By TXMMA Staff | Photos by Mike Calimbas Photography
Bubba Bush defends belt; Winning fighters face interesting possibilities following LFC 28
ARLINGTON, TX, February 24, 2014 – Legacy Fighting Championship 28 took place last Friday (Feb. 21st) at the College Park Center at the University of Texas at Arlington. It was the first event for Legacy FC at that venue but one that went well with four straight finishes and one proposal to end off the fight card on AXS TV.
In the main event of the evening Bubba Bush defended his middleweight title against a resilient Rakim Cleveland. The challenger looked to be in the best shape of his life headed into this one. Rakim clearly didn’t come into the bout to be a pushover and defended well on two submission attempts (RNC / armbar) to end the first round. The second was a different story as Bush’s main strength (wrestling) proved to be too much to overcome following an inadvertent groin kick that put a pause on the action. Bush now moves to 7-2 overall following his first defense with challenges ahead possibly coming from someone like “Silverback” Roger Narvaez, his original opponent for this event prior to pulling out due to injury.
Next up, Damon Jackson looked absolutely dominant in what was thought to be one of his toughest challenges yet in Jackson’s MMA product Hunter Tucker. As it turns out, it wasn’t that much of a challenge for Damon as he quickly took Tucker to the floor and took his back. The Greg Jackson trained protégé defended well for the duration of the first round but could not overcome and fell to the choke in the second. This was absolutely the biggest win yet for Damon as he moves to 8-0. One can only wonder where he’ll go from here – whether it’s an eventual title matchup with current champion Leonard Garcia, an interesting fight against someone like Chas Skelly, or something else. No matter what happens, he’s definitely proven himself to be a worthy commodity.
Speaking of worthy commodities, a Brazilian one made his debut at Legacy FC 28 and his name is Cosmo Alexandre. Also known by his “Good Boy” moniker, the feared striker showed why he’s just that by taking out late replacement Rey Trujillo with a well-timed knee to the head follow by punches. The size (height) difference between the two was clearly evident at 155 lbs. and the kickboxing champion’s seasoned timing was evident until the finish. He’s clearly one to watch in a lightweight division that also includes fellow Brazilian killers in Carlos Diego Ferreira and Gilbert ‘Durinho’ Burns.
As for the rest of the main card, it proved to be a showing of fighters destined to make their way up the ladder along with one fighter looking to fight off a challenge from such a fighter to prove he is still relevant.
Going with the veteran first it was “Angel of Death” Damacio Page who held serve with his TKO finish of Next Generation’s Matthew Lozano. If we had to draw comparisons between this fight and another it was definitely reminiscent of Leonard Garcia taking on Rey Trujillo in his organizational debut for Legacy back last July. Playing the role of Trujillo in that fight Lozano looked great for about 90% of the way. He was aggressive, his cardio looked good, and he was moving forward. Meanwhile Damacio allowed his opponent to dictate the pace and got dropped a time or two in the process. Like Garcia, the veteran was patient however and timed his flurries until one landed almost halfway through the second. With this win, Damacio stays relevant. He’s won both of his bouts for Legacy and 2 out of his 3. And like Leonard Garcia he’ll surely try to continue his resurgence with the promotion. After nine years in the game people often think of Damacio as an ‘old vet’ but most don’t realize he’s only 31 years old so a nice run in Legacy including a potential challenge to bantamweight champ Matt Hobar isn’t out of the picture. Meanwhile, “SMG” (Lozano) proves he can hang with anybody and should also be a player moving forward. One can only wonder if it should be at bantamweight or if he can make a run down in the flyweight division, his natural weight class.
As for the two prospects to finish up the AXS TV main card for Legacy FC 28, it was Eli Tamez and Evan Thompson who did their thing.
Facing a rematch with Nelson Salas from their amateur days, “Tomahawk” Tamez successfully made it 2-0 between the two to put their series to bet. He’s the type of fighter that’s show improvement in every fight and is now a stout 7-0 as a pro. We wonder what’s next for him. On one hand he’s got one heck of a record that’s top contender worthy but his teammate (Hobar) is the champion so that puts him in a conundrum. Octagon MMA (his team) also happens to have a rich collection of the state’s top talent at bantamweight also so it may prove tough to find him a fight worthy of his record but there are guys out there and we have faith Collin Cantrell will find someone for him. Maybe a Jason Sampson or Patrick Ybarra fight would make sense…
Last but not least, RCJ Machado’s Evan “Titan” Thompson also stayed undefeated at 4-0 at the expense of late replacement Allen Nelson. It was a workman-like performance from Thompson who scored points while never putting himself in any danger. At this point Thompson is clearly a skilled prospect in need of a step up in terms of challenges. Now who’s out there for him in his weight division?
That’s it for our thoughts for now. Check out quick results, photos, and the AXS TV event recap for Legacy Fighting Championship 28 below.
Legacy Fighting Championship 28 – Quick Results from February 21, 2014
Main Card
- 185 lbs.: Bubba Bush def. Rakim Cleveland by Sub. (RNC) at 1:33 of Round 2
- 145 lbs.: Damon Jackson def. Hunter Tucker by Sub. (RNC) at 3:24 of Round 2
- 155 lbs.: Cosmo Alexandre def. Rey Trujillo by TKO at 3:38 of Round 1
- 135 lbs.: Damacio Page def. Matthew Lozano by TKO (punches) at 3:31 of Round 2
- 135 lbs.: Eli Tamez def. Nelson Salas by Unanimous Decision
- 185 lbs.: Evan Thompson def. Allen Nelson by Unanimous Decision
Prelims
- 135 lbs.: Steven Peterson def. Ray Rodriguez by TKO in Round 2
- 170 lbs.: Melvin Jordan def. Sean Holden by Sub. (RNC) at 1:17 of Round 1
- 185 lbs.: Victor Reyna def. Lior Shporen by TKO at 0:23 of Round 1
- 170 lbs.: Jason Perrota def. Bobby Moore by TKO at 0:33 of Round 1
- 185 lbs.: Logan Nail def. Derek Perkins by TKO in Round 1
- 145 lbs.: James Polodna def. Nikon Poowichai by Unanimous Decision
- 185 lbs.: Phil Hawes def. Brian Cheatham by TKO in Round 2
Legacy Fighting Championship 28 – Event Photo Gallery
Here’s a quick slideshow from the event. Complete gallery from Legacy Fighting Championship 28 (2,000+ photos) found here.
Legacy Fighting Championship 28 – AXS TV Wrap-Up
