Friday nights have turned into some of the busiest on the MMA schedule in 2015. Saturday has firmly become the realm of the UFC, while AXS TV promotions have always occupied Friday nights. This week Legacy FC 39 will air on AXS TV, while Bellator 134 and Invicta FC 11 will also be taking place on Friday. This card is one of Legacy’s deeper offerings in a while, as the middleweight title main event is supported by appearances from Daniel Pineda, Mike Bronzoulis, and a featherweight battle between two decent prospects. The main event features Leonardo Leite dropping down to middleweight after capturing the Legacy light heavyweight title in his last outing. In his efforts to become a two-division champion in the promotion (like Pineda once was), he’ll have to go through Larry Crowe, who gets a second shot at the middleweight title after dropping a bout to Bubba Bush back in 2013. Leite was able to use his grappling to dominate Myron Dennis in his last outing, and will certainly look to do the same against Crowe, but is up against a powerful striker who will have the edge as long as this stays standing. Daniel Pineda makes his second appearance since returning to Legacy from the UFC, and a win here would almost assuredly get him a featherweight title shot in his next bout. His opponent, Thomas Webb, hopes to dash those hopes however, and move his record to an impressive 9-2 in the process. This will be by far the biggest challenge of Webb’s career, while it should be just another day in the office for Pineda. ‘Fight Master’ runner-up Mike Bronzoulis snapped a three-fight losing streak in his last bout, and moves back up to welterweight after an experiment at lightweight which brought mixed reviews. “The Greek” picked up the win, but it seemed as though his cardio suffered due to the weight cut. This should be interesting as his opponent Jon Harris usually finds his biggest struggles against larger fighters, which Bronzoulis will not be here. A potential opponent for the winner of Pineda/Webb could come from the featherweight bout between Kevin Aguilar and Alex Black. Aguilar was once seen as the next featherweight in line for the Legacy title, but he got knocked off by Leonard Garcia in his title opportunity. That was in December 2013 and he hasn’t fought since. Black started his career 1-3, but has won seven straight and proven himself a rather entertaining fighter in the process. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting lines for these top four bouts at Legacy FC 39 today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10pm ET) Legacy Middleweight Title Leonardo Leite -230 Larry Crowe +170 Daniel Pineda -385 Thomas Webb +265 Mike Bronzoulis -190 Jon Harris +150 Kevin Aguilar -150 Alex Black +110 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: This could be an interesting card for some small bets to start the weekend. I think that if Leite survives the early danger Larry Crowe presents he’ll eventually pull out the victory. However, despite having a great deal of success with his wrestling against Myron Dennis, I’m not sold on Leite as a particularly good wrestler. Crowe should be able to get some of his offense going early and will likely keep it standing. I’m just not all that confident in a 36-year-old with limited striking and wrestling against a dangerous fighter like Crowe. I am however, confident that Daniel Pineda gets his hand raised against Thomas Webb, likely via quick submission. Webb has a decent record, but his level of competition has been quite poor, and Pineda is still a very good grappler who can overwhelm that vast majority of fighters on this level. I’m leaning towards the underdog in this one. Jon Harris is at his worst when he gets bullied by bigger fighters, and while Bronzoulis normally likes to employs that type of style, he won’t be bigger here, his cardio is still iffy at 170, and he’s becoming less and less durable by the fight. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a Harris finish in the second or third round here after Bronzoulis begins to fade. Alex Black is on a nice streak, but aside from his win over Charles Cheeks, he hasn’t faced much in terms of competition. Aguilar has that big layoff, but he’s had some solid wins over decent fighters coming up through Texas and has generally shown a well-rounded, dangerous game. Where Black is more of a submission threat, I think Aguilar can at the very least match him there, while being the better striker.
