HOUSTON, TX, October 23, 2011 – Legacy Amateur Series 6 took place last night at the Verizon Wireless Theater in downtown Houston. The show featured some impressive performances from many up-and-coming amateurs. Without further adieu, see below for quick results, top storylines, and photos from the event.

Legacy Amateur Series 6 – Quick Results

•  Kody Williams defeated Alex Stephens by Unanimous Decision
•  Anthony Chang defeated Chris Tornero by Unanimous Decision
•  Quentin Kiper defeated Visuaksena Castro by Unanimous Decision
•  David Cruz defeated Mark Carlisle by Unanimous Decision
•  Brandon Hurrington defeated Ken Banks by Split Decision
•  Ryan Hollis defeated Alex Ramirez via Unanimous Decision
•  John Paul Moreno defeated Tyler Flores by Split Decision
•  Jonathan Stern defeated Zach McKay by TKO (punches), RD1
•  Adrian Yanez defeated Nico Echeverry by Unanimous Decision
•  Charles Lloyd defeated Omar Khosravi by Submission (RNC), RD3
•  Angelus McFarlane defeated Mike Eaglin by TKO / Ref Stoppage (America), RD2
•  Charles Ontiveros defeated Mike Jackson via TKO (Punches), RD1
•  Eric Garcia defeated Kolton Englund by Unanimous Decision
•  Ramiro Cortina defeated Manny Lozoya via TKO (Punches), RD2

Top Five Storylines & Performances from Legacy Amateur Series

Ramiro Cortina Wins Legacy Amateur 135 Title

The main event of the evening at Legacy Amateur Series 6 saw RSKA / Silverback fighter Ramiro Cortina challenge Manny Lozoya for his amateur bantamweight belt and come up aces with the TKO victory in round two. The two would start off the match showcasing their hand speed and footwork with Cortina getting the better of the action by being the aggressor and bloodying his opponent in the first few minutes. The young fighter displayed simple, yet effective 2 and 3 combinations throughout to control the action until the fight ending sequence ended things in the 2^nd round.

With this, Cortina now wins his first championship belt only 2 fights into his undefeated career while the loss drops his Manny Lozoya to 4-3. Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see who will be the next to step up and challenge for this belt with longtime top amateur 135’er Colin Wright conceivably making his way to the pro ranks and fellow contender Tony Orozco Jr. training out of the same RSKA / Silverback camp. Who’s going to step up?

Kung-Fu Fighter Ontiveros Backs Up His Words Against Mike Jackson

Coming out in a gi reminiscent of ‘Kenny Powers’ in the movie Foot Fist Way while “kung fu fighter” blared on the sound system, Charles Ontiveros sure looked the part of king of the demo as he stepped into the cage looking to prove his striking prowess.

Prior to the fight, the East Texas fighter spoke unabashedly about his desire to stand and finish his equally outspoken opponent, Mike Jackson. It turns out that his words were more prophecy than myth as he dropped Jackson with a right hand midway through the first round of their matchup. Mike would fight valiantly from there, recovering and reversing position momentarily before Charlie regained control for the fight ending punch sequence that gave him the TKO win.

With this win Charlie Ontiveros should rise fast in the amateur 155 or 170 class depending on where he falls in. Again, it’ll be interesting to see who promoters match him up with next but it would be entertaining to see him take on guys like Chris Lopez (4OZ) or perhaps even Santos Rosales (FCF/Paragon) and Jared Lopez (Corpus Christie) from South Texas should they make his way up north anytime soon.

Several New Faces Shine in MMA Cage Debuts

It was good to bear witness to some bright new faces when it comes to MMA potential based on performances we saw last night at Legacy Amateur Series 6. Subjectively speaking, here are a few of the top names that impressed:

►Jonathan Stern – Texas has a new flyweight prospect in Jonathan Stern based on his composed performance last night. Taking on an equally explosive debut fighter in Zach McKay, the Team Mezger-trained fighter overcame several high altitude slams by working submission attempts immediately. Stern would go on to drop his opponent halfway through the first before finishing things on the ground with punches. Very promising debut by the Dallas fighter and we would love to see him take on other up-and-coming flyweights like Ryan Hollis, Hugo De la Fuente, or Ricky Turcios in the near future.

► Adrian Yanez – Prior to the fight, his opponent (one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet) was predicted to win this fight with his impressive grappling. While his wrestling was indeed impressive at spots, it was the Elite MMA Baytown prospect that truly impressed on fight night with his performance. Yanez showed a well-rounded skill set standing and on the ground in this one is should be a prospect to watch in the near future. Honorable mention as well to his opponent Nico Echeverry, who should be on the same track with some hard work at the gym over at ACS. We look forward to seeing him back as well.

► Charles Lloyd – The 6′ 4″ GB North Houston prospect picked up his second win over a scrappy Omar Khosravi with a third round RNC. The impressive thing about Lloyd’s performance was his resilience in coming back after several hard shots from his opponent. Definitely some improvement and maturity gained for Charles Lloyd from this one.

Questionable Stoppage Spoils Middleweight Matchup

It looks like an controversy brewing based on the result of the fight between 185’ers Mike Eaglin and Angelus McFarlane last night. The two big men would engage in a back-and-forth contest for the duration of their two-round battle before referee Joe Soliz put a stop to the contest in the midst of an Americana submission attempt by McFarlane. The reasoning announced by ring announcer was that the cage official heard a grunt which prompted him to stop the bout – a rationale which many in the crowd found perplexing considering the fighter never tapped. Objectively speaking, there’s always an interpretation to be made when it comes to verbal submissions and the like when it comes to MMA, and that burden most certainly lies with the referee. Despite that fact, the prevalent opinion is also that it’s much more entertaining and much less “questionable” when fighters finish fights instead of the man in the middle.

Let’s see these two in the cage again.

MMA is Back at the Verizon Wireless Theater

Last night’s Legacy Amateur Series event marked a departure in venue from previous events. In the past, these amateur cards were held at the Arena Theater or the House of Blues (two good venues) but it sure did feel good to be back at the Verizon! Long esteemed to be the mecca of Houston MMA with the old Renegades shows held there since it was the Ariel Theater, the Verizon Wireless Theater may not boast the 360-degree convenience of the Arena (not a bad seat in the house) but it does boast some awesome qualities of its own in impressive acoustics, multi-level seating, and a general sense of intimacy.

It was definitely good to be back in downtown and we look forward to a long time of Legacy amateur shows at the storied venue.

Legacy Amateur Series 6 – Event Photos

Click on the shot below for a slideshow and gallery of the event. Select shots available for tagging now up on our TXMMA.com Facebook Page as well.

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