HOUSTON, TX, May 20, 2013 – The Humble Civic Center was the host to a great night of fights courtesy of Garcia Promotion’s Cage Combat 14 this past Friday, May 17th. From beginning to end amateur fighters from all over Texas showed up to fight – leaving their blood, sweat and tears in the cage. Local fighters were especially well represented by most of the major teams in the area including Silverback FC, 4OZ Fight Club, Kingwood MMA, Elite MMA, Bushi Ban, Gracie Barra Champions and many more.

The night kicked off with IVOZ’s Ramiro Ruiz and Silverback’s Mike Ross in a 115 lbs. matchup – a first at that weight here in Houston. Ruiz was mostly dominant throughout the fight, but was caught and dropped with one punch by Ross midway through the first round. Ross failed to capitalize though and Ruiz rallied back for a standing guillotine finish before the first round came to its end.

The first fight would then set the pace for the rest of Cage Combat 14 as an action-packed evening. All-in-all there were nine finishes and only four fights saw the final bell with all of these bouts being entertaining affairs. Like with any MMA event the night was not without some controversy, some felt that the Tyler Flores ‘s first round knockout over Sean Ferguson may have been a bit of an early stoppage, but the referee was most definitely trying to ensure the safety of Ferguson who will no doubt live to fight another day.

As for the highlights of the evening in the main and co-main events, Christian Sutton and Tony Orozco Jr. would leave the event as champions with Sutton taking the middleweight belt from defending champion Trevin Giles while Tony Orozco Jr. did the same at bantamweight, giving opponent Edward Longoria his first loss.

Here our TXMMA Fight Night Awards for Cage Combat 14:

Submission of the Night: John Rodriguez wins with his first round RNC on Santos Hernandez. We chose this one out of all the great submissions because of the devastating effect of Rodriguez’s end game. Hernandez was laid out cold for face-first after valiantly trying to fight off the choke.

KO of the Night: none

Fight of the Night: What the main event lacked in length it more than made up for in intensity. Christian Sutton came for Trevin Giles’ belt and he got it in the end with his signature guillotine before the first bell went off. Giles was heartbroken after the fight because he had trained to defend Sutton’s go-to technique and still could not keep him from having his way. Lots of emotional coming out of this fight. Looking forward to seeing more from both guys in the near future.

Garcia Promotions: Cage Combat 14 – Quick Results

Chris Sutton over Trevin Giles by submission (guillotine), RD1

Tony Orozco Jr. over Edward Longoria by unanimous decision

Manny Lozoya over Eric Charalambous by submission (RNC), RD1

Omar Khosravi over Michael Eaglin by unanimous decision

Randy McCullough over Steven Vera by submission (RNC), RD2

John Rodriguez over Santos Hernandez by TKO, RD 1

Tyler Flores over Sean Jefferson by KO, RD 1

Jay Sader over Jeremy Lieder by unanimous decision

Garvens Brun over Francisco Segura by TKO, RD3

Joe Scott over Joshua Kothman by unanimous decision

John Butler over Tyron Casanova by TKO, RD 1

Miguel Martinez over Max Mungai by TKO, RD 1

Ramiro Ruiz over Mike Ross by submission (guillotine choke), RD2

Cage Combat 14 – Complete Event Photo Gallery

The complete high-resolution gallery is now available on mikecalimbas.com. Check out the slideshow below for a pictorial of all the action from Humble.
 

HUMBLE, TX, May 15, 2013

At the time of this writing, the show should feature fifteen amateur fights in total with two championship fights in the middleweight and featherweight divisions highlighting the evening.

At middleweight, we have a battle of undefeated fighters vying for the title with incumbent champion Trevin “The Problem” Giles (4-0) of Elite MMA defending his title for the very first time against Chris Sutton (3-0) of Gracie Barra Katy in what should be a very interesting fight between two similarly-sized and fairly well-rounded prospects. Hard to predict what this fight will look like but one thing that is for certain is that neither fighter is looking to be a pushover for the other. To the contrary both fighters have professional ambitions and a title win here would go a long way to make that a reality so look for both to come out swinging.

Meanwhile in the featherweight division, Silverback Fight Club’s Tony Orozco Jr. makes his long-awaited return to the cage after almost two complete years since his last fight, a loss to (now pro) Colin Wright at Cage Combat 5 with this same title on the line. Fast forward to now and he’ll be taking another fresh face in Edward Longoria, currently 2-0 after debuting in MMA just this past February. With so much time gone by it’s easy to forget Tony went 3-0 in his first three fights when he first burst on the scene in 2011, even winning against Joe Zamora and going to his high school prom on the same night at one point. Still only 20 years old with two extra years of training behind him he could be right back in the thick of the prospect talk with a title win in this one. Or will the 22 year old Longoria take his place? We’ll see on Friday night.

As for the rest of the card, it’s anybody’s ballgame in terms of who we can expect to perform.

Out of all the rest of the card, only Manny Lozoya (Silverback) has more than a few fights and a winning record at 5-3 heading into his fight with Metro Fight Club’s Eric Charalambous.

The remaining fights are loaded with a mixture of reasonably-experienced amateur ‘veterans’ and debuting fighters but one thing they all have in common is that they’re still looking to make a name for themselves.

Here’s the entire card as it stands today.

Stay tuned to TXMMA.com  as we report back after the fights and let you know which of these fighters make a name for themselves with their performance at Cage Combat 14.

CAGE COMBAT 14
FRIDAY MAY 17, 2013

1. Mike Ross (Silverback) VS. Ramiro Ruiz (4oz) – 115

2. Robert Henson (Elite MMA) VS. Anthony Tsafantankis (Bushi Ban Bloodline) –155

3. Tyron Casanova (Champions MMA) VS. John Butler (JP MMA/ Team Tooke) – 160

4. Miguel Martinez (Unleashed) VS. Max Mungai (Kingwood MMA)- 170

5. Joshua Kothman (Unleashed) VS. Joe Scott (Bushi Ban Bloodline) – Hvy

6. Francisco Segura (Laredo MMA) VS. Garvens Brun (Kingwood MMA) – 135

7. Omar Khosravi (Silverback) VS. Michael Eaglin (Elite MMA) – 170

8. Jay Sader (Silverback) VS. Jeremy Lieder (Ground Dwellers) – 185

9. Sean Jefferson (Paradigm) VS. Tyler Flores (GB Woodlands) – 170

10. John Rodriguez (Silverback) VS. Santos Hernandez (Metro) – 145

11. Eric Perdew (Bushi Ban Bloodline) VS. Kyle Villarreal (4oz) – 163

12. Randy McCullough (Windy) VS. Steven Vera (Metro) – 135

13. Manny Lozoya (Silverback) VS. Eric Charalambous (Metro) – 145

14. Edward Longoria (Bushi Ban Bloodline) VS. Tony Orozco Jr. (Silverback) – 145 Title

15. Chris Sutton (GB Champions) VS. Trevin Giles (Elite MMA) – 185 Title

HOUSTON, TX, May 8, 2013 – In search of an authentic Thai experience we (Mike and Felix) recently visited the famed gym and restaurant of Kru Pong (Thussayu Phumswarng) and his wife Toon on the southwest side of Houston, TX and got exactly what we expected.

As the owners of Kru Pong Thai Boxing and Thai Gourmet Restaurant, Kru Pong and Toon have long served Houston with their share of Thai culture throughout the years. Through extremely hard work, sacrifice and dedication they’ve developed quite a reputation in both the art of Muay Thai and traditional Thai cuisine. Martial artists from Texas who are seeking an authentic Thai experience don’t need to travel any further than to the city of Houston in order to do so.

Naturally, we had to learn more.

Sawadee krap.

A Brief History on Kru Pong (Thussayu Phumswarng) and Kru Pong Thai Boxing

Smile.

Thussayu Phumswarng is a two-time Lumpinee Stadium champion known in the martial arts community as Kru Pong. The combination of being a well-tanned at 67 years old along with his infectious smile make Kru Pong look more like a grandfather living in blissful retirement than the seasoned trainer of fighting machines he actually is. As with many things in life though, looks can be deceiving.

Kru Pong is the man considered responsible for bringing Muay Thai to Houston, TX in the early 1980s. At the time Kru Pong was already an accomplished fighter in his own right, but has really come into his own as a trainer and coach during the past four decades. Starting with his efforts in Patumwadee Kai in Thailand, Kru Pong has been responsible for guiding seven fighters in their paths towards a Muay Thai world championship title, and he has continued that tradition of excellence since relocating to Texas in the 1980s. The walls of his gym are covered with championship belts, awards, medals and clippings recognizing many of his past accomplishments as a teacher, fighter and business owner going back nearly 30 years.

Kru Pong’s influence in the development of Texas’ Muay Thai culture is so pervasive that most Muay Thai academies in the state can be linked to him in the same way that actors can be linked to Kevin Bacon through films in the game Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon. Kru Pong has trained a who’s who of established Texan instructors in the art of Eight Limbs that include Metro Fight club’s Saul Soliz, Elite MMA’s Hai Nguyen and Ed Liem, active champions like Nethaneel Mongolia and Alexis Chavaria, and many more.

Kru Pong has had a hand in molding a who’s who in the Texas Muay Thai scene and will continue to leave his mark by introducing people to the art he learned from his own father for as long as he lives. He already put his passion for fighting to the side once when he decided to migrate to the U.S. in search of a better future for his family and he is certain that he never wants to do this again.

Kru Pong and his wife Toon arrived in the U.S. in 1983 and immediately began working as chefs for a restaurant called Thai Pepper in Houston. Although fighting was something Kru Pong could not live without – not being able to put food on the table was something he needed to avoid in order to survive as well. And put food on the table they did. The Phumswarng’s style of cooking was so popular that they eventually were offered an opportunity to branch out on their own in 1995 with the help of some financial backers who believed in them. Kru Pong and Toon took the chance and once their Thai Gourmet Restaurant was established. All the while as business began booming, Kru Pong was able to re-address his main passion, teaching and training others in his country’s style of fighting.

Kru Pong’s Thai Boxing is conveniently located in the same strip mall as his restaurant; both locations share a wall. The convenient location of his Thai boxing academy allows Kru Pong to remain very much involved in the day-to-day activities of the family business while still being allowed to dedicate as much time as he wants to his beloved Muay Thai. The school is a long corridor that is blocked by Kru Pong’s desk. Behind this reception area the academy is divided into three sections; a small area for weight lifting and jumping rope, a section full of heavy bags, speed bags and other types of striking equipment, and the third and final part of the school is occupied by a single ring for Thai boxing.

The school is run in the traditional Thai style. Kru Pong explained that he does not teach a Muay Thai “class” in the classic western sense of the word. Kru Pong’s classes operate more like a well-organized circuit-training machine that is designed to push fighters to the point of breaking while they’re being asked to smile throughout the process. The gym opens from 4:00pm to 8:00pm each day and fighters take turns rotating from station to station so that they can develop and sharpen multiple aspects of their game.

The two constants during our visit with Kru Pong were the thuds of fighters punching and kicking their bags and Kru Pong reminding his tired fighters to “smile please” as they exerted the last of their energy training in their designated stations. Kru Pong’s students took turns doing endless sit-ups and push-ups, lifting weights, practicing hand-eye coordination with a speed bag, working on their clinch work and knees on a heavy bag and then drilled their techniques in grueling three minute sessions of pad work inside the ring. The workouts were very self-directed and required minimal supervision from the old Thai Master who spent his time going from station to station instructing his students to make simple adjustments to what they were doing.

Easy, right?

The workouts looked grueling and turned out to be much harder than they looked. We asked to participate in the class after being treated to a dazzling display of pad work by Alexis Chavarria, an assistant instructor at Kru Pong’s academy. Kru Pong nodded while giving us a half smile and then instructed Alexis to shorten the station rounds from three to two minutes in length. Though initially offended by the gesture it turned out that this was a smart and kind move on the part of Kru Pong, who knew that we trained in jiu-jitsu and were accustomed to creating opportunities for resting while in the middle of a ground fight.

The circuit was grueling and unforgiving. Kru Pong kept a watchful eye on each station and directed each person to a new one once the bell rang after every two minutes.

Our training at Kru Pong’s began with a light warm-up exercise that consisted of kicking a heavy bag while simultaneously holding dumbbells and throwing punches with the opposite arm that one kicks. We went from the warm up bag straight to hitting the pads. Pad work on its own is fairly tiring, but hitting pads while being told to smile brings things to a whole other level. Trying to maintain a consistent striking pace without lowering the rate of speed or level of power was exhausting and made us appreciate the demonstration given by Alexis even more once we tried out the Kru Pong Pad working style for the first time. Few sounds have been sweeter than the bell-which brought that first round of pads to an end. A round on a speed bag and another session of pads followed with only thirty seconds of rest between each round.

According to the students who were there that day each person training will do anything from 6-12 rounds of work and around 200 sit-ups in Kru Pong’s stations during an average two-hour workout day. We lasted four rounds -for a grand total of eight minutes of work- those eight minutes felt like an hour of continuous rolling on a BJJ mat, without proper cardio there was nowhere to hide as it became harder to keep our hands up to protect our chins and to generate power and speed for our strikes.

Martial artists from the Houston area owe it to themselves to check out Kru Pong’s Thai Boxing Academy. The man is a cultural legacy and one of the most savvy exponents of his fighting style in the entire country. We would be lying if we didn’t admit that Kru Pong made us feel exposed on our feet, but he appreciated the fact that we tried. Kru Pong was either amused by our struggles or impressed by our effort because he gave TXMMA a standing invitation to come back and visit before sending us off to go try his wife’s food next door.

Coming soon: Make sure to check back for our review of Thai Gourmet in the second part of our feature on Kru Pong and his wife, Toon.

For more information on Kru Pong’s Thai Boxing academy check out their Facebook Page for their address and hours of operation and as Kru Pong likes to say, “Sawadeekraap” and don’t forget to “smile please!”

HOUSTON, TX, May 7, 2013

The event will feature a title defense by the organization’s middleweight champion, 20 year old Trevin “The Problem” Giles out of Elite MMA. The undefeated (4-0) champion won the belt this past December with a convincing TKO victory over Silverback’s Eric Thompson who couldn’t answer the bell for the fifth round, giving Giles the win via TKO.

Defending that belt for the very first time, Trevin will be facing off against another undefeated fighter, Christian Sutton out of Gracie Barra – a fighter who won his last fight in just 24 seconds by submission when he guillotined Joe Whichard into submission at Cage Combat 13 this past March.

We recently caught up to the champion to discuss this fight, his opponent, and what his plans are for the near future.

Cage Combat 14 Interview -Trevin “The Problem” Giles

How does it feel to be defending your title at Cage Combat 14?

It feels great to be defending my title, but it always feels great preparing and going into a fight. Belt or not it’s a fight and I’m excited about it.

Tell us about your last fight against Eric Thompson. Did it go pretty much as you expected?

My fight with Thompson didn’t go exactly how i expected. I really thought that he would be more aggressive because the tape i watched on him and his fight club’s reputation. That being said I never expected him to quit but we did predict that i would break him and i guess that’s what happened.

What was it like to go five rounds for the first time? How did it feel to win that title?

It felt great having a five round fight even though i didn’t get the opportunity to experience the 5th round. And winning the title was great as well. I know I’m the best amateur middle weight fighter so it felt good to finally get what is rightfully mine.

Looking at your record, you’re 4-0 now. In your own words, how would you define your amateur career so far?

Due to the fact that I am 4-0 i would have to define my amateur career as successful. No matter how it happens the ultimate plan is to win and I haven’t failed to do so.

Have you given any thoughts to going pro?

I have giving a lot of thought to going pro. As a matter of fact this fight will more than likely be my last amateur fight.

Let’s talk about your upcoming fight. How do you feel about your matchup?

I feel great about this match up. Sutton looks like a pretty strong guy and if I am correct he is undefeated like me. So someone will leave that night with an ugly 1 on their record which makes this match up very exciting for me.

Did you watch his last fight? What do you think he brings to the table that you have to watch out for most?

I did watch his last fight and I saw that he ended it with a choke and I pretty sure that he believes that he will get it on me because he love throwing an arm over the head in the clinch. So I would say that the guillotine is his best weapon which isn’t saying much because everyone and their mamma can jump for a guillotine.

What are you looking to show in this fight?

For this fight I’m looking forward to showing how well rounded I am as well as how unforgiving my attack is.

Any predictions? How do you see this fight playing out?

I predict that I will knock this guy out. I seriously doubt that he will make it to the championship rounds.

If you had to give last words to your opponent before the fight, what would you tell him?

My last words to him would be “you are about to be in a hell of a fight.”

You have several other teammates fighting on this card also right? What other fights besides yours are you looking forward to most?

I’m really looking forward to seeing my boy Zach Henson has his first fight. I’m also looking forward to seeing my big homie Mike Eaglin go out and give someone hell. It’s going to be a great night for Elite MMA.

Angel Huerta | photo: Mike Calimbas

HOUSTON, TX, April 18, 2013 – Promoter Mick Maynard and crew recently released the initial fight card for the Legacy Fighting Championship 21 event scheduled for Houston’s Arena Theater on July 19th.

At the top of the card, recent Legacy FC 19 winner Matt Hobar (7-1) out of Dallas, TX takes on Houston’s “Chosen One” Angel Huerta (6-1) in the long-awaited bantamweight title fight for the belt Chad Robichaux vacated way back in 2011 up his retirement at the time.

Focusing on this fight, it should be a good one with some good-ole Texas pride on the line as well considering it will be yet another Houston vs. Dallas clash. Matt Hobar will enter this fight having won his last 2 in a row including his recent victory over Nelson Salas, the only man to ever beat Angel Huerta since he debuted as a pro in Aug. 2010.

Bubba Bush | photo: Mike Calimbas

Also in title action, Bubba Bush (5-2) and Larry Crowe (6-2) will finally clash at middleweight for the belt Andrew Craig vacated on his way into the UFC. Both guys enter this bout with convincing first round victories in their last outing. Bubba in particular is noted to be a strong prospect with his only losses being to Artenas Young (via DQ) and the aforementioned Andrew Craig in a very close fight way back in April 2011.

The show will also feature the Legacy FC debut of UFC castoff Matthew Riddle who arrives to the Texas-based promotion with an official record of 7-3-2(NC). He’ll be taking on Artenas Young in his first bout in LFC. On paper this may seem like a mismatch going the way of “Deep Waters” but Young does has a :04 TKO on record in his last bout which was his welterweight debut.

The rest of the main card features former NCAA wrestler star Darrion Caldwell (2-0) taking on Gerzan Chaw (3-2) along with Justin Reiswerg (5-2) returning to the cage for the first time since his loss to UFC vet Pat Audinwood to take on Gerado Abadie (5-1) and Jonathan Harris (6-3) taking on Matt Rogers (8-5).

Here’s the full fight card for Legacy FC 21 as it stands today.

MAIN CARD (AXS TV)

135 lbs.: Matt Hobar vs. Angel Huerta (bantamweight title)

185 lbs.: Bubba Bush vs. Larry Crowe – (middleweight title)

170 lbs.: Matthew Riddle vs. Artenas Young

135 lbs.: Darrion Caldwell vs. Gerzan Chaw

160 lbs.: Gerardo Abadie vs. Justin Reiswerg

170 lbs.: Jonathan Harris vs. Matt Rogers

PRELIMINARY CARD (local undercard)

155 lbs.: Jace Pitre vs. Eric Schechinger

145 lbs.: Victor Hernandez vs. Rocky Long

135 lbs.: Ricky Turcios vs. Colin Wright

170 lbs.: Scott Juarez vs. Eric Valdez

170 lbs.: Kenny Burke vs. Chris Lopez

155 lbs.: Eric Garcia vs. Mark Garcia

HOUSTON, TX, April 7, 2013

For one, the organization marked a landmark moment as far as attendance goes for their amateur shows go with 2,700+ showing up to catch Legacy Amateur Series 11 live. The show was also the first LAM event to be covered by Texas Fight Night – meaning all 13 bouts will air to over 45 million homes on Azteca, Fight network Canada, Pursuit Channel and Time Warner Cable sports channel in the coming weeks.

As far as the fights go, they delivered from top to bottom with only three out of thirteen reaching the judges’ scorecards.

In the main event of the evening, Kolton Englund achieved what has to be record in scoring his third championship win in three straight fights with three different organizations. This time around it was Metro Fight Club’s Luis Lara who fell to Englund in what ended up being a highly-competitive three round war as expected that came down to Kolton securing top position and pounding out his opponent in the third.

Also scoring a third round TKO win in his own title fight was Lara’s Metro Fight Club teammate Adrian Yanez. He was originally scheduled to take on GB North Houston’s Kody Williams but a staph infection resulted in BJJ Revolution’s Quentin Kiper getting the late opportunity to step into the featherweight title fight instead. The late change didn’t rattle Yanez however as he proved well-prepared and ready for war in earning the belt and several stitches along the way.

In other notable action…

Silverback Fight Club’s Jacob Silva picked up a disputed split decision over GB Texas’ Roberto Sanchez to end his amateur career with an impressive 8-3 record and 4 title wins to his name.

Jake Heffernan picked up a first-round submission (armn-triangle) over Eric Charalambous to keep Alex Morono’s GB North Houston MMA team undefeated in 2013 with a 3-0 record so far following their impressive 13-2 campaign last year.

Charles Sheppard upset highly-touted MMA newcomer and junior full-contact karate circuit vet Sage Northcutt with a vicious late-round haymaker that earns him TXMMA Knockout of the Night honors.

Last but not least here in our mentions is another younger in Jordan Carmona of 4OZ Fight Club debuting impressively with a first-triangle choke over Sijin Kurian.

See below for the rest of the fight results from April 6^th in Houston.

Legacy Amateur Series 11 Quick Results

Main Event – Kolton England over Luis Lara by TKO, RD3
Co-Main Event – Adrian Yanez over Quentin Kiper by TKO, RD3
11 – Jacob Silva over Roberto Sanchez by split decision
10 – Jake Heffernan over Eric Charalambous by submission (arm-triangle), RD1
9 – Charles Sheppard over Sage Northcutt by KO, RD1
8 – David Acosta over John Ballah by KO, RD1
7 – Jason Langellier over Jeff Spangler by unanimous decision
6 – Rene Saucedo over Angel Zamora by unanimous decision
5 – Jordan Carmona over Sijin Kurian by submission (triangle choke), RD1
4 – Micah Williams over Jason Carter by submission (armbar), RD2
3 – Edward Longoria over Steven Vera by KO, RD1
2 – James Morales over Donald Davis by TKO, RD3
1 – Perry Scott over EJ Turner by TKO, RD2

Legacy Amateur Series 11 Photo Gallery

Kolton Englund

HOUSTON, TX, April 4, 2013 – Mick Maynard’s Legacy Amateur Series 11 is fast-approaching with the Houston MMA amateur card set to take place this Saturday night at the Houston Arena Theater.

The show is set to feature an interesting title fight up top with Kolton Englund of Silverback Fight Club and Rilion Gracie Academy chasing the trifecta of local amateur titles in his 155 lbs. title fight opposite Metro Fight Club’s Luis Lara.

Fast-improving as of late, Kolton Englund will go into the fight having won titles at both EAC and Cage Combat in his last two fights over Brandon Hanna and David Montemayor respectively. The 19 year old has actually won 4 out of his last 5 fights (all by TKO) since starting his career 1-2 so he’s definitely on the rise as a pro prospect to watch out for. As for Lara, he’s 1-1 for his career so his body of work remains inconclusive at this point but anybody who trains under Saul Soliz can never be discounted. This fight will go a long ways towards determining his own long-term potential so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Adrian Yanez

The co-main event was set to feature another Metro Fight Club trainee in Adrian Yanez vying for amateur gold at 145 lbs. versus Gracie Barra North Houston’s Kody Williams but a staph infection to Williams cancelled that fight altogether. Definitely a shame considering the stylistic contrasts between these two but hey, these things are often out of anybody’s control. Instead, Yanez will now be taking on Quentin Kiper of Revolution Dojo. Stylistically, Kiper offers up a different set of challenges as opposed to the takedown specialist Williams but he should be game nonetheless. One thing to note though regarding this match is that Kiper does have a loss to Yanez’s Metro Fight Club teammate Eric Valdez. Whether that plays into this one is anybody’s guess but it’s definitely worth meriting as part of the storyline.

As for the rest of the card, it should also offer up plenty of other prospects looking to make their way up the Houston MMA ladder.

Roberto Sanchez

One matchup worth noting is the flyweight clash pitting Silverback’s Jacob “Lil Animal” Silva against GB Texas fighter Roberto Sanchez. With 10 fights and 4 title wins underneath him, Silva is without a doubt one of the most experienced amateur fighters in Houston MMA. He’s known for being a cardio machine has improved vastly since debuting in 2011 as well. With that being said, Roberto Sanchez has quietly been touted as a beast despite having only 2 fights (both wins) on his resume. Of those two, was a split decision win over Silva’s SFC teammate Ramiro Cortina so that should say something about his potential. It wouldn’t be a bold statemtn to say this one has ‘fight of the night’ potential written all over it.

Some other names to look forward to on this card include some young kids debuting named Sage Northcutt (Team Hoger) and Jordan Carmona (4OZ Fight Club). Both have trained for a number of years as juveniles in combat sports (Sage: Karate, Jordan: BJJ) while also mixing in some MMA training in preparation for this moment when they’re finally old enough to step into the cage so look for both to come in well-prepared.

A few other guys also return including a pair of Gold Team fighters in David Acosta and Micah Williams and many others from various teams around the area so this should be a card to watch.

Don’t miss it LIVE and of course check back to TXMMA.com for all our post-fight coverage of the event.

Legacy Amateur Series 11 – Updated Card and Quick Picks

155 Title – Kolton Englund (Silverback) vs. Luis Lara (Metro)

Prediction: Kolton Englund by submission, RD4.

145 Title – Adrian Yanez (Metro) vs. Kody Quentin Kiper (Revolution)

Prediction: Adrian Yanez by submission, RD1.

125 – Jacob Silva (Silverback) vs. Roberto Sanchez (Gracie Barra Texas)

Prediction: Jacob Silva by unanimous decision.

145 – Jake Heffernan (Gracie Barra NH) vs. Eric Charalambous (Metro)

Prediction: Jake Heffernman by unanimous decision.

165 – Charles Sheppard (RSKA) vs. Sage Northcutt (Hoger MMA)

Prediction: Sage Northcutt by TKO, RD2.

125 – David Acosta (Gold Team) vs. John Ballah (Champions MMA)

Prediction: John Ballah by decision.

170 – Jeff Spangler (ACS) vs. Jason Langellier (Metro)

Prediction: Jason Langellier by decision.

135- Angel Zamora (Bushi Ban) vs. Rene Saucedo (Metro)

Prediction: Rene Saucedo by decision.

115 – Jordan Carmona (4oz) vs. Sijin Kurian (Zion MMA)

Prediction: Jordan Carmona by submission, RD3.

190 – Micah Williams (Gold Team) vs. Jason Carter (646 MMA)

Prediction: Micah Williams by decision.

135 – Steven Vera (Metro) vs. Edward Longoria (Bushi Ban)

Prediction: Steven Vera by TKO, RD2.

145 – Donald Davis (Gold Team) vs. James Morales (Metro)

Prediction: Donald Davis by submission, RD2.

155 – EJ Turner (One MMA) vs. Perry Scott (Revolution)

Prediction: Perry Scott by decision.

HOUSTON, TX, April 4, 2013

As one of the featured attractions of the evening, Lara will be taking on another experienced amateur in Kolton Englund for the much-coveted Legacy 155 lbs. amateur belt. It’s a fight he has been looking forward to for some time – against an opponent that already has two belts to his name and is looking for a third. Certainly a challenge indeed but one the Saul Soliz-trained fighter is looking forward to.

We recently caught up with Luis Lara ahead of this Saturday night’s event at Houston’s Arena Theater:

Legacy Amateur Series 11 Interview – Luis Lara (Metro Fight Club)

Thanks for taking the time to speak to us Luis. How do you feel about this fight coming up on Saturday at Legacy Amateur Series 11?

I’ve been looking forward to this fight for quite some time now. The fact that it is another championship fight for me and that if I heard correctly it will be on TV does not put added pressure but has been my motivation to work that much harder. I’m competing because I’ve been an active person, I just happen to love MMA, and the people I work with at my gym make it at times intense, but very enjoyable and a great learning experience.

How have you improved since you first started? Where do you think you are now in your development?

I’m still learning. I’m the guy who trades a normal life for kicks and punches. I’m young and have a bright future ahead of me in whatever I choose to do making the most out of life.

What’s been the toughest thing about trying to make it in MMA so far for you?

So far my greatest challenge has been the beginning. It was tough coming into the gym 5-6 days a week, only to get beat up on, to have yourself pushed every day, come home exhausted, but eventually I got used to it, and now my body and mind are able to handle it, which allows me to get better every day.

Do you have any favorite moments so far?

I’ve had a bunch of memorable moments training and competition, but definitely winning my 1st fight was most memorable. To get your hand raised after all the hard work you’ve put in is a feeling like no other.

What was your last fight like and what have you been up to since then?

I fought a guy named Marcus St.-German. That went in my favor with a second round submission. Ever since that fight I’ve been trying to get back in the cage, but as you may or may not know, the last two opponents dropped out of the fight literally on the verge of making it to the weigh ins.

Moving on to Saturday night – how do you feel about this fight against Kolton Englund?

I know he’s got good striking, and I feel confident in this match up and hope the crowd enjoys two warriors going to war. Training has been tough. I’ve learned an incredible amount of stuff from everyone while getting my limits pushed. This fight can go any way really. All I can say is I’m more than ready to go past five rounds so if I have to I’ll take it to him for all the time I need.  As far as Kolton, I’ve met the guy in person before and he’s a cool dude. I don’t got anything bad to say to the guy except good luck, you’re going to need it.

Any last words before Saturday?

I like to thank Metro Fight Club, thank everybody that shows love and supports what I’m doing, my family and closest friends for being there for me. I’d like to thank Subway and meal replacements for making my dieting a little easier, and a hope everybody can make it to the show!

GALVESTON, TX, March 31, 2013

SCC 3 “Good Friday Showdown” sold out the Galveston Island Convention Center for the show which featured a heavyweight title fight main event and 11 total fights for the fans in attendance. The event also featured a charitable contribution from Al Garza, Stephen Lawhorn, and the rest of the SCC family with a portion of the proceeds going to the Galveston Island Humane Society. On top of that, the show also featured a proposal with one man climbing into the cage only to get down on one knee and climb back out with a fiancee!

As far as the action on the night, it was a pretty fan-friendly night of fights all the way around.

There was an upset of sorts in the main event of the evening as highly-touted Jeremy “Nightmare” Hardy fell victim to West Texas-based Eric Lunsford. From the looks of the fight it seemed like Lunsford had a little veteran savvy to successfully counter Jeremy’s size and athleticism. The SPAMMA champ weathered the initial storm including some high kicks from Hardy before taking him down and working form there in both rounds. He would eventually score the Americana from side control in the second round to seal the deal and take the SCC HWT belt all the way back with him to the Panhandle.

In the co-main event of the evening, traditional martial artists and 4^th degree black belts-turned-MMA fighters Cody Garza and George Burchfield presented the crowd with a three round striking display won by the AGPMA product. Burchfield did pretty well with kicks of his own but Garza seemed to be the aggressor throughout and mixed in some timely punches in addition to his own kicks in the third to seal the deal.

As far as additional highlights go, perhaps the biggest one of the evening belonged to 17 year old Leomana Martinez who, on his birthday week, absolutely blitzed fellow 17 year old and previously undefeated Preston Anderson to win by knockout just 12 seconds into the first round to win obvious ‘knockout of the night’ honors.

For a comprehensive gallery of SCC 3 Fight Photos, check out the complete album on mikecalimbas.com.

Below are all of our fight night awards along with the rest of the results from Friday night in Galveston.

TXMMA Fight Night Awards

► Fight of the Night – David Waters vs. Michael Larson

► Knockout of the Night – Leomana Martinez

► Submission of the Night – Eric Lunsford

Superior Combative Championships 3 – Quick Results from March 29, 2013

Eric Lunsford over Jeremy Hardy by second round submission (americana), RD2

Cody Garza over George Burchfield by unanimous decision.

Andrew Martinez over Dominique Robinson by unanimous decision.

Leomana Martinez over Preston Anderson by KO, RD1 (0:12)

Rick Gonzalez over Jordan Zendejas by TKO (doc stoppage), RD1

Ion Sorici over Juan Zamudio by split decision.

Johnny Gaona over Wilbert Garner by submission (RNC), RD1

David Waters over Michael Larson by unanimous decision.

Tim Lashley over Shaun Dunn by split decision.

Dominic Wiltz over Josh Ontiveros by submission (armbar), RD1

Paulo Alcozar over Mariano McClune by submission (RNC), RD1

Superior Combative Championships 3 – Photo Gallery

GALVESTON, TX, March 18, 2013 –

As for TXMMA, we’ll be on hand at Superior Combative Championships 3 this Friday night at the Galveston Island Convention Center.

Led by AGPMA patriarch Al Garza, Stephen Longhorn, and their consortium of associates from the Galveston area, SCC came into being last summer with the intent of giving local fighters a new avenue to showcase their skills while simultaneously proving fans of mixed martial arts a unique opportunity to catch a show in a 100% family-friendly type of atmosphere. Certainly they’ve had success in delivering on both counts and with this third event, they’re looking to do even more in terms of raising the bar for what they are able to provide their Galveston-area fans.

“I truly believe we have a big-time main event as far as these heavyweights go,” said promoter Stephen Lawhorn about the main event pitting undefeated Jeremy “The Nightmare” Hardy against incoming challenger out of West Texas Eric Lunsford.

A 25 year old with an undefeated 4-0 record, Hardy became the champ after scoring a first round submission over Tim Buchanan this past November. Meanwhile, Lunsford also claims champion status in the West Texas-based SPAMMA organization and will be looking for another belt here.

With a dearth of quality heavyweights within the amateur ranks, this is a fight Lawhorn believes will determine the true #1 heavyweight amateur fighter in Texas.

Aside from the main event, the show also features some added attractions for thirteen fights total at the time of this writing.

There’s 3rd degree BB Cody Garza versus 6-time National Karate Champion and 4th degree BB George Burchfield in a “Best of the Best” traditional martial arts based showdown along with some debuting fighters, including Leomana Martinez who turns 17 just 4 days prior to his fight. He’ll be taking on fellow 17 year old Preston Anderson who is already 2-0 in his own short career.

Rest assured this event should be interesting to say the least and we’ll be there to cover all the action LIVE come Friday night at Superior Combative Championships 3.

Make sure to tune back here to TXMMA.com following the event for a complete recap of the action along with event photos and fight video.

See you at the fights!