SANTA CRUZ — Locals Jacob Horton and Lorenzo Figueroa earned thrilling wins, and Willy LaMacchia suffered an infuriating loss by split decision in their MMA fights at Legacy Fighting Alliance 243 at Kaiser Permanente Arena on Friday.
A near sellout crowd was treated to 10 fights in the promotion’s fourth event at KP Arena, home of the NBA G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors.
In the main event, Chico’s Nick Maximov (15-2) extended his win streak to seven with his unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) over Wildemar Santos (14-6), of Goiania, Goias, Brazil, in their Light heavyweight battle.
Scotts Valley’s Jacob Horton, left, celebrates his win over Mark Lozano of San Antonio in their MMA catchweight bout at LFA 243 at KP Arena in Santa Cruz on Friday. (Jim Seimas – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
In the co-main event, Kevin “Lil Dragon” Fernandez (10-1) of Fort Worth, Texas, defeated Enrique “La Pesadilla” Pacheco (9-4), of Santiago, Chile, by TKO at the 1:38 mark of Round 2 of their flyweight fight to push his win streak to seven.
Horton (1-1), a Scotts Valley High alum, earned his first pro win with a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) over Mark Lozano (0-1) of San Antonio in their catchweight bout.
Horton said he was elated to win in his “backyard.”
“Extremely,” he said. “I couldn’t have picked better circumstances. I was so happy to have all my family and friends there with me.”
Horton landed repeated leg kicks to Lozano’s lead leg in the first round, which caused an immediate bruise and forced his opponent, a right-hander, to switch from his orthodox stance, which left him vulnerable.
Santa Cruz native Lorenzo Figueroa, left, fights Helton José Jr., of Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil, in their MMA heavyweight bout at LFA 243 at KP Arena in Santa Cruz on Friday. (Jim Seimas – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
“Every time he switched his stance to southpaw, it opened up my right cross,” Horton said. “So I could use that to discourage his stance switch and stay in orthodox so I could continue to wear down his lead leg.”
Horton was confident throughout his bout. At times, a little too much so. He dropped his hands in the third round and absorbed some quality punches from his opponent, but he was able to keep his wits and feet.
“Mark was a super tough opponent,” Horton said. “My strategy was simple: Use my range and jabs and kicks to wear him down. I did not expect him to be so durable though. He’s an extremely tough guy and has earned a lot of respect from me.”
It’s Horton’s second LFA event. He was knocked out by Ueslei Alves in the first round of his pro debut at LFA 178 in Santa Cruz in ’24.
Scotts Valley’s Jacob Horton lands a flurry of rights after he took down Mark Lozano of San Antonio in their MMA catchweight bout at LFA 243 at KP Arena in Santa Cruz on Friday. (Jim Seimas – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Figueroa (3-2), a Santa Cruz native who lives in Seaside, earned a TKO against Helton José Jr. (0-1), of Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil, at the 3:17 mark of Round 1 in heavyweight action.
Figueroa slipped multiple times while backpedaling to avoid a barrage of punches thrown by José, and appeared in trouble as the two locked up against the cage.
José appeared poised to secure a standing submission, but Figueroa raised his hand to alert officials that his opponent had an illegal choke. The fighters were given a restart and Figueroa took full advantage.
He landed a left that floored José — and sent his mouthpiece flying — and followed with five rights to earn the stoppage. The crowd roared with approval and Figueroa celebrated emphatically.
It was Figueroa’s first LFA win after suffering losses at LFA 165 in Santa Cruz in 2023 and LFA 231 in Prior Lake, Minnesota, in ’25.
Santa Cruz native Willy LaMacchia, left, and San Jose’s Chris Chapa both expect to be declared the winner of their MMA lightweight bout at LFA 243 at KP Arena in Santa Cruz on Friday. Chapa won by split decision. (Jim Seimas – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Oakland’s LaMacchia (0-1), a standout wrestler who shined for both Harbor High and Skyline College, dropped his pro debut with a disheartening split decision to San Jose’s Chris Chapa (1-0) in lightweight action.
LaMacchia threw the cotton hand wrap he was holding in disgust after Chapa was announced as the winner.
LaMacchia had done all he could to impress the judges in his bout, which went the full three rounds. He attempted an array of attacks, knees to the midsection, elbows to the head, kicks at all three levels, and punches, which bloodied Chapa above his left eye and nose.
LaMacchia also earned takedowns in each round and remained on the attack for duration, constantly moving forward.
Chapa showed resilience by earning escapes after he was grounded and landed some quality strikes in the exchanges that followed with both fighters on their feet.
Antioch’s Mason Carzino-Hartshorn (8-2) earned a TKO of Kelvin Martinez (5-3), of Plainview, Texas, 30 seconds into Round 1 in flyweight action.
In middleweight action, San Jose’s Joe Thurrott (7-2) defeated Ricky “Mr. Snuggles” Miller (6-3) of Plymouth, Indiana.
In the lone female bout, Sophie Lang (3-0) of Phoenix won by submission against Lathrop’s Aysia “The Savage” Cortez (3-2) after securing a rear-naked choke at the 4:32 mark of Round 2 in strawweight action.
San Francisco’s Kyle “The Shark” Clark (3-2) earned a technical submission over Ali “Tormentor” Gazamatov (5-3), of Chechnya, Russia, via a guillotine choke 38 seconds into Round 1 of their light heavyweight fight.
The Horton and LaMacchia fights took place in the prelims.
Also in the prelims, Half Moon Bay’s Fernando Diaz-Marquez (2-0) defeated Milpitas’ Ramon Cornejo (1-1) in their catchweight battle by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
THE RESULTS
Legacy Fighting Alliance 243
Main event
Light heavyweight: Nick Maximov (15-2) d. Wildemar Santos (14-6)
Co-main event
Flyweight: Kevin Fernandez (10-1) d. Enrique Pacheco (9-4)
Flyweight: Mason Carzino-Hartshorn (8-2) d. Kelvin Martinez (5-3)
Middleweight: Joe Thurrott (7-2) d. Ricky Miller (6-3)
Strawweight: Sophie Lang (3-0) d. Aysia Cortez (3-2)
Light-Heavyweight: Kyle Clark (3-2) d. Ali Gazamatov (5-3)
Heavyweight: Lorenzo Figueroa (3-2) d. Helton José Jr. (0-1)
Prelims
Catchweight: Fernando Diaz-Marquez (2-0) d. Ramon Cornejo (1-1)
Catchweight: Jacob Horton (1-1) d. Mark Lozano (0-1)
Lightweight: Chris Chapa (1-0) d. Willy LaMacchia (0-1)