Travis Lizotte "Full Contact Writer"
After dropping a decision to Brant Moore (8-1) in his LFA 89 Main Event slot in August, in his promotional debut, Cape Cod's Joe "Skeletor" Giannetti (9-3-1) continues to seek big opportunities along his quest to land back on the UFC's radar. Joe Joe will have the opportunity to further increase his stock Friday night, October 30th, in Park City, Kansas as the 25 year old Giannetti makes his second straight LFA/UFC Fight Pass start, in the LFA 94 Co-Main Event against Aaron McKenzie (8-2-1). The 32 year old McKenzie is an understudy of former Bellator Middleweight World Champion; Rafael Lovato Jr. and trains out of Lovato BJJ and MMA in Oklahoma City. Like Giannetti, McKenzie also made his LFA debut at LFA 89 earning a first round Rear Naked Choke stoppage of Glaucio Eliziario (9-6) in their Co-Main event scrap in August.
This is a fight that makes a ton of sense given each fighters timeline, both came out of LFA 89 relatively unscathed, both are looking for big fights that can propel their promising careers and both are lethal submission specialists. Oklahoma's McKenzie has an impressive four submissions in his eight professional victories, all finishes and since capturing the HD MMA Lightweight Title in January of 2019, McKenzie had fought twice for Bellator (1-1) before signing on with LFA. Massachusetts' Giannetti has a slick, six submissions on his professional resume, not including two more sleepings handed out during his time on The Ultimate Fighter in 2018, to go along with two wins by knockout across his four year run as the most polarizing figure in Cage Titans FC, before signing on with LFA amidst the pandemic.
At 25 years old and still with a ton of potential, Giannetti could ill-afford to let this pandemic slow his momentum, and with nothing going on regionally here in New England for the better part of seven months, it only made sense for Giannetti to find his way outside of the region. With his ultimate goal, still, to make it back to the UFC, a match with UFC Fight Pass partner; LFA made total sense for Skeletor, who continues to stay relevant during these uncertain times. LFA has been happy to oblige the young Giannetti, inking deals that put the spotlight directly on the South Shore Sportfighting product, against some of the nations top unsigned Lightweight prospects.
Giannetti takes the next step in his "Comeback Season" Friday night, as LFA 94 kicks off at 9pm eastern exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. Giannetti vs. McKenzie will play second fiddle only to the Women's Strawweight Title main event between LFA Strawweight Champion Vanessa "Lil Monster" Demopoulos (5-2) and Challenger Lupita "Loopy" Godinez (4-0). Below is a quick look at the entire seven fight LFA 94 fight card, coming to you live from Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas.
Main Event | Women’s Strawweight Title Bout (115 lb)
Vanessa Demopoulos (5-2) vs. Lupita Godinez (4-0)
Co-Main Event | Lightweight Bout (155 lb)
Aaron McKenzie (8-2-1) vs. Joe Giannetti (9-3-1)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Thai Clark (8-0) vs. Chase Gibson (9-5)
Bantamweight Bout (135 lb)
Fernie Garcia (7-1) vs. Ryan Hayes (9-6)
Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
Logan Woods (3-0) vs. Ozzy Diaz (3-1)
Middleweight Bout (185 lb)
Jalin Fuller (3-0) vs. Miles Amos (3-0)
Featherweight Bout (145 lb)
Edwin Cooper (2-1) vs. Jorge Juarez (2-0)
