Jerry Milani from the IFL sent along the following:
HORWICH, NELSON, SCHULTZ FIRST TO DEFEND TITLES AT INTERNATIONAL FIGHT
LEAGUE’S FIRST 2008 EVENT AT ORLEANS ARENA IN LAS VEGAS
Team Xtreme Couture, Mario Sperry’s MMA Top Team To Make IFL Debuts;
Team Quest To Battle Lions Den In Other Team Matchup
NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2008 — IFL titleholders Matt
Horwich (Portland, Ore.), Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) and Ryan Schultz (North
Platte, Neb.) will defend their belts when the International Fight League
(OTC.BB: IFLI) opens its 2008 schedule with an eight-bout card at the
Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, February 29. In addition to the
three Championship bouts, team competition will feature Matt
Lindland’s Team Quest vs. Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den and Team Xtreme Couture vs.
Mario Sperry’s MMA Top Team.
Tickets go on sale beginning on January 12 and are available at
www.orleansarena.com, all Coast Casino box offices, The Galleria at Sunset, by
calling 702-284-7777 or by visiting www.ifl.tv.
Horwich, who claimed the middleweight title with a victory over Benji
Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) at the IFL World Grand Prix on December
29, will defend his crown against Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.), who
won all three of his IFL matchups in 2007 with first- or second-round
finishes. Nelson, who knocked out Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil) to win the heavyweight crown, will take on IFL newcomer Fabiano
Scherner (Portland, Ore./Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), who trains with Lindland
at Team Quest. Schultz, whose lightweight victory over Chris Horodecki
(London, Ontario) raised eyebrows in the entire MMA community, makes
the first defense of his lightweight belt against John Gunderson
(Medford, Ore.), who competes for the Lions Den.
“This card is a good example of how the flexibility of our new format
makes for great matchups,” said IFL Commissioner Kurt Otto. “Fans
will get to see three Championship bouts, plus some exciting team
competition feeding some of our upcoming title fights.”
The rest of the card includes several matchups between top IFL athletes
vying for spots in future title bouts. Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.)
of Team Quest will take on Dennis Davis (Las Vegas) of MMA Top Team,
with the winner possibly earning a title bout in the featherweight
division; the crown is currently held by Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil). The Lions Den’s Pat Healy (St. Louis) will take on a Team
Quest welterweight matchup that may determine a future title bout at 170
lbs. (Team Xtreme Couture’s Jay Hieron of Las Vegas holds the belt at
present).
Additionally, Marcello Salazar (Portland, Ore.) will represent MMA Top
Team at 170 lbs. against an opponent to be determined, and Radach will
compete for Xtreme Couture in a middleweight bout. One other matchup
will also be contested, athletes TBD.
IFL Las Vegas
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008
Preliminary Bout
145 lbs.: Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.) (0-2 IFL, 8-7 overall MMA) vs.
Dennis Davis (Las Vegas) (0-0, 13-6)
Team Xtreme Couture vs. MMA Top Team (Mario Sperry)
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Marcello Salazar (Portland, Ore.) (1-0, 7-1-2)
185 lbs.: Benji Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) (5-1, 17-4) vs. TBD
TBD: matchup TBD
Team Quest (Matt Lindland) vs. Lions Den (Ken Shamrock)
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Pat Healy (St. Louis) (2-1, 18-12)
*155 lbs.: **Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (5-2, 18-9-1) vs. John
Gunderson (Medford, Ore.) (2-2, 15-5)
*265 lbs.: **Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) (4-1, 11-2) vs. Fabian Scherner
(Portland, Ore.) (0-0, 7-5)
Championship Bout
*185 lbs.: Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.) (3-0, 9-2) vs. **Matt
Horwich (Portland, Ore.) (6-3, 21-9-1)
*Championship Bout
**Current Titleholder
About the IFL
International Fight League (IFL) has its headquarters in New York
and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see:
www.ifl.tv.
