Press Release:
SILVERBACKS, DRAGONS ADVANCE AT INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE WORLD TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP IN MOLINE
Silverbacks edge Pitbulls, Dragons Take Out Razorclaws; Gracie Submits
Miletich in Superfight
Moline, Ill., Sept. 23, 2006 – The Silverbacks, based in the Quad
Cities, and Dragons, based in Toronto, claimed victories in the 2006
International Fight League World Championship quarterfinals, a mixed martial
arts competition held in front of 6,212 at The MARK of the Quad Cities
tonight. Renzo Gracie (Holmdel, N.J.) submitted local hero Pat Miletich
(Bettendorf, Iowa) via guillotine choke in the first round of their
highly-anticipated Superfight which followed the team competition. The
Silverbacks edged the Pitbulls, who train in New York, 3-2, while the
Dragons topped the Razorclaws, based in San Jose, 3-2.
In the first matchup, Bart Palaszewski (Bettendorf, Iowa) took an
entertaining lightweight split decision from Marcio Feitosa (Lake Forest,
Calif.) to stake the Silverbacks, coached by Miletich, to a 1-0 lead.
Welterweight Rory Markham (Bettendorf, Iowa) landed a series of punches to
knock out Marcelo Azevedo (New York) with just two seconds left in the
first round for a 2-0 Silverbacks lead. Fabio Leopoldo (Sao Paulo)
shaved the Gracie-led Pitbulls' deficit in half by turning the tables on
Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) with a knee bar submission at 2:49 of
the second round of their middleweight bout. Light heavyweight Andre
Gusmao (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tied the match with a technical knockout of Mike
Ciesnelovicz (Bettendorf, Iowa) one minute into the second round. That
set the stage for the decisive heavyweight battle, in which Ben
Rothwell (Bettendorf, Iowa) delivered the 3-2 victory for the host
Silverbacks, knocking out Bryan Vetell (Jamaica, N.Y.) with a devastating right
hand
just over three minutes into the first round.
“The roar of the crows gets the fire in me going,” said Rothwell
following the clinching victory. “I didn't want to overextend, I was trying
to counter his moves, and the timing was just right for the strike.”
Later, the Dragons, coached by Carlos Newton, earned a narrow victory
over Frank Shamrock’s Razorclaws squad. The Razorclaws' Josh Odom
(Tallahassee, Fla.) scored a third-round TKO over Rob Di Cenzo (Woodbridge,
Ontario) in the lightweight bout, before welterweight Claude Patrick
(Toronto) earned the equalizer for the Dragons with a guillotine choke of
Ray Steinbeiss (Tempe, Ariz.). Veteran middleweight Joe Doerksen
(Winnipeg, Manitoba) moved the Dragons ahead, 2-1, with a late second-round
submission over Brian Foster (Moreno Valley, Calif.). In a
crowd-pleasing light heavyweight slugfest, Brent Beauparlant (Montreal, Quebec)
and Raphael Davis (Torrance, Calif.) traded blows for three full rounds,
with Beauparlant earning the decision to secure the victory for the
Dragons. In the final match, Travis Wiuff (Rochester, Minn.) of the
Razorclaws decisioned Wojtek Kaszowski (Mississauga, Ontario) for the final
3-2 margin.
“I'm very proud of everyone,” said Newton, whose squad won its IFL
debut.
“This [the IFL] has been a great experience for me,” said Doerksen, who
has 36 wins in 45 career MMA bouts. “It's a new idea, and I guess a
part of me was skeptical at first but this has been great.”
In the Superfight, Gracie gained the upper hand midway through the
first round, holding a guillotine choke on Miletich for more than a minute
before Miletich tapped out.
“I set him up for the choke but at first I didn’t have it,” said
Gracie, who is now 11-6-1 in his first bout since last July and first victory
since 2001. “He didn't take me down, so I raised up and locked it. I
knew I wasn't going to let go.”
“I had a blast getting ready for the fight,” added Miletich. “Training
with my team really motivated me. I just didn't trust my neck
[following injury] to take him to the ground there.”
The Silverbacks and Dragons now advance to the semifinal round of the
IFL World Team Championship, where they will battle for a spot in the
finals in December; the date and location of both events will be
announced in the coming weeks. The Wolfpack, based in Portland, and Anacondas,
from Los Angeles, will compete in the other semifinal that date.
In the preliminary bouts between the teams' alternates, Delson Heleno
of the Pitbulls knocked out Ben Uker of the Silverbacks at 3:14 of the
first round, and Dennis Hallman of the Dragons defeated Jeff Quinlan of
the Razorclaws by majority decision.
About the International Fight League
Founded in 2005 by Kurt Otto, a real estate investor and a life-long
martial arts participant and Gareb Shamus, chairman of Wizard
Entertainment Group, the International Fight League (IFL) was created to
establish a centralized and structured organization that brings the power and
influence of the mixed martial arts industry together. On August 25,
2006, IFL entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Paligent, Inc.
(PGNT:OTCBB), pursuant to which IFL would emerge as the surviving
entity. For further information regarding the merger, contact Paligent at
(212) 755-5461.For more information on the IFL, go to www.IFL.tv.
Event Results
Alternate Bouts:
Delson Heleno, Pitbulls, def. Ben Uker, Silverbacks, by TKO, 3:14 in
Round 1, (strikes)
Dennis Hallman, Dragons, def. Jeff Quinlan, Razorclaws, by majority
decision after three rounds
Silverbacks (Quad Cities) def. Pitbulls (New York), 3-2
LW/155: Bart Palaszewski, Silverbacks def. Marcio Feitosa, Pitbulls, by
split decision after three rounds
WW/170: Rory Markham, Silverbacks def. Marcelo Azevedo, Pitbulls by
TKO, 3:58 in Round 1 (ref stoppage)
MW/185: Fabio Leopoldo, Pitbulls def. Ryan McGivern, Silverbacks, by
submission (kneebar), 2:49 in Round 2
LH/205: Andre Gusmao, Pitbulls def. Mike Ciesnelovicz, Silverbacks, by
TKO, 1:01 in Round 2 (ref stoppage)
HW/265: Ben Rothwell, Silverbacks def. Bryan Vetell, Pitbulls, by
Knockout, 3:17 in Round 1
Dragons (Toronto) def. Razorclaws (San Jose), 3-2
LW/155: Josh Odom, Razorclaws, def. Rob Di Cenzo, Dragons, by TKO, 1:47
in Round 3 (ref stoppage)
WW/170: Claude Patrick, Dragons def. Ray Steinbeiss, Razorclaws, by
submission, 3:12 in Round 1 (guillotine choke)
MW/185: Joe Doerksen, Dragons def. Brian Foster, Razorclaws, by
submission, 3:40 in Round 2 (rear naked choke)
LH/205: Brent Beauparlant, Dragons, def. Raphael Davis, Razorclaws, by
unanimous decision after three rounds
HW/265: Travis Wiuff, Razorclaws, def. Wojtek Kaszowski, Dragons, by
unanimous decision after three rounds
Superfight
MW/185: Renzo Gracie def. Pat Miletich by submission, 3:37 in Round 1
(guillotine choke)
Bonus Awards for the Night
1st Bracket: Silverbacks vs. Pitbulls
Knockout of the Night: Ben Rothwell, Silverbacks
Submission of the Night: Fabio Leopoldo, Pitbulls
Most Exciting Fight: Bart Palaszewski, Silverbacks, vs. Marcio Feitosa,
Pitbulls
2nd Bracket: Dragons vs. Razorclaws
Knockout of the Night: Josh Odom, Razorclaws
Submission of the Night: Claude Patrick, Dragons
Most Exciting Fight: Joe Doerksen, Dragons, vs. Brian Foster,
Razorclaws
“Heart of a Lion”: Brent Beauparlant, Dragons
