Fans were left begging for more after the Legion 14 event delivered a main title fight for the ages as mixed martial arts took over Elphin Sports Centre on the weekend.
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The COVID situation on the mainland meant the card was filled by Tasmanian talent across the event but that did not disappoint as a sold-out crowd packed out the centre to catch the action.
Casey Lockett and Kahn Sandy stole the show as the main draw, with Lockett's cruiserweight title on the line, in a fight which left some viewers eager for a rematch between the pair.
"It went for five rounds, Casey ended up the victor in a decision, it was a really good high-class fight, both guys put it all on the line," Legion promoter Jacob Gelston said.
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The other fight which left people talking was Russell Dalco's knock-out victory over Ethan Boswood in another title match-up on the night.
"Both these guys are up and coming, they fought for the super middleweight amateur legion title and Russell got the stoppage in the second round with elbows," Gelston said.
"We had some senior guys as well as some up-and-comers but it was a really evenly matched card."
Gelston said the Legion 14 line-up showed the sport had come a long way in recent years.
"We're still being able to put on shows and full shows with locals and that just shows, three years ago, we wouldn't have been able to do that because we didn't have the competitors but now it's grown, we're finding more competitors locally," he said.
"As it's growing and the experience is growing, the standard is growing as well because there are more fighters in the gyms that have had fights which means more experience, which means their teammates get more experienced as well.
"I'd say the standard is growing at a rapid rate here."
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Following their title successes, Lockett and Dalco are being tipped as two Tasmanian fighters to be able to mix it with the mainland talent.
"Casey will look to fight on the mainland in the next 12 months and Russell, he's got potential to really go places because ... [he's] a really good body type for Muay-Thai and he's got all the weapons," Gelston said.
"Once COVID, settles down and the other states start opening up [Dalco] could potentially, in the next 12-18 months, have some bigger fights as well."
Legion 14 results:
- Jack Smith def Liam Heazlewood via points
- Josh Hodges def Brad finn via TKO
- Kyle Davis def Jordan Usher via KO
- Steven Abel def Tom Wakefield via points
- Jeremy Atkins def Jordan Reid via points
- Dylan How def Bryce Fraser via points
- Charles Plunket def Jacob Stoltenberg via points
- Russell Dalco def Ethan Boswood via KO
- Brett Boatwright def Nathan Balym via points
- Casey Lockett def Kahn Sandy via points
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