At the center of the evening’s excitement was the promotion’s vacant 185-pound middleweight title. The championship clash pitted two surging contenders against one another in a classic battle of momentum. On one side of the cage was Jake Woodley, a formidable athlete who walked into Connecticut riding an impressive four-fight winning streak. Woodley had systematically carved a path through the regional scene, displaying well-rounded skills and a relentless competitive drive that finally earned him a shot at championship gold under the LFA banner.
Across the cage stood Zayne Havener, a man carrying an equally imposing resume into the title fight. Havener had put together a five-fight winning streak of his own, with three of those victories coming inside the LFA cage. His consistent performances within the organization established him as one of the premier middleweights on the roster, setting the stage for a compelling clash of styles and momentum as both fighters vied to claim the vacant championship belt.
While the main event captured the championship aspirations of the division, the rest of the main card offered plenty of high-level intrigue and familiar names for hardcore fight fans. Among the standout attractions was the return of Bellator MMA alumnus Bruna Ellen. Ellen stepped back into active competition following an extended layoff, entering a crucial strawweight matchup against Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Hilarie Rose.
For Rose, the bout represented another step in what had been a career renaissance. After appearing on the Contender Series back in 2020 and falling just short of securing a direct contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Rose refused to let the setback derail her career trajectory. She subsequently tested her skills under the Invicta FC banner and various other regional promotions, steadily building a reputation as a dangerous and durable competitor. Prior to LFA 244, Rose had put together a formidable six-fight winning streak, a run that notably included capturing the Cage Titans strawweight title and securing a high-profile victory over UFC veteran Ashley Yoder.
Her opponent, Bruna Ellen, was looking to re-establish herself at the top of the division after a frustrating period of inactivity. Ellen had not competed since suffering a tough loss in an interim LFA strawweight title fight back in 2024. The matchup between Ellen and Rose promised high-paced action in the women’s strawweight division, serving as a critical barometer for both athletes’ championship aspirations.
The rest of the main card featured several compelling matchups across multiple weight classes. In the welterweight division, Devan Worth squared off against Thomas Blackorby in a contest designed to test the depth of the promotion’s 170-pound weight class. The middleweight division also featured another pivotal pairing as Guram Mestvirishvili locked horns with Jansey Silva, adding further depth to the 185-pound landscape alongside the evening’s main event. Rounding out the main card action was a fast-paced flyweight encounter matching Maikel Reinoso against Oscar Jurado Sánchez.
The preliminary card similarly delivered competitive bouts and decisive finishes, showcasing the rigorous talent pipeline that the LFA continues to cultivate. In the middleweight division, Guram Gochashvili faced off against Pete Keepers, while Austin Halik took on Xavier Zeruth in a lightweight clash. At welterweight, Elton Dedaj met Luis Melendez inside the cage for a hard-fought battle.
The early portion of the event also produced the first official results of the evening. In a flyweight showdown, Joziah Fry delivered a commanding performance against Yve Nelson, earning a clean sweep on the judges’ scorecards to secure a victory by unanimous decision with identical 30-27 scores across all three judges. Meanwhile, the light heavyweight division provided the preliminary card’s most explosive ending when Austin Ross finished Matheus Moraes via technical knockout at the 3:37 mark of the opening round, capping off a thrilling sequence of preliminary action before the main card broadcast commenced.
