Legacy FC 33 results: Damon Jackson dethrones Leonard Garcia in 92 seconds
Damon Jackson needed a mere 92 seconds to dethrone Legacy FC featherweight champion Leonard Garcia and pick up one of the biggest wins of his young and promising career.
The undefeated Jackson (9-0) scored an early takedown and controlled the action to tap out UFC/WEC vet Garcia (18-12-1) with an arm-triangle choke in Friday’s Legacy FC 33 headliner.
The event took place at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas, and the main card aired on AXS TV.
Although his career isn’t even three years old, Jackson had already proven his talent, and despite being the challenger, he entered the fight as a near 2.5-1 favorite over the experienced Garcia. He quickly proved the odds right by taking his opponent to the mat, landing in the mount position, delivering punches, moving to the arm-triangle choke and then mixing in some knees to the body.
Garcia, who was on a three-fight winning streak and hoped another victory would get him an invitation to return to the UFC, tapped out at the 1:32 mark of the opening round.
“I never dreamed it would come like that,†Jackson, the new champ, said after the fight. †… The game plan from the get-go was strictly forward pressure and attacking whatever he came at me with, shutting it down.â€
With the stoppage – his ninth in nine career wins – Jackson earned an $1,000. Legacy FC issued the bonuses to all of the night’s fighters who earned a knockout or submission victory.
Usman wins co-headliner – after baffling delay
In the welterweight co-headliner, WEC vet Marcus “The Wrecking Ball†Hicks fought for just the second time in 2010 – and it was apparently one time too many.
Looking noticeably thicker than in his WEC days, Hicks (10-4) became easy prey for Kamarudeen Usman (5-1), who scored takedowns and battered the head and body with punches and clearly effective elbow strikes once his opponent was stuck against the cage.
After a dominant first round, Usman continued slicing up Hicks’ face with a barrage of elbow strikes and punches. After Usman landed dozens of the powerful strikes, the ref mercifully halted the bout exactly at the 5:00 mark of the second round.
“I wasn’t surprised (the ref didn’t stop it sooner),†he said after the fight. “He’s a seasoned veteran. He knows what he’s doing. He’s tough as nails. He always come to fight, so I knew I was going to have to take my time and slowly break him down to get him out of there.â€
The fight was briefly delayed during fighter walkouts. According to AXS TV broadcasters Michael Schiavello and Pat Miletich, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation halted the action because the venue was selling alcohol in cans, which isn’t allowed at MMA events. Commission reps, though, apparently didn’t notice until the eighth bout of the night.
Schiavello and Miletich blasted the commission due to the odd timing of the delay.
Reyna and Parker earn stoppage wins
In a middleweight bout featuring a clash of styles, muay Thai fighter Victor Reyna (5-1) used a body kick and a follow-up barrage of punches to put away karate specialist Evan Thompson (4-1) at the 1:21 mark of the first round. Reyna controlled the center of the cage and found openings on Thompson, the younger brother of UFC fighter Stephen Thompson, to pick up his fifth stoppage in five career wins.
In an action-light 140-pound catchweight fight, Steven Peterson (11-4) scored takedowns with ease and controlled the action on the mat to earn a unanimous-decision victory over Johnny Ray Rodriguez (4-3) via 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27 scores.
In bantamweight action, Eli Tamez (8-0) extended his unbeaten career with a dominant performance. Although he nearly finished Kory Vialet (4-2) with a rear-naked choke in the first round, he was forced to continue his ground attack for the full 15 minutes and settled for a unanimous-decision victory via 30-27 scores.
In the night’s first televised bout, welterweight Andrew Parker (4-1) scored a quick takedown, battled for position on the mat and ultimately tapped out Melvin Jordan (2-2) via rear-naked choke at the 2:31 mark of the opening round.
The official Legacy FC 33 results include:
MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10 p.m. ET)
Damon Jackson def. Champ Leonard Garcia via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:32 – to win featherweight title
Kamarudeen Usman def. Marcus “Wrecking Ball†Hicks via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 5:00
Victor Reyna def. Evan Thompson via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:21
Steven Peterson def. Johnny Ray Rodriguez via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Eli Tamez def. Kory Vialet via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Andrew Parker def. Melvin Jordan via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:31
PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised, 8 p.m. ET)
Brad Mitchell def. Darius Yancy via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
George Pacurariu def. Kashiff Solarin via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:36
Keeton Gorton def. Robert Ricks via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 0:48
