On Friday, August 23, the American Kombat Alliance touches down in Bossier City, Louisiana for a 12-fight event, AKA Rite of Passage 9. 

The card is comprised of both amateur and professional MMA bouts  but will feature eleven amateur contests and just one pro match. 

In the co-main event of the evening, the AKA amateur featherweight title will be up for grabs as lightweight prospect Darren Whitney (5-3) drops down to face Enrique Owens (3-1). 

Whitney, 29, will pose a towering threat in his featherweight debut. The LFA veteran stands a lofty 6’3”, a height already much taller than most of his lightweight opponents. 

The Belfast, Maine, native began his MMA career in 2018, debuting in style with a first-round knockout at Friction FC 1. A loss to Jaccob Charles (3-4) would spoil Whitney’s second outing, but he would soon begin a three-fight winning - and finishing - streak to rebound from his first MMA loss.

Whitney would go on to submit David Guzman (1-1), Brandon Jones (1-4), and Johnny Smith (1-1) with several variations of chokes to conclude his winning streak, with the latter taking place under the bright lights of the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA). 

Following his win over Smith, Whitney made his promotional debut in Rite of Passage with a unanimous decision loss to Dennis Hughes (1-0 Pro). He then fell short to LT Thibodeaux (4-3) under the Friction FC banner.

Whitney would snap his two-fight skid, however, with a win over Justice Lamparez (4-7) at Rite of Passage 8.

The Johnny Bedford-coached Whitney will look to build on his momentum with a title-winning victory over Enrique Owens.

Owens, who has competed at bantamweight, began his MMA career in 2017. 

Owens is a tried-and-true finisher, having won all of his victories by way of knockout throughout his time on the Texan regional circuit. Owens’ last fight was his lone defeat, a decision loss to Paris Moran (4-0) in his promotional debut for Rite of Passage.

In this amateur featherweight championship bout, both Owens and Whitney will look to improve their records with a regional title. The fight is sure to be an exciting one, as the pair’s combined finishing rate in wins is tremendously high - hovering at around 88%.

The main event of AKA Rite of Passage 9 will feature the card’s sole professional MMA bout, as American Top Team’s Michael Lombardo (8-2) will face journeyman Justin Thornton (6-16). 

Lombardo, 29, turned pro in 2016 after a 3-0 amateur career. A former football player at Wagner College (NY), Lombardo kicked off his professional career with a 3-0 start, too.

The American Top Team product would drop his fourth fight to David Mundell (10-5) under the V3 Fights banner, but would then go on to amass a five-fight winning streak, which he parlayed into a massive opportunity. 

With five wins - three by knockout and one by submission - in a row, Lombardo was chosen to compete as part of the third season of the Dana White Contender Series (DWCS), a show aired by the UFC as part of its prospect-finding mission.

On week two, which took place in June, Lombardo faced Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) middleweight champion Kyle Daukaus (7-0). In a gritty, spirited fight, Daukaus defeated Lombardo, but the CFFC titlist known for a 100% submission rate was unable to choke out Lombardo despite numerous attempts.

In his first bout since his losing DWCS performance, Lombardo will make his promotional debut in Rite of Passage. He will face Justin Thornton in what can only be described as a rebound fight.

Thornton, 36, has been a professional fighter since 2008. The Mississippian is a longtime journeyman, having competed across the southern regional circuit, including stints in Island Fights.

While he will face Lombardo at welterweight, Thornton is a career heavyweight. Thornton has fought at heavyweight, light heavyweight, and middleweight throughout his career, but he has most recently competed at heavyweight.

Thornton has faced several prominent names over the course of his career, including DWCS veteran Austen Lane, and UFC veterans Chase Sherman and Walt Harris. He will look to score what would be considered the biggest win of his career against Lombardo in a bid to successfully transition to welterweight.