AFL loans out LaRosa, Modafferi and Assuncao for Nov. 8 Chicago event
As part of what it calls its "Affiliate Promoters Program," the American Fight League has loaned top female fighter Tara LaRosa (15-1), opponent Roxanne Modafferi (12-4) and notable featherweight Raphael Assuncao (11-1) to the Illinois-based Ironheart Crown organization. The three competitors will compete on the Nov. 8 "Ironheart Crown XII: Resurrection" card.
The event, which features a headline bout of UFC veteran Gideon Ray (15-9-1) vs. Juan Magana (6-0), takes place at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
The Kentucky-based AFL has made some waves this year with high-profile signings of LaRosa, former WWE star Bobby Lashley and a slew of UFC veterans, including Mike Van Arsdale, Dan Christison, Junior Assuncao and others. The AFL has also been in negotiations with former UFC champion and top free agent Tito Ortiz.
The organization was expected to make its pay-per-view debut in October or November of this year. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) could not immediately reach AFL officials for an update on the status of the event.
LaRosa, widely considered the sport's top female fighter, is currently riding a 12-fight win streak, and her past five fights have all come via stoppage. However, she'll return to competition for the first time in nearly a year when she meets Modafferi, the 2007 K-GRACE women's open-weight tournament winner.
Modafferi, a University of Massachusetts graduate who currently lives and trains in Japan, pushed her current win streak to five straight when she defeated Vanessa Porto earlier this year. The victory came via third-round TKO in the main event of a Fatal Femmes Fighting event in March.
Assuncao, meanwhile, meets Joe Pearson (30-11-1) in the night's co-main event. Assuncao, who is generally considered one of the world's top 10 to 15 featherweights, hasn't fought since defeating Aaron Williams at a March AFL event. A broken hand suffered in the submission win has kept Assuncao on the sidelines.
He now takes on a dangerous Miletich-trained submission specialist who's won 12 of his past 14 fights. Ten of those 12 wins came via submission -- eight via triangle choke. In fact, 26 of Pearson's 30 career wins have come via submission (15 via triangle choke).
In the night's main event, Ray, a Chicago-based fighter who appeared on the fourth season of "The Ultimate Fighter," meets Magana, an undefeated Indiana-based fighter who trains under WEC bantamweight champion Miguel Torres. Ray, who began his career with a stellar 13-3-1 record, has since lost six of eight fights, which included a submission defeat to Charles McCarthy at The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale in November 2006.
The full Nov. 8 Ironheart Crown fight card includes:
- Juan Magana vs. Gideon Ray
- Raphael Assuncao vs. Joe Pearson
- Tara LaRosa vs. Roxanne Modafferi
- Tommy Lee vs. Charles Wilson
- Matt Fiordirosa vs. Rob Menigoz
- Achour Esho vs. Josh Lee
- Brad Fonck vs. Nick Janowitz
- Louis Taylor vs. Adriel Villa
- Antonio Canas vs. Mustafa Hussaini
- Chris Albandia vs. Jeff Serafin
- Ricardo Lamas vs. Christopher Martins
- Derek Langone vs. Tony Marti
- Joey Benoit vs. Keith Smetana
Tickets for the event are now on sale at www.ironheart.com.
Ironheart Crown, which was founded in 1999 by Dr. Eric Moon, moved from Chicago to Hammon, Ind., in 2001 and would soon become sanctioned by the International Shooto Commission to become the top stage for Shooto competition in North America. The organization returned to Chicago earlier this year -- soon after the state of Illinois passed legislation to begin regulating MMA.
The AFL signed the organization as an official "affiliate" promotion earlier this year.
"I thought this show was over the top with what we had already arrange," Moon stated in a press release. "Then the AFL calls me and gives me two fights that I think the entire world will want to see. These bouts have big implications in each of their respective weight classes. It means a lot that the American Fight League and its CEO, BJ Santiago, allowed these guys to fight in the event."
(Pictured: Raphael Assuncao)