LFA 97: Nick Browne captures vacant lightweight title after five-round war

Nick Browne made it four wins in a row on Friday night as he defeated Arthur Estrazulas to capture the vacant LFA lightweight title.

The pair faced off in the main event of LFA 97, which took place at the Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas. The event streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Browne (11-1) battled back and forth with Estrazulas (12-5) through five grueling rounds to earn the unanimous decision from the three cageside judges, who scored it 49-46, 49-46, 48-46 to become the promotion’s first new champion crowned in 2021.

In the night’s co-main event, former Contender Series hopeful Jacob Rosales picked up a unanimous decision win over Jose Martinez but, while the two featured bouts at the top of the card went all the way to the judges, most of the action earlier in the night produced a host of finishes.

Kamuela Kirk, Loveth Young, Michael Stack, Josh Quinlan, Thomas Petersen all picked up knockout victories as the fight card in Kansas served up five consecutive finishes while the night’s first bout saw the lone submission of the evening, as Shane Shapiro picked up a first-round Kimura finish to kick off his professional career with an impressive victory.

Full LFA 97 results include:

• Nick Browne def. Arthur Estrazulas via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) – for vacant lightweight title
• Jacob Rosales def. Jose Martinez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 30-25)
• Kamuela Kirk def. Guilherme Santos via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:25
• Loveth Young def. Kelly D’Angelo via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:36
• Michael Stack def. Jordan Mapa via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:00
• Josh Quinlan def. Joe Boerschig via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 3:28
• Thomas Petersen def. Kimo Luis via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:19
• Claire Guthrie def. Nadine Mandiau via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Shane Shapiro def. Cam Ansel via submission (Kimura) – Round 1, 1:44