Legends Finishes the Year with Blood and Sweat, but No Tears

Legends MMA wrapped up their competitive team schedule over the weekend, sending up three fighters – Eddie Jackson, Chris Brady, and newcomer Tommy Gavin – to fight at the final Tuff-N-Uff amateur MMA event of the year.  Gavin and Jackson both emerged victorious with crowd-pleasing first-round finishes, while Brady battled over three three-minute rounds to the short end of a close and debatable unanimous decision.

In the days after the fight, head trainer Chris Reilly commented “obviously, I’m really proud of the guys.  Everybody fought their hearts out, and they always do.”

“Obviously, Tommy was as technically perfect as somebody can be, for their debut, on a big show like that. . . Eddie Jackson is Eddie Jackson.  We always know he comes to fight.  But I thought he looked [calmer] and [more] composed this fight than he has in the past, which is where we’re trying to go with him. . . Brady had a great fight.  He was in there banging the whole time.  Certainly not a performance that he should have any shame about.”

Lightweight Tommy Gavin won his debut Tuff-N-Uff match in under a minute by submission.

155 lbs. – Tommy Gavin vs. Rob Isenor (Striking Unlimited)

Gavin, the younger brother of pro fighter Steve Gavin, is one of the two recent additions to the Legends MMA amateur team.  He was originally scheduled to face Alex Brooks of Hawaiian Fighting Arts, but Brooks was forced to pull out at the last minute due to injury.

In a match that was almost too short to report, after a very brief feeling out period, Gavin shot in for a takedown, took full mount, and slapped on an arm triangle.  Isenor was asleep before the referee was able to stop the match at 0:46 seconds of the first round.

“I remember he was throwing fast kicks.  I took him down and I transitioned right into the arm triangle,” said Gavin, whose thoughts on the match were as brief as the match itself.

Apparently, Gavin channeled the spirit of Babe Ruth and his famous “called shot,” as the young lightweight decided backstage exactly how he’d finish the match.  According to Reilly, “right before he actually went to fight, he goes ‘I’m gonna take this guy down quick, and choke him out.’  I was like ‘well, that’s the game plan.’ And he did it.”

Eddie Jackson tagged Jesse Bowler early in the first round with this right.

170 lbs. – Eddie Jackson (Legends MMA) vs. Jesse Bowler (Filipino MMA)

Jackson, known for his heavy hands and don’t-blink TKO finishes, faced one of his toughest challenges in Bowler, who was riding back-to-back submission wins.

After an awkward front kick from Bowler, Jackson charged in and clinched up in the corner.  Bowler was able to tie up with double underhooks, but Jackson countered with Muay Thai knees and right punches to break them apart.  He chased after Bowler to the other side of the ring and dropped him to his butt with a right hook that many thought would end the match.  But Bowler was able to recover, clinching up against the ropes.  Bowler tried grounding Jackson with a side headlock takedown, but Jackson slipped out from behind, following up shortly thereafter with a left hook that proved to be the beginning to the end.  Jackson complemented the shot with ground and pound until the referee stopped the match.

Fully aware that Bowler’s headlock takedown / neck crank was his signature submission, Jackson worked extensively with teammate Bryan Brown, a 13-year wrestling veteran, to avoid the scenario.  When he found himself in Bowler’s clutch, Jackson said “I panicked a little bit, because that’s how he caught everybody, with that same fuckin’ headlock. . . I knew what to do, and I did exactly what I had to do.  I snuck out the back door.”

Post-fight, Brown was beaming, saying “I was so proud.  It went exactly like we thought it would.  He did everything that he said he was going to do, and it just worked out perfectly . . . His takedown defense was much improved since the last time I saw him fight. . . And I just knew Eddie’s striking was on a whole other level.”

135 lbs. – Chris Brady (Legends MMA) vs. Gor Mnatsakanyan (Filipino MMA)

Brady’s prior two outings, both with Xtreme Couture’s Jimmy Jones, ended in misfortune and controversy.  During that same time, Mnatsakanyan notched up a pair of unanimous decision wins, each time surprising fans and commentators who debated the verdicts.  With those ingredients, this match was sure to provide a fresh and engaging challenge for each combatant.

Chris Brady and Gor Mnatsakanyan traded leather on the feet for most of a 3 x 3 round war of attrition.

After a brief trade in the first round, Mnatsakanyan set the pace by circling the perimeter of the ring, stick-and-moving with high-kick and side-kick combinations, while Brady stalked him from the center.  Brady tagged Mnatsakanyan with an overhand right before getting taken down.  However, Brady held his knees up to prevent Mnatsakanyan from fully passing guard.  Mnatsakanyan later knocked Brady down with a three-punch combo, punctuated with a high left kick, just before the end of the round.  The second round saw more circling and stalking, respectively, and another trip takedown with Mnatsakanyan on top.  Brady reversed and dropped punches briefly, but then let up.  Brady stayed competitive, landing counterstrike combinations.  He went into overdrive in round three, throwing a flying knee and employing a Thai clinch at separate times.  Both men exchanged spinning backhands at one point.  Brady scored a takedown, but let Mnatsakanyan, who by then was visibly winded, up to his feet.  They were against the ropes exchanging body shots as the final round ended.

Judges award the match to Gor Mnatsakanyan by unanimous decision off scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

“It always sucks to lose,” said Brady matter-of-factly.  “I was trying to stay tight with my defense, because I knew he was gonna be throwing some crazy shit like that.  Put pressure on him, and try to outwork him there.  I don’t know.  I felt like I was landing hard punches.  I didn’t kick nearly as much in this fight.  I think I probably should have kicked a little more,” said Brady in retrospect.

Of his protégé’s performance, Reilly said “I think he just let himself get slightly outworked by a guy that was throwing a lot of stuff.  Nothing was really all that accurate.  [Mnatsakanyan] didn’t really hit him that hard. . . It was hard, coming off the disappointment in the last fight [in August, against Jones] . . . I think that’s why he probably has a hard time getting fully back up for this fight.  So obviously I’d like to see a rematch there.  I think that’s a fight Brady wins more often than he loses it.  I know he’s probably disappointed, but it was probably a good learning experience for him.”

Nevertheless, Reilly is confident that his young star will bounce back: “Brady’s a veteran at this point.  He’s got over 13 Muay Thai fights and nine MMA fights, so he’s seen both sides of wins and losses in fights.  And he’s in it for life.  This is his career.  It’s always tough to take a loss.  If it’s not, you’re not in the right sport.”

Although there was no vocal debate over the decision, several people believed Brady won the fight.  Teammate Brown noted “I seriously thought that even though the dude was throwing flashy shit, I thought it looked better than it was in it’s effectiveness.  I thought that all of Brady’s countershots and his really clean striking did more damage.  And so, even though the guy might have outstruck him in the first round, I actually really thought Brady won the second and the third round.”

Despite the decision, Brady’s spirits stayed high in the aftermath.  “It’s cool to go up there and fight and be around all the famous legends.  Last time. . . after fighting Jimmy Jones, Randy Couture said ‘great fight, kid.’ Gave me daps.  And this time, after that fight, Wanderlei Silva was in the crowd, was looking at me and he looked at me and he pointed at me and he put his hand over his chest, like ‘you got heart.’  And I was like ‘word!’ .  . . It’s confirmation that I’m not doing this for nothing.”

Two other fighters, Takashi Munoz and Christian Palencia, were also scheduled to compete, but injuries in the last two weeks of training sidelined them from getting in one last fight for the year.

“It was sad not to get a couple of the other guys on, because they were really well prepared too . . . both pretty heavy-duty injuries, especially a week before a fight. Not something that anybody could have fought through,” said Reilly.

But the team is optimistic for their prospects for 2010.  The October opening of Legends’ new location has brought about a hungry new squad of aspiring fighters, many of whom will likely debut next year.  Leading the pack are middleweights Bryan Brown and Ryan Lupkes, while teammates like Jacob Martel, Benjamin Sample, Lila Smadja, Bex Fouquet, and Dawna Gonzales look to represent Legends for the first time.  Likewise, Munoz, Palencia, and Strikeforce lightweight Conor “The Hurricane” Heun will set out to put injuries behind them and return to their winning ways.

“I think these guys are in great shape, and I think there’s been a huge added benefit to coming into this new facility.  We have a lot more space.  We have a lot more areas for guys to train.  It’s attracting a lot of the big-name pros back. . . So it’s a constant state of evolution, and all we can keep doing is keep working and keep trying to improve and keep trying to bring in fresh talent.  I think we’re all getting to where we’re trying to go,” commented Reilly.

Brady added, “everybody knows that if you’re fighting the guys from Legends, it’s gonna be a helluva fight.  I feel like the promoters and the people of Las Vegas, and the fighters themselves knows that Chris Brady, Eddie Jackson, Takashi Munoz, Chris Reilly, Conor Heun and those guys – we come and we fuckin’ bring it.  Every fuckin’ time.”

In other Tuff-N-Uff action that night:

Chris Alvanado (Striking Unlimited) defeated Colt “45” Bowler (Filipino MMA) by unanimous decision

Marcus Aven (Right Cross from PB Fight Center) defeated Eric Center (Xtreme Couture) by submission (armbar), round 1

Jordan Wright (Strike Sub Club) defeated Justin Rote (Freestyle) by submission (triangle choke), round 1

Joden Seiders (Throwdown) defeated Chris Holiday (Alliance MMA) by TKO (strikes), round 1

Tim Bowman (Striking Unlimited) defeated Dan McCoy (Fighting Dragons) by TKO (strikes), round 1

Edmond Xhelili (Warriors / Top Notch) defeated Brandon Sheard (Alliance MMA) by TKO (strikes), round 2

Evva Johnson (Sommerset Karate) defeated Kristen Mason (PKG) by submission (armbar), round 1

Victor Henry (Strike Sub Club) defeated Cory Jeffers (Xtreme Couture) by TKO (Jeffers was unable to answer the bell for round 3)

Joe Ray (Striking Unlimited) defeated P.J. Dombrowski (Xtreme Couture) by TKO (strikes), round 1

Cory Turner (IMMA) defeated Anthony Lee (Never Tired) by TKO, round 3

Latasha Marzolla (Xtreme Couture) defeated Kate McGray (Strike Sub Club) by unanimous decision

Tuff-N-Uff Amateur Fighting Championships returns to the Orleans Hotel & Casino on Saturday, January 8^th, 2010.  Go to www.TuffNUff.net or www.OrleansCasino.com for details on buying tickets and reserving rooms, and check back here for details on Legends’ next fights.

Balboa wins Pro Muay Thai Debut

'Yo Adrian!' - Balboa triumphs in her pro debut.

Seven years ago, Roxy Richardson could barely do a push-up.  Fighting was the last thing on her mind. But this past weekend, the reinvented Legends fighter Roxy “Balboa” realized a milestone that was long in the making, emerging victorious in her pro Muay Thai debut.  Based on scores of 49-46, 50-45, and 49-46, Richardson beat Sarah McCarthy (Bad Company, Leeds, UK) via unanimous decision at the 2009 Ultimate Warriors Muay Thai-Kickboxing World Championship, held at the Anaheim Convention Center.

“It feels great.  The nerves were there, but mentally, I was strong. . . It’s been a long road.  This’ll be my 13^th sanctioned fight, my 20^th or 21^st fight total, including smokers,” Richardson reflected later that night.

“To be honest with you, there wasn’t a round that I was concerned about at all. . . She didn’t get winded, she wasn’t breathing heavy in the corners. . . She just let her hands go. . . Other than that, I was very, very impressed with her and very, very proud of her,” said Legends MMA team trainer Jimmie Romero after the match.

Richardson, a staple in the regional Muay Thai scene, was the International Amateur Muay Thai Federation (IAMTF) champion from 2008 and 2009.

“I was terrified of fighting, when I first started.  Honestly, someone would ask me if I wanted to fight two months from now and I would get this horrible pain in the pit of my stomach, and just want to throw up.  And now I am excited and I look forward to it.  I think of it as a test of everything that I worked really hard for all the time.  it was never like that in the beginning.  I wasn’t a natural fighter, but I saw it as a challenge and it made me want to do better each time.”

Ironically enough, it was only recently that Richardson, whose connection with Legends MMA dates back to its days at the Bomb Squad, started working with Legends trainer Jimmie Romero.

Jimmie Romero spearheaded the "Reinvention of Roxy," leading to the night's victory.

“When she came to me, last fight, I think I had her, like five weeks out within her fight. . . I just worked with what she had, and tweeked a little here and there, until I could get her after,” commented Romero.

But once they were past that match, the team went back to basics: “we broke her down, and built her right back up. . . I changed everything, and made it make sense with her footwork.  I made it sync up to where every punch counts. . . Where it’s not just random shit being thrown. . . It flows, like water,” he added.

Of the partnership, Richardson was enthusiastic about going back to the drawing board: “this is the second time I’ve been working with [Romero], and we make a real good team.  I’m learning some new things.  It’s tough, because I’ve been fighting for awhile and he’s got to make adjustments for me, and that’s always been difficult.  But I’ve trusted him and he’s brought me in a good direction.  The results speak for themselves.  I’m pretty happy with that, and I’m happy with how this training went.”

The story of the match itself largely spoke to the changes and improvements in Richardson’s arsenal and team, as Richardson consistently circled out of McCarthy’s charging line-of-fire, countering with jabs, right straights, steady combinations , and body kicks.  McCarthy, who is known for controlling her matches by imposing her will, fought a chasing game, throwing low kicks to make contact.

“We used that jab to utilize space, because Roxy is a lot longer. . . And that’s why Roxy circled a lot, and she moved.  Sarah likes to press and close in you, and make you feel claustrophobic.  And the thing that stops that is ‘hey, you’ve got to follow me’.  . . And while she’s eating punches at the same time,” explained Romero.

135 lbs. / Full Muay Thai Rules – Roxy Balboa Richardson (Roxy Fit) vs. Sarah McCarthy (Bad Company)

The first round saw McCarthy utilize low kicks to breach the distance, while Richardson answered back with a body kick and a Superwoman punch.  Richardson looked comfortable with her hands, landing a lot of punches to the face, especially at round’s end.

In round two, McCarthy kept with the combos and low kicks, while Richardson circled out and brought the action to the middle of the ring.  Richardson fired a triple jab, checked a kick, and volleyed one back.  She swung a kick and tried some elbows in the corner, but it was an overhand right that nailed McCarthy square in the face.

By the third round, McCarthy’s charge-and-attack M.O. was clear and constant.  She pushed Richardson towards her corner, but Richardson clinched up and tried throwing elbows.  McCarthy got in some jabs and an overhand right, but Richardson was on fire, ending the round with a flurry of punches standing and from the clinch.

Richardson lands a left body kick.

Perhaps sensing the need to turn on the steam, McCarthy quickly started round four in the middle of the ring, pushing Richardson into the corner.  But Richardson circled her way out, firing an overhand right and body kick.  McCarthy swiftly replied with her own attack.  Clinching against the ropes, McCarthy tried for a trip, but couldn’t make it happen before the referee called for a clean break.  Richardson landed another stiff combo to the face and attempted a spinning back elbow to end the round.

The fifth round opened with a brief clinch early on, but the two quickly broke apart, with McCarthy going after Richardson, who landed several kicks.  McCarthy overextended on a punch, but Richardson didn’t capitalize.  She did, however, land several body shots.  The referee stopped the action to check McCarthy for blood, but the doctor allowed the match to continue.  By this point, the once intensely-silent crowd was vocally cheering both fighters.  With ten seconds left, Richardson went into overdrive and shot jabs and combos to end the match.

In the end, judges awarded the match to Roxy “Balboa” Richardson by unanimous decision with scores of 49-46, 50-49, and 49-46.

When asked her thoughts on the fight, Richardson said “I always have it in my mind that if I give two good rounds, then at least [it’s] a good show, but I felt I was on from the very first round.  Which is unusual because I’m normally kind of a slow starter.  So I was really happy that I was able to throw multiple things.  And I felt like my timing was a lot better than I have been.  I could hear both corners, which was cool.  I actually would hear her corner, and then wait for her to do what her corner said . . .I’ve never been that clear before.”

Teammate Jordan Wright added “I really think she looked amazing . . . she was popping her jabs, rather than pushing. . .and her footwork was great too.”

Romero added “her next fight will be even better.  We gave her a whole new set of tools to work with.  And changed the arsenal up a little bit.  And now that she’s actually used it in battle, she’s now more confident, like ‘yeah, I can use these new tools, and they work damn well.’”

Other Muay Thai action that night went as follows:

112 lbs. – Janet Coakley (Budo Ryu) TKO Victoria “The Prodigy” Beltran (Boxing Zone) in R2, 0:53.

135 lbs. – Rubin Ekyotin (World Muay Thai Gym) TKO Hien Nguyen (Pacific Ring Sport) in R2, 0:16.

155 lbs. – Yilen Pan (Sit Rama Soon Muay Thai) TKO Caesar Pimentel  (Guizar Martial Arts) in R1, 1:50.

160 lbs. – Edgar Islas (Team Oyama) def. Greg “The Leg” Spellman (Millennia MMA) in R1, 1:16 via referee stoppage (after two knockdowns).

155 lbs. – Olavi Naar (Muay Thai School USA) KO Daniel Eyi (Dobler’s Muay Thai) in R1, approximately 1:00.

175 lbs. – Steve Kuo (The Yard Muay Thai) def. Michael Ellison (Boxing Work) via unanimous decision off scores of 29-28, 28-29, and 29-28.

170 lbs. – Laban Spicer (Sit Yod Tong Pasadena) def. Sean Delfossey (Budo Ryu) via unanimous decision off scores of 29-28, 29-28, and 29-28.

150 lbs. – Sheldon Gain (MTA) def. Patrick Channita (Team Oyama) via unanimous decision off scores 29-27, 29-27, and 29-27.

145 lbs. – Sean Ueda (Pro AM) TKO Hector Ekyotin (World Muay Thai Gym) in R3, 1:32.

130 lbs. – Jessie Magusen (Dobler’s Muay Thai) def. Felipe Andalla (KR Muay Thai) via unanimous decision off scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-27.

155 lbs. – Cooper Gibson (Team Toby Grear) TKO Andrew Santee Santhivong (MTA) in R2, 1:20.

185 lbs. – Jason Rezepka (KR Muay Thai) def. Salah Azzazi (Red Scorpion Martial Arts) via unanimous decision off scores of 30-26, 30-26, and 30-26.  This match was for the UKKA Light Heavyweight championship.

155 lbs. (Full Pro Muay Thai rules) – Ryan Roy (Fairtex) TKO Koji Iijima (KR Muay Thai) after the referee stopped the match in the fourth round, due to numerous knockdowns.

135 lbs. – Tetsuya Yamato (Yamato Kickboxing) KO Kaensak Sor Pleonjit in R5, 2:59.  This match was for the WMC Muay Thai Lightweight championship.

Richardson was cornered by Romero and Victor Henry, and sponsored for this fight by Revgear, Toe 2 Toe, Ed Hardy Watches, and United Front Productions.

Wright, Acosta Attack at South Coast Martial Arts “Come Back”

Jordan Wright (center, with trainers Roxy Balboa & Jimmie Romero) after his decision win.

Legends MMA amateur fighters Jordan Wright and James Acosta stepped into the ring on April 4^th at South Coast Martial Arts in Costa Mesa, as part of a Muay Thai amateur kickboxing event entitled “Come Back and Attack.” Jimmie Romero and Roxy Balboa cornered both fighters.

In his fourth match, Wright won in decisive fashion, earning a unanimous decision in the eyes of the judges by an across-the-board score of 30-27.

“I thought he connected a lot of good punches and kicks. . . he had a pretty good game plan. Sometimes he got a little jumbled up because he was all anxious to get in there and kick some ass, but for the most part, he did a helluva fight,” commented Balboa.

With an improved amateur Muay Thai record of 3-1, Wright noted that he was especially happy about this victory in light of his prior performance.

“My last fight, I won by a TKO, but I kinda caught the guy. He was rocking me the first two rounds, and at the end of the second round, I caught him with a knee. . . I’m way more pleased with this because I wasn’t falling all around this place,” he reflected.

According to Romero, Wright most notably demonstrated a fiercer killer instinct in the ring:

“Jordan was really aggressive, more than I’ve seen him. . . And that’s really important. You’ve got to get in with bad intentions, but at the same time, have the composure to put the combos together nice. . . This time, he really put it down. He dropped his jab-crosses and hard kicks. Hard knees. With intent, like you’re supposed to do.”

The night also marked the Muay Thai debut for James Acosta, squaring off against Sam Yi of Long Beach. Although Acosta ultimately came up on the short end of a 27-30 unanimous decision, he fought a valiant battle, landing powerful bodyshot combinations and high kicks.

Legends' fight team represented for James Acosta's (left) debut.

“The only problem here is that I got tired fast. He just beat me at the clinch, and that’s the thing to work on more.”

No less of a factor was that Acosta took the match on a four-day notice. “I was just training and Jimmie asked me when I wanted a fight. I was like ‘I dunno. Whenever you guys put me in.’ And he got me a fight on Tuesday,” he explained.

The night was a significant growing experience for the young fighter, who displayed an easygoing composure in front of the estimated crowd of over 400.

“Come Back and Attack” is the second show South Coast has held in cooperation with the California State Athletic Commission, and only the fourth CSAC-sanctioned amateur Muay Thai event in the state. Up until recently, amateur Muay Thai events, commonly known as “smokers,” were held without the sanction of the CSAC.

The winners of “Come Back” will be invited to return and fight on the next event, which is scheduled for May 30^th. Fighters who win five matches in a row will be crowned “Walking Tall World Champions,” named after South Coast’s Walking Tall Foundation, a program created to finance and subsidize martial arts training and performance opportunities to low income and underprivileged youth.