Legacy has been the busiest of the fight promotions shown on AXS TV thus far in 2015, and this Friday they’ll put on another event as Legacy FC 40 takes place from the semi-legendary Wild Bill’s in Atlanta, Georgia. The card features a heavyweight title fight in the main event with prospect Cody East taking on late replacement Brice Ritani-Coe. East suffered his only loss in his fourth career bout to veteran Tony Lopez, and has picked up six straight wins since, with five coming via stoppage. Ritani-Coe started his MMA career in 2008, and went 3-2 prior to taking a hiatus from the sport in 2011. He returned earlier this year and won by first round TKO at Legacy FC 39 just three weeks ago. All of his wins have come by TKO, and 10 of the 13 wins of these two fighters combined are TKOs, so it would be surprising to see this one make it 25 minutes. The other notable names on this card are young Brazilian Rodrigo Lima, who was seen as one of the brighter Brazilian prospects upon his signing by Bellator back in 2012. He has gone just 1-3 since that time, but at just 23 could still have a bright future ahead of him, especially given the fact that he is now training at American Top Team. Former TUF competitor Clay Harvison also finds himself on this card, and rides a current three-fight winning streak into his bout against Joe Elmore. MMA oddsmaker opened the betting lines for the three bouts with these fighters as well as the middleweight bout between Dave Vitkay and Tommy Jones at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10pm ET) Legacy Heavyweight Title Cody East -405 Brice Ritani-Coe +285 Rodrigo Lima -405 Matt Betzold +285 Dave Vitkay -210 Tommy Jones +160 Clay Harvison -190 Joe Elmore +150 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: Cody East is one of the few heavyweights out there that looks to be a decent prospect. He’s got good power, decent wrestling, and has good physical tools. Against a fighter who has one bout in the past four years (which was only three weeks ago) and taking this bout on short notice, I think that even if East can’t get his usual quick finish that he can outlast Ratani-Coe. Rodrigo Lima has been on a bit of a poor run of late, with his cardio and wrestling letting him down at points in fights. Now training at ATT, hopefully they’ve fixed those flaws, and he’s got a pretty good matchup against Matt Betzold in this fight. Betzold is a natural flyweight, so he shouldn’t trouble Lima too much in the wrestling, and Lima will be the more dangerous striker and grappler. At over 4-to-1 I don’t have a ton of trust in him, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see that price go up before the opening bell rings. Dave Vitkay is one of those fighters who has improved significantly towards the end of his career, and he’s on a decent run right now. He’s got a pretty solid submission game, and Jones isn’t a great grappler. Vitkay’s chin is a bit of concern, as he has been knocked out many times in his career, but I don’t think that should be much of an issue against an undersized opponent. If the public fades his unimpressive looking record, he could be worth a play. Clay Harvison has usually been entertaining to watch, and I think his bout with Joe Elmore will be a competitive one that should be decent to watch. Harvison prefers to keep things on the feet and strike it out, and Elmore is generally comfortable wherever the fight takes place. I expect Harvison to be a bit bigger and more active throughout this fight, which should lead to a decision if he’s unable to find a finish.
