Legacy FC 21 July 19th, 2013 Middleweight Title Bout: William Bush (-210) vs Larry Crowe (+160) Fight Breakdown: In the co-main event at Legacy FC 21 is a bout for the organizations vacant Middleweight title between William “Bubba” Bush and Larry “Tae Kwon” Crowe. Bush is the favorite at -210 ($210 to win $100,) while the kickback on Crowe is +160 ($100 to win $160) at Several Bookmakerss. William Bush (5-2) is a talented, up and coming athlete in the Texas MMA circuit. He is a wrestler first with a fairly new BJJ game who is beginning to improve his striking skills. Submission defense would likely be his biggest weakness but he’s probably not too worried about that against Larry Crowe. Bubba has two losses on his record; one was a DQ due to illegal strikes vs Artenas Young, the other was the last time he fought for the Legacy FC Middleweight title, and it was against current UFC middleweight Andrew Craig. He lost by 4th round TKO. That’s been the only five round fight of his career, up ’til now. His cardio will be tested and whether it can withstand 25 minutes of action is anybody’s guess, but considering the majority of his victories have come by way of stoppage (mostly first round,) he may not need 25 minutes to get his message across. Larry Crowe (6-2) likes to sport a John Dodson-esque smile as he puts a beating on his opponents. He recently dropped from the light heavyweight division to middleweight. Crowe is a brawler training out of Silverback MMA in Houston, TX., with teammates and training partners Derrick Lewis and UFC featherweight Daniel Pineda, whom he refers to as his role-models. Larry Crowe has good takedown defense and a decent jiu-jitsu game but striking is his bread and butter. He’s a smilin’ animal who loves to beat up opponents on the feet and in ground-and-pound. Crowe’s cardio is questionable, even more so than Bubba’s. I don’t think Larry Crowe has enough gas for five rounds and don’t see him winning this fight inside the distance, leaving me to believe his chances of becoming the next Legacy FC Middleweight Champion are very slim to very none. Fight Prediction: I expect some entertaining back-and-forth exchanges for the first couple of rounds until fatigue takes over and Bush, who in my opinion is the slightly more conditioned fighter, takes control of the fight and finds his way to a TKO stoppage. Gabe’s Pick: William “Bubba” Bush by TKO (2:21, Round 4) Gabe’s Recommended Play: William Bush -210. I don’t recommend going big here, as I don’t find much value in the line. That said, I think it is the right side and recommend a small play.
