Kevin Aguilar Improves to 13-1, Retains Featherweight Championship in LFA 18 Headliner

It might not be long before Kevin Aguilar flies the Legacy Fighting Alliance coop.

“The Angel of Death” retained his featherweight championship with a convincing unanimous decision over Justin Rader in the LFA 18 headliner on Friday at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. All three cageside judges scored it 50-45 for Aguilar (13-1), giving him a clean sweep for his fifth consecutive victory.

A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Rader (6-3) spent much of his time pecking away with kicks from the outside that were more irritating than damaging. He executed takedowns in the fourth and fifth rounds but failed to consolidate them with meaningful strikes or positional control. On the feet, Aguilar was clearly superior. He sat down Rader with jabs in the first and second rounds, connected with two head kicks in the third and battered the challenger’s body with kicks late in the fight.

The loss brought an end to Rader’s three-fight winning streak.

In the middleweight co-main event, Roufusport’s Brendan Allen won for the sixth time in seven outings, as he submitted Chris Harris with a second-round triangle choke. The 27-year-old Harris (9-2) bowed out 1:22 into Round 2.

Allen (8-2) waded through considerable difficulty. Harris connected with a two nasty standing elbows, evaded a sloppy bid for a kimura and spent valuable time in top position, chewing up time and piling up points. Allen shifted gears in the second. Harris sprawled into top position but wandered into a spidery guard, where he was met with a triangle choke, armbar and omoplata. He escaped Allen’s initial attempts but soon after found himself locked in the triangle once more. The squeeze tightened, and Harris tapped.

Meanwhile, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Chris Kelades captured a unanimous verdict over Tyler Shinn in a featured catchweight clash at 130 pounds. In his first appearance since being released by the UFC, Kelades (10-3) carried the scorecards with 29-28, 30-27 and 29-28 marks from the judges.

After a strong start, Shinn (8-4) slowly gave ground to the Canadian. Kelades utilized an effective sprawl to deny the former Oklahoma State University wrestler’s advances. The 36-year-old pancaked into top position in the second round and chipped away with elbows and punches. Kelades picked up where he left off in the third, as he executed a takedown inside the first minute and spent the majority of the round suffocating Shinn from top position, feeding him ground-and-pound before threatening with a late guillotine choke.

The loss snapped Shinn’s two-fight winning streak.

In other action, Chauncey Foxworth (5-4) disposed of Braden Smith (7-2) with punches 4:31 into the third round of their welterweight tilt; Daryl Wilson (5-1) knocked out Jarrod Card (15-9-1) with a right cross 64 seconds into the first round of their lightweight pairing; Derrick Adkins (10-4) took a unanimous decision from Kyle Driscoll (4-2) in a three-round battle at 155 pounds; and Jose Martinez (6-2) was awarded a technical knockout when an eye injury left James Warren (6-4) unable to continue 1:29 into the third round of their lightweight encounter.