By TXMMA Staff
Leite wins middleweight belt in controversial finish; Daniel Pineda rolls with second straight submission win
HOUSTON, TX – BJJ and Judo champion Leonardo Leite kept his MMA record perfect with his TKO win over Larry Crowe this past Friday in Houston, TX. Leo also won his second MMA title in the process. The Brazilian won the Legacy FC light heavyweight belt earlier this year over Myron Dennis and added the middleweight belt following his controversial finish over Larry Crowe.
After some back and forth on the feet, Leite was able to wrestle Larry to the floor and look for a rear-naked choke late in the first round but it was defended well. He would look to work more of his game from inside of the clinch in the second but inadvertently hit Crowe in the groin, allegedly. Referee Jon Schorle did not see it that way however. Leite was able to take advantage and finish the fight at the 2:19 mark of the round to secure his belt.
In the Legacy FC 39 co-main event Daniel Pineda continued his resurgent streak with a first round submission win by triangle over Louisiana native Thomas Webb. It was over almost as it started in this one as Daniel was able to quickly gain the finish just 49 seconds into the fight.
Elsewhere at Legacy FC 39, respected kickboxer Valentina Schevchenko won comfortably over WMMA vet Jan Finney by unanimous decision while Mike Bronzoulis won his rematch with Jonathan Harris in pretty much the same fashion as he did the first time.
Speaking of rematches, Kevin Aguilar won a competitive bout vs. a streaking opponent in Alex Black. The two had fought as amateurs five years ago with the same result. This time it was a third round TKO for “The Angel of Death” even though he had some scary moments with Alex dropping him several times in the bout.
Closing out the main card with the opener, heavyweight Brice Ritani-Coe vanquished “The Alpha Male” Dale Mitchell by first round knockout to bring his record up to 4-2 while Dale fell to .500 at 6-6 overall.
Check out complete results including the prelims below:
Legacy FC 39 – Quick Results from February 27, 2015
Main Card (AXS TV)
- 185 lbs.: Leonardo Leite def. Larry Crowe via TKO, RD2
- 150 lbs.: Daniel Pinenda def. Thomas Webb via submission (triangle), RD1
- 135 lbs.: Valentia Shevchenko def. Jan Finny by unanimous decision
- 155 lbs.: Mike Bronzoulis def. Jonathan Harris via. TKO, RD1
- 145 lbs.: Kevin Aguilar def. Alex Black via TKO, RD3
- 265 lbs.: Brice Ritani-Coe def. Dale Mitchell via KO, RD1
Prelims (Untelevised)
- 125 lbs.: Ryan Hollis def. Albert Tapia by unanimous decision
- 200 lbs.: Danny Orr def. Jens Grau by unanimous decision
- 125 lbs.: Jacob Norsworthy def. Mike Trinh via submission (armbar) at RD2
- 125 lbs.: Angel Zamora def. Bobby Powers via technical knockout at RD1
- 125 lbs.: Roberto Sanchez def. Jacob Silva by unanimimous decision
- 125 lbs.: Daniel Turner def. Jordan Carmona by split decision * amateur
- 135 lbs.: Chris Soliz def. Sunny Quang by unanimous decision * amateur
- 125 lbs.: Jonathan Davis def. Sijin Kurian by unanimous decision * amateur
Legacy FC 39 Highlights – AXS TV Video Recap
Legacy FC 39 Photo Highlights