Legacy shouldn’t be forgotten this Friday night despite card going on by Bellator and Titan at the same time. Legacy FC 35 features a title fight, a bout between two solid veterans, and a couple of bright prospects. The card can be seen on AXS TV starting at 10pm ET. In the main event, Myron Dennis (10-3) makes the first defense of his Legacy FC light heavyweight title since defeating Paul Buentello for the belt back in March. Dennis was the beneficiary of a close decision in that fight, so will be looking to put his stamp on this championship reign as he takes on jiu-jitsu specialist Leonardo Leite (4-0). Dennis should sport advantages in wrestling and striking here, but Leite is a very dangerous submission artist, so the champion will have to be very wary of heading to the mat. The co-main event features one of Legacy’s better prospects as Andre Todhunter (6-0) takes on journeyman Levi Avera (18-14). Todhunter has finished all of his bouts by submission inside of two rounds, and there’s not much reason to think that history won’t be repeating itself here. Avera has lost his past four bouts, with three of those defeats coming by submission, and 10 of his 14 losses overall have been by sub. Not the recipe for success you want when facing an impressive young grappler. A pair of fighters Legacy hopes to develop in their welterweight division are Ed Cline (8-3-1) and Nolan Norwood (5-3). The public seems to think very highly of Cline heading into this bout. His aggressive style has resulted in six first-round finishes, but he has also been stopped three times. Norwood does bring the best win of either man into this bout as well, having defeated solid veteran Eric Marriott in December of 2013. This should be much closer in practice than the prevailing sentiment seems to believe heading in. Finally, former UFC fighter Daniel Roberts (15-5) makes his Legacy debut against five-time Legacy veteran Derrick Krantz (15-8). Roberts was impressive in his victory over Brock Jardine on a recent Titan FC card, and looks to continue that momentum — perhaps all the way back to the UFC. His submission game is always his best asset, but his wrestling and cardio looked improved against Jardine. Krantz beat a UFC veteran in his most recent appearance, stopping Kyle Bradley with a rear-naked choke in the first round back in June. His list of defeats reads like a fighter who has never quite been able to crack into that next level, but perhaps with a second consecutive win over a UFC veteran, he could get a call up to a bigger promotion again (he did have two Bellator fights back in 2012). MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for Legacy FC 35 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10pm ET) Legacy Light Heavyweight Title Myron Dennis -260 Leonardo Leite +180 Andre Todhunter -600 Levi Avera +400 Edward Cline -245 Nolan Norwood +175 Daniel Roberts -260 Derrick Krantz +180 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: There’s not a lot that looks particularly tempting from a betting perspective based on these openers. I think Myron Dennis will retain his title, as Leite is simply too one-dimensional to give him trouble, and Dennis has some decent skills in that one area anyways. He should be able to keep this on the feet, and simply be the better striker than the 36-year-old Brazilian. That said, I expected much more out of Dennis against Paul Buentello, and think he probably got an undeserved decision there, so I have a hard time trusting him with my money. Andrew Todhunter will likely dispatch Levi Avera within the first round, which makes him tempting as a parlay piece, but laying -600 on a fighter who really hasn’t faced much in the way of competition is a bit reckless. Still, if there’s one “lock” on this card, it would seem to be him. The other two fights are a bit more interesting from a betting perspective. I think Cline and Norwood is basically a toss up, and Norwood has faced — and beaten — the better fighters of the two. Cline probably has the better overall skill, but it’s not a huge margin there, and certainly not enough to lay over 2-to-1. At the same time, Norwood has been finished three times in eight fights, with two of those coming in the first minute. Either of these fighters could find a stoppage at pretty much any point during this bout, which makes it very tricky to bet. Derrick Krantz is a solid fighter, but there just seems to be something missing from him that hasn’t let him get to that next level. He’s serviceable in all areas, but seems to falter whenever he’s faced with a fighter who excels in one area. Daniel Roberts excels with his grappling. When he faces very good wrestlers he is at a loss, but when he’s up against guys who can’t just strand him on the feet he’s excellent at dragging things to the ground and either forcing a tap or obtaining dominant position. That’s what I see happening here, but I’m going to hold off on any sort of play, as the public usually gives Krantz some decent support and seems to fade Roberts, so this line might get better before fight time.
