This past Friday night, Legacy Fighting Championships showcased a few young and exciting fighters that we should all keep our eyes on in the near future.

Darrion Caldwell is a featherweight who is currently training with Ryan Bader, CB Dolloway and Aaron Simpson at Power MMA in Arizona. Caldwell decided against fighting as an amateur and made his MMA debut a successful one by defeating David Armas by unanimous decision.

Caldwell showed why he was the 2009 NCAA National Champion in the 149lb. division with powerful takedowns and a suffocating top game. He also made some very good transitions easily passing his opponents guard and securing side control, full mount and back mount many times.

He still has a lot of work to do on his feet, but he is powerful, quick and has a tremendous wrestling base that has proven to be one of the best building blocks for many of today’s top MMA fighters.

In an exciting flyweight bout former MTV reality star, Matt “Danger” Schnell made his professional debut against Ryan Hollis who was also making his pro debut after winning four of his five amateur fights.

It was evident from the beginning that Schnell was going to have trouble dealing with the reach advantage of Hollis who despite weighing 125lbs., stood 5’11″ tall. The two used the first round as a feeling out process with Schnell scoring a late takedown to capture the round.

While Schnell was able to score takedowns throughout the remainder of the fight it was Hollis who was the more active fighter once they hit the canvas. He used his long legs to try and catch “Danger” in a variety of submission attempts and also landed punches and elbows off of his back.

The highlight of the bout was a kick Hollis landed to the face of Schnell in the second round. It didn’t seem to faze the Louisiana native as he continued to move forward while trying to get around the long arms of Hollis.

In the end, it was Schnell who was awarded the split decision victory much to the chagrin of Hollis’ hometown Houston fans. Both men walked away looking impressive and should be factors in a weight division that is still in its early stages.

Promotions like Legacy are vital to the growth of MMA. They give these young fighters an opportunity to showcase their skills on AXS TV and grow as mixed martial artists. Caldwell, Schnell and Hollis are all very young and have a lot of room for improvement, but they are the future of this sport along with so many other young fighters.

For more information on Legacy Fighting Championships you can visit their website by clicking here.

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