Sandwiched between a pair of UFC events this week, Legacy FC will be putting on their third card in the past six weeks, an impressive feat for any regional MMA promotion. After title bouts in their middleweight and bantamweight divisions on the previous two cards, Legacy FC 33 will see a battle for the featherweight strap with the organization’s most recognizable name, Leonard Garcia. Garcia will be making his first defense of the title he won back in December. His opponent will be the undefeated Damon Jackson, who has never seen a fight reach the final bell in his eight appearances. This is nothing new for Garcia however, as the man he beat for the belt was another highly touted 8-0 prospect to whom he handed his first defeat. Former WEC veteran Marcus Hicks finds himself in the co-main event, as he will be fighting for the first time in over two years (and just third time in nearly five years). The veteran isn’t getting any softballs in his return, facing Kamarudeen Usman, a dangerous striker who has been slowly rounding out his game with the Blackzilians. Undefeated Evan Thompson (brother of UFC welterweight Stephen) will also make his fifth appearance in Legacy FC on this card and it seems the promotion believes it’s time for a step up in competition for the 30-year-old, as his opponent Victor Reyna represents the stiffest test of his career by a good margin. A pair of bantamweights will be in the first bout of the evening featuring betting odds, as Stephen Peterson and Johnny Ray Rodriguez are both looking to move towards a title shot against recently crowned champion Thomas Almeida. Both fighters have some experience in Legacy, going a combined 6-3 in the promotion, and neither particularly favors strikes or submissions, so this could end up anywhere. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for Legacy FC 33 at Several Bookmakers today. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10pm ET) Legacy Featherweight Title Damon Jackson -230 (c) Leonard Garcia +170 Kamarudeen Usman -350 Marcus Hicks +250 Evan Thompson -315 Victor Reyna +235 Steven Peterson -305 Johnny Ray Rodriguez +225 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: Leonard Garcia has been on a nice streak since he was cut from the UFC, but I have to side with Damon Jackson here. Garcia’s performances have been solid and he’s been his usual entertaining self, but Jackson is simply a bad matchup for him. Cody McKenzie was able to take Garcia down repeatedly and control him, and Jackson is a far better wrestler and grappler than McKenzie. The public seems to be leaning towards Garcia however, so Jackson may be available for a decent price. Marcus Hicks is 5’6″, he hasn’t fought since January 2012, is moving up to welterweight to face a 6′ striker, and is now 38 years old. Any one of these could be a reason to pick against him, but the combination of them does not bode well at all. Hicks does have a dangerous guillotine, but I’m not sure he can even reach Usman’s neck to apply it. If Usman can establish his range at all, this fight could get ugly, and I don’t expect him to show a lot of sympathy for the one-time WEC title challenger. Evan Thompson isn’t the dynamic striker that his brother is, but he’s still very good on the feet and will have an big size advantage over Victor Reyna. The discrepancy here might even be bigger than in Usman/Hicks. So if Thompson does end up having any trouble on the feet, he should be able to clinch and muscle Reyna around. Thompson’s finishing prowess hasn’t looked great thus far, but he should get a dominant decision at worst. I simply don’t have a good read on the Peterson/Rodriguez fight. I’ve seen both compete, but sometimes on the AXS TV cards I gloss over the first couple of bouts and don’t have a great recollection of them later. Both of these guys fall into that category. Peterson does seem more well-rounded from the limited tape I’ve been able to find, but I can’t recommend any sort of betting action on this one.
