Houston, Texas will play host to Legacy Fighting Championships 18 on March 1st, 2013, which features a card headlined by two title bouts. Airing live and free on AXS TV, this card will be a good way for MMA fans to kick off their weekends. MMA Oddsmaker Nick Kalikas recently released the betting lines for this card. ——————– Derrick Lewis -175 Ricky Shivers +135 Jorge Patino -140 Derrick Krantz +100 Larry Crowe -315 Matt Rogers +235 Charlie Ontiveres -315 Todd Moore +235 Lauren Taylor -245 Jennifer Scott +175 Antonio Banuelos -280 Rafael de Freitas +200 Alex Morono -410 Brendan Farran +290 ——————– In the evening’s main event, heavyweight champion Derrick Lewis opened as a -175 favorite (bet $175 to win $100), while challenger Ricky Shivers opened as a +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135). Lewis (8-2, 1 NC) has won all of his bout by stoppage, 7 T/KOs and 1 submission, and comes into this bout on a 5-fight unbeaten streak. In his last bout, he stopped highly touted prospect Jared Rosholt with punches in the 2nd round. Shivers (12-6-1) is coming off of 2 consecutive wins and is equally able to finish opponents standing or on the ground as he has 5 T/KO and 6 submission victories in his career. With the dearth of talent in the heavyweight division across MMA, the winner of this fight could find themselves moving to a bigger organization very soon. The other title bout on the card is in the lightweight division, as champion Jorge ‘Macaco’ Patino opened as a -140 favorite over Derrick Krantz (+100). Patino (28-13-1, 1 NC) is a veteran of over 40 MMA fights and has a career that includes bouts against the likes of Jose ‘Pele’ Landi-Jons, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, Kazuo Misaki, and Pat Miletich — whom he challenged for the UFC Welterweight belt in 1999. He has experienced something of a resurgence in Legacy FC, as he has won 5 bouts in a row, including both the Welterweight and Lightweight belts. Krantz (14-6) has won all of his fights by stoppage — 8 T/KOs and 6 submissions — and has won 2 straight contests via 1st round Rear Naked Choke after falling to Andrey Koreshkov in last year’s Bellator Welterweight tournament. MMA Oddsbreaker’s own Frank Trigg had the opportunity to chat with Lewis, Shivers and Krantz before their bouts. Links to those interviews can be found below: Derrick Lewis Ricky Shivers Derrick Krantz
