DALLAS, TX, January 9, 2012 – The wait is over for the return of Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks as he finally steps back into the cage for the first time since April of 2010 this Saturday night at EFC 1 “The Rise.” As one half of the main event in this inaugural Element Fighting Championship event, Marcus will be looking to continue his once-standout MMA career against Longview’s Joshua Lee, who comes into this bout looking for the biggest win ever in how own upstart career.
For those of you newer fans that aren’t yet familiar with Marcus Hicks, you’re in for a treat.
He’s a longtime veteran of the sport and is a threat to finish anywhere, especially with his submissions. True to his “Wrecking Ball” nickname, the 5’5″ fighter is a legit finisher who has only gone to a decision twice in his 16 fight professional career. Beginning his amateur career in Texas way back in the early days back in 2002, Marcus made a name for himself in MMA by defeating Hector Munoz at Ultimate Texas Showdown 4 way back in ’06 before eventually going on to fight in the WEC promotion. While there, he went 2-3 overall including a title fight loss to then-champion Jamie Varner at WEC 35 on Versus. Now looking to climb that mountain one more time, Marcus will be stepping into the cage this Saturday looking for his second win in a row after stopping Anthony Macias in his last cage appearance.
Taking on Marcus Hicks may be a daunting task for anyone but his opponent Joshua Lee will be headed into this fight used to the role of underdog. He was in the same position in his last fight against Roy Spoon at XKO 13 but won that fight in convincing fashion, stopping his heavily favored opponent in the second round. Now he’s looking to do it all over again against Hicks in what would mark the biggest win of his career.
“Although this fight is on short notice, I feel good,” Lee told TXMMA in a recent interview. “I just came off that big win over Roy Spoon and I didn’t take any damage in that fight so I’m healthy. I want to start my year off with a bang by beating Marcus Hicks then I can take that time to spend with my family afterwards before making a run at TUF.”
Sounds like a man with a plan.
The rest of the card for EFC 1 currently features nine additional fights for fans planning to be on hand at Plano Convention Center. This could change all the way up until fight time but here’s the latest card we’ve received courtesy of event matchmakers.
Element Fighting Championship 1 – Fight Card
Marcus “The Wrecking Ball” Hicks (9-3) vs Josh Lee (8-7)
Co-Main Event “Brought to you by Pisco Porton”
Jarret Jones (5-5) vs Brandon Farran (3-3)
Frank Barragan vs Warren Stewart
Daniel Miller vs Michael Saunders
Drew Pendleton vs Alden Herbert
Jason House vs Rodney Macfarland
Randy Villarreal vs Jeremy Myers
Hayward Charles vs Clint Roberts
Dale Mitchell vs James Hall
Faez Miraki vs Van Vo
Borzoo Honargohar vs TBA
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