Titles Up for Grabs at IFL Grand Prix
Scott Holmes Dec 29, 2007
There will be another event on the docket this Saturday besides the
two-years-too-late meeting between the "Iceman" and the "Axe
Murderer."
The International Fight League will use its World Grand Prix tournament to hand out belts to the winners from a field full of seasoned and budding talent. Five titles will be on the line and a chance for some IFL standouts to finally be branded as the best in the organization.
Fans with access to HDNet will get a chance to see the second IFL
event to be broadcast live, and everyone on the East Coast should
just buy a ticket and show up to the Mohegan Sun.
Here are the final matchups:
Wagnney Fabiano (Pictures) is very excited about the prospect of a newly added 145-pound division in the IFL. He has superb submission skills but is also very comfortable on his feet. It stands to reason that he's the odds-on favorite against LC Davis (Pictures) since he was seen by many as the favorite in a fight against Chris Horodecki (Pictures) at 155 pounds.
Davis has poked his head into the IFL a few times to add to his spotless 9-0 record. He'll bring his wrestling-based skills into this fight against a very strong jiu-jitsu fighter in Fabiano, who has yet to show any weaknesses.
Davis might want to look at video of Antonio McKee (Pictures)'s fight with Delson Heleno (Pictures) earlier this year as a how-to workshop on using strong wrestling and positioning to keep a treacherous jiu-jitsu fighter at bay.
A great wrestler, Davis isn't as conservative as McKee, and Fabiano will take advantage of any miscues or mistakes during scrambles. Davis' record is fantastic so far, but he'll need to get a little lucky or rely on his athleticism to get past the Brazilian.
Lightweight: Chris Horodecki (Pictures) (11-0) vs. Ryan Schultz (Pictures) (17-9-1)
Horodecki is the IFL's biggest rising star. After having to endure several opponent switches, he'll be facing an adversary that he beat a year ago via TKO.
It's easy to predict Horodecki's approach for this fight -- punches in bunches has been his M.O. in every fight of his career.
The Team Quest-trained Schultz is always a dangerous opponent. Having gone 3-0 this year in the IFL, he's back on track and could be primed for an upset.
The key to this fight could be who is in Schultz's corner. Coach Matt Lindland (Pictures) has seen plenty of Horodecki up close, and he should be able to devise a game plan that keeps Schultz from doing what every Horodecki opponent seems to do: get sucked into trying to fight his style.
Horodecki should be prepared to see a lot of takedown attempts. To be fair, he's been fantastic at not being held down on the ground.
No one in MMA is better at stealing rounds than Horodecki, whose constant pressing attack of punch-kick combos always seems to win the judges over. He has also been battle tested this year with some real wars, and it wouldn't be too presumptuous to say that on Dec. 29 he won't be denied the belt that so many believe to be already his.
Welterweight: Jay Hieron (Pictures) (13-4) vs. Delson Heleno (Pictures) (13-3)
The fight between Jay Hieron (Pictures) and Delson Heleno (Pictures) has plenty of question marks surrounding it. Heleno has been outstanding in the IFL so far. He's extremely strong, and his submissions have become almost inevitable in his fights. However, his weakest link is in the boxing department, though he rarely has to call upon it.
Hieron has every skill to be the MMA prototype. He's strong and has great wrestling ability, but he loves to stand and bang with opponents. In other words, he's a nightmare.
Hieron has fought some tough guys in different organizations, and Heleno will be no different. This fight will be a huge measuring stick for both. Heleno has been very dominating but seems to be one-dimensional, whereas Hieron covers every dimension but has yet to slap on a big-time belt.
Middleweight: Benji Radach (Pictures) (17-3) vs. Matt Horwich (Pictures) (20-9-1)
They say that good guys never win. On Saturday, one good guy is going to have to win in the fight between Radach and Horwich.
Much is made about Horwich's offbeat personality, but he's become very consistent as of late. He always credits a higher power for his success and he always fights with a style that is predictably unpredictable.
Radach has been one of the best MMA stories of the year. When he's not foiling robbery attempts, he's winning all of his '07 fights in very convincing fashion. He has also earned every bit of a shot at an IFL belt, though beating Horwich won't be easy.
Radach did get rocked twice this year. He was able to bounce back, but he can't afford to do that against Horwich.
Horwich never gets rocked, and his submission skills are nasty enough that Radach will need to have a near-perfect fight to put a cherry on this year's sundae.
Heavyweight: Antoine Jaoude (Pictures) (8-2) vs. Roy Nelson (Pictures) (9-2)
The heavyweight division has been wide open with the departure of Ben Rothwell (Pictures). Ben's biggest challenge in the IFL came in the form of Roy Nelson (Pictures), who frustrated the big man with his toughness and surprising athleticism.
Nelson is a fantastic submission fighter. He seems to surprise all of his opponents with his stellar ground game, and that game will be tested against Jaoude, who is no joke on the ground in his own right.
Jaoude is an Olympic-level wrestler. If anyone has a shot to play Nelson's typical role of "frustrater," it's him.
The Brazilian didn't seem himself in the first round of the Grand Prix, though. He looked lackadaisical and unfocused, and he can't afford to do that against Nelson, who hasn't been shy in his intentions to take over the IFL heavyweight division.
With both men being at their most comfortable on the ground, it would be just like an MMA fight for this match to be determined on the feet.
The International Fight League will use its World Grand Prix tournament to hand out belts to the winners from a field full of seasoned and budding talent. Five titles will be on the line and a chance for some IFL standouts to finally be branded as the best in the organization.
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Here are the final matchups:
Featherweight: Wagnney Fabiano (Pictures) (8-1) vs. LC Davis (Pictures) (9-0)
Wagnney Fabiano (Pictures) is very excited about the prospect of a newly added 145-pound division in the IFL. He has superb submission skills but is also very comfortable on his feet. It stands to reason that he's the odds-on favorite against LC Davis (Pictures) since he was seen by many as the favorite in a fight against Chris Horodecki (Pictures) at 155 pounds.
Davis has poked his head into the IFL a few times to add to his spotless 9-0 record. He'll bring his wrestling-based skills into this fight against a very strong jiu-jitsu fighter in Fabiano, who has yet to show any weaknesses.
Davis might want to look at video of Antonio McKee (Pictures)'s fight with Delson Heleno (Pictures) earlier this year as a how-to workshop on using strong wrestling and positioning to keep a treacherous jiu-jitsu fighter at bay.
A great wrestler, Davis isn't as conservative as McKee, and Fabiano will take advantage of any miscues or mistakes during scrambles. Davis' record is fantastic so far, but he'll need to get a little lucky or rely on his athleticism to get past the Brazilian.
Lightweight: Chris Horodecki (Pictures) (11-0) vs. Ryan Schultz (Pictures) (17-9-1)
Horodecki is the IFL's biggest rising star. After having to endure several opponent switches, he'll be facing an adversary that he beat a year ago via TKO.
It's easy to predict Horodecki's approach for this fight -- punches in bunches has been his M.O. in every fight of his career.
The Team Quest-trained Schultz is always a dangerous opponent. Having gone 3-0 this year in the IFL, he's back on track and could be primed for an upset.
The key to this fight could be who is in Schultz's corner. Coach Matt Lindland (Pictures) has seen plenty of Horodecki up close, and he should be able to devise a game plan that keeps Schultz from doing what every Horodecki opponent seems to do: get sucked into trying to fight his style.
Horodecki should be prepared to see a lot of takedown attempts. To be fair, he's been fantastic at not being held down on the ground.
No one in MMA is better at stealing rounds than Horodecki, whose constant pressing attack of punch-kick combos always seems to win the judges over. He has also been battle tested this year with some real wars, and it wouldn't be too presumptuous to say that on Dec. 29 he won't be denied the belt that so many believe to be already his.
Welterweight: Jay Hieron (Pictures) (13-4) vs. Delson Heleno (Pictures) (13-3)
The fight between Jay Hieron (Pictures) and Delson Heleno (Pictures) has plenty of question marks surrounding it. Heleno has been outstanding in the IFL so far. He's extremely strong, and his submissions have become almost inevitable in his fights. However, his weakest link is in the boxing department, though he rarely has to call upon it.
Hieron has every skill to be the MMA prototype. He's strong and has great wrestling ability, but he loves to stand and bang with opponents. In other words, he's a nightmare.
Hieron has fought some tough guys in different organizations, and Heleno will be no different. This fight will be a huge measuring stick for both. Heleno has been very dominating but seems to be one-dimensional, whereas Hieron covers every dimension but has yet to slap on a big-time belt.
Middleweight: Benji Radach (Pictures) (17-3) vs. Matt Horwich (Pictures) (20-9-1)
They say that good guys never win. On Saturday, one good guy is going to have to win in the fight between Radach and Horwich.
Much is made about Horwich's offbeat personality, but he's become very consistent as of late. He always credits a higher power for his success and he always fights with a style that is predictably unpredictable.
Radach has been one of the best MMA stories of the year. When he's not foiling robbery attempts, he's winning all of his '07 fights in very convincing fashion. He has also earned every bit of a shot at an IFL belt, though beating Horwich won't be easy.
Radach did get rocked twice this year. He was able to bounce back, but he can't afford to do that against Horwich.
Horwich never gets rocked, and his submission skills are nasty enough that Radach will need to have a near-perfect fight to put a cherry on this year's sundae.
Heavyweight: Antoine Jaoude (Pictures) (8-2) vs. Roy Nelson (Pictures) (9-2)
The heavyweight division has been wide open with the departure of Ben Rothwell (Pictures). Ben's biggest challenge in the IFL came in the form of Roy Nelson (Pictures), who frustrated the big man with his toughness and surprising athleticism.
Nelson is a fantastic submission fighter. He seems to surprise all of his opponents with his stellar ground game, and that game will be tested against Jaoude, who is no joke on the ground in his own right.
Jaoude is an Olympic-level wrestler. If anyone has a shot to play Nelson's typical role of "frustrater," it's him.
The Brazilian didn't seem himself in the first round of the Grand Prix, though. He looked lackadaisical and unfocused, and he can't afford to do that against Nelson, who hasn't been shy in his intentions to take over the IFL heavyweight division.
With both men being at their most comfortable on the ground, it would be just like an MMA fight for this match to be determined on the feet.
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