its next two contenders for the vacancy.

Khamzaev entered the title fight unbeaten in just six professional bouts and had never previously fought for a championship. Prescendo carried three losses but was considered the more tested of the two; LFA CEO Ed Soares said in the promotion's pre-fight announcement that Prescendo "has been on a tear and is ready to prove he belongs at the top of the division." Khamzaev's quick finish instead ended Prescendo's own run before he could test that claim.

LFA has positioned itself as a developmental pipeline into the UFC, and Nascimento's and Miranda's signings extend a pattern the promotion has leaned on to market its own title fights, even when it means losing champions mid-reign. Khamzaev now holds a title in a division LFA has twice had to refill this year because the UFC signed away the beltholder.

The source file

Reporting & references

Follow the original reporting and records behind this article.

  1. Legacy Fighting AllianceLFA Brings Championship Bout To New York In October
  2. UFCJefferson Nascimento athlete profile
  3. Cageside PressUFC Vegas 120: Hard-Hitting Manoel Sousa Prevails Over Richie Miranda
  4. Legacy Fighting AllianceLegacy Fighting Alliance homepage, LFA 245 results
  5. SherdogAnsar Khamzaev fighter record

By the Cage Dispatch editorial desk. Read our editorial policy or report a correction.

Keep reading.

Back to the desk ↗