Andrea Lee-Davina Maciel off LFA 16 headliner, Johnny Bedford vs. Jimmy Flick new main event

Friday’s LFA 16 card in Dallas has a new main event.

History was supposed to take place at the event with the first title defense since the promotion debuted in January. But women’s flyweight champion Andrea Lee (7-2) won’t defend against challenger Davina Maciel (6-1).

Lee posted on her Instagram account that visa issues for Maciel are the culprit keeping the Brazilian from traveling to the States for the title fight, and LFA officials confirmed as much when announcing the event’s new headliner between bantamweights Johnny Bedford (23-12-1) and Jimmy Flick (8-3).

To Friends and fans. It is with a heavy heart that I announce that my world title defense has been scratched. I was notified Friday eve that my fight with Davina Maciel would not happen due to unforeseen visa issues with the Brazilian fighter. Collin Cantrell and Ed Soares worked diligently to find a replacement and contacted at least 20 fighters but had no takers. So this is the bad news and I'm pretty depressed needless to say. However, LFA has asked me to come anyway as their guest so I'll get to spend even more time hanging out, taking pics and seeing everyone. Still gonna be a great card with my friends Johnny Bedford and Levi Mowles. Come hang out with me in deep Ellum and help me drown my sorrows. ?? next fight announcement hopefully coming very soon. ???? #brazilianjiujitsu #kyokushinkai #kyokushin #dutchkickboxing #muaythai #mma #wmma #outlawmuaythai #relsongraciejiujitsu #sadgirl

A post shared by andrea lee (@andreakgblee) on Jul 9, 2017 at 3:08pm PDT

LFA 16 takes place Friday at The Bomb Factory in Dallas. The main card airs live on AXS TV.

The 34-year-old Bedford is a UFC, “Ultimate Fighter” and Bellator veteran. Fighting out of nearby Fort Worth, Bedford went 2-3 with a no-contest in the UFC and was let loose on a three-fight skid in 2014. But since then, he has back-to-back stoppage wins.

After starting his pro career a perfect 6-0, Flick has alternated wins and losses for six fights. Included in that mix is a pair of setbacks under the Legacy FC banner before the promotion merged with RFA to form the LFA. This past December, Flick was stopped by Levi Mowles with a second-round TKO at Legacy FC 63, so he’ll be looking to get back in the win column in the headliner against Bedford.

Lee was set to enter the bout on a three-fight winning streak and make her return to LFA after one fight away. “KGB” won the inaugural title in February when she submitted Heather Bassett with an armbar at LFA 4. Lee’s most recent bout took place in Invicta FC, where she took a split decision over Liz Tracy in May at Invicta FC 23.

Maciel was going to be making her LFA debut also riding a three-fight winning streak after an armbar submission in April under the Extreme Warriors International banner. Four of Maciel’s six victories have come by way stoppage during her 12-year professional career. But now that LFA debut is on hold.

The LFA 16 card includes:

• Johnny Bedford vs. Jimmy Flick
• Miles Johns vs. Levi Mowles
• Ryan Hollis vs. Steven Peterson – 140-pound catchweight
• Geoff Neal vs. Bilal Williams
• Damon Jackson vs. Eliazar Rodriguez
• Brandon Lewis vs. Cameron Miller
• Fernando Salas vs. Jessie Vasquez

For more on LFA 16, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.