Leandro Higo made history at LFA 1 last night by becoming the first fighter to be crowned champion in the newly formed Legacy Fighting Alliance when he outstruck a very game Steven Peterson over five rounds.
LFA 1, from The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas, was the first event put on by the promotion since it was formed from the merger of Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Legacy FC and all eyes were on the headline bout which would unify the Bantamweight titles to crown the first LFA champion.
Higo crowned new champion in five round battle
Ex-RFA champion Higo (17-2) would batter former Legacy titleholder Peterson (14-5) over all five rounds of the night’s headline bout to earn a 50-45 unanimous decision victory on all three judges’ scorecards.
Busting up Peterson early on, Higo would take control early on and set the tone for the whole fight as his quick and powerful punching combinations; with hard hooks and uppercuts, troubled his opponent from the first bell.
Despite the damage absorbed by Peterson, he would continue to push forward throughout and troubled his opponent with tricky submission attempts in rounds one and four, the closest being the latter as he locked in a body triangle and tried to squeeze a rear-naked-choke.
Higo would escape and pick up where he left off, punishing Peterson with sharp combinations on the feet over and over until the end of the fight.
The victory now sees Higo crowned as the first LFA Bantamweight champion however that may be temporary with many believing he has done enough to earn his UFC call-up after eight consecutive victories.
Jackson’s revival continues as he chokes out Cheeks
In the night’s co-main event, former UFC fighter Damon Jackson (11-1-1) would outclass Charles Cheeks III (11-6) on his way to a second round submission victory in their Featherweight clash.
Jackson would live up to his nickname of “The Leech” as he stuck to the back of Cheeks for the majority of the first round, alternating between choke attempts and punches to the head as Cheeks found a way to hang on until the end of the round.
Jackson would turn up the heat with his stand up early in the second, landing a big overhand right and following up with a head kick, before dragging cheeks to the ground. From there, he quickly took the back and sunk in the choke for the finish.
Laughable split decision but Tamez keeps his unblemished record
Earlier in the night, undefeated prospect Eli Tamez (10-0) returned after a two-year absence and kept his perfect record in tact with a split decision victory over Ulyses Aguila (6-2) in a featured Bantamweight bout.
With the majority of the fight happening in the clinch or on the ground, Tamez would stuff his opponent’s takedowns whilst finding his way to the better positions during the grappling exchanges including taking Aguila’s back in the second and third round.
During the limited action on the feet, Tamez would land the cleaner strikes and rocked his opponent with a right hook in the second round. Despite the dominance of “Tomahawk”, one judge would comically score the fight 29-28 to Aguila despite the other judges’ both scoring the fight 30-27 the other way.
Team Alpha Male’s Calvillo continues to impress
In the night’s earlier action, Cynthia Calvillo (3-0) would get the victory over Montana Stewart (6-4) with some vicious ground and pound for the third round stoppage.
Team Alpha Male’s Calvillo continues to live up to the hype surrounding her with big noises coming out of the Sacramento camp regarding her future.
Elsewhere, Cameron Miller (2-0) took only 29 seconds to find the rear naked choke and submit Oscar Ramirez (6-4) in their Catchweight bout at 130lbs.
Legacy Fighting Alliance 1 Full Results
Leandro Higo def. Steven Peterson via unanimous decision to win LFA Bantamweight Title
Damon Jackson def. Charles Cheeks III via submission (RNC) in 1:24, Rnd 2
Eli Tamez def. Ulyses Aguila via split decision
Cynthia Calvillo def. Montana Stewart via TKO (punches) in 2:54, Rnd 3
Cameron Miller def. Oscar Ramirez via submission (RNC) in 0:29, Rnd 1
Sean Holden def. Armando Servin via split decision
Bobby Butler def. Jessie Vasquez via submission (RNC) in 4:36, Rnd 1
Rashad Coulter def. Larry Hopkins via KO in 0:18, Rnd 1