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TOTAL NUMBER OF LFA FIGHTS: 577
TOTAL NUMBER OF LFA EVENTS: 67
The Legacy Fighting Alliance on Friday planted its flag in Utah for the first time and brought with it a card that did not disappoint the fans. LFA 66 featured the first gogoplata in promotional history, a lightning-quick spinning backfist knockout and a longtime veteran who left his gloves in the center of the cage.
MOW THE ‘0’ DOWN: Tyler Diamond ejected Jon Neal from the ranks of the unbeaten by capturing a thrilling decision in the main event. This marked the second time Neal had ever gone the distance.
FAREWELL TO THE PEOPLE’S WARRIOR: By retiring after a split decision loss to William Macario, Joshua Burkman said goodbye to the sport after a 16-year career. With 19 appearances in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and another five in the World Series of Fighting, he has beaten the likes of Jon Fitch, Aaron Simpson, Gerald Harris and Josh Neer across 28 pro victories. One of his most notable wins came when he put Fitch to sleep with a guillotine choke at WSOF 3 in 2013; that 41-second win still stands as the fourth-fastest submission in WSOF-Professional Fighters League history. Burkman is also one of 12 UFC fighters to ever knock out an opponent with a slam, having done so against Sam Morgan at “The Ultimate Fighter 2” Finale in 2005. At 22 seconds, it remains the quickest slam knockout in UFC history.
WHAT’S THE ONE SUBMISSION I KNOW?: Andrew Tenneson tapped Westin Wilson with a first-round gogoplata, scoring the first submission of its type in LFA history. Across major promotions, the unusual gogoplata maneuver has only been seen at Pride Fighting Championships Shockwave 2006 and Pride 33, Dream 4 and Bellator Birmingham.
EMERGING EMILIO: Emilio Trevino improved his unbeaten record to 5-0 by picking up a decision win over Joe Rodriguez. With their bout taking place in the 205-pound division, 12 percent of all LFA light heavyweight bouts have reached the scorecards.
HUNTING SEASON: After pushing his undefeated record to 6-0 with a decision victory over L.J. Schulz, Hunter Azure has finished four of those six fights before the final bell.
SUPER MACHO MAN: In scoring a spinning backfist knockout of Zac Cavender in 48 seconds, Kenneth Seegrist picked up the second spinning backfist finish in LFA history. Both finishes in the LFA with that strike have come in the first minute of the first round, with Kailan Hill earning one in 11 seconds at LFA 54.
‘TY’ CLOBBER: Jered Gwerder knocked out Marco Sanchez with a head kick 72 seconds into the first round. The knockout was the third-fastest head kick knockout in LFA history, behind only Dominick Reyes’ starching of Jordan Powell in 53 seconds at LFA 13 and Curtis Millender’s finishing of Matthew Frincu in 38 seconds at LFA 24.
TOUCHED HIM WITH THE KICK: Gwerder’s knockout of Sanchez via head kick came in the first professional bout on the card. No pro fighter had ever kicked off an LFA event with that kind of knockout.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into LFA 66, the promotion had never traveled to Utah (66 events), Rodriguez had never fought beyond the second round (13 fights) and Bobby King had never lost on the scorecards (eight fights).
Sherdog contributing editor Jay Pettry is an attorney and a statistician. Writing about MMA since he started studying the “Eminem Curse” in 2012 and working for Vice Sports and Combat Docket along the way, he put together many fight result and entrance music databases to better study the sport. You can find him on twitter at @jaypettry.