HOUSTON, TX, February 26, 2013 – Legacy Fighting Championship 18 hits the Arena Theatre this Friday and it should be another great event considering the two title fights up top with defenses by hard-hitting champions Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis and Jorge Macaco Patino. In addition to the championship bouts, the main card also features appearances by a few top prospects (read: Charlie Ontiveros, Rafael De Freitas, etc.) and the first female pro fight in Legacy history.
Plenty of reasons to tune in to AXS TV come Friday night.
Aside from the televised card, the undercard also features some very good reasons to buy a ticket and come to the arena to watch it unfold LIVE.
Five of them in fact – as in fights you won’t see unless you’re at the Arena Theatre this coming Friday. They should be pretty exciting too considering the variety featured on this 18th edition of Legacy.
Opening up the evening at heavyweight, Dale “The Alpha Male” Mitchell takes on Houston area police officer and longtime Texas MMA veteran Chad Cook. Dale has 4 wins in his last 5 fights (with his only coming to nationally-ranked fighter DJ Linderman) while Chad be entering this contest having fought since way in the prehistoric age, circa 1999. Both these guys have .500 records heading into this one so look for a true winner to emerge after all is said and done.
Next up (though we don’t know if this is the actual fight order) is a very special fight for one of Houston’s moved beloved fighters in “The Celtic Tiger” Chris Reed. The Nassau Bay City Manager / former Police Officer / defending of domestic abuse victims everywhere will be competing in his retirement match after seven years in the sport versus capoeira expert Jermaine Anugwom. They couldn’t be more different in terms of background with Reed’s wrestling-based background and Jermaine’s kickboxing style but one thing they have in common is that both like to please the fans so this should be a very interesting fight.
Up next is a battle of debuting fighters with Metro Fight Club’s Eric Valdez making his pro debut against Paradigm’s Edgar Juarez. One of the more experienced fighters stepping into a pro career, Juarez fought 8 times on the Houston MMA amateur including 7 bouts in 2012 so he should be well-prepared to make this leap in career. Meanwhile, Valdez went 2-1 as an amateur but did win in his last two while having well-respected coach Saul Soliz in his corner so look for him to equally prepared for what should be a hotly-contested bout in this one.
A welterweight battle highlights the fourth bout of the evening with Bushi Ban’s Justin Murray taking on undefeated newcomer Kaileb Cummins. Murray walks into this bout with a 3-3 record after being on the wrong end of several decisions in his last four fights but make no mistake about it, he’s as well-rounded as they come and hard to finish. Meanwhile, Kaileb will enter this bout looking to get a more conclusive finish that his last win – the Legacy FC 15 VKO that saw Levi West throw up inside the cage – awarding him the win on a silver platter. He’ll look to be much more conclusive in this one but will have to get past his toughest veteran yet to come out with the victory.
Last but not least in the final bout between the TV cameras start rolling is probably the most exciting bout on the undercard (if not the entire event) in a bantamweight matchup pitting Gerzan Chaw of Bushi Ban against Silverback Fight Club’s David Armas. Both these guys have a reputation for being exciting fighters who prefer to win spectacularly rather than be involved in boring fights. This fight could go a few different ways but one thing it definitely won’t be is a snoozer.
That sums it up for all the undercard action set for Friday night. Check out the Legacy FC 18 Main Card Preview here and stay tuned here to TXMMA.com throughout the week for more including predictions on all the fights and the best of the rest in Legacy Fighting Championship 18 Event Coverage.
Main Card (AXS TV)
265 lbs.: Derrick Lewis (8-2) vs. Ricky Shivers (10-5-1) <TITLE>
155 lbs.: Jorge Macaco Patino (24-13) vs. Derrick Krantz (14-6) <TITLE>
125 lbs.: Rafael De Freitas (5-0) vs. Antonio Banuelos (20-9)
185 lbs.: Larry Crowe (5-2) vs. Matt Rogers (8-3)
170 lbs.: Charlie Ontiveros (3-0) vs. Todd Moore (14-5)
125 lbs.: Jennifer Scott (2-2) vs. Lauren Taylor (4-0)
170 lbs.: Brandon Farran (7-6) vs. Alex Morono (4-1)
Preliminary Card (Untelevised)
135 lbs.: Gerzan Chaw (2-2) vs. David Armas (3-5)
170 lbs.: Kaileb Cummins 2-0 vs. Justin Murray (3-3)
145 lbs.: Eric Valdez (debut) vs. Edgar Juarez (debut)
205 lbs.: Chris Reed (4-2) vs. Jermaine Anugwom (0-1)
265 lbs.: Chad Cook (9-9) vs. Dale Mitchell (5-5)