Miletich’s Hometown Favorites, Maurice Smith’s Seattle-based Squad Keep Playoff Hopes Alive With Decisive Victories; Curran Takes Superfight
MOLINE, Ill., April 7, 2007 – The Tiger Sharks and Silverbacks kept their respective International Fight League playoff hopes alive with victories at the IFL regular season event at The MARK of the Quad Cities in Moline, Ill., tonight before 5,308 spirited fans. The Tiger Sharks, based in Seattle and coached by Maurice Smith, dispatched the Red Bears, based in Chicago and coached by Igor Zinoviev, 4-1, while the hometown Quad-Cities-based Silverbacks, mentored by Pat Miletich, took care of the Nevada-based Lions, led by Ken Shamrock by the same 4-1 count.
The results leave the Tiger Sharks, Pitbulls and Lions with 1-1 team records, while the Red Bears fell to 0-2. With identical 6-4 individual marks, the Tiger Sharks and Silverbacks are tied for fifth place in the overall standings, ahead of the Condors (5-5) and Lions (4-6). The top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to the playoffs.
Shad Lierley (Seattle) got the Tiger Sharks off to a quick start with a split decision over Mike Corey (St. Louis) in the lightweight bout. Mark Miller (Chicago) moved the Red Bears even with a unanimous decision over Brad Blackburn (Olympia, Wash.) in the welterweight division. In the pivotal middleweight matchup, Bristol Marunde (Sequim, Wash.) turned aside an early set of punches from John Kading, then unleashed a barrage of strikes of his own for the first-round TKO and 2-1 Tiger Sharks edge. With the match on the line, Allan Goes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) finished the job by knocking out Homer Moore (Phoenix) in the second round, turning around a match that Moore had dominated over the first five minutes. Reese Andy (Billings, Mont.) completed the victory with a workmanlike second-round submission triumph over Adam Maciejewski (Krasnik, Poland).UThe Silverbacks’ Rory Markham (Chicago) put the crowd in a frenzy with an exciting third-round knockout of Pat Healy (St. Louis) in a welterweight slugfest which saw both fighters score with big shots. Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) then ground out a unanimous verdict over Daniel Molina (Carson City, Nev.) for a 2-0 advantage for the hosts. Vernon White (East Palo Alto, Calif.) secured a second-round submission from Sam Hoger (Eagle River, Alaska) in another bout that seemed to be going the other way when Hoger applied a choke of his own earlier in the round before White escaped and turned the tables. Lions heavyweight Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) gave Ben Rothwell (Milwaukee, Wis.) his toughest IFL contest, with Rothwell grinding out a split decision, earning the Silverbacks the team victory. Bart Palaszewski (Wonder Lake, Ill.) completed the 4-1 score with a split decision over John Gunderson (Medford, Ore.).
In the Superfight that followed, lightweight Jeff Curran (Crystal Lakes, Ill.) topped Kevin English (Lake Station, Ind.) by submission in the second round.
In the preliminary matchups which featured the alternate fighters, Tristan Wit of the Tiger Sharks won via TKO over Pavel Zurochka of the Red Bears when Zurochka failed to answer the bell for the third round, and Rick Reeves of the Lions won via first-round submission over Luke Johnson of the Silverbacks, securing a rear naked choke.
The IFL next visits Uncasville, Conn., on April 13, with the Dragons vs. Scorpions and Pitbulls vs. Wolfpack, at Mohegan Sun Arena. Each of the 12 IFL teams for 2007 will compete in three regular season events; the teams with the top four overall win-loss team records will advance to the semi-finals, which will be held on Thursday, August 2, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL Finals will then be held at The Forum on Saturday, September 15.
The 10 venues for the 2007 season (The Forum will host two events) will scale to between 7,000 and 13,000 seats, which has been consistent with the IFL’s plan of managed growth.
About the IFL
International Fight League™ (IFL) is the world’s first professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York, NY and offices in Las Vegas, NV. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv
– IFL –
International Fight LeagueThe Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline, Ill., April 7, 2007
Tiger Sharks (1-1 team, 6-4 indiv.) def. Red Bears (0-2, 2-8), 4-1LW/155: Shad Lierley, Tiger Sharks, def. Mike Correy, Red Bears, via decision (split) after 3 roundsWW/170: Mark Miller, Red Bears, def. Brad Blackburn, Tiger Sharks, via decision (unanimous) after 3 roundsMW/185: Bristol Marunde, Tiger Sharks, def. John Kading, Red Bears, via TKO (strikes), 1:35, 1stLHW/205: Allan Goes, Tiger Sharks, def. Homer Moore, Red Bears, via TKO (strikes), 2:56, 2ndHW/265: Reese Andy, Tiger Sharks, def. Adam Maciejewski, Red Bears, via submission (rear naked choke), 3:11, 2nd
Silverbacks (1-1, 6-4)U def. Lions (1-1, 4-6), 4-1WW/170: Rory Markham, Silverbacks, def. Pat Healy, Lions, via KO (strikes), 1:47, 3rdMW/185: Ryan McGivern, Silverbacks, def. Daniel Molina, Lions, via decision (unanimous), after 3 roundsLHW/205: Vernon White, Lions, def. Sam Hoger, Silverbacks, via submission (rear naked choke), 3:25, 2ndHW/265: Ben Rothwell, Silverbacks, def. Roy Nelson, Lions, via decision (split), after 3 roundsLW/155: Bart Palaszewski, Silverbacks, def. John Gunderson, Lions, via decision (split) after 3 rounds
SuperfightLW/155: Jeff Curran def. Kevin English via submission (guillotine choke), 2nd.
Preliminary BoutsLW/155: Tristan Wit, Tiger Sharks, def. Pavel Zurochka, Red Bears, via TKO (corner stoppage), after two roundsWW/155: Rick Reeves, Lions, def. Luke Johnson, Silverbacks, via submission (rear naked choke), 3:30, 1st
IFL Standings Through April 7Team Overall Match Anacondas 2-0 8-2 Sabres 2-0 6-4 Pitbulls 1-0 4-1 Wolfpack 1-0 3-2 Silverbacks 1-1 6-4Tiger Sharks 1-1 6-4Condors 1-1 5-5 Lions 1-1 4-6 Dragons 0-1 2-3Scorpions 0-1 2-3Razorclaws 0-2 2-8Red Bears 0-2 2-8