HOUSTON, TX, December 17, 2011 – Another night of exciting Houston MMA action is in the books after Legacy Fighting Championship 9 last night LIVE and on HDNet. The televised card 5 out of 6 bouts finish before the final bell while only the main event and only championship fight of the evening saw the judges’ scorecards. In that fight, Legacy welterweight challenger Jorge “Macaco” Patino retained his title over tough challenger Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis in a five-round battle characterized by his being ability to execute on a game plan that had him taking down the Strikeforce fighter in the early rounds to secure the decision early.

In the co-main event of the evening, Jeff Rexroad and Larry Crowe put on an exciting bout much to the surprise of many in attendance. Despite weight-issues weighing heavily on his mind prior to this bout (pun intended), Tae-Kwon Crowe was able to on a spirited performance against his surging opponent. This was by no means a “gimme” fight for Rexroad, who passed the test and finished things deep with a third-round triangle-armar for the victory.

The rest of the main card was punctuated by several decisive performances.

Steve Garcia was able to get back into the win column in a dangerous fight over top prospect Cody Williams in a fast-paced bout than ended with the veteran catching “The Wolverine” with a well-timed left hook that dropped him. Thinking it was over, the 4OZ fighter actually put his hands up in the air for a few moments before going in and finishing things to the referee’s satisfaction. With this bout, Garcia is now back in the win column after tough losses to XKO champion Steven Peterson and UFC vet Will Campuzano. Meanwhile, this was Williams’ first defeat as a pro but one that he’ll sure look to bounce back from in no time.

Legacy 145/155 champion Daniel Pineda also continued his streak of dominance with a spectacular spinning backfist knockout of tough challenger Gilbert Jimenez in round 2 of their fight while Derek Lewis and Jonathan Harris stopped Rakim Cleveland and Ricardo Talavera in the third round of their fights respectively after back-and-forth moments in both bouts. Harris in particular had a very impressive showing. “The Hulk” overcame a good first round by his opponent and seemingly got stronger as the fight wore on. Facing the microphone post-fight, Harris seemingly called out Mike Bronzoulis for a rematch of their Nov. 2010 title match but with Jorge Patino winning, Harris could just as easily set his sights on something bigger in the near future.

Overall, this event lived up to expectations in terms of producing exciting fights. Macaco can now claim himself as the undisputed Legacy 170 champion after defeating the only other man to never have lost that belt before jumping to Strikeforce. Meanwhile, Jeff Rexroad cemented his status as a top challenger and should be gunning for that belt in no time. Steve Garcia proved that he’s still a force to reckon with at 135 and could be headed for a title showdown with Angel Huerta in the near future should “The Chosen One” keep winning on his own path to the title. Those two and Steven Peterson are three that come to mind as fighters with title aspirations at 135. Likewise, Jonathan Harris joins Jeff Rexroad as the top two fighters than come to mind that are fighting locally for the 170 belt. Daniel Pineda has again proven his own status as Houston’s standard bearer with his fifth win in a row as he looks to make a bid to get some looks from the UFC while Derrick Lewis made his own case as the top heavyweight currently fighting out of H-Town. Good night of fights to close out 2011 for the Legacy promotion as it continues to build towards the future.

Legacy FC 9 – Quick Results

Main Card (HDNet)

170 lbs. – Jorge Patino(c) over Mike Bronzoulis by Unanimous Decision (49-46 x3)
175 lbs. – Jeff Rexroad over Larry Crowe by Submission (armbar) – RD3
135 lbs. – Steven Garcia over Cody Williams by TKO – RD1
170 lbs. – Jonathan Harris over Ricardo Talavera by TKO – RD3
150 lbs. – Daniel Pineda over Gilbert Jimenez by KO (spinning backfist) – RD2
HVY lbs. – Derek Lewis over Rakim Cleveland by TKO – RD3

Legacy FC 9 – Preliminary Undercard

155 lbs. – Chop Rucker over Frost Murphy by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
170 lbs. – Jeremy Morris over Justin Murray by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
155 lbs. – Jesus Rivera over Randy Hauer by Submission – RD 2
185 lbs. – Noel Ligon over Patrick Hutton by Submission (Guillotine) – RD 1
145 lbs. – Jeremy Mahon over David Armas by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Legacy FC 9 – Photo Gallery and Slideshow

As always, we’ll post a selection of these photos on our Facebook Page but click here or on the photo below to view a slideshow and complete photo gallery from this event on our TXMMA Photo Albums.

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About Mike Calimbas

Mike Calimbas is a mainstay within the Texas MMA and Grappling scene and a frequent contributor to TXMMA.com and other publications, online and print, as writer, photographer, and analyst. To contact Mike for any reason, feel free to add him to your network through the Facebook and Twitter links directly below. Also, follow along on Twitter via @TXMMAfeed (#MMA) and @mikecalimbas (everything else)!

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