Houston MMA Fight Night Preview – Legacy Challengers Series 1

By TXMMA Staff

New series promises to be a showcase for local fighters with aspirations for big-time MMA

HOUSTON, TX – Houston-based Legacy FC returns to the Houston area on April 25th with their latest venture, the Legacy Challenger Series. Legacy President Mick Maynard hopes this new series will provide a quality venue for up-and-coming talent to hone their experience while serving as a feeder league for his AXS TV-aired Legacy FC promotion. It’s also a welcome sight for Houston MMA fight fans who clamor for more consistent shows at the Arena Theatre featuring more talent from local gyms around the area. The Legacy Challengers Series will feature both professional MMA bout along with amateur MMA so it’s definitely being looked at as good news for all.

As for the inaugural card, Legacy Challengers Series 1 features a robust lineup with 14 total bouts for the night, split right down the middle with 7 pro and 7 ammy.

The top fight on the card features Lake Jackson’s Danny Orr taking on Trinity’s Chris “Buffalo” Rose in what could aptly be described as a fan-friendly main event.

Undefeated at the amateur level, Danny Orr won an impressive 4 title bouts in little over the year on the Houston MMA fight scene. Despite being 39 years of age, the Armed Forces veteran took his foray into MMA seriously and it has showed. He carried that success over into the pro ranks as well with his Legacy FC 39 win over Jens Grau serving as a successful pro debut. Long story short, Orr has consistently fought and won since venturing into MMA and he’s going to take this MMA moonlighting as far as he can take it.

As for Chris Rose, nobody can accuse him of being the most technical fighter, or even being the most consistent with MMA either, but he’s definitely got a lot of heart. Despite a 1-3 record at the amateur level, nearly all of his fights have been on short notice with minimal training against tough opponents. Moreover, he asked for this fight with Orr as his pro debut so he’s definitely out to prove something.

Definitely an interesting main event.

Another fighter of note to watch out for is former Legacy amateur champ and current Texas A&M engineering student Sage Northcutt. The 19 year old former karate champion / bodybuilder / wrestler / submission grappler won 5 straight fights with 2 titles to end his amateur career then won his pro debut in under 30 seconds. He now moves on to his upcoming LCS 1 bout with 8 fight veteran Jacob Capelli out of Dallas-Fort Worth. All things considered, the data points to a second pro win for Northcutt but taking his opponent’s experience into consideration, sometimes you just never know.

Another bout to look forward to on the pro side of LCS 1 is the rubber match between David Acosta and Mike Deleon. Both are undefeated on the pro level but split their bouts in the amateur leagues with each having a submission win over the other. They’re also both highly-skilled flyweights who can compete both standing and on the ground. It remains to be seen how both have grown since their last bout in Dec. 2013 but it’s almost assured that this will be another close hard-fought match.

Elsewhere at Legacy Challengers Series 1 are some significant bouts on the amateur side as well.

The amateur slate is headlined by a flyweight title fight pitting undefeated Christian Lira taking on Manny Lozoya for the flyweight belt. One look at Manny’s resume shows him to almost be a “professional amateur” at this point. He’s 8-3 since 2009 and this will be his 7th title fight in his last 8 bouts. Meanwhile Lira has gone 4-0 since debuting in February 2014 and this should be his biggest test yet. With the pedigree of both men proving to be impressive, look for this to be a highly competitive bout.

The rest of the LCS1 amateur card features some returning prospects including Jordan Carmona, Dayron Vasquez and Zach Henson. All of whom have looked impressive in the past and are no doubt looking to show even more.

Check out the complete Houston MMA fight card below:

Legacy Challengers Series 1 – Updated Fight Card for April 25, 2015

Professional Bouts

• 185 lbs.: Chris Rose (0-0) vs. Danny Orr (1-0)
• 165 lbs.: Jacob Capelli (2-6) vs. Sage Northcutt (1-0)
• 155 lbs.: Joel Haesecke (0-0) vs. Jason Langellier (0-0)
• 155 lbs.: Dustin De La Cruz (1-1) vs. Kolton Englund (1-1)
• 125 lbs.: Mike Deleon (1-0) vs. David Acosta (2-0)
• 130 lbs.: Angel Zamora (1-1) vs. Jacob Silva (0-2)
• 145 lbs.: James Gonzales (1-5) vs. Omar Hillail (1-0)

Amateur Bouts

• 125 lbs.: Christian Lira (4-0) vs. Manny Lazoya (8-3) * TITLE
• 125 lbs.: Robert Walker (2-2) vs Jordan Carmona (4-1)
• 135 lbs.: Zach Henson (2-1) vs. Steven Vera (3-2)
• 145 lbs.: Kyle Villareal (3-3) vs. Eric Charalambous (2-5)
• 155 lbs.: Perry Scott (2-1) vs. Dayron Vasquez (3-1)
• 145 lbs.: Melvin Giron (1-0) vs. Paul Earls (1-2)
• 145 lbs.: Nino Villareal (0-1) vs. Gabriel Valdez (1-2)