Jake Woodley vs. Zayne Havener: LFA 244 Prediction

ake Woodley and Zayne Havener earned their title opportunities on the same night in June. Four months later, their paths will meet.

Woodley faces Havener for the LFA middleweight title in the main event of LFA 244 on Friday, October 23, at the Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. The official announcement lists Woodley at 8-1 and Havener at 6-2, with both fighters carrying five-fight winning streaks into the championship matchup.

It is a compelling collision of grappling backgrounds. Woodley brings elite collegiate wrestling credentials and steadily improving power. Havener brings the more active submission offense and has finished three consecutive LFA opponents on the ground.

One Night Created Two Title Challengers

LFA 235 effectively served as the semifinal stage for this matchup.

Havener absorbed Andrew Stewart’s early pressure before submitting him with an arm triangle in the second round. Woodley needed only four seconds to knock out David Wright with an overhand right. LFA called it the fastest knockout in company history and immediately identified a future Woodley-Havener title fight as the logical next step in the division’s official LFA 235 results.

Woodley’s knockout was spectacular, but his record shows more than a single power moment. His 8-1 professional ledger contains three knockouts, one submission and four decisions. Since suffering a first-round anaconda-choke loss to James Romero in December 2024, he has won five straight.

That run includes decision victories over David Gladfelter and Shane Sobnosky, a first-round stoppage of Adland Benson and the four-second knockout of Wright. The decisions matter because neither fighter has verified professional experience over five rounds. Woodley has at least demonstrated that he can maintain enough structure to win repeatedly after the opening exchanges.

Woodley’s Wrestling Foundation

Woodley was a high-level wrestler long before entering MMA. The University of Oklahoma’s All-America records list him as a sixth-place finisher at 197 pounds in the 2021 NCAA Division I Championships. He became the lowest-seeded wrestler to reach an NCAA semifinal after entering the tournament as the No. 26 seed.

That résumé gives Woodley a deep base for controlling where exchanges begin. It does not make him submission-proof, as the Romero loss demonstrated, but it should help him decide whether Havener is forced to grapple from his back or allowed to attack through scrambles.

Woodley’s growing right-hand threat also strengthens his takedowns. Opponents who react aggressively to the overhand can leave their hips available, while opponents who lower their stance to defend shots give him a cleaner punching target.

Havener’s Submission Streak Changes the Equation

Havener has won five consecutive professional fights, and his last three have all ended by submission. He submitted Travon Eller with a triangle choke in February, stopped Eric Fimbres with a rear-naked choke in March and finished Stewart with an arm triangle in June.

His 6-2 record includes three submissions, two knockouts and one decision. Five of his six wins are finishes. More importantly for this matchup, Havener has never been submitted as a professional.

Havener does not need to outwrestle Woodley in a traditional sense. His upset route is to create movement after the takedown, threaten Woodley’s neck and force the favorite to defend instead of settling into control. Woodley’s sole professional loss came during exactly that kind of transition.

The early rounds should reveal which interpretation of the grappling matchup is correct. If Woodley can finish takedowns, control Havener’s hips and exit without exposing his neck, his wrestling should produce long stretches of positional control. If Havener repeatedly turns those takedowns into submission exchanges, Woodley may be forced to strike for longer than planned.

The later rounds create another unknown. A current fight-database listing records a five-round format, but neither man has completed a five-round professional fight. Havener has produced three straight finishes, while Woodley has more experience winning decisions. That gives Woodley a slight evidence advantage in a long fight, though not enough to remove the cardio uncertainty.

LFA 244 Supporting Fights

The announced card includes several worthwhile prospect matchups. Joe Giannetti meets Ednilson Santos at lightweight, while undefeated welterweights Devan Worth and Thomas Blackorby put matching 5-0 records at risk.

Unbeaten Maikel Reinoso faces Oscar Jurado Sánchez at flyweight, and Hilarie Rose meets former Bellator competitor Bruna Ellen at strawweight. LFA has stated that additional bouts will be announced.

JMA prediction

Pick: Jake Woodley by decision

Structured-evidence forecast: Woodley 57 percent, Havener 43 percent. Confidence tier: Lean.

Woodley’s wrestling pedigree, five-fight streak and broader decision experience narrowly favor him. The likely winning pattern is repeated cage pressure, disciplined takedowns and enough striking success to keep Havener reacting.

Havener’s submission game is the strongest evidence against the pick. Three consecutive submissions are difficult to dismiss, and Woodley has already lost by anaconda choke. If Woodley becomes careless during an entry or tries to force control from a bad head position, Havener can end the fight quickly.

This is closer than the records alone suggest. Woodley is the pick, but Havener’s submission route remains credible in every round.

How to attend

LFA 244 takes place Friday, October 23, at the Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

The official Ticketmaster event page lists doors at 5:30 p.m. ET, preliminary fights at 6:30 p.m. and the main card at 9 p.m. Tickets are on general sale, but Ticketmaster did not expose a stable price range during verification.

The main card is scheduled for VICE TV in the United States, with additional distribution through ESPN Deportes, ESPN KnockOut and Fight Club in listed international markets.

Woodley and Havener have already delivered the performances that earned this opportunity. LFA 244 will determine whether proven wrestling control or rapidly developing submission offense becomes the division’s next championship standard.