Scheduled to be televised LIVE on HDNet as usual, this latest card should be the most offering yet for the five-year old promotion with no less than three UFC veterans slated to participate on the main draw and several others with Strikeforce and Bellator experience also set to compete in front of the crowd in attendance along with those watching around the nation.
The names slated for the main draw have shifted recently with 155 lbs. title challenger Jesus Rivera (4OZ Fight Club) pulling out due to injury (ankle). In his place, Dallas fighter Clay Hantz (Octagon MMA / Nova Uniao) now steps in to take on current 170 lbs. champ Jorge “Macaco” Patino (Gold Team) who’ll be going into this one looking to earn his second title in the organization.
Supporting that title fight are some other exciting main card matchups including a returning Chad Robichaux taking on recent UFC-vet Joseph Sandoval, well-traveled UFC/Pride vet Marcus Aurelio taking on hometown hero Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis, and some exciting young prospects like Angel Huerta, Cody Williams, and Artenas “Machine Gun” Young all of whom will be looking to make a name for themselves against similarly-skilled and top-rated opponents.
As if that’s not exciting enough already, the local undercard for LFC 11 features some exciting matchups for local fans in particular as well.
We’ll break down the main card fights in the following week but for now, let’s take a look at the Legacy FC 11 undercard slate and break down each matchup in further detail.
Legacy Fighting Championship 11 – Undercard Preview
185 lbs.: Larry Crowe (5-2) vs. Sam Mohammed (3-4)
This pairing pits together two exciting and athletic specimens in up-and-coming Larry Crowe and longtime veteran Husam (Sam) Mohamed.
For “Tae-Kwon” Crowe in particular, this fight should be a good test for him to see where he’s at in his MMA career. He lost his last fight this past December to welterweight #1 contender Jeff Rexroad but won four straight prior to that, including a vicious knockout of “Hurricane” Ike Villanueva at LFC 8. Changing camps recently, Larry is now hoping his move to 4OZ Fight Club will fast track him to the top of the 185 lbs. division. An impressive victory here over his veteran opponent would certainly help his cause.
As for Sam Mohamed, he’ll be looking to switch up his fortunes in this fight after 3 losses in has past 4 fights. The ONE MMA Blood Lines fighter most recently fought this past January at IMKF 2, losing to Noel Ligon by TKO in the very first round. He did win his last one right before that this past September but hadn’t won any other fights since way back in March of 2006. Despite his shoddy record, Sam is hailed by many in the area as a rough-and-tumble type of fighter that is willing to exchange strikes with anybody. He’ll likely find a willing dance partner in Crowe in this one.
155 lbs.: Ray Blodget (5-1) vs. Cris Rucker (1-0)
Next up on the card is the return of former Legacy lightweight champion Ray Blodget. A veteran of the Mick Maynard-ran promotion since it’s very first event way back in 2006 (Lonestar Beatdown 1), Blodget has always been a fan favorite for his exciting style and willingness to absorb punishment in order to give some back. He went undefeated in his first five career fights but hasn’t been in the cage since April 2011, taking some time off to heal some injuries after losing the first fight of his career to Daniel Pineda – a loss that doesn’t seem too bad now considering Pineda has since moved on to win two straight in the UFC. Like the aforementioned Larry Crowe, Ray has since moved on to train at 4OZ Fight Club along with his former opponent Pineda and erase the memory of that last defeat with a successful outing in this, his long-awaited return.
Taking on Ray next Friday will be the upstart Chris “Chop” Rucker out of Paradigm Training Center. The barber-by-day, fighter-by-night made his pro debut a successful one this past December at LFC 9 after a 2-0 stint on the amateur circuit. Facing highly-publicized former Blodget teammate and BJJ black belt Frost Murphy, Chop was able to stave off submission and bloody the grappling specialist en route to the win. Looking to move his career ever further, this fight with the former LFC 155 lbs. champ should offer up a well-rounded test for Rucker as Blodget is equally adept on his feet as he is on the ground. Look for this bout to serve as a barometer for Chop’s near-term potential depending on how he performs.
170 lbs.: Lester Batres (0-1) vs. Justin Murray (3-2)
This matchup pits two fighters looking to get recognized in LFC’s welterweight division in Bushi Ban’s Justin Murray and Paradigm Training Center’s Lester Batres.
30-year-old Justin Murray has actually been around the Houston MMA scene for quite some time, first as a 6-fight veteran of the amateur scene and more recently on the pro circuit fighting for both IXFA and Legacy. After losing more than he won on the amateur scene, Justin started out like a ball of fire in his first four fights a pro, winning but one razor-close fight to BJJ black belt Jordan Rivas. He would come up on the short end of another close decision in his last fight versus Jeremy Morris but is looking to get back on track with a win on May 11th. Stylistically, Justin is a strong welterweight who excels in the clinch and is saavy on the ground. It should be interesting to see how he matches up with his opponent in this one as Lester is also on the upper end of the spectrum when it comes to size and strength at welterweight.
Speaking of Lester Batres, the 29-year-old has yet to experience success in his young career as a fighter. He went 3-3 as an amateur before running into DFW’s Evan Cutts and getting submitted in his pro debut in April 2011. Despite his upside down record, albeit against some very tough opposition, Lester has been described as a “beast” by nearly everyone that’s trained with him. Like his opponent, he too has a strong grappling pedigree and work with some of the top strikers in Houston should have sharpened him standing as well. It will be very interesting to see where he’s at with his overall game when he takes on the veteran from Bushi Ban.
125 lbs.: JT Mendez (0-1) vs. Andy Sandoval (0-2)
Despite lengthy amateur boxing background, few expected much of the “Hispanik Panik” Jesus Mendez leading up to his MMA debut this past February at LFC 10 opposite one of the area’s hottest bantamweight prospects in Cody Williams. The prevailing wisdom at the time was that Mendez would fall prey to “The Wolverine’s” overwhelming game in all facets of MMA. In short, he was expected to look like a rookie. What the crowd got instead was a glimpse at how good he could be in the future as he toughed it out over two rounds with his vastly more experienced opponent before succumbing to the triangle choke in the second round. He not only showed his boxing acumen but showed amazing resiliency when put in bad spots on the ground as well. Now all eyes will be on him in his second bout as surely everyone is wondering what gains he’s made with another few months of MMA-specific training.
As for his opponent Andy Sandoval, he too will be looking to show he has a bright future in this sport after starting his own pro career 0-2 with losses to tough opponents in Humberto Deleon and Angel Huerta. Sandoval did go 3-3 as an amateur prior to mking it to LFC so he’s not devoid of fighting experience. In fact his career has been evenly split with TKO’s and submissions going both ways so he should prove to be another gamely MMA test for the former boxer.
125 lbs.: Marcus Dupar (1-1) vs. Bobby Powers (pro debut)
Last but not least in what should be the opening fight of the night will be a spirited flyweight bout between “Mr. Bailout” Bobby Powers and another barber on the card in Marcus Dupar. Both of these men have a lengthy relationship with Legacy on the amateur level with Powers winning his 2 fights at Legacy’s amateur level while Dupar split his own two fights with USACA.
Turning pro in August 2010, Dupar hasn’t fought much but has taken his fights all the way when he has. His only pro loss thus far came by way of third round submission to Bellator veteran Steven Peterson in that debut but he’s since rebounded with a win over Chris Smith at IMKF 1 this past September. Having had the better part of a half year to improve, it’ll be interesting to see where Marcus currently is with his overall game.
Looking to test any gains Barber may have made will be College Station’s own Bobby Powers. He’ll be making his pro debut after a long time off from the MMA game. He lost both of his last amateur bouts way back in 2010 but has never stepped away from the sport since. He’s actually been ramping up his training schedule at Windy Sports & Fitness and 4OZ Fight Club in the last year on the way to his pro debut. If his performances on the local grappling circuit are of any indication, look for a much improved Powers to take on Dupar in what should be a very exciting opening bout come fight night.
This concludes our undercard preview. Check out the full card below and stayed tuned for our main card preview along with a full set of predictions for LFC 11 early next week.
For now, feel free to comment on this article post on our TXMMA Facebook Page in support of any of these undercard fighters and let us know which fights you’re looking forward to most!
Legacy FC 11 – Current Fight Card
MAIN CARD (HDNet)
• 155 lbs.: Jorge Patino vs. Clay Hantz (for vacant lightweight title)
• 125 lbs.: Chad Robichaux vs. Joseph Sandoval
• 170 lbs.: Marcus Aurelio vs. Mike Bronzoulis
• 160 lbs.: TBD vs. Lee King ***
• 145 lbs.: Angel Huerta v. Nelson Salas
• 185 lbs.: Bubba Bush vs. Artenas Young
• 135 lbs.: Ryan Benoit vs. Cody Williams
*** status of this bout TBD after it was announced Jamie Varner would be fighting at UFC 146
PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised)
• 185 lbs.: Larry Crowe vs. Sam Mohammed
• 155 lbs.: Ray Blodget vs. Cris Rucker
• 170 lbs.: Lester Batres vs. Justin Murray
• 125 lbs.: JT Mendez vs. Andy Sandoval
• 125 lbs.: Marcus Dupar vs. Bobby Powers