411's IFL 2007 World Grand Prix Finals Report 12.29.07

Posted by Damian Sarcuni on 12.30.2007

All the action from Mohegan Sun, Conneticut!

Hello everyone and welcome to 411's coverage of the IFL World Grand Prix Finals, the battle for the belts in 2007. I'm Damian Sarcuni and we are live here at the Mohegan Sun casino in beautiful Conneticut. Tonight's fights are the culmination of a long road and some hard training for many of the IFL's top fighters, so we can expect fireworks out of the IFL camp on this action packed MMA weekend. We'll be starting at 7:30pm, EST. As always, be sure to refresh often as fight order is often subject to change. Thank you for joining us!

Preliminary bouts:

The lights dim and the crowd is still finding their seats but they've started applauding. Alot of "whoo"'s coming out of the audience too. So much for the civilization of the Northeast United States. IFL sponsor V2 Energy Vodka reminds us not to let the party "tap out" early tonight. Laugh all you want, I know where I'm going for the after party. Whoops, gotta stand, national anthem time.


Marcello Salazar (180.5) vs. Alex Cook (180.25)

Our fighters are already in the ring as the standard announcements are ending. Salazar is looking to avenge his only loss that came in 2006. He's sweating an awful lot, but many that's just the lights. Cook is bouncy, and is a crowd favorite for some reason.

Round 1 - They touch, Cook a bit more anxious looking. They circle, a little too long for the crowd until Salazar shoots and gets Cook down. They wrestle, Marcello finds side control and holds it but misses knees to the body. He lands more as the crowd gets restless. Wow, tough ass crowd tonight! Salazar is tied up in half guard as they stand. Cook tests a jab, but Salazar lands two big straights and shoots when Cook tries to answer. Salazar lands some ground and pound shots but they are both struggling. The crowd is still yelling out useless advice. Did they give out free beer with the tickets or something? Salazar is tied in half guard again as the round ends.

Round 2 - Bell rings a little early, they circle, Salazar is off balance and Cook catches him. They wrestle on the ground, Cook stands and Salazar is stood up. Poor hook by Cook...he looks like he's blinking and having trouble seeing. Push kick by Marcello lands and Alex laughs it off. Shot by Salazar again, brings Cook down at will. Marcello postures and lands a good blow or two. Ref restarts in the middle, Marcello still in Alex's guard. Alex stays busy on the bottom, but Salazar postures again and lands some more good blows. They stand it. Cook uses his jab but Marcello is able to get under it and take him down before he can find his rhythm. They wrestle around as the bell sounds.

Round 3 - Bell sounds early again. They gotta sync better with their house DJ. Cook wipes his eye...comes forward, Marcello shoots and Alex sprawls but Marcello gets on top anyway. Marcello in Alex's half guard again. Marcello working and flattens out Alex but he's still pretty tied up. They stand it. High kick by Cook is blocked. Another takedown by Salazar, crowd is booing because of it. Salazar is looking to posture but Cook is in total defense mode, hugging the upper body. Cook can't even get his legs high. DOUBLE CHOP BY MARCELLO! HA! Pro wrestling rules. Marcello is being way more offensive now, holding own cook and sneaking in hard shots. They struggle around in the corner, the bell rings.

Decision

30-27 across the board.

Marcello Salazar defeats Alex Cook via unanimous decision.

Ken Shamrock is here, and they show an interview with him prior to the fight announcement. Nice. Cook just couldn't stop Salazar's takedowns, he only sprawled once and went nowhere with it.


Brett Cooper (169.75) vs. Rory Markham (170.5)

Brett Cooper hasn't seen a loss yet in 2007, but Markham is making a nasty mark in the IFL so far. Big cheers when they announce Militech Fighting Systems. Interesting.

Round 1 - They touch, Rory comes forward bobbing and weaving. The card girl hasn't even finished circling...nasty high kick by Rory lands. Brett counters with a quick combo, high kick by Brett is blocked. Rory pushes forward again, catches Brett once...then twice...then adds a flurry. Cooper survives and clinches, gets Rory down at the last second. The crowd is on fire. Rory locks up a nasty choke but Brett twists and turns every which way. He REFUSES to tap! This is awesome. Brett tries to power out...HE GETS OUT! He's on top of Rory now, postures but can't strike. Rory playing with Brett's balance, locks the choke again but Brett is out quick this time and lands a nice blow down. They stand, Brett lands a good kick before seperating. Nasty trading but Rory backs Cook up into the corner. High kick is blocked, Brett shoots but Rory postures. High kick by Brett blocked and Rory comes forward again. He catches a few. AMAZING round!

Round 2 - They tade, Cooper catches Markham. They trade low kicks, Cooper keeps backing up. He lands another nice jab before shooting. Cooper tries to posture but can't get much, they stand and Cooper comes in with combos and flurries. He catches Rory with an uppercut...follows up with a NICE flurry! RORY IS HURT!! He goes down! Brett Cooper defeats Rory Markham via TKO in Round 2.

Holy crap! What a tremendous display of heart out of Brett Cooper! Rory was so offensive in the first but Brett powered through it all and caught an amazing combo. What a great fight...I hope everyone gets to see this. The crowd absolutely loves it.


Elias Rivera (181) vs. Tim Kennedy (186)

The crowd cheers for Elias Rivera, who fights out of the Bronx in NYC. Uh oh, thugness in the ring! Kennedy just fought two weeks ago...ew. This won't be pretty.

Round 1 - They touch and circle, Kennedy looks high. Low kick by Kennedy and Rivera answers with a nasty right hook! Tim answers by picking Rivera up and slamming him down violently. Ouch for the second time. They struggle in half guard now. Tim postures, finds mount and pounds away. Tim Kennedy defeats Elias Rivera via KO in round 1.

They call in the ring doctor, Rivera is out cold. The crowd was about to roar and then literally stopped cold. They haven't taken his mouth piece out yet. Are they worried about his neck? EMT's are in the ring now. Uh oh. The crowd applauds as we get a thumbs up from the ring. Looks like Elias is getting a neck brace. The crowd applauds as Elias is stretchered out. Kennedy has a look of worry on his face the whole time, but things are thankfully starting to cool down.


Championship bouts:

We get an announcement that the IFL will be updating us on tonight's Giants vs Patriots football score. HA! They announce the Giants are winning and the NY fans go wild. God bless the IFL. The lights dim as they announce the heavyweight belt contenders.

Roy Nelson (258.25) vs. Antoine Jaoude (253.5)

Roy Nelson comes out with Ken Shamrock, they look fresh from the driving range, hehe. Jaoud looks serious.

Round 1 - They circle. Low kick by Jaoude and they start trading. They are both just swinging wild but Nelson backs Antoine up with a low kick. Antoine shoots but Nelson sprawls and catches the guillotine. Antoine pops his head out and they wrestle around in the clinch. Knee by Jaoude lands. They clinch up tight but Jaoude hits a quick jab. More wild swinging and low kicks, Roy pushes Antoine against the ropes. He's shoving him around a bit but not much else, they split them up. Antoine starts catching Roy with a few jabs. Nasty low kick by Roy but Antoine answers with a right. Low kick by Antoine. Wild swings again but Antoine lands occasionally. Roy looks tired. This is ugly, both trading and landing big shots. Roy starts landing vicious shots, it looks like its over...no, the round ended! Antoine just got saved by the bell.

Round 2 - No touch now. Stright by Antoine. Big straight right hand by Roy knocks Antoine down. Roy gets on top and pounds away. Roy Nelson defeats Antoine Jaoude via TKO in round 2.

Roy jumps onto each turnbuckle and signals to the crowd, they cheer in return. Eh, this one was all power trading, and Roy just hit heavier. Not the most technical display in the world, but its exciting enough. The crowd applauds as Nelson is presented with the belt. El Guapo Bas Rutten is in the ring for the interview! We can barely hear the mic though, so we'll just skip that part. There's a break for intermission, we'll be back in a few minutes.


L.C. Davis (143) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (144.25)

We are LIVE on HDNet and several other fight networks across the country. Both fighters are in the ring. LC Davis gets a solid cheer from one section of the crowd. Fabiano is cornered by Renzo Gracie and Carlos Newton while Davis is cornered by Couture...I can't handle that much ground game in one sitting!

Round 1 - They touch. Davis tries to strike but Fabiano shoots against the ropes. They struggle in the clinch and go down with Fabiano on top in LC's guard. Ref restarts in the center which gets boos. Fabiano tries to pick LC up but it goes nowhere. They stay busy and Fabiano jumps into LC's half guard. He shakes off into side control, looks for the mount but Davis wraps him up. Fabiano takes side again. Fabiano circles into full mount and punches but Davis holds close and twists away from the big punches. Fabiano flattens out Davis, postures and lands one nice shot. Davis twists up, throws a high kick but slips and Fabiano shoots him up against the ropes again. They go down and Fabiano takes the top again, holding side control. This has been all positioning. They move up...Fabiano wraps the arm! Davis taps! Wagnney Fabiano defeats LC Davis via armbar submission in round 1.

Wow, the ground game of Renzo Gracie and Carlos Newton cannot be denied. Victory goes to the one guy they left out of the media program. Quite a shocker, it was all positioning and slow until Fabiano managed to wrap the arm. We're definitely going to have to watch this guy closer. Kurt Otto raises the roof briefly before putting the belt around Fabiano. Will tonight's comedy never end? We've just gotten word that there are over 5700 fans in attendance tonight, so congratulations to the IFL for packing them in!


Jay Hieron (168.5) vs. Delson Heleno (168.25)

The crowd goes wild for Jay Hieron, between his Xtreme Couture shirt and hometown being listed as Brooklyn, he's an instant fan favorite. Heleno is announced as training in capoiera, and I'm willing to bet money there's not many here who know what that is. Heh, Fabiano is back out in Delson's corner already. Way to show off the belt, man.

Round 1 - They touch and circle. Delson looks...happy? They feel out and are moving in and out quick. Heleno starts to come in strong with a good shot. Heleno charges but Hieron stays out of reach. He backs Heleno into the corner and landsa hook. Jay looks like he's trying to maneuver and set up but he's reluctant to throw and the crowd tells him. Delson starts off but leaves his chin open when he does. Heleno charges and shoots but Hieron pushes him aside and counters. More circling and more boos. Hieron continues to back Heleno away, lands a nasty one two and follows up with a knee but they split up again. Low kick by Hieron, the crowd is about to riot. Hooks by Hieron, knees and a combo at the last second, he's on top and pounding away. Hieron thinks he's won but the round ended....but Delson isn't getting up.

I'm getting word that there's an injury to Heleno's foot, and Hieron has been declared the winner. Jay Hieron defeats Delson Heleno via doctor stoppage at the end of round 1.

Horrible fight. Heleno is getting a reputation for being boring. His IFL media profile says that he flies kites and watches waterfalls in his spare time. You be the judge. Heleno limps out at first but has to get carried on his corner's shoulders fireman style. I didn't want to see that. Jay is presented with the belt. He says he feels great and thanks God. He says he's training with the best in the world, and he had to pay homage to his camp. He dedicates this win to his father.


Matt Horwich (183.5) vs. Benji Radach (184)

Horwich throws some religious paraphenalia into the crowd...either that or it was some sort of poetry. Benji throws nothing but looks like Darth Maul with his hood hanging off his head. Horwich taunts in the corner. This is going to be fun.

Round 1 - They touch, maneuver and trade, Matt attempting to shoot. He shoots again and Benji counters, hitting Matt in the back and throwing a flurry. Matt pushes it into the corner and they go to the ground, it looks like Radach has the advantage but they stand up. Horwich has color under his eye as Benji clinches him into the corner. Low knee by Radach, Matt stays busy. They seperate. Matt comes forward, high kick is blocked, takedown is stuff, high kick blocked again. Matt stalking forward again with a flurry and he clinches Radach into the corner. Foot stomps by Matt, and a knee. The crowd boos it...what? It's legal! More knees by Matt. They seperate, Matt comes forward again but Radach counters with a flurry. Knee by Benji, but Matt continues into the clinch as the bell sounds.

Round 2 - They touch, trade in the center, flurries from both until Matt shoots against the ropes into a clinch. Knees by both men. They wrestle, high kick by Matt, hook by Benji. They go down and Benji is on top in the corner, they restart in the center. Benji postures and stands, Matt follows and they trade, Matt chases Benji down and catches a sharp left that send Benji down into the corner. Matt gets on top and the ref pulls him off. Matt Horwich defeats Benji Radach via TKO in round 2. Already I hear murmurs that the ref stopped it too early. Radach does look fine, but he did hit the ground pretty hard.

Horwich is presented with the belt. Matt sounds really condescending but I think that's just how he talks...he says it was the toughest middleweight fight of his career and that he was "stoked". He thanks people in his Jiu Jitsu class, his mom, his girlfriend, and Jesus Christ. He says hard work and positive choices pay off, rock and roll. Ok then.

This just in...my photographer informed me that when Horwich was posing for photos he stated "I am the new middleweight champion in Jesus' name." Tremendous.


Ryan Schultz (153.5) vs. Chris Horodecki (153.75)

Someone from the IFL just decided to kick my photographer out from ring side stating that his camera wasn't big enough. Enjoy this next play by play, its the last one I'm doing for the IFL.

Round 1 - They circle. Chris comes forward but Ryan counters. Chris uses his jab, Ryan swings wild. Ryan shoots and puts Chris down against the ropes, starts to pound but they restart in the center. Ryan in Chris' guard now. Ryan postures up and lands some nice shots, Chris tries to kick him off but he gets back down and pounds away from the side. Ryan manhandling Chris and pounding away. The ref stops it. Ryan Schultz defeats Chris Horodecki via TKO in round 1.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go embarrass myself. Thank you for reading.