Undefeated prospect Bevan O’Malley will headline XFC 30 this Saturday when he meets Rodolfo Marques for the recently vacated XFC featherweight title in what will be one of three professional titles going on the line which includes the return of heavyweight Chris Lokteff.
The twenty-one fight pro-am card goes down at the Logan Metre Sports Centre in Crestmead, Queensland.
O’Malley (4-0) was originally scheduled to face champion Shane Young who got injured in training and decided to vacate the title in lieu of the injury. O’Malley trains out of Noke Martial Arts under the guidance of former UFC fighter Kyle Noke and has spent time previously out at the acclaimed Jackson Wink MMA academy in Albuquerque in New Mexico. All four of his career bouts have come under the XFC promotion, most recently submitting New Zealand’s Taneira Terry back in February on XFC 29.
His opponent, Rodolfo Marques (22-9-1) started his career competing in his native Brazil where he trained at the Nova Uniao gym before relocating to Australia where he has competed predominantly in Melbourne on AFC and Hex Fight Series. His last outing was a knockout loss to Kai Kara-France back in March.
Former One Championship heavyweight Chris Lokteff (12-2) makes his return to the cage after an extended time away from the sport. The Integrated MMA trained fighter has not competed since losing to James McSweeney in Philippines back in May 2014.
Facing him for the XFC heavyweight title will be the undefeated Jeremy Joiner (3-0), who steps up for the biggest fight of his short career, having made his debut back in 2015.
In the other title fight, champion Matt Vaile (6-1) and fellow Kiwi compatriot Brogan Anderson (8-2) will clash for the XFC welterweight belt. The bout was originally scheduled to occur on XFC 29 back in February however a knee infection in the week leading up to the fight forced Vaile out of the bout.
The card will also feature a number of amateur title fights.
Fight Card (Pro):
- Bevan O’Malley vs. Rodolfo Marques – XFC featherweight title
- Chris Lokteff vs. Jeremy Joiner – XFC heavyweight title
- Brogan Anderson vs. Matt Vaile (c) – XFC welterweight title
- Justin Tafa vs. Dylan Tiaaleaiga
- Craig Callaghan vs. Michael McDaniel
- Brayden Graham vs. Paul Loga
- Josh Robson vs. Gavin Hain
- Jackson Small vs. Joel Downey-Cave
Fight Card (Amateur):
- Marc Lelievre vs. John Fraser – XFC amateur light-heavyweight title
- Nick Kepu vs. Andy Stanway – XFC amateur middleweight title
- Chelsea Retemeyer vs. Nicole Szepesvary – XFC amateur women’s flyweight title
- Darren Habben vs. KC Cronin – XFC amateur flyweight title
- Loni Filimoehala vs. Michael Tepou
- Corbin Robertson vs. Sean Olsen
- Ruuben Suits vs. Tom Nolan
- Chantal Humbertstone vs. Flori Hani
- David Mead vs. Johnny Borg
- Lewis Ashton vs. Milo Junior
- Kayla Maffescioni vs. Kaitlyn Winter
- Rob Heka vs. James Meehan
- Josh Robson Jr. vs Adnan Khan
XFC 28 Preview: Kieran Joblin meets Sung Hwa Han in ‘Road to Pancrase’ final
