Legacy Fighting Championship returned to HDNet today for Legacy Fighting Championship 8 at the Houston Arena Theatre in Houston, Texas. The card was headlined by an LFC Welterweight Championship bout between Jorge “Macaco” Patino and fellow UFC veteran “The Secret Weapon” Pete Spratt.
In other action, Bellator veteran Eric Schambari faced unbeaten challenger Andrew Craig in middleweight action, while Steven “Ocho” Peterson clashed with Steve Garcia in an all-Texas bantamweight bout. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s Legacy Fighting Championship main card.
LFC Welterweight Championship
Jorge “Macaco” Patino vs “The Secret Weapon” Pete Spratt
Round 1:
The fighters circled early on and Spratt jabbed. Both fighters flashed out kicks and Patino landed one to Spratt’s lead leg. Two left hands scored for Spratt and he defended against a takedown attempt. Spratt circled out of the clinch and landed punches that cut Patino on the nose. Spratt just missed with a looping right hook, but landed a body kick. He followed with another one seconds later. Spratt caught a body kick and landed two right hands, then added a pair of head kicks before the bell. 10-9 Spratt.
Round 2:
Spratt landed a body kick in round two and Patino countered with a left hook. He clinched for a takedown, but Spratt defended with elbows. Patino tripped Spratt and took his back briefly, but Spratt scrambled out. The fighters clinched against the cage and Spratt took Patino down. He punched from the top, then stood and allowed Patino to follow. Patino landed a leg kick, but time was called after Spratt was accidentally poked in the eye.
Action resumed and Patino threw a lunging uppercut. He tried to take the fight to the mat, but Spratt shrugged him off and the fighters stood. Patino missed with two punches, but landed a leg kick. Spratt fired back with a head kick and a flurry of strikes. He landed kicks and a three-punch combo to the body and head late in the round, but Patino tagged him with a counter right hook and a one-two. Close round. 10-9 Spratt.
Round 3:
Both fighters landed kicks early in the final round and the fighters circled for nearly a minute while trading single strikes. A big punching exchange followed and both fighters landed. Patino rocked Spratt and dropped him with a looping hook. Spratt recovered, but Patino took his back on the ground. Sprat scrambled, but Patino maintained back control and continued to try for rear-naked chokes.
Spratt stood to escape, but Patino dragged him down again. He moved to mount as Spratt defended on the bottom. Spratt gave up his back and stood. Patino spun into a clinch and took Spratt down. He punched from the top and Spratt looked briefly for an inverted armbar. Patino moved to mount and attempted an arm-triangle choke. Spratt battled back to his feet and the exhausted fighters traded strikes. 10-9 Patino. Close to 10-8.
Round 4:
The fourth round began slowly as the fighters circled and traded occasional leg kicks and jabs. More kicks were exchanged and Spratt landed a combination and an uppercut. He backed up as Patino swarmed with counterpunches. Patino came up short with most of his strikes and fell. Back on the feet, the fighters traded punches and Patino clinched for a takedown.
Spratt reversed the takedown on the way down and got back to his feet. He tried for a knee as Patino stood, but Patino backed away. A fatigued Patino seemed content to circle away as Spratt walked forward with jabs. Patino landed a counter left hook, but was unsuccessful with a takedown attempt. Spratt connected with a body kick before the bell. Another close round. 10-9 Spratt.
Round 5:
Action was again sparse in the final round as Spratt threw jabs and occasional kicks while Patino offered almost nothing in return. More quick strikes landed for Spratt and Patino missed with a left hook. He rushed Spratt across the cage and tried to take Spratt down. Patino tripped Spratt and secured back control. He tried for a rear-naked choke and Spratt defended. Patino switched to an arm-triangle choke, then moved to mount. Spratt stood up with Patino on his back, then slammed him backwards. 10-9 Patino.
Winner: Jorge Patino by Split Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) after five rounds. He improves to 36-13-1, 1 NC and becomes the new LFC Welterweight Champion.
Andrew Craig vs Eric Schambari
Round 1:
Schambari shot in for a takedown immediately and got Craig down against the cage. He moved to side control and tried to pass to mount. Craig defended with knees to the body and Schambari threw hammerfists and elbows with his left arm. Craig got to his knees and Schambari tried for an arm-in guillotine choke. Craig escaped and stood up. Schambari took his back and dragged him down to the mat.
Schambari worked for a rear-naked choke and locked on a body triangle to prevent Craig from moving. Craig defended and threw punches behind his head to fight out of the choke. Schambari stayed on his back until Craig stood up and broke free of the clinch. He landed a big head kick and rocked Schambari with a flurry of punches. Schambari narrowly survived and Craig landed hammerfists from the top. 10-9 Craig.
Round 2:
Craig avoided an uppercut from Schambari in round two and easily stuffed a takedown. Schambari dove for another takedown and came up well short. Craig landed leg kicks and a left hook that sent Schambari off-balance. Schambari clinched for a takedown, but ate a big knee. He managed to slam Craig down and tried to move to side control.
Craig worked his way back to his feet and Schambari backed away. Craig dropped him with a head kick and followed with punches on the ground. Schambari recovered and clinched. Craig peppered him with hammerfists as Schambari attempted a takedown. He slammed Craig down and landed short punches before the bell. 10-9 Craig.
Round 3:
Craig landed a head kick early in round three and followed with a lead left hook. A bloodied Schambari answered back with a nice combination and clinched. He tooked Craig down and tried for a far-side Kimura. Schambari continued to bleed everywhere from a cut above his right eye. He threw shoulder strikes from the top and abandoned the Kimura attempt. Craig scrambled to his feet and landed a solid right hook.
Schambari clinched again, but Craig reversed and threw punches to the body before taking Schambari’s back. Craig transitioned into an arm-triangle choke, but Schambari slipped out as blood streamed down his face. Craig moved to mount and threw punches, but Schambari scrambled up. Craig locked on a standing guillotine choke and Schambari spun free. Craig landed a head kick late in the fight, but Schambari clinched and backed him up to the cage. 10-9 Craig.
Winner: Andrew Craig by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three 5:00 rounds. He improves to 6-0-0.
Steven “Ocho” Peterson vs Steve “The Assassin” Garcia
Round 1:
Garcia dropped Peterson with a short counter right hand early in the fight, but Peterson scored a takedown. He threw short punches and locked on a tight standing guillotine choke as Garcia got back to his feet. Garcia refused to tap, but Peterson pulled guard while maintaining the choke and Garcia was finally forced to submit.
Winner: Steven Peterson by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 1:40 of round one. He improves to 6-1-0.
Jeff “The Executioner” Rexroad vs John “The Maniac” Malbrough
Round 1:
Malbrough landed leg kicks early on and took Rexroad down. Rexroad employed rubber guard and prevented Malbrough from moving. Rexroad struck with elbows from the bottom and looked to transition to a gogoplata. Malbrough freed himself and worked from Rexroad’s guard. Rexroad tried for a triangle choke and kicked Malbrough away.
Rexroad stood, but Malbrough took his back. Rexroad rolled for a kneebar and wound up on the bottom. Malbrough postured up and landed two right hands. He moved to side control and scored with short elbows as the close round came to a close. 10-9 Malbrough due to the late rally.
Round 2:
Rexroad floored Malbrough with a counter right hook to open round two and quickly took his back on the ground. Malbrough tried to defend as Rexroad used punches to set up a rear-naked choke. Rexroad secured the choke and Malbrough tapped out.
Winner: Jeff Rexroad by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 0:50 of round two. He improves to 4-1-0.
Larry “Tae Kwon” Crowe vs Isaac “Ike” Villanueva
Round 1:
Crowe jabbed early on and took Villanueva down. Villanueva defended as Crowe dropped short punches and an elbow from the top. He picked Villanueva up from guard and slammed him down on two occasions. Villanueva tried to scramble out to his feet and did so, but ate punches on the way. Villanueva tossed Crowe to the mat and landed hammerfists. Crowe stood and landed a nice right hook. Villanueva stuffed a takedown and landed two punches in close. He followed with uppercuts and ate a knee. Close round. 10-9 Crowe.
Round 2:
Villanueva pushed forward with a combination in round two and clinched against the cage. Crowe countered with a knee and Villanueva landed one of his own. Three uppercuts scored for Villanueva and Crowe backed away. A fatigued Crowe jabbed and Villanueva landed a right hook. Seconds later, he floored Villanueva with a head kick and the fight was immediately stopped. Devastating knockout win.
Winner: Larry Crowe by KO (Head Kick) at 1:57 of round two. He improves to 5-1-0.
Rashon Lewis vs Ricardo “The Hitman” Talavera
Round 1:
The fighters traded leg kicks and jabs in the opening minute of the fight and Lewis put together a quick combination. Talavera countered a right hook with a takedown and secured back control. Lewis stood up and escaped, then backed away. Talavera shot in for another takedown and got Lewis down to the mat right at the bell. Very close opening round. 10-9 Talavera.
Round 2:
The second round began with another exchange of leg kicks and both fighters put together punch-kick combos. Talavera clinched and backed Lewis up to the cage. He threw knees to the body and tripped Lewis to the mat. Talavera landed on top in side control and secured a Brabo Choke as Lewis stood. Talavera used the choke to drag Lewis down to the ground, but Lewis escaped to his feet and teed off with punches. Talavera kept his distance until the bell. 10-9 Talavera.
Round 3:
Lewis landed a spinning back kick in the final round and Talavera answered with a right hook. Leg kicks were exchanged and Lewis circled on the outside. He landed more leg kicks and a stiff jab. Talavera threw a one-two, but came up short. He landed a leg kick and a lead left hook. Both fighters landed jabs and Talavera shot in for a takedown at the bell. 10-10.
The crowd booed as Lewis was declared the winner in a highly questionable decision.
Winner: Rashon Lewis by Split Decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) after three 3:00 rounds. He improves to 2-1-0.