{"id":170131,"date":"2025-09-26T10:09:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T10:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/170131\/"},"modified":"2025-09-26T10:09:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T10:09:07","slug":"lfa-218-brings-excitement-to-tenerife-saturday-afternoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/170131\/","title":{"rendered":"LFA 218 Brings Excitement To Tenerife Saturday Afternoon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baysangur Makaev<\/a> has been waiting for this kind of stage. On Sept. 27 in Tenerife, the 25-year-old lightweight prospect meets unbeaten Brazilian Jefferson Nascimento<\/a> for an interim title at LFA 218<\/a>\u2014the promotion\u2019s first European event, and a chance to push Spanish MMA\u2019s momentum into a new era.<\/p>\n

LFA 218 is Spain\u2019s Moment\u2014and Makaev\u2019s<\/p>\n

Spain is coming off its biggest breakthrough yet with Ilia Topuria\u2019s UFC title, and LFA 218 signals the next stage in the country\u2019s MMA rise.<\/p>\n

For Makaev, though, the focus stays narrow.<\/p>\n

\"Baysangur<\/a>Image: Legacy Fighting Alliance.<\/p>\n


\u201cEurope has been waiting for tournaments like this to come here,\u201d he told MMA Sucka. \u201cTenerife is a great place, but for me, it\u2019s not about the location, it\u2019s about the opponent and doing my job in the cage.\u201d<\/p>\n

LFA 218: The Other Corner: Jefferson \u201cTodynho\u201d Nascimento<\/p>\n

Nascimento enters LFA 218 11\u20130, fighting out of Renova\u00e7\u00e3o Fight Team (RFT) in Rio de Janeiro. His style is built on controlled pressure, quick entries to clinch, and finishing instincts on the mat. According to Tapology, his 11 professional wins are split evenly among knockouts, submissions, and decisions.<\/p>\n

Nascimento has kept a low profile heading into the biggest fight of his career, letting his record speak for itself. Starting in judo as a child, he\u2019s grown into one of Brazil\u2019s most promising prospects under the RFT banner.<\/p>\n

Recently, while already in Spain for fight week, Nascimento posted a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a title belt with the caption \u201cAnd Still.\u201d It was a clear nod of confidence as he prepares to defend his unbeaten record on LFA\u2019s European stage.<\/p>\n

LFA has spotlighted Nascimento as one of its \u201chot undefeated prospects,\u201d with fight-week promo material underscoring how close he may be to a UFC look if he keeps winning.<\/p>\n

Styles and Stakes Heading Into LFA 218<\/p>\n

Makaev believes pace and layered wrestling will be the difference:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll set the pace in the stand-up, and once I take the fight to the ground, I\u2019ll control and wear him down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nascimento\u2019s answers come from a more compact rhythm\u2014short, accurate punching into body locks and mat returns\u2014paired with calm decision-making late in rounds. On paper, it\u2019s pressure vs. composure, pace vs. grips.<\/p>\n

The LFA Pipeline Arrives in Europe for LFA 218<\/p>\n

Since 2017, Legacy Fighting Alliance has been one of MMA\u2019s premier springboards to the UFC, producing alumni such as Alex Pereira and Brandon Moreno.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpain marks our gateway into Europe\u2026 an exciting milestone for our portfolio, and just the first of many international opportunities ahead,\u201d said LFA CEO Ed Soares.<\/p>\n

Carley Connor, LFA\u2019s Director of Public Relations, highlighted the global momentum behind the Tenerife card:<\/p>\n

\u201cSeptember marks a huge milestone for us as our card in Spain will wrap up a month of international success for the brand. Once LFA 218 concludes we will have hosted 3 events on 3 different continents over the last 30 days!\u201d<\/p>\n

The promotion also enters Tenerife with momentum on the awards circuit, nominated for Best Promotion at the World MMA Awards.<\/a> Soares himself was shortlisted for Leading Man, alongside figures such as UFC president Dana White.<\/p>\n

LFA 218\u2019s Depth Beyond the Main Event<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s Walter \u201cThe Snatch\u201d Cogliandro (a veteran of ONE Championship and SBG Ireland) meets Lucas Almeida in the co-main<\/a>\u2014an experience vs. athleticism pairing that rounds out the card\u2019s storyline: prospects ascending while proven grinders chase one more run.<\/p>\n

\u201cLFA is giving me a major opportunity, and I\u2019ll give them a real fight, just like I always do,\u201d Cogliandro said. (The bout was updated after a change from the originally targeted Kevin Cordero matchup.)<\/p>\n

Why Tenerife for LFA 218<\/p>\n

The Pabell\u00f3n Insular Santiago Mart\u00edn (basketball capacity ~5,100) has already hosted Brave CF and local operator Fight 2 One. The island\u2019s arena pedigree and year-round climate make it a logical test site for a European LFA footprint.<\/p>\n

The Canary Islands have also leaned heavily into sports tourism. According to the Canary Islands Tourism Board, in 2024 the regional government invested \u20ac2.8 million into 24 major events, which drew 120,000 visitors and generated roughly \u20ac160 million in economic return.<\/p>\n

Tenerife\u2019s Growing Sports Calendar<\/p>\n

Brave CF: hosted cards in 2023 & 2025 at Santiago Mart\u00edn<\/p>\n

Fight 2 One: eight local MMA shows staged on the island<\/p>\n

Tenerife Bluetrail: annual ultramarathon through the mountains<\/p>\n

Basketball: CB Canarias (Liga ACB) calls the arena home<\/p>\n

2024 impact: Canary Islands Tourism invested \u20ac2.8M \u2192 120,000 visitors, \u20ac160M return<\/p>\n

How to Watch LFA 218<\/p>\n

Date: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025<\/p>\n

Location: Pabell\u00f3n Insular Santiago Mart\u00edn, Tenerife, Spain<\/p>\n

Broadcast: UFC Fight Pass<\/a> (worldwide)<\/p>\n

Start time: [3 pm ET \/ 12 pm PT]<\/p>\n

More Than a Belt on the Line at LFA 218<\/p>\n

For LFA, Tenerife is about expansion. For Spain, it\u2019s about proving the country can host\u2014and produce\u2014world-class MMA at scale.<\/p>\n

For Makaev, the fight is about proving Spain can deliver more than one star. For Nascimento, it\u2019s about staying perfect and inspiring the kids from his community back in Rio. Two prospects from opposite sides of the world, carrying very different dreams, will collide under the lights in Tenerife.<\/p>\n

Whichever vision holds, LFA 218 will mark a new chapter in the sport\u2019s global story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Baysangur Makaev has been waiting for this kind of stage. On Sept. 27 in Tenerife, the 25-year-old lightweight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":170132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-170131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}