By TXMMA Staff
September and October to bring amateur and pro MMA events back to the Humble Civic Center
HUMBLE, TX, September 1, 2014 – It’s been almost a year since their last event but Garcia Promotions is back and they’re planning to return in a big way. First up on tap for GP is an amateur event with Cage Combat 16 taking place on September 27th at the Humble Civic Center. Then this October 24th they’ll be presenting their latest show on Houston MMA pro circuit as well with Fury FC 2 at the same location. There should be plenty to look forward to at both events given the initial cards we’ve seen so far. As is always with MMA events, these cards morph and change due to injuries, etc. as the events draw near so take what you seem with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, it should still set a general expectation and it’s optimistic. Looking deeper at the Cage Combat 16 fight card fans should expect to see some exciting bouts. There’s close to 30 bouts on tap little less than a month away from the show and this should be chiseled down to close to 15 by the time fight night comes about. Here are some of the fighters worth keeping an eye on for this card, in no particular order:
- Manny Lozoya (7-3) – A veteran of the Houston MMA scene since 2009, Manny has fought on 5 Cage Combat cards, losing only once in the promotion thus far. He’ll be fighting for a title at CC 16, facing off against Woodlands based wrestler Jake Heffenan for the GP bantamweight title. With all the fights he has under his belt Manny should be the favorite headed into this one. It will be a tough fight for him but if he wins then this should pave the way for him to turn pro.
- Cameron Graves (3-0) – A top prospect from Team Tooke who’s also experienced success in the competitive world of BJJ, Cameron is a blue chip prospect worthy of keeping eyes on. He’s already gone 3-0 as an amateur while taking all his fights in Cage Combat. With the promoters also connected to Team Tooke one would think Graves could have been given an easy schedule but that hasn’t been the case. His last 3 opponents have been top notch for the amateur level and Graves has not gone without being tested. Good for him he’s passed all those with flying colors thus far.
- Mayura Dissanayaka (0-1) – A native Sri Lankan who’s made an appearance in the Super Fight League (India) before somehow finding his way to America and turning up on the Houston amateur MMA scene, Mayura is known more for his viral success as the “MMA gas station guy” as opposed to his exploits in the MMA cage but he’s got talent. He did lose to Morgan Oriahi (a top amateur prospect) by third round submission at Legacy AM 15 but he’s looking to come back from that against Tyler Flores.
- Luke Crawford (2-0) – Undefeated out of North Houston, Luke Crawford has had equal experience in both MMA and Muay Thai, fighting a couple of striking-only events to go along with his sole MMA win (a 31-second TKO). He’s definitely a decent-sized lightweight and will have four inches of height on his CC 16 opponent EJ Turner.
- Take you pick (100-0) – With so many Houston MMA prospects potentially on the card it’s kind of hard to narrow down the choices on who to watch. There are veterans like Ralph Garcia (potentially fighting for a title) and Edward Longoria but also some other prospects like Brandon Gautheir, Josh Altum, Bee Nguyen and so many more. Take your pick and more sure to tune in after the fact to see who distinguished themselves come fight night at Cage Combat 16.
Garcia Promotions: Cage Combat 16 – Updated Fight Card for September 27, 2014
- 135 lbs.: Manny Lozoya vs. Jake Heffernan (GB Woodlands) * TITLE
- 145 lbs.: Kyle Villarreal (4oz) vs. Cameron Graves (TT/JP MMA) * TITLE
- 170 lbs.: Ralph Garcia vs. TBA * TITLE
- 170 lbs.: Kendrick Holloway (4oz) vs. TBA
- 155 lbs.: Nino Villarreal (4oz) vs. Nick Ortiz (Sol Combat Club)
- 135 lbs.: Steven Vera (Metro) vs. Cody Owens (JP MMA/TT)
- 135 lbs.: Edward Longoria vs. Garvens Brun (Kingwood)
- 170 lbs.: Mayura Dissanayake (Metro) vs. Tyler Flores (GB Woodlands)
- 155 lbs.: Luke Crawford vs. EJ Turner (Sol Combat Club)
- 155 lbs.: Eric Charalambous (Metro) vs. Brandon Gauthier (TT/JP MMA)
- 155 lbs.: Tyrone Casanova (Champions MMA) vs. Josh Wilson (Kingwood MMA)
- 155 lbs.: Clarence Brown vs. Robert Perez (JP MMA/TT)
- 155 lbs.: Jeff Nemeth (Fusion Fight Co.) vs. TBA
- 145 lbs.: Matthew Longuna (Metro) vs. Josh Altum (ACS)
- 170 lbs.: Rasika Dissanayake (Metro) vs. Josh Huitt (Kingwood MMA)
- 125 lbs.: Elezar Escareno (Metro) vs. Erick Brazier
- 125 lbs.: Hector Renoj (ACS) vs. Jacob Norsworthy (Bushi Ban)
- 135 lbs.: Josh Rodriguez (4oz) vs. Reshal Malik
- 265 lbs.: Aaron Moore (Unleashed) vs. TBA
- 265 lbs.: Ronnie Byerly (JP MMA/TT) vs. Orlando Rivera
- 135 lbs.: Samantha Harris (TT/JP MMA) vs. TBA
- 170 lbs.: Gustavo Gomez (GB Champions) vs. Austin Kindred (Kingwood MMA)
- 135 lbs.: Christian Lira (APL/Gold Team) vs. Shawn Williams (JP MMA/TT)
- 185 lbs.: Alvaro Hurtado (ACS) vs. Jared Clark
- 135 lbs.: Donovan Carrasco (APL/Gold Team) vs. Jonathan Villarreal (Bushi Ban)
- 135 lbs.: Aaron Pineda (APL/Gold Team) vs. Joe Lara (Northside MMA)
- 135 lbs.: Yan Digalov vs. TBA
- 115 lbs.: Sijin Kurian (APL/Gold Team) vs. TBA
- 125 lbs.: Tony Nguyen (4oz) vs. Daniel Turner (Sol Combat Club)
- 105 lbs.: Bee Nguyen (4oz) vs. TBA