Last week Legacy put on a solid card which was headlined by now-UFC middleweight Bubba Bush retaining his Legacy title. This week, a number of fighters look to follow in his footsteps and parlay success with the Texas-based organization into a call up to the world’s biggest MMA promotion. This event is headlined by two very good prospects in Thomas Almeida (16-0) and Caio Machado (4-0). Almeida is a devastating striker who has all of his wins by stoppage (12 TKOs and 4 subs), and seems incredibly confident whenever a fight is on the feet. Machado is a bit more well-rounded in his attack, but does not shy away from keeping things on the feet. At a combined 42 years old, these fighters should still be making rapid improvements, so it will be fun to see their continued development. The co-main event doesn’t feature the same kind of potential, but it should be high on action and likely to produce a finish. Derrick Krantz (14-8) has all of his wins by stoppage and all but two of his losses before the final bell, while UFC veteran Kyle Bradley (18-9) has only gone to decision twice in victory and once in defeat across 27 matches. Krantz prefers a more grappling based attack, while Bradley normally lives and dies by strikes, but both are capable of ending the fight (or being finished) anywhere. The final bout featuring a betting line will be between Klayton Mai (5-1) and Matt Schnell (2-1). Both fighters dropped their last bouts and are looking to rebound here. Both fighters do their best work on the ground, but are flawed at the same time, as opponents have put each in bad positions even in victories. That could result in a competitive grappling affair with plenty of scrambling. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for Legacy FC 32 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10pm ET) Legacy Bantamweight Title Thomas Almeida -315 Caio Machado +235 Kyle Bradley -140 Derrick Krantz +100 Matt Schnell -230 Klayton Mai +170 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: I always have questions about young prospects who mow down opponents early in fights. What happens when they eventually get dragged into the later rounds. Thomas Almeida answered those questions for me in his last bout. It went to the fourth round, and his cardio looked excellent as he was still defending takedowns with ease (and proper technique in the third round) and stringing combinations together right through to the finish. That’s important here against Machado, who showed some serious durability in his last Legacy appearance. Eventually I expect Almeida’s striking to be too technical and too powerful for Machado who will simply absorb too much punishment to continue on. Almeida’s takedown defense should be more than enough to keep this on the feet as well. I rarely don’t have a lean in a fight, even a regional MMA fight, but I really have no idea how Krantz/Bradley will end. I expect it will be a finish, but by who and how are mysteries to me. Both fighters are decent offensively and deficient defensively, so I think the best course of action here is just to pass unless you’re far more confident than I am. Klayton Mai has the better record, but I expect Matt Schnell will get the victory on Friday night. Both fighters are primarily grapplers, but Mai seems to put himself in worse positions than Schnell, and generally seems to be slower in scrambles. Schnell also looks a little bit more technical — and much faster — on the feet, for the periods of time this bout remains standing. As for wrestling, I give Schnell a slight edge there as well, so he should be safe regardless of where this bout ends up taking place.
