This is a really stacked card for the LFA taking place in Brazil. I don't mean to spoil my picks early but this card features a few prospects in Brazil that I rate very highly. Marcos Degli, Daniel Araujo, and Icaro Brito are all must watch prospects that will be in the UFC one day for certain. The LFA recently moved on from being broadcast on UFC Fight Pass and announced a partner in Vice TV. LFA 224 was their Vice TV debut and unfortunately I did miss breaking down that card. But it was a successful debut for the promotion with all finishes on the main card. LFA Brazil cards always deliver and I am expecting another great card here. This is just a quick article for me as I have taken a stupid amount of shifts at work this week as I am going to purchase a new, much better microphone to increase my audio quality for my channel. The card is broadcast at 09:00 PM ET on Friday night. LFA prelims in the past have been on YouTube but with the new partnership we may see the prelims on Vice as well.

MARCOS DEGLI (13-3) vs. LUIS AGUIAR (9-1) – LFA Interim Flyweight Championship

I think Degli is ready for the UFC. He has recently beat many high level talents in the LFA and has even defended the interim title once already. Despite being 5'6″, Degli isn't the biggest flyweight but he makes up for this with speed and aggressiveness. His striking defense is a weakness and he can get backed up in moments but for the most part he is a very complete fighter. This is a fun test for Degli as he fighting an aggressive grappler. Aguiar is the Jungle Fight champion and is coming off a 37 second submission win. He dropped his opponent quickly before taking the back and submitting them. I was able to find some other fights of his on YouTube and I wasn't overly impressed. I don't love his striking. He has his hands pretty low and his chin up in the air. His BJJ is great but his wrestling isn't greatly effective and he gets his take down defended often. Degli has beat better competition than Aguiar in my opinion and as long as the fight is on the feet Degli should find success.

Pick: Marcos Degli by KO/TKO. Medium confidence.

DANIEL ARAUJO (8-0) vs. DERICK BORGES (10-4) – Bantamweight

Daniel Araujo is legit. I was really impressed when he defeated Temirov in his LFA debut and he has put us all on notice since. He got a quick KO over a lay up in his next LFA fight and I expect something similar here. He is a very legit boxer with both amateur and professional boxing experience like the Bonfim brothers who he trains with. He has much better striking than his opponent Borges who will look to take him down. We may see some take down defense tested here but I am expecting another KO from Aruajo. Araujo is one to watch for sure.

Pick: Daniel Araujo by KO/TKO. High confidence.

ICARO BRITO (8-1) vs. ARISTEDES VINICIUS (10-3-1) – Featherweight

Icaro Brito is next up from the Fighting Nerds, but we haven't seen him fight much recently. He has been booked for the Contender Series twice now but has had to withdraw from both. Last I knew he has been struggling with visa problems but once that is sorted I am confident we will see him in the UFC or on the Contender Series. He fights very similarly to Mauricio Ruffy. The last time we saw him was in 2024 and I will admit it did look like he had a little bit of ring rust as his journeyman opponent was able to pressure him and land on him early. He did eventually take over the fight but it was a slow start. Brito's best unique weapon is probably his knees when he closes the distance. Vinicius should be a lay up opponent for Brito to look good as he is a grappler with not great wrestling, and on the feet he is a flat footed boxer. He also really struggled with the kicks of Luan Pedroso and even got grappled in that fight. Brito fights just like you would expect a Fighting Nerd to fight like and he would be a fun addition to the big show if he can get a visa.

Pick: Icaro Brito by KO/TKO. High confidence.

FRANK SILVA (7-0) vs. JOAO MENEZES (7-5) – Flyweight

Silva was supposed to be on Contender Series last year but pulled out. Pretty sad because if he didn't we would probably see An Tuan Ho in the UFC as I was very confident he was going to lose there. He is a young and explosive striker but his level of competition has been very poor and even then we haven't seen much from him. He is fighting another can crusher here who has stepped up on short notice to fight him. Menezes striking is terrible so Silva probably blitzes him. Not sure if Silva is any good as he does just run forward Julianna Pena style but if he gets a big win here I guess he will be booked for the Contender Series again.

Pick: Frank Silva by KO/TKO. Low-medium confidence.

BIANCA BASILIO (0-0) vs. JESSICA OLIVEIRA (1-0) -Women's Flyweight

If Basilio gets a big win she will be one to watch. Basilio is a two time BJJ world champion as a black belt, and three time world champion at other belts. She fought as an amateur in MMA in 2022 and has been planning to turn pro in 2023. I don't know anything about Oliveira. I will pick Basilio by submission but I am only really writing about this to highlight Basilio's MMA debut.

GABRIEL VINICIUS (6-0) vs. JOEL SAVIANO (7-1) – Welterweight

Once again this is more of a highlight piece than a confident prediction and breakdown. Gabriel Vincius is a former professional kickboxer but I don't know at what level he was able to compete at. BoxRec has an 0-1 kickboxing record but Tapology has two fights listed. The main reason I bring him up though is that he was able to submit Yuri Anselmo in round 1. I actually watched Yuri Anselmo fight against Fergus Jenkins live in person. That fight was at middleweight and Jenkins had his back for three rounds and was unable to submit him. Tapology has the fight listed at 5 rounds but it was definitely just 3. Saviano is also a grappler but Vincius is certainly the A-side here. I look forward to this fight but if I had to pick I would side with Vinicius.