By TXMMA Staff
In addition to stacked main card, Legacy Fighting Championship 24 undercard features top talent
DALLAS, TX, October 8, 2013 – Its fight week in DFW with Legacy Fighting Championship 24 happening this Friday night from the Allen Events Center just north of downtown Dallas. With a US Olympian (Henry Cejudo) and a top women’s boxing champion-turned MMA fighter (Holly Holm) on the card along with a main event featuring undefeated Carlos Diego Ferreira taking on undefeated Chris Feist there’s certainly lots to look forward to on the AXS TV televised main card but there’s much on the card than meets the eye as well. In fact when you look at the Legacy FC 24 lineup, it’s safe to say that some of the night’s main gems might be found on the untelevised undercard when all is said and done.
Here’s a look at some of the night’s undercard fighters to look forward too.
Top prospects to watch for on Legacy Fighting Championship 24 Undercard
Klayton Mai (5-0, Octagon MMA)
“I look at each fight as if I am fighting for my life,” Klayton says. Preparing to take on two-time Bellator veteran Matthew Lozano (more on him in a few), Klayton says he has trained hard for this fight as always and thinks this fight might be one that can take him to the next level. “I fully trust my coach and manager Sayif Saud. He chose this match up for me and I have prepared for it very hard, mostly improving skills that will help me against any opponent.”
“When I step into the cage I think of my opponent as someone who is trying to hurt me very badly and take everything that I have worked for. My goal is to be the one who walks out the winner. I have never been the distance in my professional career and I look to break my opponent as soon as i can. The preparation that we go through in training at the octagon has a similar feel to the actual fight. We are constantly are competing against each other for rank at the gym and every practice feels like my career is on the line. So the actual fight seems like just another day at work.”
Matthew Lozano (3-1, Next Generation)
- He’s trained by an MMA luminary in “The Westside Strangler” Chris Brennan along with other top coaches at Next Generation including Master Thong (Muay Thai) and Kendall Cross (Wrestling).
- Two out of his four pro MMA fights have taken place in Bellator, another large organization.
- He also has six amateur fights of experience prior to turning pro.
Stylistically we don’t know what Matt Lozano brings to the table but we’re sure Brennan is not bring him in to Legacy FC to lose. He should prove to be a very competitive opponent for Klayton Mai who doesn’t have a single judges’ decision on his pro record. As a matter of fact both these guys only have one decision between them in a combined nine pro fights so look for this one to produce fireworks.
Eliazar Rodriguez (4-2, (Mohler MMA / Jose Reyes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu)
“I’m a tough young scrapper who likes to fight and push the pace,” says Eliazar Rodriguez. At 4-2 overall since turning pro back in July 2011 Eliazar has the potential to become a true force in the bantamweight division but he’s got to get past an undefeated opponent in 5-0 Eli Tamez at Legacy Fighting Championship 24 to get to that contender level.
“I want to be a champion in the art of fighting and I want the number 1 headband,” he says, throwing out an Afro Samurai reference.
With great training partners and tough training sessions behind him Rodriguez feels ready for whatever Tamez wants to bring to the table this Friday.
“I feel that I’m pretty well rounded. I focus on my striking as much as I do my grappling. I think this is a great fight for me and I’m confident I can beat him anywhere. I hope he’s training hard. This will be an exciting fight the fans won’t want to miss. I’d like to thank my sponsors, Crusade Combat, Stockyard Bullies, Casey Hudson Real estate, American Wrestler and Randy King Insurance in Arlington, TX.”
Eli Tamez (5-0, Octagon MMA)
In order to fulfill his potential Eli is going to have to get past the aforementioned Eliazar Rodriguez, who may be his toughest opponent thus far as a pro. Both guys share similar skill sets, records, and goals headed into this one so look for this fight to be a hotly-contested affair.
Hunter Tucker (6-1, Jackson’s MMA)
27 year old Wichita Falls, TX native Hunter Tucker was on a roll heading into his Legacy FC debut this past April. At that point he had gone 6-0 as a pro with six finishes and was poised to make a big time run. Unfortunately for the Jackson’s MMA fighter his opponent Kevin Agular had other plans and submitted Tucker in the first round of their bout to claim his own title shot at 145 lbs. versus Leonard Garcia this December in San Antonio at LFC 26.
With all that being said Hunter Tucker is now in ‘right the ship’ mode and he’ll seek to do that against Douglas Frey, a veteran of the Texas fight scene with over 20 fights to his name. With four losses in a row and 7 losses in his last 8 Douglas would seem like a safe choice of opponent for Tucker’s mission but he is a veteran so that’s never to be discounted as well.
Evert Gutierrez (0-1, Paradigm / Team Tooke / Gold Team)
We did a comprehensive pre-fight piece with Evert Gutierrez. See his LFC 24 pre-fight article here.
Evan Thompson (2-0, RCJ Machado)
We did a comprehensive pre-fight piece with Evan Thompson. See his LFC 24 pre-fight article here.
Legacy FC 24 – Updated Fight Card for October 11th in Dallas, TX
155 lbs.: Chris Feist (8-0) vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira (7-0)
135 lbs.: Ryan Benoit (6-1) vs. Cody Fuller (10-6)
135 lbs.: Holly Holm (4-0) vs. Nikki Knudsen (2-1)
125 lbs.: Henry Cejudo (4-0) vs. Ryan Hollis (4-2)
185 lbs.: Charles Byrd (5-3) vs. Mike Jasper (7-0)
145 lbs.: Javier Obregon (6-6) vs. Damon Jackson (6-0)
LFC 24 – Local Undercard (untelevised)
135 lbs.: Eliazar Rodriguez (4-2) vs. Eli Tamez (5-0)
145 lbs.: Douglas Frey (10-11) vs. Hunter Tucker (6-1)
185 lbs.: Evert Gutierrez (0-1) vs. Evan Thompson (2-0)
135 lbs.: Matt Lozano (3-1) vs. Klayton Mai (5-0)
170 lbs.: Melvin Jordan (1-2) vs. Sean Holden (2-0)