LFA 4 Breakdown

               

                                              A pair of Title fights headline Legacy Fighting Alliance’s fourth event since the merger of Legacy FC and Resurrection Fighting Alliance on February 17^th at the Horseshoe Bossier City Hotel and Casino, Bossier City, LA. In the Featherweight Division two former LFC Champions battle for the strap when 11-1 Kevin Aguilar faces 11-1-1-1 Damon Jackson. In the Women’s Flyweight Division, Andrea KGB Lee takes on Heather Hand Guns Bassett for the inaugural 125lbs Belt.

               

Twenty-eight year old, Kevin The Angel of Death Aguilar has won his last three bouts, most recent, a Split Decision at LFC 57 (7/1/16) over Tony Kelley to become the promotion’s final Featherweight Champion. Aguilar’s last six fights were under the LFC banner, including his only career loss, a First Round (2:57) TKO by former UFC star, Leonard Garcia at LFC 26 (12/6/13). Aguilar rebounded with a Third Round (3:13) TKO of Alex Black at LFC 39 and a Second Round (2:04) TKO win over David Bosnick at LFC 49 (12/4/15). Fighting out of Longview, Texas The Angel of Death has finished nine of his eleven wins (7 KO/TKO).

               

Originally the former RFA Featherweight Champ, Raoni Barcelos was scheduled to face Aguilar, but a Barcelos injury caused LFA to find another opponent. They called up another LFC FW Champion, Damon The Leech Jackson. Jackson won the belt with a First Round Arm-Triangle Submission of Leonard Garcia at LFC 33 (7/18/14). Jackson never defended his belt, following the Title win, he received the call up to the UFC for three fights (the only career blemishes to date) one loss, one draw, and one No Contest. Jackson returned to Legacy FC last October at LFC 61 earning a Unanimous Decision victory over Levi Mowles. Jackson competed at LFA 1 earlier this year, Submitting Charles Cheeks III in the Second Round (1:24) by Rear-Naked-Choke. The Leach has a tendency to stick to his opponents, forcing the Tap, he has eight submission finishes. An All-American Wrestler at Missouri Valley College, Jackson went 5-0 in Legacy FC with four wins by Submission.

               

Shreveport’s Andrea KGB Lee comes into this Title fight fresh from a KO win at Invicta FC 21. A Body-Shot just 1:14 into the contest sent Jenny Liou to the canvas and gave Lee her fourth stoppage win, second by KO/TKO. Twenty-eight year old, Lee fought for Legacy FC at LFC 49 (12/4/15) stopping Ariel Beck with a Third Round (4:22) Arm-bar. Despite only seven Pro MMA bouts, KGB is an experienced fighter. Besides her amateur MMA record of 9-3, Lee also has over sixty amateur Muay Thai fights and USA Boxing matches under her belt.

4-2 with four finishes (2TKO/KO, 2 Sub) Heather Hand Guns Bassett is building a reputation in the Flyweight Division. Bassett has gone undefeated in King of the Cage (4-0), last February at KOTC Frozen War, Hand Guns let those hands go, stopping Shaena Cox in the Second Round by TKO (0:43). Prior to that, Heather displayed her Submission game at KOTC Bear Brawl (11/21/15) forcing Taylor Turner to tap 1:39 into the opening round to Rear-Naked-Choke.

               

Finishers of a combined thirty-two fights collide when 18-9 Derrick Krantz faces 14-6 Hayward Charles. The two combatants have finished each of their respective wins before the final horn. Derrick D-Rock Krantz has eleven wins by Submission and seven more by KO/TKO. D-Rock went 7-3 in Legacy FC and has won four of his last five. At LFC 57 (7/1/16) Krantz halted Dave Burrow by Rear-Naked-Choke in the First Round (4:22). He also stopped Brock Larson by Knock Out in the Third Round of their LFC 43 contest.

               

Hayward The Hybrid Charles has Submitted his last four opponents, he has collected thirteen over his career. The Hybrid’s last bout was nearly seventeen months ago, with Hero FC promotion (fought his last 3 there in 2015). 9/26/15 the tap came 3:27 in the Second Round, three months earlier he secured one of his patented Arm-Bars just 1:03 into the fight, and in January won by Arm-Triangle 1:05 into the opening frame. Charles fights out of Fort Worth, Texas and went 1-1 in Legacy FC (the win, an Arm-Bar of course).

LFA 4 Airs live on AXS-TV 2/17/17, check local listings.

Legacy Fighting Championship 63 Breakdown

Hometown fighter, Gerald Harris returns from, an over three year, retirement to Headline Legacy Fighting Championship 63, in Tulsa, OK Friday December second, opposite 6-3 Aaron Cobb. Thirty-seven year old, Harris last fought at WSOF 4 (8/10/13), earning a Unanimous Decision over Jorge Santiago. Hurricane has been a Pro since 2006, competing for: UFC (3-1 w/ 3 TKO/KO), Dream, Titan FC, and IFL. One of Harris’s 9 KO/TKO wins was a Third Round (2:53) Knock-Out of Two-Division WSOF Champion (MW, LHW) David Branch at UFC 116. The former Cleveland State University wrestler, holds the team’s record for all-time wins. The Tulsa Welterweight competed on The Ultimate Fighter Season 7, losing to eventual show winner, Amir Sadollah. 22-5 Hurricane has finished fifteen of his Twenty-two wins, six by Submission.

               

When Aaron Cobb enters the cage for the Main Event in The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Friday night, it will also be for the first time since 2013. Fighting out of Fort Smith, Ark Cobb has never been to a judge’s decision as a pro (5 wins by Sub). Cobb is making his Legacy debut, he lost his last to a Jeff Jenkins First Round Americana-Arm-Lock (3/9/13).

               

Trey That Just Happened Houston has finished each of his eleven wins (7 Subs). Bixby, Oklahoma’s Houston has taken two years off since going 1-3 in his last four, including a Second Round TKO (2:11) loss to Roan Carneiro (10/3/14) in his last bout. The Twenty-eight year old hopes to improve on his 11-3 record when he faces McKinney Texas’ Bilal Williams.

               

Thirty-three year old, Williams has finished five of his seven wins, 3 TKO/KO. An October, Second Round (4:59) Submission (Rear-Naked-Choke) loss to Melvin Jordan at LFC 61 broke a four fight win streak (2TKO/KO, 1 Sub). The 6’1” Williams TKO’d two opponents in the opening round already this year: he caught Ed Cline Jr early at 0:21 (4/20/16) and stopped Sean Holden at 3:13 (6/24/16).

               

In the Featherweight Division 8-2 Jimmy The Brick Flick takes on Venus, Texas’ Levi Mowles. Sand Springs, Oklahoma’s Flick earned his sixth career Submission win in his last, catching Tavares Collins just Twenty-three seconds into the September 17^th bout.

               

Twenty-one year old, Levi Mowles looks to bounce back from his first career loss, a Unanimous Decision to Damon Jackson at LFC 61 (10/14/16). Mowles has finished two of his four career wins (1 TKO, 1 Sub). At 5’8” Mowles will have a two inch height advantage over Flick.

Legacy Fighting Championship 63 airs live on AXS-TV check your local listings.

Cancellation?!! No Fear

                Despite the cancellation of the UFC’s Manilla card this Saturday, there is plenty of MMA to check out this weekend. Hall-of-Famer, BJ Penn was forced to withdraw from his debut fight in the Featherweight Division due to an injured rib. Penn was scheduled to make his first Octagon appearance since a 2014 TKO loss to Frankie Edgar, versus veteran fighter, Ricardo Lamas in the Philippines capital city. MMA fans need not panic, there are plenty of interesting fights to watch this weekend.

             

Legacy Fighting Championship brings two Championship fights to Dallas at LFC 61 Friday night. Steven Peterson looks to defend his Bantamweight Title versus undefeated, Mark De La Rosa in the evening’s Main Event. In the Co-Main former champ, Damon Jackson looks to recapture Legacy’s Gold in his Featherweight Championship fight against Levi Mowles. Also check out future star and BJJ world champ, Mackenzie Dern compete in her second MMA fight against 5-2 Montana Stewart. For a more comprehensive look at the card check out my Breakdown: http://fightpage.blogspot.com/2016/10/breakdown-legacy-fighting-champioship.html

               

The UFC has a show scheduled for Nov 26^th in Melbourne, Australia headlined by former Middleweight Champ, Luke Rockhold and Jacare Souza. The sport’s biggest promotion tends to give local fighters a chance on their undercards. Saturday Australian Fighting Championship’s AFC 17 features a Heavyweight with dynamite in his fists in the Main Event. Undefeated Tai Bam Bam Tuivasa takes on The Ultimate Fighter 10 alumni, James Mc Sweeney in a HW Tilte fight. If Tuivasa can stop a veteran like Mc Sweeney with the same ease as his past opponents the UFC might feature the Sidney striker on the Nov 26^th undercard. Bam Bam has not been out of the first round as a pro, in fact his past three TKO wins have each come in the opening minute. He won the AFC HW title by smashing an elbow into Brandon Sosoli that halted the fight just twenty-one seconds in. For a comprehensive event breakdown: Check back soon

               

Many of tomorrow’s star’s come out of Cage Warriors FC and that’s great reason to watch today (airs on UFC FightPass). Example: the lineup change for CWFC 79, 20-5 Jack Marshman was called to fight in Belfast at UFC Fight Night 99, scraping the Oct 15^th Middleweight Title Main Event. Instead, TUF Season 22 competitor, Martin Svensson will face a fighter with two KO/TKO stoppages already in 2016, Scott Clist in the Lightweight Main Event. Also Undefeated, Josh Reed takes on, finisher of all eight of his wins, Martin Sheridan in a Bantamweight bout.

               

Also available on UFC Fight Pass is Friday night’s Combate Americas, Empire Rising live from Verona, NY. The Main Event is a BW Title fight between 11-2 John Sexy Mexy Castaneda and 6-1 Gustavo Lopez. In the Co-Main familiar name to many, TUF 3 cast member, Matt The Hammer Hamill takes on 3-1 Julian The Cuban Missile Crisis Marquez in the Light Heavyweight Division. The three time NCAA D-3 National Champ, Hamill will be looking to avoid Marquez’s power, who has stopped all three of his wins with strikes.

Breakdown: Legacy Fighting Champioship LFC 61: Updated

A pair of Championship fights headline Legacy Fighting Championship’s Dallas card at the BombFactory, October 14^th. 14-4 Steven Peterson puts his Bantamweight Title on the line versus undefeated, Mark De La Rosa and former LFC champ, Damon Jackson takes on 4-0 Levi Mowles for the Featherweight strap at LFC 61.

               

McKinney, Texas’s Steven Ocho Peterson is on a six fight win streak (5 in LFC) including two TKO’s and two wins by Submission. Ocho is on a roll, in June he choked Manny Vazquez to sleep in the fourth round (3:08) to become the BW champion at LFC 56. The Superman logo tattooed across Peterson’s chest reflects the confidence the Twenty-six year old displays in the cage. For good reason, his well-rounded game has resulted in finishes in ten of his fourteen wins (6 by Sub). Peterson faces 7-0 Mark De La Rosa in the Main Event.

               

Fighting out of Fort Worth, De La Rosa enters the Legacy FC cage for the first time. The Twenty-two year old competes for the third time in 2016: he won a Unanimous Decision over Arthur Oliveira April 2^nd at Superior Combative Championships and collected his third career submission win in January when he cinched a Rear-Naked-Choke on Kashiff Solarin’s neck at 2:58 of the first round.  

               

Damon The Leech Jackson submitted WEC and UFC veteran, Leonard Garcia at LFC 33 (7/18/14) in a first round (1:32) Arm-Triangle to become the LFC 145lbs champ. Jackson got called, one month later, to face Yancy Medeiros as a late replacement at UFC 177. Getting the call to the big show was bittersweet, Jackson got caught in Medeiros’s second round choke for his first career loss. Jackson got another shot at UFC Fight Night 67 against Brazilian, Rony Jason. A first round Jason sub was later overturned due to Jason testing positive for a banned diuretic. The Leech was granted one more chance (1/30/16) at UFC on Fox 18, but the bout resulted in a draw versus Levan Makashvili. Jackson returns home to Dallas to try to recapture the LFC FW Title and start another run. He faces undefeated, Levi Mowles in a five rounder.

               

Twenty-one year old, Mowles is in his fourth fight with LFC, at LFC 56 (6/24/16) he out-pointed Edwin Figueroa earning the UD victory. Prior to that, in his only non-LFC fight, Mowles scored a TKO ten seconds into the second round at DWTC (1/9/16). The Undefeated, Mowles single submission win, the rare Twister, stopped Jake Norsworthy in the opening frame (3:26) at LFC 46 (10/2/15).

               

In the Women’s Strawweight Division Arlington’s Montana Stewart faces Phoenix fighter, Mackenzie Dern. 5-2 Stewart dropped her first two pro career fights, before rattling off four straight wins by Submission and a UD over Mellony Geugjes (6/3/16) most recently. Weeks earlier (5/21/16) she caught Francis Hernandez in a Rear-Naked-Choke in the third round (1:58) at XFL Xtreme Fight Night 30. She faces a different kind of grappler in BJJ World Champ, Mackenzie Dern.

               

Twenty-three year old Dern competes in her second pro MMA fight, she won a UD at LFC 58 (6/22/16) over Kenia Rosas in her debut. Dern began training BJJ at three years old, her father is famous BJJ Black Belt, Wellington Megaton Dias. Dern, who competes at 115lbs Friday, defeated Gabby Garcia in a semifinal match up at ADCC open weight tournament. (Garcia competes at over 200lbs). With Dern’s pedigree, a future star in the women’s SW division may be on the rise.

                A pair of Texas sluggers battle it out in the Heavyweight Division when 4-1 Jeremy Hardy meets Dallas’s Rashad Coulter. Twenty-nine year old, Hardy is on a two fight win streak and has stopped each of his four wins by first round TKO. Hardy fights for the third time in 2016 Friday: in April Brad Faylor couldn’t answer the bell following the opening round and at LFC 50 he stopped Dale Mitchell in the first 3:20.

                5-1 Rashad DayWalker Coulter has also finished all of his wins by TKO, four in the first round. In his last fight at Bellator 135 he ended Jeremiah O’Neil’s night in the opening 1:44 and he stopped Alex Madrid at 2:52 in Xtreme Knockouts 23 (10/18/14) to start his first round TKO win streak. Don’t blink, someone’s eyes are sure to close in this one.
               
                Update: BW Champ Steven Peterson missed weight and was forced to vacate the title, De La Rosa made weight and can still become the champ with a win, but a Peterson win will result in a vacant BW Title. Also, Mackenzie Dern missed her Strawweight limit of 115lbs by three pounds, opponent Montana Stewart made weight.

LFC 61 airs live on AXS-TV check your listings

Breakdown Legacy FC 60

               

                Legacy Fighting Championship is headed to Hinckley, MN for LFC 60. Heavyweights will slug it out in the Main Event, October 7^th, when 6’5” Tyler East faces finisher of twenty-five fights, Brian Heden.

               

Tyler The Beast East is 15-5 and has finished thirteen of those wins (11 by KO/TKO). East is the second ranked Pro HW in the SouthWest (according to tapology.com) and has a long 78” reach. After going 1-2 in 2014 East took some time off from the sport, before returning 6/11/16 at FFC 25 in Springfield, Ma to win by a first round (2:30) Kimura, in his last fight.

               

Veteran of over forty fights, Brian Heden went 2-0 in 2015. He won a Unanimous Decision over Mike Whitehead (12/5/15) and submitted Adam Kope in the first round (3:25) in May by rear-naked-choke. Thirty-one year old, Heden has KO/TKOs in eighteen of his twenty-nine wins. In his last fight (5/21/16) Heden avenged a 2014 first round (4:17), TKO loss to 73-20 Travis Wiuff, by stopping Wiuff in the opening 0:33 by TKO. Heden is the fifth ranked Pro HW in the US MidWest (tapology.com).

               

In the Welterweight Division, 16-9 Jos Eichelberger takes on 25-10 Dakota Cochrane in the Co-Main event. Fargo North Dakota’s Eichelberger is on a five fight win streak with four stoppages (3TKO, 1 Sub). The 5’11” Eichelberger is a finisher, with early stoppage wins in fourteen of his sixteen victories (9 by KO/TKO).

Thirty year old Cochrane of Omaha, NE is an active fighter, he’s gone 7-1 in the past fourteen months (3Subs, 2TKO). He has stopped seventeen of his twenty-five wins (10 Subs). This is Cochrane’s first time competing for LFC, but the thirty-five fight veteran has competed for: Titan FC, VictoryFC, RFA, Bellator and others.

In the Featherweight Division Nate takes on Nick. No the Diaz Brothers aren’t fighting each other at 145lbs, 4-1 Nate Togbah Richardson faces 12-5 Nick Compton. Nate The Natural Richardson has sprinkled his five pro fights over the last four years (4-1) and has three finishes (2 subs) to date. This is his third fight with LFC, he won a Split Decision at LFC 51 (2/5/15) over Kuchiong Kuchiong in his last and beat Courtney Buck with a third round (3:43) KO at LFC 43.

Thirty-four year old, Nick Compton has finished ten of his twelve wins (8 Subs). Fighting out of Maple Grove MN, Compton is just 2-4 in fights that go to the judge’s scorecards. Compton fights at both Lightweight and Featherweight and is the number one ranked Pro LW in Minnesota (tapology.com). A September ninth UD loss to Jason Fischer halted a three fight win streak with two first round subs. In April (4/29/16) Compton stopped Yusheng Wang by Arm Bar.  

In a fight between a pair of aging journeymen, 26-6 Indalecio Tat Romero takes on forty-one year old, Isaiah Pitts. Mean Bean Romero has stopped all but one of his twenty-six wins early, fourteen by KO/TKO. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard of Romero until now, it may be because some of those wins are against opponents with sub-five hundred records, but a win is a win and Romero has plenty. The thirty-six year old is currently riding a two fight win streak, both TKO’s.

Wausau, Wisconsin’s Isaiah Pitts is 6-1, yet he already has fought a rematch. He is coming off his second career first round TKO win over RT Hicks. This one coming in the fight’s first minute (0:49) 12/15/15. Pitts, like his opponent, holds numerous wins over fighters with losing records, but brings tenacity to each meeting.

LFC 60 Main Card airs live on AXS TV

Breakdown Legacy FC 59

                Two hometown Middleweight fighters will headline Legacy Fighting Championship 59, Sept. 16^th at the Arena Theater in Houston Texas. 11-7 Isaac Villanueva will face fellow Houstonian, 7-0 Trevin Giles in the Main Event.

               

Isaac Villanueva is riding a three fight win streak, including his last effort at LFC 55 earning a Unanimous Decision win over Brandon Farrar. The Decision was only the second time “Hurricane Ike” has let a bout slip to the judges’ decision, in 18 fights. He has finished nine of his eleven wins by KO/TKO. This past February at Bellator 149, Villanueva allowed the clock only 42 ticks before stopping Richard Knepp’s night by TKO and a month earlier (1/15/16) he thrilled the crowd at Fury Fighting 9 with an opening round KO of Husan Mohamed at 1:08.

               

Undefeated, Trevin Giles has stopped all seven of his opponents to date (3 KO/TKO, 4 Subs). This is Giles fourth fight with LFC, in March he sub’d Brendan Allen by rear-naked-choke (1:47, 2^nd round) at LFC52. In Giles most recent bout, Josh Clark fell to the same fate in the 2^nd round (1:10) in the Main Event at RFA 41 (7/29/16). With fighters that own such impressive finishing skills, these two local fighters should draw the attention from MMA fans everywhere.

               

In the Lightweight Division, Justin Reiswerg has finished eight of his nine career wins, six by Submission. “The Wolverine” last appeared under the Legacy banner at LFC50 (1/22/16), when it took him only 1:43 (1^st round) to sink in a rear-naked-choke on Jonathan Harris.  The Twenty-eight year old has had a tough go as of late, 1-3 in his last four, but he’s always a threat with his proven submission game. He faces Jason Langellier.

               

Langellier comes in with a perfect 4-0 record, 3 KO/TKO and 1 Sub. “Slim Reaper” is fighting in his fourth LFC event, all previous have been halted due to Langellier’s strikes. Most recently a first round knee stopped Jeremiah Jones (1:19) at LFC55. “Slim Reaper’s” only pro fight outside Legacy also accounts for his sole submission win, a first round anaconda choke earned him the victory at Bellator 149.

                Baton Rouge Bantamweight, Chris Pham has finished each of his four wins (3 subs, 1 KO). Always dangerous, Pham has struggled lately, winning only one in his last five attempts, but that win, a :28 KO of Aaron Williams at Cage Rage 22.

                Pham faces Houston’s Domingo Pilarte. “Anointed” is on a two fight win streak. Last time out (10/09/15) the Twenty-six year old collected one of his three submission wins with a first round arm bar (2:04) of Javier Obregon at Fury Fighting 8.

                Staying in the Bantamweight Division, winner of his last four, Houston’s Colin Wright looks to improve his 4-2 record. At Fury Fighting 10 (4/8/16) Wright earned his third submission win with a first round Triangle choke of Edward Longoria (2:43). Wright takes on Twenty-two year old, Adrian Yanez. Yanez won a Unanimous Decision over Ryan Hollis at Bellator 149 for his first career decision win. Yanez also has two wins by TKO and one sub.

Also scheduled for the Main Card: 135lbs. 3-0 Randy Mc Cullough takes on 4-3 Mike Trinh, 205lbs. 10-10 Chad Cook Vs 3-1 Danny Orr. To view the entire fight card www.legacyfights.net