DALLAS, TX, May 9, 2012 – A fearsome foursome of Dallas-Fort Worth based fighters will make their way down I-45 South this week to compete on HDNet’s Friday Night Fights as part of the Legacy Fighting Championship 11 event scheduled for Houston’s Arena Theater.
These fighters include Clay Hantz (Octagon MMA), Nelson Salas (Texas Fighting Syndicate), Evan Cutts (Fitness Fight Factory) and Ryan Benoit (Saekson Janjira).
All four metroplex representatives will be looking to replicate recent successes by fellow DFW natives and UFC fighters Johnny Bedford and James Vick as they look to make their own names known in front of a national audience.
Legacy FC now stands as undoubtedly the most visible promotion statewide given their broadcast deal with HDNet/AXS TV so look for them to try and make the most of this opportunity to shine on the main card.
Let’s take a quick look at each fighter’s matchup in further detail in preparation for the event.
First up, Clay Hantz of Dallas will be fighting in the evening’s highlight bout as he faces Brazilian transplant and local Houston favorite Jorge “Macaco” Patino in a 155 lbs. title fight.
Already the LFC 170 lbs. champion, Patino was slated to take on fellow Houstonian Jesus Rivera in a bid to win his second title before “The Spaniard” had to withdraw due to an ankle injury. Taking the fight on less than 10 days’ notice, Clay Hantz will now be looking to upset the apple cart by winning the belt over his well-experienced adversary. He’ll do so on the strength of 3 straight wins headed into the bout while his opponent will be looking to extend his own win streak which also stands at three.
Also taking a fight on short notice for this one is Fort Worth’s Evan “The Butcher” Cutts.
Training with Johnny Bedford and Rafael Casias at Fitness Fight Factory, the 21 year old put the MMA world on notice in just his third professional fight when he beat BJ’s brother Reagan Penn this past November. Now he’ll be taking on a different kind of challenge all together when he takes on the very experienced Lee King, an opponent with 30+ fights that’s been a veteran on the Texas fight scene since the early 2000’s. With fights against Edson Barboza, Sean Sherk, Anthony Njokuani, and more on his record, Lee will undoubtedly be the most experienced test of “The Butcher’s” young career. We’ll see this Friday night if it’s one he passes with flying colors.
Next up on the card from DFW is another undefeated prospect in 3-0 Nelson Salas.
The Texas Fighting Syndicate fighter was last seen winning a very hard-fought submission victory over Tristan Grimsley at XKO 14 to start off his 2012 campaign this past February. He’ll now look to continue his winning ways over much ballyhooed Houstonian and fellow undefeated fighter Angel “The Chosen One” Huerta. Based on opinions in the Bayou City, Nelson will be walking into this one as the prohibitive underdog but he’ll definitely be looking to surprise with another impressive performance in this one.
Last but not least for the DFW contingent is McKinney’s Ryan “Babyface” Benoit.
He’ll be taking on another LFC top prospect in Cody “Wolverine” Williams in what should be a very exciting fight and likely contender for fight of the night honors should these two compete up to their capabilities.
Both Williams and Benoit will enter the cage this Friday with identical 3-1 records and a desire to impress as they look to make their way up the bantamweight ladder. Fighting out of Beaumont’s American Top Team affiliate, Williams in particular has been lauded by many to be one of the brightest and most explosive young prospects in the LFC organization with impressive wins over Nate Garza and JT Mendez thus far. Not as many casual fans local to Houston know of Benoit as well but “Babyface” will be entering this bout with some impressive credentials of his own – including a longtime wrestling pedigree and striking honed by some of the best at Janjira Muay Thai.
Legacy Fighting Championship 11 will be broadcast LIVE on HDNet starting at 9PM Texas time this Friday Night, May 11th from Houston.