Leonard Garcia Agrees To Fight With Chris Pecero

Legacy 29 took place last month in Tulsa, OK. The main event was set to be Leonard Garcia defending his 145 lb title against Shane Howell. The day of the fight, Howell came down with what is believe to be food poisoning and was not cleared by the doctor to fight, despite pleading from Howell with the doctor. The fight was called off a couple hours before the event was set to begin.

Also fighting on that card, Corpus Christi’s Chris Pecero, who took on Thomas Longacre. Although Pecero normally fights at 145, this fight took place at 155; Pecero stepped in last minute to take on Longacre. Prior to facing Pecero, Longacre was undefeated, he is a Strikeforce and XFL veteran, and considered to be a contender for the Legacy 155 belt. Pecero earned a unanimous decision win over Longacre that night.

When it was announced that Garcia would not be fighting, word had come to Pecero and his camp, and he was willing to step up and fight for the belt. After speaking with Legacy President, Mick Maynard, it was decided that it was not in the best interest of any of the participants to allow this to happen, including Pecero’s original opponent.

Pecero recently started a campaign to be the next in line for the 145 belt, and he was met with yes from Garcia. Garcia came up with idea that because Pecero recently won at 155, and that the 155 title is vacant (vacated by Jorge “Macaco” Patino), why not the two fight for that title.

Pecero on the other hand, doesn’t want the 155 title. Pecero wants to defeat Garcia at his natural weight class of 145. Pecero feels the stakes aren’t high enough at 155. At 145, Garcia would not only lose his belt, but the UFC wouldn’t resign him either.

The fight has been accepted by Garcia to defend his 145 title. As of now, Legacy has not mentioned a date for the fight. Stay tuned to get more information about what card this fight lands on, which will air on AXS TV.

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