By TXMMA Staff | Photos by Mike Calimbas (Texas MMA Photos)
Pete Spratt falls via KO to fellow UFC vet Tim Means; Complete Legacy FC 23 Results from San Antonio
With a mutual preference for striking versus the fight to the ground, this bout was expected to produce an exciting result and that’s exactly what happened. The bout started off with Spratt as the aggressor, throwing leg kicks and moving forward against his younger opponent. Meanwhile Means bided his time and found the perfect moment to strike two minutes into the fight, unleashing a pair of perfectly placed elbows that sent Pete careening to the canvas. Means was able to land a few more punches but Spratt was out cold.
“You’ve probably seen the last of Pete Spratt,” the San Antonio resident said to the crowd and those watching on AXS TV after the fight. “I had four guys win tonight, so it looks like it’s better for me to be coaching.”
Spratt was thought to retire with a 25-23 overall record after a storied 14-year career but after watching the tape he said we haven’t seen the last of him yet.
As for Tim Means, not sure what is next for him but he should be up for another exciting fight should he stick in Legacy FC for the time being. The win over Pete Spratt now moved him to 19-5 overall.
Co-main event excites Texas fight fans; Leonard Garcia wins second in a row
Best of the Rest –Additional Main Card Thoughts from Legacy FC 23
Here’s a list of our thoughts for the rest of the main card along with the prelims.
Richard Odoms versus D.J. Linderman was by far the snoozer fight of the evening. Linderman just could not get going against Odoms after taking this fight on short notice. “The Black Eagle” was on point with his takedown defense and D.J. was content to try to take him down for the duration of the bout. It was an impressive win for Odoms but not a very exciting one. Just the way it goes sometimes.
San Antonio based Brazilian Rodrigo Pinheiro looked good with his first round win over Joseph Daily to move to 4-1 overall. He was relaxed as could be in the cage and controlled the fight every time it went to the ground, as expected. It will be interesting to see how he fairs against tough competition if he keeps going in MMA.
Roger Narvaez vs. Hayward Charles was as we expected, a tough test for both men. “Silverback” won out in the end and keeps his record undefeated. Meanwhile Hayward had his moments and started off strong but definitely lost this close fight in the third by choosing to pull guard instead of progressing on the feet where he was doing well. This seems like the kind of fight that leave both fighters with lessons learned moving forward.
Tessa Simpson was dominating in her opening bout of the night performance versus Paulina Granados. The Austin Kickboxing Owner by way of Guam wasn’t intimidated at all on the feet and controlled much of the action there while dominating whenever the fight went to the ground. She didn’t get the finish in this one but what she likely did gain was a bunch of new fans, all of whom may have never seen her before who now want to see her again. Meanwhile it’s back to the training room for Corpus Christi’s “Firefox” but she’ll no doubt be back in short order after dropping the first loss of her career.
Legacy Fighting Championship 23 – Undercard Results and Highlights
In the opening bout of the night Allen Nelson needed all of eight seconds to win by KO over Cameron Martin. The latter fighter would rush in quickly throwing a hook in this one but overextended himself and got countered perfectly for the knockout punch right on the chin. He never even had a chance.
In the second bout of the evening Julian Shore won a razor-close split decision over David Mazurek that some may say should have gone the other way but as they say, “never leave it in the hands of the judges.”
The third bout of the night also saw another quick knockout as Chris Lopez moved his overall record to 4-0 with a blistering one punch knockout of Mike Salazar. All it took was on straight right hand blast up the middle for the southpaw to send his opponent stumbling back into the cage in this one. Add in a few punches for good measure before referee Chris Reed could make the save and that was all she wrote.
Concluding the untelevised undercard was an exciting fight between CJ Vergara and Jonathan Ramirez. It was exciting early in this one with Ramirez threatening an armbar attempt that was defended well. As the round wore one Vergara seemed to gain comfort on his feet and bloodied his opponent, punishing him against the fence and threatening several times in his own rite prior to the TKO finish halfway through the round to move to 3-0 as a pro. It was definitely a great showing by the 22 year old bantamweight prospect.
Legacy Fighting Championship 23 Results – Main Card
Tim Means over Pete Spratt by knockout (strikes) – RD1, 2:24
Leonard Garcia over Nick Gonzalez by submission (rear-naked choke) – RD3, 4:43
Richard Odoms over D.J. Linderman by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rodrigo Pinheiro over Joseph Daily by submission (rear-naked choke) – RD1, 3:46
Roger Narvaez over Hayward Charles by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Tessa Simpson over Paulina Granados by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Legacy Fighting Championship 23 Results – Preliminary Card
CJ Vergara over Jonathan Ramirez by TKO (punches) – RD1, 2:43
Chris Lopez over Mike Salazar by knockout (punches) – RD1, 0:10
Julian Shore over David Mazurek by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
Allen Nelson over Cameron Martin by knockout (punches) – RD1, 0:08
TXMMA Fight Night Awards
Fight of the Night – Leonard Garcia vs. Nick Gonzalez
Knockout of the Night – Tim Means
Submission of the Night – Leonard Garcia
Legacy Fighting Championship 23 – Photo Gallery
The complete high-resolution photo gallery for Legacy FC 23 now available for print and order downloads at http://www.mikecalimbas.com/MMA.