By TXMMA Staff | Photos by Mike Calimbas
Matt Hobar signed with the UFC; Debuts against Pedro Munhoz May 31st at TUF Brazil 3 Finale
DALLAS, TX, April 14, 2014 – The DFW metroplex can boast of being home to yet another UFC fighter today after the signing of Octagon MMA’s Matt Hobar. The 27 year old bantamweight joins the UFC follow three straight wins in the Legacy FC organization. He culminated his four fight stint with Legacy with a title win against Houston’s Angel Huerta last July.
Now boasting a 8-1 pro MMA record, “Crowbar” will debut in the UFC on May 31st against RFA veteran Pedro Munhoz (10-1). Taking place in São Paulo, Brazil, this UFC Fight Night event also features the return of former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos along with the TUF Brazil season 3 finals.
Here’s the full card as it stands today:
UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Miocic
- 265 lbs.: Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic
- 170 lbs.: Paulo Thiago vs. Gasan Umalatov
- 145 lbs.: Kevin Souza vs. Mark Eddiva
- 155 lbs.: Elias Silverio vs. Ernest Chavez
- 170 lbs.: Demian Maia vs. Alexander Yakovlev
- 155 lbs.: Rodrigo Damm vs. Rashid Magomedov
- 145 lbs.: Rony Jason vs. Robbie Peralta
- 135 lbs.: Matt Hobar vs. Pedro Munhoz
- 145 lbs.: Diego Brandao vs. Brian Ortega
We’ll certainly be following this card as it draws near considering the Texan Matt Hobar’s UFC debut. Until then, check out these photo highlights of his last 4 fights in the Legacy Fighting Championship courtesy of Mike Calimbas Photography.
Legacy Fighting Championship 13 – Matt Hobar vs. Steven Peterson 1
Matt Hobar would make his televised debut on the Legacy Fighting Championship 13 card aired on AXS TV. He would face Steven Peterson, a fellow DFW fighter who was also champion in the XKO promotion. Given the popularity of Hobar and the relative heel status of “Ocho” Peterson at the time there was definitely lots of build up for this fight. Unfortunately it would end with a TKO loss to Hobar due to injury, the first and only loss of his career.
Legacy Fighting Championship 16 – Matt Hobar vs. Steven Peterson 2
December 2012 saw the much anticipated rematch for Matt Hobar versus Steven Peterson at Legacy Fighting Championship 16. There were no injuries this time as the two engaged in a fight of the night type of performance. Hobar would get his revenge by virtue of majority decision and the two would actually go on to become teammates at Octagon MMA.
Legacy Fighting Championship 19 – Matt Hobar vs. Nelson Salas
Next up for Matt Hobar was a clash against Nelson Salas at Legacy Fighting Championship 19. Nelson was undefeated as a pro with a 4-0 record at the time and a big win against Angel Huerta. With a dominant performance culminating in a unanimous decision win this bout would prove to be a coming out party of sorts for the increasingly well-rounded Hobar.
Legacy Fighting Championship 21 – Matt Hobar vs. Angel Huerta (Title Fight)
July 19, 2013 would be the landmark night of Hobar’s career thus far until now. It was then that he faced Angel Huerta for the bantamweight title at Legacy Fighting Championship 21. Highly motivated heading into that fight, Hobar wasted no time utilizing his grappling experience and taking Huerta to the floor. It was there that he applied the RNC submission for the win and the first title of career. Ultimately, in hindsight, that proved to be the jump-off point for the rest of his career as he now joins former Legacy champs Andrew Craig, Daniel Pineda, and Derrick Lewis in the UFC.
