By TXMMA Staff
Legacy Amateur Series brings two title fights, intriguing amateur prospects to Houston this Saturday
Let’s take a look at some of the more interesting fighters and fights set for Legacy Amateur Series 15 in further detail:
Five Fights to Watch at Legacy Amateur Series 15
115 lbs.: Jordan Carmona vs. Mike Deleon <TITLE>
At only 18 years old Jordan Carmona is already one of the brightest rising stars in Houston. His talent was evident to anybody who watched him grappling in the juvenile divisions and he’s taken that with him to MMA in the last year. Just a year after his amateur debut and Jordan will be fighting for his first title. This follows three straight first round submissions to start his career.
Taking on Carmona will be another young fighter in 22 year old Mike Deleon. Fighting out of Hard Head Hitters, he too has started strong with a 3-1 record. His only loss was to current flyweight champion David Acosta. Aside from that he’s beaten everybody he’s faced so far.
This fight is a pivotal test for both guys with the winner walking out as the first Legacy Amateur Series strawweight champion.
155 lbs.: Sage Northcutt vs. Luis Lara <TITLE>
Speaking of title fights, our next one to watch also has some gold on the line in the night’s main event. This time it’s in the lightweight division with amateur vet Luis Lara taking on rising prospect Sage Northcutt.
Luis Lara walks into this one with a lot more experience than his opponent. He’s been fighting since 2011 as a student to Saul Soliz. In fact his only two losses have come against other top-rated amateurs at the time in Eric Garcia and Kolton Englund so he’s had his tests. He’s won most and lost some (to those two) but make no mistake about it, Luis Lara is a formidable opponent for anybody at this level. No word on plans to go pro but he’ll face another tough opponent to prepare for such a moment this Saturday.
As for Sage Northcutt, what he lacks in time spent in MMA has been overcome by quantity of fights. It’s hard to believe he had 4 fights last year, his first in MMA. He was a karate champion before that and he’s also spent a lot of time on the grappling circuit as well. All the while he’s also competed in fitness competitions along with wrestling. This kid is nothing else if not well-rounded. And it’s worth noting that he seems to have improved at a steady pace as well, on and off the mats. If he keeps at it, the sky may be the limit for him.
Looking at this fight in depth, it seems Lara will be the stiffest test for Northcutt’s young career. Sage hasn’t quite faced someone with Luis’ physicality just yet. And although past opponents like Nico Escheverry can wrestle, none of those guys are quite as big or strong as Luis will be. For his part Sage will also come into this fight as an athletically-gifted fighter in his own right. Perhaps even more so than any of Lara’s past opponents and that’s saying a lot. Long story short, this will be a very intriguing fight. Maybe even Fight of the Night at LAM 15.
145 lbs.: Jake Heffernan vs. Quentin Kiper
Jake Heffernan walks into Saturday night’s fight with undefeated at 3-0. More impressive is how the GB Woodlands fighter accomplished that record, finishing each of his first three opponents. Given the success of his team (as far as winning records go) perhaps it’s time to start paying note to this prospect. Quite a fitting time too considering he’s facing a tough, seasoned opponent in Quentin Kiper. Fighting out of BJJ Revolution Quentin has posted a 2-2 record so far but it’s kind of deceiving considering who he’s lost to. Adrian Yanez (1-0 pro) says Quentin was his toughest fight out of 6 as an amateur. Quentin’s only other loss came to a (now) 4-1 pro in Eric Valdez. And he gave both of those guys a great fight. No doubt he’ll do the same for Jake here. It’s a coin toss who wins this one but whoever does should have some opportunities in the near future coming their way.
120 lbs.: Nico Daily vs. Kevin Martinez
We’ll be watching this one for Nico Daily. His story is unique in that he’s stepped up to bat six times so far as an MMA fighter but has yet to get his first win despite coming close a few times. Talk about a trooper! What he lacks anywhere else he’s definitely not lacking in the heart department. He’ll be facing a debuting fighter in 18 year old Kevin Martinez as he hunts for his first win.
115 lbs.: Matt Hernandez vs. Hunter Robichaux
One of our more anticipated fights on this LAM 15 card is a battle between debuting 17 year olds Matthew Hernandez and Hunter Robichaux. Standing identical at 5’3” and 115 lbs. both these young men are part of that new generation that grown up training. Being the son of former MMA champion Chad Robichaux, Hunter began with MMA/BJJ pretty much as soon as he could walk. Hernandez wasn’t too far behind in starting either. He’s been training with guys like Hector Munoz and Roger Narvaez since he too was a little kid. As they’ve gotten older, both have looked to expand their skillsets. They still compete in BJJ but both also added scholastic wrestling and more striking to their schedules also. A little puzzling why they’re facing each other in their first time out but it also speaks volumes about their competitive drive. Neither one of these guys is the type to back down. That speaks volumes about their potential future in MMA.
Legacy Amateur Series 15 – Updated Fight Card for March 29, 2014
- 155 lbs.: Dayron Vasquez (0-0) | Streamline vs. Clarence Brown (0-1) | Hoger
- 115 lbs.: Matt Hernandez (0-0) | FCFA vs. Hunter Robichaux (0-0) | GB Magnolia
- 135 lbs.: Danny DeAlejandro Jr (0-0) | 4oz vs. Sean Johnson (0-0) | Texas Hunters
- 170 lbs.: Morgan Oriahi (0-0) | King’s MMA vs. Don Dissanayaka (0-0) | Metro
- 120 lbs.: Nico Daily (0-5) | Champions MMA vs. Kevin Martinez (0-0) | GB Magnolia
- 135 lbs.: Alex Chang (2-0) | 4oz vs. Steven Vera (0-2) | Metro
- 145 lbs.: Zach Henson (1-0) | Elite MMA vs. Eric Charalambous (2-4) | Metro
- 145 lbs.: Jake Heffernan (3-0) | GB N. Houston vs. Quentin Kiper (2-2) | Revolution
- 125 lbs.: Angel Zamora (2-7) | Bushi Ban vs. Elezar Escaremo (0-0) | Metro
- 155 lbs.: Nicholas Gay (2-0) | SOL Combat Club vs. Will Morris (1-0) | Shin 2 Bone
- 115 lbs.: Jordan Carmona (3-0) | 4oz vs. Mike DeLeon (3-1) | Hard Head Hitters *TITLE
- 155 lbs.: Sage Northcutt (3-1) | 4oz/Revolution vs. Luis Lara (3-2) | Metro 155 *TITLE