This Saturday, April 9th, Houston’s Legacy Fighting Championship returns to the Arena Theater. Headlined by two exciting fights, this Legacy event features some of the city’s top up-and-coming talent – with many of them vying for the top contender slots to eventually contend for the coveted titles.
Not to be outshined by the star-studded lineup, the main event of the evening will be happening before the scheduled 8pm start time as 4 Oz. Fight Club trainer Bob Perez and longtime girlfriend Jennifer Josey square off in the center of the Legacy FC cage to tie the knot in holy matrimony! Houston’s 1st MMA Wedding will also mark a promotion for Collin Cantrell as he now becomes a matchmaker of different sorts as he unites Bob and Jennifer for life!
Congratulations to the beautiful couple!
Now let’s take a look at the entire card and break down these matchups so you fans out there know what to expect heading into an exciting night of action.
Main Event – Lightweight Title Fight – Daniel “The Pit” Pineda (12-7) versus Raymond Blodget (5-0)
Holding wins over two former champions in his last two bouts, IV Ounce Fight Club’s Daniel Pineda utilizes a strong and aggressive wrestling-based attack that has proven effective for him in the past, with nearly zero of his bouts making it past the three-minute-mark of any given round. Recently working to round out his skill set, Daniel has been traveling to Gold Team to supplement his training by working with renowned coach Jorge “Macaco” Patino.
The defending champion heading into this bout, Ray Blodget of Elite MMA is a multiple-time candidate of Legacy and LSBD Fight of the Night honors, dating all the way back to 2006’s Lonestar Beatdown 1 event.
Known primarily for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu base and finishing four out of five by submission, Ray has also shown a preference for standing and trading with his opponents in just about every fight on his record. Recently making the trip to California to work with Freddie Roach’s renowned Wild Card Boxing Gym to supplement his current skill set (along with Eddie Bravo and team at Legends MMA), Blodget has put all his focus into defending his title against what should be his toughest opponent to date.
How this fight could go – Both guys have strong Muay Thai and overall striking skills so this one could be a barnburner early. Both guys are skilled and hard to finish but five rounds is a long time. Look for excitement from the very start and all the way until it ends.
Middleweight Title Fight – Andrew Craig (4-0) versus William “Bubba” Bush (2-0)
Andrew Craig is making his Legacy debut undefeated as a professional and taking out impressive fighters like Rodrigo Pinheiro and Jon Kirk in the process. A product of Team Tooke along with time spent with Team Rabadi in Austin, Craig walks into this title shot as one of the most highly regarded fighters in the Houston area. With a well-rounded game not overly reliant in any one area, Andrew Craig certainly deserves his blue chip status as one of the city’s most promising fighters.
A dominant wrestler with an east coast pedigree, College Station’s Fighting Aggie Bubba Bush brings unmatched physical tools into the cage. What he lacks in experience, he makes up for in tenacity and he showed it against Chris Spicer in his last fight in mid-2010. Training with his team over at BVMMA, Bush could perhaps pose the biggest threat to Craig by utilizing his dominating grappling skills.
How this fight could go – It will be no surprise if Bush walks into this fight looking to take Andrew Craig down and smash him for fight straight rounds or until he gets the finish, whichever comes first. As far as Andrew Craig, he will look to capitalize on a likely striking advantage and catch Bubba coming in. If it does go the ground, it may be a battle of attrition for five rounds as both guys are skilled in that department. The one question is will cardio play a factor in a five round fight?
Middleweight – Patrick “Bam Bam” Hutton (2-2) versus Pat Bierschwale (1-0)
This fight will be a show of physicality for fans as the “Bison” takes on “Bam Bam.” Both of these men like to bully their opponents around the cage by using their respective strengths. For “Bam Bam” Patrick Hutton, that usually means using his boxing skills and going for the knockout. On the other hand, Pat Bierschwale does have a striking background as well, training in San Shou with Alex Cisne. Despite that, Bierschwale likes to go for the takedown and pound his opponents on the floor as well.
How this fight could go – Look for Patrick Hutton to come out swinging and try to take his opponent out early. Pat Bierschwale is going to look and take Hutton down and utilize his grappling skills to achieve top position and land a submission.
Welterweight – John Malbrough (1-0) versus Jonathan “Hulk” Harris (4-1)
Speaking of title contenders, Jonathan “Hulk” Harris is coming off a tough loss to Mike Bronzoulis in his welterweight title shot this past November. Prior to that, he was in the cage for a grand total of three minutes in four wins as a pro. Two of his highlight reel knockouts have been amongst the talked-about moments in Houston MMA history.
How this fight could go – Jonathan “Hulk” Harris is a feared striker and one of the few fighters with true knockout power at 170. If he connects, he can knock anybody silly and that’s exactly what he’ll try to do. As the more well-rounded fighter in this fight, John “Maniac” Malbrough is going to try to employ much of the same game plan that proved effective for “The Greek” and try to take Harris down where he should have the advantage.
Featherweight – Tim Snyder (11-7-1) versus Alex Black (1-1)
Word on the street is that Tim Snyder will be bringing his “terminator” persona back into the Legacy cage for this one fresh off Ultimate Fighter tryouts in New Jersey a few weeks ago. Coming off a spectacular highlight reel knockout of Aaron Barringer in his last fight, Tim has always been known as a knockout artist and has honed that skill over 10+ years of Muay Thai and MMA experience.
At 1-1, the 23-year-old Alex Black is looking to rebound from a hard loss to Gilbert Jimenez by getting a win over his seasoned opponent. Based on his performances both as an MMA amateur and in grappling tournaments around Texas, Black can most certainly count submissions as a personal strength along with his ever-improving standup.
How this fight could go – Most people would say they would look for Alex Black to take this to the ground based on his opponent’s strengths and his own proficiency on the ground. However, we’ve also seen that Black isn’t scared to stand and try to end things on the feet, as evident by TKO win against Greg Bellomy this past November. As far as Tim Snyder, it’s no secret what he’s looking to do, which is knock Alex out cold, likely by a vicious hook with either hand.
Welterweight – Alex Morono (2-0) versus Jeff Rexroad (2-1)
Jeff Rexroad is already coming off a FOTN performance in his last bout against Ricardo Talavera. He displayed some very impressive boxing in keeping his opponent at the end of his jab and also showed some mettle when the fight hit the ground. Training with the impressive squad over at Paradigm, Rexroad didn’t really rest too much in between bouts and should be in shape and ready to go at it again.
At 20 years old, Alex Morono has been a prodigy in his career thus far. I’ve heard rave reviews about his striking from everyone he’s sparred with and he’s no slouch on the ground with his jiu-jitsu either, displaying an impressive guard and the ability to finish from any position.
How this fight could go – This is one of those fights that could truly end up everywhere. Both this guys aren’t afraid to bang but are also technical enough to try and capitalize on any opportunity they see in front of them. Whether it’s a KO blow, takedown, or submission attempt, look for both these guys to give it their all in what could be the best fight of Saturday night.
Middleweight – Artenas “Machine Gun” Young (4-2) versus Jonathan Mack (2-2)
As heard on Adam Villareal’s ‘In the Cage’ radio show on ESPN 97.5, these two are already aching to go at it!
Artenas Young, better known as “Machine Gun,” has been clamoring for a fight at 185 ever since a surprising KO loss against Jared Taylor this past November. Making the drop in weight from 205, the 6’2” Young will look to utilize his length and counter-punching prowess to neutralize opponents in this weight class. Oh and there’s the matter of his extensive training over at Jackson’s MMA in New Mexico with guys like UFC 205 champion Jon Jones. Maybe that’s added something to his game as well.
Facing Artenas in this fight will be Jonathan Mack, also known as the “Mack Truck.” a former heavyweight, Mack has gradually gotten down to the middleweight class and has looked good so far at this weight. Mack is a solid boxer and can usually find the chin of his opponents but question marks surrounding this fight include his conditioning. Reason being, Mack works full-time in oil & gas and has been out in the field in recent months without the benefit of a full training camp in preparation for this fight.
How this fight could go – If this fight goes to the ground, it could be an early night as Young should have the clear advantage. According to Mack though, “that’s the only way” the Machine Gun will beat him. He doesn’t think Young has what it takes to knock him out and “you can’t teach someone how to have a chin. On the contrary, the “Machine Gun” says he can deliver on the KO in devastating fashion. Ergo, if this stays on the feet, which we hope it will, look for a battle of wills to see who can knock out whom first in this one.
Bantamweight – Angel Huerta (4-0) versus Nate Garza (3-3)
With nine fights total prior to this one, Nate Garza holds the edge as far as cage experience and is a scrappy fighter who looks to overwhelm and break his opponent or simply outwork them. He’s pretty quick on his feet and stays busy as a fighter.
“The Chosen One” Angel Huerta is known as a devastating striker with his background in karate, fighting in such standup leagues as Chuck Norris’ WCL promotion. Huerta has finished all of his opponents by TKO, and three out of four in the first round. His last fight with Andy Sandoval showed fans he can survive on the ground and get back on his feet when needed. All in all, Huerta is one of the most highly-touted prospects in the area in the lower weight classes.
How this fight could go – Look for these guys to go after each other early, with Garza trying to make this a rough fight by taking it to the ground and try to pound on Huerta to wear him down. As far as Angel, whatever he tries to do, if he is successful at it, you shouldn’t blink because you just might miss it. Knees, head kicks, spinning attacks… Look for Angel to utilize his quickness and speed to hurt Garza early.
Welterweight – Mark Garcia (1-2) versus Patrick Greene (0-1)
Try not to pay too much attention to records in this fight.
Mark “Kan’t Get Right” Garcia has taken his last fights, both losses, on 24-hour notice and has recently made the move to work with John Malbrough the team over at Kingwood MMA to get his game up to speed. Prior to turning pro, Mark did post a 4-1 amateur record so the kid’s got potential.
Speaking of potential, much can be said about Revolution Dojo’s Patrick Greene, who displayed strength and skill in his pro debut prior to succumbing to a seasoned John Malbrough. He too posted a solid amateur record of 2-1 prior to turning pro so look for the Jeff Messina trained fighter to be focused as he looks for his first win.
How this fight could go – Hard to say how this one will go other than surmising it will be a battle of Greene’s strength versus Garcia’s speed. I haven’t seen enough of these guys to evaluate them thoroughly but something tells me this one will be going to ground quickly.
Our Full Coverage of the April 9th Legacy Fighting Championship
- Pat “The Bison” Bierschwale Ready for Legacy Battle with Patrick “Bam Bam” Hutton this Saturday! – here
- Just Another “Maniac” Monday with John Malbrough; Fighting Jonathan Harris this Saturday at Legacy! – here
- Daniel “Pit” Pineda on Training for his Legacy Lightweight Title Shot Against Ray Blodget! – here
- Team Tooke’s Andrew Craig on Beating Jon Kirk and His Upcoming Legacy Title Shot Against Bubba Bush! – here
- TXMMA.com Exclusive with Legacy Lightweight Champion Ray Blodget; Taking on Daniel Pineda on April 9th! – here
- Looking to “Whoop” Up on Someone – “Fighting Aggie” Bubba Bush set to take onAndrew Craig for the Legacy 185 Title! – here
- Stepping Back into the Cage with Alex Black; Ready to Do Battle Once MoreAgainst Tim Snyder at Legacy! – here
- The Next Big Thing? Time to Grow Up as Alex Morono Faces Jeff Rexroad at Legacy FC on April 9th! – here
- Legacy FC Announced April 9th Bout Additions – “The Chosen One” Returns; Andrew Craig Arrivesto Take On Bubba Bush – here
- Initial Legacy Card Announcement and Fight Opinions from Houston MMA Personalities –here
- Interview with Jeff Rexroad, Main Event Preview of ‘Blodget versus Pineda,’ and much more by TXMMAWriter Mike Calimbas in the 2nd issue of Legacy Magazine – here
- Much more to come here on TXMMA.com!
What do you guys think of these upcoming fights? Let us know with comments below!