By TXMMA Staff | Photos by Mike Calimbas Photography
Legacy Fighting Championship returns to the Alamo City; LFC 23 airs on AXS TV this Friday night LIVE from Cowboys Dance Hall
SAN ANTONIO, TX, September 10, 2013 – The eyes of Texas MMA will be tuned in to San Antonio’s Cowboys Dance Hall this coming Friday night, September 13th as Mick Maynard’s Legacy Fighting Championship returns to AXS TV by way of the Alamo City.
Legacy Fighting Championship 23 features a fight card 11 fights deep for fans that plan on being in attendance with 6 fights set to be featured on this Friday the 13th edition of AXS TV’s Friday Night Fights.
Let’s take a look at some of these main card bouts below and offer some predictions.
Legacy Fighting Championship 23 – Preview and Predictions
170 lbs.: Pete Spratt (25-22) vs. Tim Means (18-5-1)
Still fighting as hard as ever at the age of 42, Pete Spratt was last seen in the cage opposite Dan Hornbuckle at LFC 17. He dropped a unanimous decision in that one but has won 3 out of his past 5 fights. Two of those wins have come by TKO.
As for Tim Means, his move to Legacy FC comes after a 2-2 stint in the UFC, most recently dropping a loss to Team Alpha Male’s Danny Castillo in a bout he took on short notice. The Albuquerque, NM resident does hold notable career wins Bernardo Magalhaes and Justin Salas in the UFC and also bested Texas vet Cody Pfister earlier in his career on his way up to becoming KOTC champion.
As for what fans can expect this Friday night it should be another striking-dominated fight unless these fighters choose to go against the grain from their usual styles. Though certainly well-rounded at this point in their respective careers, both vets prefer the TKO over any type of submission game. Tim Means should be younger and faster but Pete is a wily ole vet. In a fight like we expect this one to be, we like Spratt in somewhat of a mild upset special BUT quantitative evidence (5-6 record in his last 11 by Spratt) still has Means as the prohibitive favorite.
Prediction – Tim Means over Pete Spratt by split decision.
145 lbs.: Leonard Garcia (15-11-1) vs. Nick Gonzalez (18-12)
Garcia will be taking on another longtime Texas vet in this one in Nick “Ghost” Gonzalez, a two-fight Legacy vet himself and one of the very first fighters to be licensed to fight out of Austin, TX way back in 2001. Nick is coming off a loss to Kevin Aguilar in his last bout at LFC 17 and has gone 3-3 in last six. Traveling to San Diego’s Alliance HQ for this training camp, Nick finds himself healthy and as prepared as ever looking to gain his biggest win over Garcia.
As far as this matchup goes it will be a little different than what Leonard Garcia faced in Houston. Nick Gonzalez is a striker like Rey Trujillo but a much different one stylistically as he’s less of a brawler and more on the technical side with his boxing and overall striking skills. This will be an interesting clash between him and Garcia as both guys will look to counter accurately in order to win the chess match on the feet. On the ground it’s a wash, and I doubt these guys go there. Timing will be everything in this one and we’ll see who’s got it more finely tuned this Friday night.
Prediction – Pick-em.
170 lbs.: Rodrigo Pinheiro (3-1) vs. Joseph Daily (4-4)
Taking on Rodrigo Pinheiro will be Rio Grande Valley based Joseph Daily, a 4-4 fighter with a wrestling base and a record that includes tough matchups vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira, Frank Trevino, and recent UFC winner Sean Spencer. He’s taken losses in all those fights so he’s still looking to prove he can compete against top competition.
If everything we’ve heard holds true, this should be Pinheiro’s fight to take. This matchup favors him stylistically with his world-class grappling as the perfect tool to have against Daily’s wrestling base. Training with Pete Spratt on the feet in training camp on the way to both their fights on this card should help him too.
Prediction – Rodrigo Pinheiro over Joseph Daily by submission.
185 lbs.: Roger Narvaez (5-0) vs. Hayward Charles (8-4)
A 30 year old with a background as a Corpus Christi firefighter, Roger Narvaez has been developed as one of the top up-and-coming middleweights on the Texas fight scene. He went 4-0 as an amateur and is now 5-0 as a pro. Having recent earned his BJJ black belt under Paragon’s Aurelio Gallegos, Roger has proved he is a danger to opponents both on the feet and on the ground.
Facing Narvaez will be Hayward Charles, another tough fighter out of Fort Worth who’s proven himself to be dangerous everywhere as well. He’s got 13 fights as a pro and won’t be intimidated by Narvaez anywhere in this fight. In fact he’ll be looking to prove something himself and he is the prospect to watch out for in the near future.
Prediction-wise this is a tough one to call. Roger is certainly deserving of his “top prospect” billing but then again Hayward Charles is a battle-tested vet himself and we feel he’s been historically underestimated in terms of skill and MMA potential. He took on some tough fights early on in his career and has developed into a much better fighter recently to the tune of six straight wins – certainly an impressive feat. Almost a toss-up here with the rangy, bigger and fast-starting Narvaez having the edge early while Charles will look to use time to his advantage to pull something off late in the fight. Will cardio be the key? Who knows… This could be anyone’s fight.
Prediction – Roger Narvaez over Hayward Charles by TKO.
265 lbs.: Richard Odoms (7-1) vs. D.J. Linderman (15-5)
The Texas-abased Odoms has had a good career thus far, suffering his one and only loss to another tough heavyweight in Jared Rosholt in Legacy FC’s last trip to San Antonio. He’ll be looking to bounce back in this one but his opponent presents quite the challenge. Though Linderman lost two notable bouts to Robert Drysdale and Anthony Johnson, he’s also won his last two fights and seems to do better as an undersized heavyweight.
Prediction – D.J. Linderman over Richard Odoms by unanimous decision.
105 lbs.: Paulina Granados (2-0) vs. Tessa Simpson (2-1)
A hard-working sparkplug out of American Revolution in CC, Paulina Granados has built up a 2-0 record as a pro following her 4-0 record as an amateur. Simpson will be her biggest test however and she’s treated this fight as such, going so far as to travel to MMA Lab in Arizona to work alongside UFC fighters like Benson Henderson and top female talents like BJJ world champions Maria Maganda and Mackenzie Dern. Throw on her regular routine including kickboxing, grappling, and even some cross fit and “Firefox” will find herself very prepared for this fight.
Opposing Granados will be Austin resident by way of Guam, Tessa Simpson. Currently sporting a 2-1 record, Tessa has been out of competitive MMA action for four years (back injury, etc.). Make no mistake about though – she’s skilled and experienced after having trained for nine years. Although she currently holds the rank of BJJ brown belt, she’s not just a grappler either. She’s been training Muay Thai for quite some time and is co-owner of the Austin Kickboxing Academy alongside her fiancée and longtime Texas fighter Randy Vera.
When trying to decide who has the edge in this fight it comes down as such a tough call. Record-wise their level of competition as pros are very similar, with the only outlier being Tessa’s loss to Anita Rodriguez. One has to keep in mind though that at 130-something pounds, Anita is a naturally a much stronger fighter than Simpson so that doesn’t really factor as much as a barometer to compare to in this 105 lbs. fight. Likewise, Tessa has more overall training experience but Paulina’s MMA-specific training over the past few years has also been pretty intensive. Both fighters are well-rounded too. I don’t think either will finish each other on the feet and both have specific strengths when it comes to grappling and ground work. It may come down to who can impose their will on the other no matter where this fight takes place. If Paulina can out-pace Tessa and take her into deep waters, she may be able to win out. Similarly if Tessa can use her technical advantage on paper to put Paulina in some tough spots she may also push for the win there or even submit Paulina if she can take her back or grab an arm. So yeah, this is a tough fight to call. Like Charles vs. Narvaez, anything could really happen and this is just as exciting of a matchup.
Prediction – Pick-em.
Legacy FC 23 – Local Preliminary Card Quick Picks
Billy Buch over Raymond Moreno by decision
CJ Vergara over Jonathan Ramirez by knockout
Christopher Lopez over Michael Salazar by TKO
David Mazurek over Julian Shore by decision
Cameron Martin over Allen Nelson by submission
Legacy FC 23 – Complete Fight Card for September 13, 2013 (San Antonio, TX)
170 lbs.: Pete Spratt (25-22) vs. Tim Means (18-5)
145 lbs.: Leonard Garcia (15-11-1) vs. Nick Gonzalez (18-12)
170 lbs.: Rodrigo Pinheiro (3-1) vs. Joseph Daily (4-4)
185 lbs.: Roger Narvaez (5-0) vs. Hayward Charles (8-4)
265 lbs.: Richard Odoms (7-1) vs. D.J. Linderman (15-5)
105 lbs.: Paulina Granados (2-0) vs. Tessa Simpson (2-1)
Local Prelims (Unaired)
135 lbs.: Billy Buch (3-2) vs. Raymond Moreno (2-2)
125 lbs.: Jonathon Ramirez (2-0) vs. CJ Vergara (2-0)
170 lbs.: Michael Salazar (2-5) vs. Christopher Lopez (2-0)
155 lbs.: David Mazurek (2-1) vs. Julian Shore (1-1)
195 lbs.L Cameron Martin (1-1) vs. Allen Nelson II (0-2)