Legacy Fighting Alliance, one of the UFC’s biggest feeder promotions, came to the Chicagoland area for the first time this past Friday when LFA 123 took place at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN.
The card was stacked with Chicago native fighters, a mix between those who currently still live here and those who have lived here but now train elsewhere. Overall, the night was good for those Chicagoland fighters.
In a card with three prelim fights and a six fight main card, fans saw a little bit of everything with submissions, decisions, and KO/TKOs. A full house of fans was vocal throughout the night, clearly supporting hometown favorites.
The Hammond Native
Just because they were prelim fights doesn’t mean they weren’t exciting. In the second fight of the night, Hammond, IN’s own Gabriel Mota had the quickest finish of the night after knocking out his opponent Tyler Hufnagle in just 18 seconds.
Hammond’s own Gabriel Mota gets the hometown crowd on their feet after a QUICK KO. 18 seconds into the first round! pic.twitter.com/1XN9NwlDlm
— Tanner ❄️ (@TDorow10) February 5, 2022
I caught up with Mota backstage after the quick win to ask what it was like to get a win like that in front of his home town, to which he said “it’s surreal. I haven’t gotten a win since November 2020 so to come back to my hometown and win in the way I did and on a promotion like this, it’s a fucking blessing.”
Hufnagle was listed as 6′ 6″ while Mota is just 5′ 9″. The size difference between the two was impossible to miss. Clearly Mota was not intimidated by the major difference, though, as he made quick work of Hufnagle.
The Chicago Fan Favorite
If there’s one thing that was made clear to me throughout the night, it’s that the local MMA fans love seeing Josh Streacker fight!
The Chicago native was a regular fighter at Hoosier Fight Club who put on fights at the Horseshoe Casino often over the past few years. Streacker’s fan friendly fight style as well as infectious energy, winking and smiles have made him a cult favorite among Indiana fight fans.
Chicago’s Josh Streacker fighting now! #LFA123 pic.twitter.com/xj7A0mjq0o
— Tanner ❄️ (@TDorow10) February 5, 2022
In our interview leading up to the fight, Streacker told me he expected to have a mostly standup fight with Brazil’s Miguel Jacob. The fight was mostly on the feet, and in fact Streacker almost secured a first round finish. However, Streacker also attempted multiple takedowns throughout the fight.
Ultimately, Streacker would walk away with a VERY close split decision win.
Chicago's Josh Streacker tells me backstage that he wishes he would've gotten the finish, but he's happy with the evolution of his game #LFA123
— Tanner ❄️ (@TDorow10) February 5, 2022
Streacker told me backstage, “I feel good. I feel good about the evolution of my game, and I feel like I’m only going to get better.”
Streacker also said “we knew he wanted it to be standing…. so I want to take him down. I want to show the evolution of my game.”
However he did mention that he wasn’t fully happy with the fight, saying “that performance was not up to my standard. I need to finish him. I should’ve finished him in the first, I thought I finished him in the first.”
“That Performance was not up to my standard. I need to finish him.”
Chicago’s Next Hot Prospect
LFA 123 was headlined by Orland Park native Dan Argueta, who might be one of MMA’s hottest bantamweight prospects. The former UFC “The Ultimate Fighter” contestant was fighting in his seventh professional MMA fight against another undefeated prospect in Brazil’s Mairon Santos.
Orland Park’s Dan Argueta is HERE! #LFA123 pic.twitter.com/7pwwxoqIwA
— Tanner ❄️ (@TDorow10) February 5, 2022
The place got LOUD when Argueta was fighting. As he told me earlier in the week, he sold more VIP tables and tickets than anybody else on the card.
The former wrestler was not afraid to use his skillset in the fight, widely DOMINATING Santos on the ground showing a clear grappling and strength advantage.
Ultimately, Argueta got the finish in the third round after ground and pound which Santos stopped responding to.
Orland Park’s Dan “The Determined” Argueta gets the TKO stoppage via ground strikes in the third and final round to end #LFA123’s night. pic.twitter.com/Uj06npcBpB
— Tanner ❄️ (@TDorow10) February 5, 2022
After the fight, Dan and I walked and talked briefly about what he thought of the fight. He told me “it felt great. I wish I could’ve done it in an earlier round, but a win’s a win you can’t complain about that… I’m here with my friends, my family, my mentor.” As I was asking Argueta about what it felt like to fight in front of all his friends and family in this homecoming, we walked out of a door to a crowd of all his friends and family who bombarded him with cheers and praise.
Take a listen to the ending of this interview which captures quite a cool moment.
The card also featured wins for Chicago’s Askar Askar and Beau Samaniego.
Overall the night was an excellent night of local fighter showcases and a glimpse of who some future UFC stars might be in the near future.
