This is a special report from MMAmania.com contributor Drew Hall.
Last night the International Fight League (IFL) staged an event live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., which featured three title bouts.
IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy “Big Country†Nelson took on former The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 heavyweight runner-up, Brad “Hillbilly Heartthrob†Imes in the main event of the evening.
It didn’t last long.
The shorter, pudgier and heavier-handed Nelson dominated the entire fight (all three minutes of it), which was spent upright the entire time. Imes — who has demonstrated some effective jiu-jitsu in his last few fights — seemed content on standing with Nelson.
It was a big mistake — he was outclassed and eventually felled midway through the first stanza via technical knockout.
Also on tap was perhaps the fight of the night between IFL Lightweight Champion Ryan Shultz and super tough challenger, Deividas Taurosevicus.
It was a real treat to watch.
Schultz showed everyone the reason he is the atop the division, roaring back from a 20-18 judges scorecard heading into the third round to take the final three frames en route to a thrilling five-round unanimous decision.
It’s worth noting that Taurosevicus ended up breaking his foot with two minutes left in the first round … talk about a gamer.
Ryan McGivern was the only champion to lose his belt last night, succumbing to a submission (kneebar) at the hands of the new middleweight title holder, Dan Miller.
McGivern looked great on the feet in the opening minute of the round, but the fight changed when the action was stopped and moved to the middle of the ring after it spilled out underneath the ropes. McGivern landed an upkick, and got trapped underneath the ropes as Miller beautifully hit the kneebar, forcing the champion tap out at 3:36 in round one.
Speaking about middleweight champions, former IFL 185-pound kingpin Matt Horwich got back on his winning ways and on the road to regaining his belt with a win over Joey Gruel. It was a rather dull fight that was won via unanimous decision (see Josh Koscheck vs. Diego Sanchez II).
Here are the complete quick results from the IFL event:
IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson defeats Brad Imes via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
IFL Lightweight Champion Ryan Schultz defeated Deividas Taurosevicus via unanimous decision
Dan Miller defeated Ryan McGivern via submission (kneebar) to win the IFL middleweight championship
Danillo Villefort def Mike Massenzio (Round 1 Submission Kneebar)
Josh Souder defeated Zach George via technical knockout (strikes) in round one
Matt Horwich defeated Joey Gruel via unanimous decision
John Howard defeated Nick Caludrino via technical knockout (striked) in round three
Aaron Stark defeated Lamont Lister via unanimous decision
John Franchi defeated Frank Latina via submission (rear naked choke) in round one
It was a definitely solid night of mixed martial arts action for a promotion that seems to get little to no respect. There were some top-notch fights, including the 155-pound championship match between Shultz and Taurosevicus — it was very enjoyable.
Without question the the IFL has some very talented fighters who could make impacts elsewhere if it ever came down to that.
That’s a wrap for this recap — see you all soon to go over the next IFL event!
UFC veteran Carmelo Marrero tangled with Mike Ciesnolevicz this past weekend at an International Fight League (IFL) event held at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.
The 205-pound fight, however, did not last long because of a nasty gash that was opened up accidentally (head clash) on Marrero less than two minutes into the bout. It was so bad that the referee called a halt to the action and declared a no contest.
I think he made the right call:
“The Fury” has definitely now got something when it comes to Marvin Eastman, Gideon Ray, Edwin DeWees, Sean Sherk and all of the other grizzly cuts that happened in mixed martial arts competition.
For some highlight reel footage of the event — and it was a good one — click here.
International Fight League (IFL) competitor Jamal “The Suit” Patterson (4-1) helped bring the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) one step closer to mainstream acceptance on Wednesday with an in-depth profile by the New York Times.
Patterson, like so many of today’s fighters, has a “normal” life consisting of a full-time day job (hence the nickname) and a loving family.
I know that may come as a shock to many MMA critics who would ordinarily see Patterson as nothing more than bloodthirsty Neanderthal who spends his downtime frothing at the mouth.
Here’s a snip:
In a way, the corporate life made him fight. Transferred to the Midwest, friendless and spending evenings watching TV at a bar, Patterson said he took up jiu-jitsu to reclaim his athleticism…As Patterson intensified his training under the Brazilian champion Renzo Gracie, he was recruited into an International Fight League team called the New York Pitbulls, since rechristened Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu New York City. Since December 2006, Patterson has won four of his five fights, beating opponents with moves described as choke, submission and guillotine.
Patterson is preparing for his upcoming title fight against IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko (20-3) at this Friday’s New Blood - New Battles event at The IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ.
Kudos to the New York Times for presenting the article in a fair and balanced manner. Who would have thought we would see the day where a major publication examined the sport of mixed martial arts without the use of adjectives like brutal, savage, or barbaric.
And not one reference to human cockfighting. Go figure.
Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights has been wheeling an dealing this entire month, securing partnerships to air high-profile mixed martial arts events on its growing network.
The latest news is a deal with the San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion under which the network will televise four events, beginning with “Strikeforce at the Dome” on February 23 from Tacoma, Wash. The main event of the nine-fight card features a superheavyweight clash between Bob “The Beast” Sapp and Jan “The Giant” Nortje.
Strikeforce also has the Frank Shamrock-Cung Le fight lined up in March. However, that event will more than likely air on Showtime because it is a joint effort with EliteXC.
In other news, HDNet Fights will also air the debut fight of Kim Couture — wife of Randy “The Natural” Couture. The boxing/muay thai “smoker event” will take place at the Xtreme Couture Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 29.
The Kim Couture bout will air immediately after the live IFL event from the Orleans Arena, which is also slated to go down in “Sin City.” In fact, HDNet Fights will also broadcast the first three IFL events of 2008 under a new agreement.
There’s lots to watch for those fortunate enough to get the HDNet Fights network. Check local television line ups for more details.
“The new logo is a reflection of the IFL’s exciting style of MMA action as the league enters its second full season of competition. The design incorporates the traditional gloved fist coming towards the viewer from between forward-slanted ‘IFL’ initials in front of a silver oval plate, utilizing the league’s new color scheme of deep red, silver and black.”
The overhaul doesn’t end there. According to the release, the IFL also eliminated the league-created team logos and will instead use branding of the camps led by its coaches, such as Miletich Fighting Systems, Xtreme Couture, Team Quest and Renzo Gracie Academy.
Less than two months removed from the 2007 Grand Prix Finals during which champions were crowned for the first time in the short history of the promotion, the International Fight League (IFL) will run another show on Friday, February 29, 2008, and put three titles back on the line.
According to a recent press release, middleweight champion Matt Horwich will take on the extremely game Tim Kennedy, who capped off a solid 2007 fight season with a stoppage of Elias Rivera at the Grand Prix just days after giving Mayhem Miller all he could handle at HDNet Fights: “Reckless Abandon.”
Ryan Shultz – who crushed and abused undefeated phenom Chris Horodecki in the first round during their lightweight title bout at the Grand Prix — will defend his belt for the first time against John Gunderson (the man who he replaced to face “The Polish Hammer”).
In addition, Roy Nelson will put his heavyweight crown on the line against IFL newcomer, Fabiano Scherner.
This event, which takes place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, will also feature the team competitions between Matt Lindland’s Team Quest vs. Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den and Team Xtreme Couture vs. Mario Sperry’s MMA Top Team.
It’s the first time that Xtreme Couture and its Las Vegas-based fighters will be represented in the competition.
Here’s the fight card to date:
Prelim
145 lbs.: Ian Loveland vs. Dennis Davis
Team Xtreme Couture vs. MMA Top Team (Mario Sperry)
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Marcello Salazar
185 lbs.: Benji Radach vs. TBD
TBD: Match up TBD
Team Quest (Matt Lindland) vs. Lions Den (Ken Shamrock)
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Pat Healy
155 lbs.: Ryan Schultz vs. John Gunderson
265 lbs.: Roy Nelson vs. Fabiano Scherner
Main Event
185 lbs.: Tim Kennedy vs. Matt Horwich
For tickets, which go on sale as of January 12, head over to www.orleansarena.com or call (702) 284-7777. For more details hit up the IFL official Web site.
Lost in all the UFC 79: “Nemesis” and “Fedor Returns” end of the year madness was the International Fight League (IFL) 2007 World Grand Prix Finals at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., on December 29.
The big story coming out of the event was the savage beating that undefeated promotion poster boy, Chris Horodecki, received from late replacement, Ryan Schultz.
In fact, Shultz (I believe) was the fourth choice to face the “Polish Hammer” — Waggney Fabiano, Shad Lierley and John Gunderson were all scratched for one reason or another.
That chain of events led to this (comes in at about the 2:30 mark):
Cripes, the was jaw-dropping destruction from the most unlikely opponent. Ouch.
For more highlights of the event click here. Thanks to the IFL for actually sending us the vids … can’t beat that viral thinking.
With his fighting career on pause, UFC Heavyweight Champion (for now) Randy Couture will move forward with his acting gig.
“The Natural” will once again make a guest appearance on “The Unit,” reprising the role of Sgt. Strickland at 9 p.m. ET tonight on CBS. Couture first appeared on the program during the season finale of the show last year.
He recently returned from the set of “The Scorpion King: The Akkadian” in South Africa. Couture plays a villain in the major motion picture from Universal Studios that is due out sometime in late 2008.
According to the X-Treme Couture blog, “The Unit” was created by film and theater legend David Mamet who directed Couture in “Red Belt” earlier this year.
In other MMA programming news, ESPN program “E:60″ will shine a spotlight on Pat Miletich and his Quad City Silverbacks of the IFL at 7 p.m. ET.
“The episode looks at what it takes to become a mixed martial arts fighter, as the show travels to Bettendorf, IA. to have Miletich show first-hand the trials and tribulations a champion must go through … the groundbreaking new ESPN show is a can’t-miss for any MMA fan. Ignored for years by mainstream media, MMA has now gained a foothold in the consciousness of the American sports fans, which is reflected by this enhanced coverage from the world leader in sports news ….”
This is a special report from MMAmania.com contributor Drew Hall.
