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IFL Explosive in Southeastern Debut |
Feb 23, 2007, Atlanta, GA
Story by Matthew Corsey
Photos by Adam Henderson
The IFL rolled into Atlanta this past Friday, marking the debut of team MMA in Georgia and the Southeastern debut for the IFL.
5,057 fans made the trip to the Gwinnett Center Arena to cheer on the combatants as Carlos Newton's Toronto Dragons faced the Oregon Wolfpack, led by Matt Lindland, and the Chicago Red Bears, under the guidance of Igor Zinoviev, squared off against Renzo Gracie's Pitbulls. Rounding out the card was a special IFL superfight between American MMA superstar "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler, and Brazilian standout Eduardo Pamplona.
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The action kicked off with a lightweight bout as Toronto's Wagney Fabiano faced The Wolfpack's Ian Loveland. As with many of the fighters on the card, both of these athletes were making their IFL debut in this event, and both fighters were eager to rack up their first win in the big leagues.
At the opening bell, the fighters exchanged feints and moved quickly into the clinch, where Fabiano scored the first takedown of the night. Anxious to stay standing, Loveland escaped to his feet only to be quickly taken back down by the determined Fabiano. Wasting no time, Fabiano transitioned to a full mount, where he secured Loveland's head and arm for the tap out at 0:59 of round one.
Next up were Toronto's Wojtek Kaszowski and Oregon's John Krohn. Following a disappointing last season at Heavyweight, Kaszowski was making his Light Heavyweight debut, and was anxious to rack up his first IFL win. Krohn was looking to get the Wolfpack onto the board and keep Toronto from extending their early lead.
On the signal from referee George Allen, Krohn rushed out aggressively, clinching Kaszowski into the corner of the ring. The two men exchanged ineffective strikes in the clinch until Krohn secured a single leg for the takedown near the one minute mark. Kaszowski quickly regained his feet, but Krohn followed up with a tight clinch and some solid knees to the head of Kaszowski. Securing a second takedown, Krohn achieved the mount and worked some solid ground and pound to end out round one.
Round two began with some solid stand-up exchanges, until Kaszowski landed a low blow on Krohn, prompting referee George Allen to halt the bout and give Krohn some time to recover. When the action resumed, Krohn came back with a vengeance, securing a high clinch into a slam, followed by a transition from scarf hold to side control. Kaszowski soon regained his feet, and the two fighters scrapped for position to close out the round.
Round three began with some ineffective striking and continued with some ineffective clinch work as both fighters began to show signs of fatigue. Krohn eventually secured a clinch, where he worked the takedown and rode out the remainder of the fight with some solid ground and pound. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 and Krohn took home the unanimous decision victory.
The night continued with action in the Middleweight class as IFL veterans Matt Horwich and Brent Beauparlant took to the ring for the third bout of the night. Horwich attracted some attention as he entered the ring carrying his Bible and prostrated himself for a pre-bout prayer during the introductions. Once the bell sounded, however, Horwich was anything but meek, putting Beauparlant on the defensive with a relentless barrage of strikes. Taking advantage of Beauparlant's backward motion, Horwich secured the takedown, but Beauparlant scrambled quickly to his feet. Not to be denied, Horwich resumed his tireless striking offensive, prompting a takedown attempt by Beauparlant. Moving to the ground, Horwich landed a solid upkick to stun Beauparlant, before securing an omoplata. Beauparlant looked to be in trouble, but successfully defended until the end of the round.
Round two started out much like round one, with Horwich exploding out of his corner firing a barrage of lefts, rights, and kicks. Beauparlant shot immediately for the takedown, which proved to be his undoing, as Horwich secured guard and worked a right kimura to get the submission only 28 seconds into round two.
Next up, local Atlanta Welterweight Jim Abrille stepped in on short notice for the Dragons, facing a young and relatively unknown Mike Dolce representing the Wolfpack. Despite the hostility from an overwhelmingly pro-Abrille crowd, Dolce stepped up and made himself known in a big way by knocking Abrille unconscious with a vicious right at 0:19 of round one.
The first team contest closed out with a fight in the Heavyweight division between the Dragons' Rafael Feijao and the Wolfpack's Devin Cole. Round one was an active but forgettable series of clinching and tentative striking, with both fighters landing few clean blows amid periodic flurries of activity. Round two started out with some more active striking, and was shaping up to be a competitive round until a solid strike to the nose of the Wolfpack fighter prompted referee George Allen to call a controversial stoppage at 0:26 of round two, declaring Feijao the winner, and making the final team score 3-2 for the Wolfpack.
Following a brief intermission, the Red Bears and the Pitbulls took to the arena to begin the second round of team action for the night. Once again the competition kicked off in the lightweight division, as the Red Bears' Peter Kaljevic entered the ring to take on the Pitbulls' Erik Owings.
Round one was a back and forth battle on the feet, with neither fighter managing to take the upper hand.
Round two began with more striking, but this time Owings used the strikes to set up a takedown, where he proceeded to dominate the fight. Moving from mount, where he landed some vicious ground and pound, to backmount, where he continued his assault, back to mount, where further strikes prompted Kaljevic to expose his back once again. Owings secured the rear naked choke for a tapout at 3:03 of round two.
In the 170 lb. division, Chicago's Mark Miller faced Brazilian fighter Delson Heleno, representing Gracie's Pitbulls.
Heleno looked every inch the Pitbull as he dominated Miller in all three rounds of this Welterweight fight.
Round one saw Heleno securing the clinch for the takedown, where he worked his steady ground and pound assault on Miller. Miller stayed active, looking for submission attempts, but Heleno was never in danger as he continued to throw a barrage of punches at the game Miller. Following an unsuccessful attempt at an armbar, Heleno resumed his ground and pound assault to close out the round.
Round two began with Heleno again achieving top position and thoroughly dominating Miller from the mount position with his relentless striking attack.
Round three looked to be a repeat of round two until referee Cam McHargue called a brief halt to the action, standing up the fighters and warning Heleno for illegal use of the fingers. When the action resumed, Heleno once again took Miller to the mat and resumed his assault, finishing out the round with an attempted armbar. All three judges scored the bout 30-27 for Heleno.
In the Middleweight Division, Chris Albandia took to the ring for the Red Bears, looking for a win over the Pitbulls' Fabio Leopoldo. At the sounding of the bell, both fighters moved to the center of the ring, circling, feinting, and throwing tentative strikes. Leopoldo initiated the action with a lightning fast single leg takedown, but Albandia managed to reverse for the top position. From there it was all Leopoldo, as he transitioned from gogoplata to guillotine to secure the tap at 1:48 of round one.
Local fighter Tim Kennedy made his IFL debut as a last minute replacement for the Red Bears against the Pitbulls' Dante Rivera. Despite the short notice, Kennedy dominated his match. Round one saw Kennedy utilizing powerful takedowns and merciless ground and pound to keep Rivera on the defensive. Round two was more of the same, prompting referee Cam McHargue to call a halt to the bout at the 2:20 mark of round two.
Rounding out the team contest was a Heavyweight bout between Chicago's Mo Fowzi and Bryan Vetell, representing Gracie's Pitbulls. The fight began with some controversy as Fowzi ignored Vetell's attempt to touch gloves, instead firing a front kick towards the Pitbull fighter's midsection. Vetell rushed Fowzi for the takedown, intending to end the fight on the ground. Harsh words were exchanged on the mat, but Vetell's action spoke the loudest as he moved to the cross-body position and secured the tapout by kimura, 0:45, round one.
In the final bout of the night, MMA veteran Robbie Lawler faced a highly acclaimed Brazilian fighter in Brazil's Eduardo Pamplona. Round 1 saw both fighters looking to come out striking before ending up in the clinch. Lawler, taking a page from teammate Matt Hughes' book, scooped Pamplona for an impressive slamming takedown. Pamplona was unfazed, however, working a guillotine that seemed to have Lawler in trouble for a significant portion of the round. Lawler eventually managed to escape the hold and stand back up, where more clinch work closed out the round.
Round two saw more clinch work, with neither fighter able to step out and take the lead for most of the round. The only notable action was seconds before the bell, as Lawler seemed to rock Pamplona with one of his trademark flurries. Time was on Pamplona's side as Lawler was unable to finish the Brazilian before the end of the round.
Round three saw Lawler looking to pick up where he had left off in round two, as he came out throwing aggressive punches and fending off the takedown attempt by Pamplona. This time Lawler was determined to let his fists to the talking, as he rocked Pamplona for the TKO stoppage at 1:36 of the second round.
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