2015-09-06
Price: Free
Edition: #
Previous Issues
Submit Article
Tycoon Times - MMA Magazine
Tycoon Times - The World's Premier Weekly Mixed Martial Arts Newspaper
Corner

LEGACY! 9 Event Preview

Event Preview: LEGACY! 9
Legacy!
2015-09-05, Montreal, The Expo
Author:Louie DePalma


 


Live from Montreal on September 5th, 2015

Legacy! 9
The Expo
Prepared by Russ T. Shackleford


With Labor Day only days away, Montreal is bustling with life as citizens prepare for picnics, firework displays, water activities, public art events, parades and of course, Legacy’s weekly event. Remember that while you’re out playing Louie will be hard at work in his KPMG tower office trying to convince fighters to take his hard earned $5 million. Let’s try to make his life a bit easier so he can enjoy the holiday. If you have any 240k+ fighters head on over to the cement your Legacy! thread and vote or sign them up for a shot at this glorious prize. It hardly seems fair that he should have to spend his free time convincing other people that money is in fact good for you.



Cement Your Legacy Tourney!



Legacy! would like to thank the 5702 fans that supported Legacy! 8 as well as all the fighters that threw it all on the line. The event was one of the most successful to date with a 297.4 event rating. We have hopes that this number is a benchmark to judge the organization's future success. Congratulations to Kelvin “Shinobi” Parker for capturing the 170lbs division title in under two minutes!

This Saturday lucky fans will witness another spectacle that will have them buzzing all weekend. As many of you well know, the staple of Legacy! events is fair fights for all. This isn’t one of those organizations where the owner will pit his 30 year old against your 18 year old creation. At Legacy! we don’t pick favorites or stack cards. We have a vested interest in offering fights where no one knows what the outcome will be because, what’s the fun in that? I can speculate all I want in these previews but, I find myself surprised more often than not. With that said, Terrell Grant will face his first title defense against Frank Barbosa. In the second fight on the main card, the scar faced Liam Donnelly will go up against the lovable dictator Kim II Sung. These two fights will be likely be your classic brawl and sprawler vs. grappler but, the main and undercard will feature a gamut of matches that will align fighters from numerous walks of life and disciplines into an excellent event. Without further adieu let’s get on with the previews!



Main Event - 265 lbs title fight



Terrell Grant vs Frank Barbosa



Terrell Grant returns to Montreal to defend his title against the undefeated Frank Barbosa. If you haven’t witnessed the fight firsthand, Grant delivered a huge upset against the formidable Johnny Cage in the very final second of a 25 minute match that he was losing decisively. His success earned him the respect of MMA fans in Montreal and the world over as he silenced the skeptics that claimed Grant was “Too Tall’ to be a proficient submission specialist. Now he will look to silence skeptics yet again as he faces down the strategic Frank Barbosa. After defeating all three of his opponents in Legacy! Barbosa has found a home not only on manager Gwad’s roster but in Legacy as well. Throughout the entirety of his career Frank Barbosa has managed to out work all of his opponents with deadly and effective striking. Until his most recent match against the RocknRolla he had never faced an opponent that he couldn’t KO, Nevertheless he will look to add a belt and a 7th KO to his perfect 7-0 record. Grant will come into this match with a distinct experience advantage with 2 hours 43 minutes and 49 seconds spent in the cage over his 20 fight career. On the other hand we have Barbosa who has only posted a paltry 32 minutes and 20 seconds. Don’t let that number confuse you, Barbosa finishes almost twice as quickly at 4 minutes and 37 seconds on average compared to Grant’s average of 8 minutes and 12 seconds. Grant has proven that he’s a proficient striker but, in reality he’s a submission specialist with 12 of his 15 wins coming in that fashion. As has been previously stated, Barbosa is a master KO artist and he’s racked up 4 TKO’s and 2 KO’s all while never being on the receiving end of a knockout punch himself. Terrell Grant is no stranger to adversity, He’s faced 3 undefeated fighters in the past and each time he has triumphed. With his opponents posting an unheard of pre fight combined record of 120-35 it’s apparent that Grant has had a very tough schedule and still managed to maintain his standing as a competitor. Barbosa has had a rather difficult schedule as well and his opponents posted a 41-25 record. He’s always been the younger fighter in all his bouts with opponents being at least 2 years older than him. On top of that, Barbosa has always been at an experience disadvantage and this fight will be no different than the rest. Grant will come into this fight much larger than Barbosa standing 9 cm taller and weighing 21 more pounds. Barbosa will however compensate for these disadvantages with tactical strikes and exceptional boxing. Not only that but, Barbosa will have a slight edge in MT and wrestling. Grant will have the privilege of a significant BJJ advantage and he will surely look to his powerful takedowns during this fight. It should be noted that while many have tried, noone has ever taken down Barbosa. Even when he knocks opponents to the ground Barbosa politely backs off and waves his disoriented foe back to standing. Knowing this, Barbosa is completely unproven on the ground and it will be impossible to gauge what his ground game has in store for this crowd. Terell Grant is a very accomplished grappler and he has displayed a remarkable ability to score a takedown. Occasionally it takes a while for him to get his opponent to the ground but, he almost always succeeds in the end. Grant might be a grappler at heart but, he isn’t one dimensional. He will have to contend with Barbosa’s powerful striking and conserve his energy whilst looking for the perfect takedown. If he gets it, He will explode and look to capitalize immediately. These two are heavyweights and there are serious reservations that they will need the full 25 minutes a title match provides.



 Co Main Event - 170 lbs division - Liam Donnelly vs. Kim II Sung



Liam Donnelly returns to Legacy! to take on the Maximeglomaniac Kim II Sung. Donnelly played his bout with Sam Hall wisely and jabbed away with efficient and accurate counter strikes as Sam Hall swung away at with everything he had. In the final minute of the first round Donnelly came forward with a vicious uppercut that had Hall seeing stars. Sam tried to recover but Donnelly never gave him the chance. He pounced on his wounded countryman and dealt out some blows that had the ref pulling him away with only a second to spare in the first round. Kim II Sung’s bout against Sam Hall went rather differently. The two fought like cats and dogs but, Sung was unable to score a single takedown in any of his 7 attempts. That wasn’t all though, Sung’s striking had always been a reliable fall back plan. Unfortunately Kim was unable to get anything going and he was only able to land 16 out of 58 strikes. After witnessing Hall’s knack for striking, few were surprised when his hand was raised at the end of the fight. Kim II Sung has since made waves in Montreal after defeating Liam Davidson in his 3rd and most recent Legacy! match, He will surely be looking to go on a “Liam win streak” by conquering another Liam this Saturday. That’s not all though, Sung has made waves internationally after defaulting on loans and trade agreements with Switzerland. It’s reported that Switzerland saw an opportunity and was eager to jump in bed with Sung and his newly formed worker’s paradise. At a trade conference Sung agreed to receive a shipment on 1000 Volvos and 2000 Rolex’s engraved with “Donated by Kim II Sung.” The Swiss were eager to comply and build relations with the growing North Korean economy and sent the shipment out the next day. The Swiss have yet to receive payment for this transaction and have asked for help from the debt collectors at the U.N. When reached for comment Sung said this of the transaction. “I told them I wanted cars and watches. They said okay, you’ll have them tomorrow. I don’t know what all this capitalist pig-dog talk about money is...” Both of these fighters have had difficulty finishing in the past and have been to a combined total of 13 decisions. Liam has had the worst of it with only 2 decision wins while Sung has allotted 3 decision wins, both of them have lost 4 times. After struggling to take down Sam Hall in Legacy! 3 Sung has been hard at work as he seeks to improve his takedown game and he won’t have any reservations about putting that training to the test against Donnelly tonight. Donnelly will have a slight edge in wrestling but, that exceptional wrestling will be employed in stuffing takedowns this Saturday. These two fighters both have black belts and it will be an interesting fight if it goes to the ground. Sung is a specialist and his skills reside on the ground. There is little doubt that he’ll want to put this one away while standing where he can take advantage of his sensational boxing and wonderful Muay Thai. Sung will no doubt look to his superb boxing to defend some strikes while he searches for a takedown attempt. If that fails he will move into the clinch and look for a trip or a chance to pull guard. If Sung finds himself on top of the cuddle puddle expect him to stick with his previous strategy: ground and pound until Liam lands a sweep and then work submissions from the full guard position. It should be noted that Sung has never been knocked out and Liam has never been submitted. Will we see strategies adapt to this development or will these fighters remain stuck in their ways and look to success where it has been granted in the past?



135 lbs divison - Jomlong Kiapoity vs. Mata Hughes



After losing in his Legacy debut, The “Mighty Midget” Jomlong Kiapoity will find himself at odds with another submission specialist, Mata Hughes. In his match against Kelvin Parker The Mighty Midget had two options. Go to the head or work a submission. Parker was well aware of these facts coming into the fight and showcased some remarkable head movement that allowed him to evade 30 of Kiapoity’s 33 head shots. It wasn’t until his primary plan failed that Jomlong began swinging for the fences. He was able to score a takedown early on but all of his submission attempts were foiled by Parker who is a remarkable defensive grappler. It wasn’t until the second round that Kiapoity switched gears and began striking in earnest. When that failed Kiapoity went back to his initial plan and was able to score a takedown in the third round. Kiapoity was nearing exhaustion at this point and once again, all of his submission attempts failed. Parker had taken a more conservative approach and he gladly let Jomlong tire himself out with his rapid pace. When he finally got fed up with grappling Parker decided that it was time to put this one away and reached for Kiapoity’s arm. A quick Kimura ensued. Kiapoity tried to hang on for dear life but, Parker gave no ground and snapped Kiapoity’s arm to gaspsand cheers from the fans in attendance. The Mighty Midget has made a quick recovery and is looking to redeem his loss against Mata Hughes this Saturday. Mata Hughes had a lot of trouble with his career as a young fighter. He often found himself ill prepared and lost 4 of his first 7 matches. This did little to discourage him and his loyal manager and they persevered through the strife, winning 8 of his next 13 fights. In this time Mata was fortunate enough to earn UFF’s featherweight belt. It was short lived though and Hughes was stripped of his belt following two consecutive losses that weren’t title defences. This caused serious moral problems that Hughes still suffers from to this very day. Young and wreckless with a DGAF attitude Hughes left UFF and signed with the presitioug Las Vegas Prizefighting. To everyone’s surprise Hughes signed up in the superheavyweight class and went 4-1 even though he was facing off against fighters that often had 100+ lbs advantage over him. He has since moved on to Legacy! in search of a new home and will try his luck against Kiapoity in his debut. Both of these fighters began their professional careers late in their lives at 25 years old. Hughes now 31, has 2 more years fighting than the 29 year old Kiapoity and there’s been whispers that Hughes hasn’t been training for this fight at all. He feels that Kiapoity is so overrated that he can win this fight on experience alone. With 12 submission wins throughout his 14-8 career Kiapoity could very well be looking to grapple his way to another this evening. However Hughes is a seasoned grappler as well and has earned 9 of his 11 wins on his merits as a grappler. These two fighters have a penchant for finding exposed arms and tearing the connected shoulder. Between the two of them they have earned a total of 8 armbars and 6 kimuras. Hughes will certainly be looking to add another submission win to his record because, he has very little options against Kiapoity. These two fighters both have brown belts to their names but the grappling advantage will go to Hughes. Will he be able to use his remarkable wrestling to counter Kiapoty’s strong wrestling? In a strange turn of events The mighty midget finds himself the superior boxer but a vast margin. If Kiapoity has the mind for it he could demoralize the already down beaten Hughes by stuffing some takedown attempts and punch his way to another victory this Saturday!



155 lbs division - Mason Graham vs. Pernell Karl



The “Mechanical” Mason Graham makes his debut against the “Peerless” Pernell Karl who is making his premier on the main card after winning his Legacy! match against Gerry Khan. Graham was born into a wealthy family in Auckland, New Zealand and his parents told him from an early age that he could be anything he wanted when he grew up. Parents often say these things but seldom do they mean them. His father believed that Graham would want to be an astronaut, firefighter or a superhero and that when he realized these things were unobtainable he would take over the family business. Much to their dismay, Graham wanted to be a boxer. Remembering their promise, the Graham’s stayed true to their word and supported their only child. On Mason’s 18th Birthday his father announced that he would allow him to take his yacht to Hawaii for an extended vacation. In spite of the occasional rough seas, the trip went smoothly. Graham basked in the sun and enjoyed everything the islands had to offer including the newly formed NEX. While attending an event one of the fighters was unable to make weight. Jokingly, the announcer asked if anyone in the crowd weighed 160 lbs. Graham ripped off his shirt and pants and ran to the ring. Hands were wrapped, a contract was signed and before anyone knew what was going on, a young man with an afro was standing in the ring in his whitey tighties. Mason’s opponent didn’t take him seriously and thought that he might earn an easy fight bonus at the expense of the newcomer. He advanced rapidly but, Graham used that to his advantage. He turned his opponent’s aggression against him with a beautiful superman punch that had fans roaring and his opponent reeling. The rest is history, Graham won his next 5 fights consecutively and earned himself a 10-3 record. After his dearly beloved NEX closed Graham began searching for a new organization and came across the newly formed Legacy! where he will make his debut this Saturday. On the other side of the spectrum is Montreal’s own Pernell Karl. In the 70’s the Pernell’s moved from the Caribbean in search of a better life for their future children. Winter months were often spent playing Ice Hockey with his 4 siblings but, Pernell took the game more seriously than the other children. They encouraged him to join the local youth league and he did. No matter where he went Karl was an asset to his team and no one was surprised when he was drafted by Belleville Bulls. Karl loved hockey but, it wasn’t long before he realized that he enjoyed the brawls that took place even more. With the support of his loving family Karl made the move to MMA. After winning two QFC’s via KO Karl was a full fledged addict and he signed up with IMMA where he won 4 of his next 6 fights. Karl became impatient while awaiting a title shot and decided that it was time to take his talent elsewhere. He signed with Imperial and went on a 4 fight TKO streak capturing the 170 lbs title and defending it once. Karl lost the title along with his will to compete in Imperial after facing losses in 5 of his next 6 fights. He has since decided to bring his talents back to his home in Montreal so that his friends and family can witness him compete yet again. This fight is too close to call although, Pernell will have the advantage of standing 6 cm taller and weighing 4 lbs more than Graham. In addition to that he began fighting a year before Graham and is a year older at this point in time. The real question in this striker vs. striker match up is who is the heavier handed fighter? Karl has a slight edge in sparring experience but, Graham has never been knocked out. Graham has also been fortunate enough to accrue 5 KO’s and 2 TKO’s wereas Karl has 4 KO’s to his name as well as 8 TKO’s. Karl also has an extra dimension to his striking, kicks. Will Graham’s dangerous counter striking be able to overcome Karl’s slight edges? Or will Karl use those edges to inch his way to another KO win? The world will know soon enough.



155 lbs - Timothy Poggle vs. Henrique Ramos



Opening up the main card in this Legacy! 9 event will be the KO artist Timothy Poggle as he looks to contend with the ground and pound wrestler Henrique “Voçoroca” Ramos. Poggle is high flying after his victory over Toktogulovich Bakiyev by Majority decision in Legacy! 5. After the opening bell sounded it became clear that this fight would be going the distance. Toktugulovich stuck to his typical strategy and evenly distributed his strikes between Poggle’s head and body. Poggle knew this was coming but, had difficulty blocking the shots as well as landing punches of his own. He made up for this in pure aggression and the judges scored in his favor much to the dismay of the announcer who had given every round to Bakiyev. Ramos began his career in an karate tournament in his native Brazil. While most people his age were infatuated with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Ramos preferred head kicks and karate chops to scissor sweeps and joint-locks. Ramos finished first in his Karate tournament and decided to enter a QFC tournament where he could test a hybrid karate BJJ form of his own making. His style proved effective and he was able to take down opponents and pound them to a bloody pulp. He was unable to utilize his strategy in the semifinals and succumbed to his opponent's strikes. Ramos was undaunted though and decided to take the Gracie challenge. The Gracie’s had no fear of Karate and matched him up against the black sheep stoner, Blazed Gracie. Ramos completed the Gracie challenge in only 22 seconds before Gracie could shoot for a single takedown or throw a punch. Hostility had hosted the fight and upon his success they offered him a lucrative contract. Ramos had broken so many knuckles and fingers striking Gracie that he lost his next 3 fights before moving on to BFT. His success at BFT renewed his waning interest in the sport and in spite of losing his first match-up he went on to win his next 7 fights in a row with them. Henrique was infuriated that the organization wouldn’t give him the respect he felt he was owed and decided that it was time to move on. He signed with Legacy! and as this is written he is on a plane to Montreal where he seeks to build a new legacy for himself.

Poggle will have a significant reach advantage while standing 11 cm taller and weighing 6 more lbs. Both of these fighters began their careers at 18 but, Ramos is the elder by 2 years at 23 years of age. Although Ramos has had 5 more fights than Poggle they posted a very similar amount of time fighting. Ramos hs a grand total of 2 hours and 56 seconds in the cage and Poggle has spent 2 hours 3 minutes and 12 seconds there. Considering that, Poggle averages 11 minutes in the cage and Ramos tends to finish slightly quicker at 8 minutes and 13 seconds. These two love to throw punches, the only difference is that Poggle likes to earn his KO’s standing while Ramos prefers to get them from the full mount position. It is obvious that the balance of this fight will hang on Ramos’ ability to score a takedown early in this match. Poggle is excellent at staying on his feat and in his debut match he stuffed 10 out of 10 takedowns. He continued to have booming success sprawling and it wasn’t until his 6th match that he was finally taken down. In fact, he’s only been taken down in two of his matches and they have provided the only two flaws on his 9-1-1 record. Since receiving that loss and draw Poggle has trained hard to counter grapple effectively and fans might witness if that training pays off in this fight tonight. Poggle will no doubt be looking to slow Ramos with shin splintering leg kicks to ensure that Ramos doesn’t have the speed necessary to score with a takedown. When his opponent is sore and limping Poggle will look to tee off on his head in hopes of earning himself another (T)KO.



That’s about all for this Saturday’s main card. Let’s take a look at what the undercard has in store.



135 lbs divison - Arthas Menethil vs. George Bunga



180 lbs division - Anderson Gracie vs. Yogi Dhamma



170 lbs division - Buster Knott vs. Henry White



155 lbs division - Perrin Aybara vs. Tojii Gambin



205 lbs divison - Alfonso Bebeto vs. Farmhouse Flander


 

 

Article views: 301
» Donate to this author

Editorial Staff
Tycoon Times Discussion
Tycoon Times - MMA Magazine MMA Tycoon
MMA Chat Room
MMA Forum