Legacy Fighting Championship 7 – Recap and Review of Legacy’s HDNet Debut

HOUSTON, TX, July 23, 2011 – So has everyone recovered from last night’s Legacy Fighting Championship 7 yet? From this point of view, it seems that the promotion’s maiden broadcast on HDNet went splendidly well. Of course there are many moving parts that made this event a success but it’s the fighters that deserved all the credit for putting it all out there in the cage! The portion of Legacy’s finest that were showcased last night brought their A-game and fought their hearts out for the crowd in attendance and those watching at home. Top-to-bottom, very enjoyable card.

Now that we’ve had rough 24-hours from start to digest everything that went down last night, let’s take a look at the results and predict where some these fighters go from here. (if it were up to us, that is.)

Bout 1 – Tony Orozco over David McClung by TKO in Round 1

Two coaches opened the show with Silverback’s Tony Orozco taking on BVMMA’s David McClung and winning via first round TKO after taking McClung’s back and raining down blows to force the ref stoppage. Impressive showing by the O.G. (Original Gorilla) to even his career record at .500.

What’s next – At forty-four years old, I’m not convinced that Coach Tony is ever going to step back into the cage. If he doesn’t, hats off to him on ending his short MMA career in spectacular fashion. He’ll have a lot to contend with here in the near future (Monday) with all these guys he has fighting in shows like the Legacy Amateur Series and Cage Combat 5. Silverback Fight Club is in good hands based on their recent showings. Look for Orozco to place his focus on continuing that momentum in the near future.

Bout 2 – Shelby Sheehan over David Armas by Unanimous Decision

Speaking of Silverback FC, David Armas was up next in his professional debut against Draculino-trained Shelby Sheehan. The bout went all three with “Two-Guns” winning the unanimous decision using his grappling / clinch experience to win the advantage. Armas nearly had his opponent before the bell put an end to round one so look for him to gain some lessons learned in his pro debut.

What’s next – Shelby Sheehan leaves this bout 1-0 after a guns-blazing performance. Not sure when he plans to fight next but it’d be cool to see Shelby paired up against another Brazilian Jiu Jitsu based fighter like San Antonio’s Cody Hoffstater.

Bout 3 – Jared Chaffee over Alex Black by Submission in Round 2 (Rear-Naked Choke)

In the third bout of the evening, Gracie Barra’s Jared Chaffee made his pro debut against Bushi Ban’s Alex Black. Losing two in a row to tough fighters Tim Snyder and Gilbert “Pitbull” Jimenez, many considered this to be a “must-win” for Alex and by all accounts, everyone thought he would do just that. Well Chaffee put an end to all that talk with an utterly dominating performance highlighted by his ability to control position in the cage until he got the fight-ending rear-naked choke.

What’s next – Chaffee was highly impressive in this bout and never looked to be in any danger. It’s safe to say that he made a statement in his pro debut against a fighter long-thought to be a gamer at 145. Should he fight again soon, it’d be a treat to see him matched up against somebody like Black’s previous opponent, Tim Snyder.

Bout 4 – Larry Crowe over Jermaine Anugwom by TKO in Round 1

Next up, Larry Crowe ended his fight with Jermaine Anugwom in quick and dominating fashion early in the first round of their bout. Prior to the fight, we thought this one might end up to be a slugfest based on Crowe’s prior performances and Anugwom’s fourteen-year striking pedigree. Instead “Tae-Kwon-Crowe” came out like a ball of fire, almost immediately overwhelming his less-experienced opponent by striking hard, taking him down, and pounding on him to force the referee stoppage. Very impressive performance by Mr. Crowe.

What’s next – It looks like Crowe is on his way down to 185 after this last catch-weight bout with Anugwom. There is no doubt that this Silverback fighter is on the rise after an impressive performance that puts him at 4-1. He’s got a little ways to go before challenging the likes of middleweight champ Andrew Craig but a fight with someone like Bubba Bush could be very interesting. (note: Bush is currently scheduled to face Josh Foster on Legacy FC’s September card but hey, anything could happen between now and then.)

Bout 5 – Justin Reiswerg over Marc Ramirez by Unanimous Decision

We’d like to take our hats off to these two gentlemen for opening the HDNet Fights portion of Legacy FC 7 in spectacular fashion. Justin Reiswerg and Marc Ramirez truly proved themselves to be two top up-and-comers at 155 and both would be a handful for anybody in the division short of the very top-tier at this point. Reiswerg in particular looked like an absolute blue-chipper out there, showcasing crisp boxing / striking and seamlessly transitioning to takedowns and groundwork when he needed to get the unanimous decision victory.

What’s next – We see Justin as a future title contender in the Legacy promotion after everything he showed in last night’s performance. We’re not quite sure what will happen yet with Pineda holding both the 145 / 155 belts. With him winning his own Legacy FC 7 bout, a call-up to the big leagues could be in the books so the title situation may be a little hazy until we get a more definitive word from the powers-that-be. Still, a bout against the likes of former champions such as Levi Forrest or Ray Blodget would be an exciting way to continue building Reiswerg’s young career.

Bout 6 – Jesus Rivera over Rey Trujillo by TKO in Round 3

Redemption was the story in this bout and we’re not talking about some t-shirt company. Rey Trujillo has lost six fights including five in a row since their 2010 Legacy FOTY performance last March but that made no difference for Jesus Rivera, who was looking to get his own defeat off his back in this rematch. In truth, Trujillo performed pretty well in making this a back-and-forth matchup reminiscent of their first bout until the cardio and momentum swung Jesus’ way. From there, the “Spaniard” was able to impose his will and force the stoppage.

What’s next – As recently as last years, the now 6-2 “Spaniard” was supposedly retired from the sport of MMA but last night’s performance may cause him to reconsider making a true run once more. if he were to come back, one match we’d love to see would be a rematch with  Lee King, but this time in an MMA cage instead of kickboxing.

Bout 7 – Jonathan Mackles over Chad Robichaux by Submission in Round 1 (Guillotine Choke)

This planned win turned out to be a heartbreaking loss for Chad Robo as the understated and largely unheralded Jonathan Mackles turned the UFC-minded Chad Robichaux into his fifth win in a row. “Mack Attack” came out aggressively and quickly latched on a guillotine choke to submit the Gracie Barra black belt in what was definitely the upset of the night based on most pre-fight predictions, including ours.

What’s next – Robo had a two-fight plan that would get him into the UFC at flyweight. Mackles may have ruined that plan in step-one but the show must go on and Robichaux has a scheduled rematch with Humberto Deleon in September’s Legacy FC 8. This time it’ll be at flyweight so that bout should be very telling as to the prospects of Robichaux’s fight future. As Jonathan Mackles, five wins in a row is definitely an impressive feat. Should he be back to fight at Legacy, one fight we’d love to see is “Mack Attack” versus Beaumont sensation Cody Williams.

Bout 8 – Pete Spratt over Antonio Flores by TKO in Round 1

What a performance! In this knockout of the night, 40-year-old Pete Spratt showed he still has timing and speed on his side via the one-hitter-quitter overhand left he planted on Antonio “King Kong” Flores. That clip has been replayed over and over today and is our ‘Featured Video of the Day’ here on TXMMA.com. It was truly an amazing performance by the Saekson Janjira / Rodrigo Pinheiro representative.

What’s next – Based on this performance, it looks like Pete Spratt still has a lot of leg left in his career. Word on the street is that a September Legacy welterweight title matchup is his for the taking if he wants it against another old-school badass in Jorge “Macaco” Patino. We wouldn’t have it any other way as that fight would be one for the ages.

Bout 9 – Daniel Pineda over Frank Gomez by Submission Round 3 (Rear-Naked Choke)

This may not have been easiest but it may have been the most sweet for Daniel Pineda. WEC veteran Frank Gomez was no easy opponent for “The Pit” and gave him all he could handle for three rounds of action. As the fight wore on, Pineda gradually began to impose a tempo that Gomez could not match until the IV Ounce fighter submitted the Jackson’s MMA rep to retain his Legacy 145 belt.

What’s next – Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise us at all if Pineda’s next fight took place outside the confines of the Legacy FC cage. He’s due for a call-up and we’d love to see him in a Zuffa promotion if that’s in the cards. He’s certainly earned it in our eyes but if they want to see more, look for Mick Maynard and crew to bring in another big name from out of town to challenge the Houston standard-bearer.

Bout 10 – Carlo Prater over Cameron Dollar by Submission Round 2 (Kimura)

Outside of everything else, it was an honor to see Carlo “Neo” Prater fight in the Legacy FC cage for the very first time. It was also great that Saul Soliz and Yves Edwards cornered him to make this an old-school Houston MMA reunion on that side of the cage. We often like to pay homage to history here at TXMMA so it felt good to see that! As for the fight itself, Cameron Dollar came to Houston with five-wins in a row and a skill set that makes him a tough opponent for anybody. The fact that Prater was able to take out Dollar for his third submission win in a row speaks volumes for where Carlo is at this point in his career.

What’s next – Based on his three most recent fights, Carlo is in the midst of an MMA renaissance and could be better than he’s even been, and that includes past wins over Carlos Condit and Pat “Bam Bam” Healy. Simply put, Prater is a threat to any fighter in the world. It’d be great to see him fight in Legacy FC once more but we’d be remiss if we didn’t say that his next logical destination should be Strikeforce or the UFC.

YOU can help us grow Texas MMA! If you enjoyed this article, please make sure to  LIKE TXMMA on Facebook and tell your friends about TXMMA.com!