Santa Cruz County natives Lorenzo Figueroa, Willy LaMacchia, and Jacob Horton are among the local MMA fighters who will compete at Legacy Fighting Alliance 243 at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz on Friday.
It’s the promotion’s fourth event held in KP Arena, home of the NBA G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors.
Figueroa (2-2 overall), a Santa Cruz native who lives in Seaside, squares off against Helton José Jr. (0-0) of Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil, in heavyweight action on the main card.
Figueroa is seeking his first LFA win after suffering losses at LFA 165 in Santa Cruz in 2023 and LFA 231 in Prior Lake, Minnesota, in ’25.
LaMacchia and Horton have fights in the prelims, which begin at 4:30 p.m.
San Francisco’s LaMacchia (0-0), a standout wrestler who shined for both Harbor High and Skyline College, makes his pro debut. He faces San Jose’s Chris Chapa (0-0) in lightweight action.
LaMacchia posted a 4-2 amateur record while competing in regional promotions Zhong Luo Cage Fighting Series and Liberty Fight League. Chapa went 6-1 as an amateur.
Horton (0-1), a Scotts Valley High alum, looks for his first pro win against Mark Lozano (0-0) of San Antonio in their catchweight bout.
It’s Horton’s second LFA event. He was knocked out by Ueslei Alves in the first round of his pro debut at LFA 178 in Santa Cruz in ’24.
The main card begins at 6 p.m.
In the main event, Wildemar Santos (14-5) of Goiania, Goias, Brazil faces Chico’s Nick Maximov (14-2) in a light heavyweight bout.
In the co-main event, Enrique “La Pesadilla” Pacheco (9-3) of Santiago, Chile, faces Kevin “Lil Dragon” Fernandez (9-1) of Fort Worth, Texas, in a flyweight battle.
There’s four other fights on the main card.
Kelvin Martinez (5-2) of Plainview, Texas, faces Antioch’s Mason Carzino-Hartshorn (7-2) in flyweight action.
San Jose’s Joe Thurrott (6-2) fights Ricky “Mr. Snuggles” Miller (6-2) of Plymouth, Indiana, in middleweight action.
Lathrop’s Aysia “The Savage” Cortez (3-1) faces Sophie Lang (2-0) of Phoenix in their straweight bout.
Ali “Tormentor” Gazamatov (5-3) of Chechnya, Russia, faces San Francisco’s Kyle “The Shark” Clark (2-2) in a light heavyweight bout.
Also in the prelims, Half Moon Bay’s Fernando Diaz-Marquez (1-0) takes on Milpitas’ Ramon Cornejo (1-0) in catchweight action.
IF YOU GO
Legacy Fighting Alliance 243
When: Friday (prelims, 4:30 p.m.; main card, 6 p.m.)
Where: Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz
Tickets: Ticketmaster
THE MATCHUPS
Main card
Main Event
Light heavyweight: Wildemar Santos (14-5) vs. Nick Maximov (14-2)
Co-main event
Flyweight: Enrique Pacheco (9-3) vs. Kevin Fernandez (9-1)
Flyweight: Kelvin Martinez (5-2) vs. Mason Carzino-Hartshorn (7-2)
Middleweight: Ricky Miller (6-2) vs. Joe Thurrott (6-2)
Strawweight: Sophie Lang (2-0) vs. Aysia Cortez (3-1)
Light-Heavyweight: Ali Gazamatov (5-3) vs. Kyle Clark (2-2)
Heavyweight: Helton José Jr. (0-0) vs. Lorenzo Figueroa (2-2)
Prelims
Catchweight: Ramon Cornejo (1-0) vs. Fernando Diaz-Marquez (1-0)
Catchweight: Mark Lozano (0-0) vs. Jacob Horton (0-1)
Lightweight: Chris Chapa (0-0) vs. Willy LaMacchia (0-0)
