CONDORS, LIONS WIN INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE OPENERS IN OAKLAND
Ken Shamrock’s Squad Tops Brother Frank’s; Marco Ruas’ Southern Calif.-based team also victorious at ORACLE Arena; Horn Wins Superfight Following Team Competition
OAKLAND, Calif., January 19, 2007 - The Condors, based in Southern California and coached by Marco Ruas, and the Lions, based in Reno, Nev., and coached by Ken Shamrock, won their respective season-opening International Fight League matchups today in front of 5,005 at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland, Calif. MMA veteran Jeremy Horn (Salt Lake City) won the Superfight which followed the team bouts, scoring a split decision over Niko Vitale (Honolulu).
The mixed martial arts competition marked the first of 11 events on the 2007 IFL schedule, the most comprehensive advance schedule in the history of fight sports. Ruas’ Condors edged the Tiger Sharks, based in Seattle and coached by Maurice Smith, 3 bouts to 2, while the Lions got past the Razorclaws by the same 3-2 count.
In the opening matchup, lightweight Shad Lierley (Seattle) got the Tiger Sharks off to a quick start with a first-round TKO, flooring Adam Lynn (Pittsburgh) with a series of strikes before the referee stopped the bout just 44 seconds in. Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) drew the Condors even with a unanimous decision over Curtis Crawford (Portland, Ore.) in the heavyweight bout, before Danny Suarez (Redondo Beach, Calif.) pushed the Condors ahead with a first-round submission win over Tristan Wit (Seattle) in a battle of lightweights, substituting as alternates for the regularly-scheduled welterweight bout. Suarez caught Wit with a triangle choke for the tap-out. Middleweight Jeremy Williams (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) secured the victory for the Condors, defeating Bristol Marunde (Sequim, Wash.) with the last of a series of chokes, a triangle choke which ended by referee stoppage at 1:13 of the first round. Tiger Sharks light heavyweight Reese Andy (Billings, Mont.) scored
a unanimous decision over Justin Levens (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) for the final 3-2 margin.
The IFL next moves to Houston, where the Anacondas (Los Angeles) meet the Silverbacks (Quad Cities) and the Sabres (Tokyo) battle the Scorpions (Tucson) on February 2 at the Reliant Arena.
The IFL is the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league. 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, 2007 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL Finals will then be held at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 15, 2007.
The 10 venues for the 2007 season (The Forum in Los Angeles 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 LeagueT (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
International Fight League
ORACLE Arena, Oakland, Calif., January 19, 2007
Condors (Southern Calif.) def. Tiger Sharks (Seattle), 3-2
LW/155 lbs.: Shad Lierley, Tiger Sharks, def. Adam Lynn, Condors, via TKO (strikes), 0:44, 1st round
HW/265 lbs.: Antoine Jaoude, Condors def. Curtis Crawford, Tiger Sharks, via decision (unanimous) after three rounds
LW/155 lbs. (alt.): Danny Suarez, Condors, def. Tristan Wit, Tiger Sharks, via submission (triangle choke), 1:44, 1st round
MW/185 lbs.: Jeremy Williams, Condors, def. Bristol Marunde, Tiger Sharks, via TKO (triangle choke), 1:13, 1st round
LH/205 lbs.: Reese Andy, Tiger Sharks, def. Justin Levens, Condors, via decision (unanimous) after three rounds
Lions (Reno, Nev.) def. Razorclaws (San Jose, Calif.), 3-2
LW/155 lbs.: John Gunderson, Lions, def. Josh Odom, Razorclaws, via submission (triangle choke), 3:05, 1st round
HW/265 lbs.: Roy Nelson, Lions, def. Vince Lucero, Razorclaws, via TKO (ref stoppage), 1:58, 1st round
LW/155 lbs. (alt.): Clint Coronel, Razorclaws, def. Joe Martin, Lions, via TKO (ref stoppage), 0:45, 2nd round
WW/170 lbs.: Pat Healy, Lions, def. Ray Steinbeiss, Razorclaws, via decision (unanimous) after three rounds
MW/185 lbs.: Brian Foster, Razorclaws, def. Daniel Molina, Lions, via TKO (ref stoppage), 2:05, 2nd round
Superfight
190 lbs.: Jeremy Horn def. Niko Vitale, via decision (split), after five rounds
IFL Standings Through Jan. 19
Team Overall Match
Condors 1-0 3-2
Lions 1-0 3-2
Anacondas 0-0 0-0
Dragons 0-0 0-0
Wolfpack 0-0 0-0
Pitbulls 0-0 0-0
Red Bears 0-0 0-0
Sabres 0-0 0-0
Scorpions 0-0 0-0
Silverbacks 0-0 0-0
Razorclaws 0-1 2-3
Tiger Sharks 0-1 2-3
Special Awards
(Tiger Sharks vs. Condors)
Best KO - Shad Lierley, Tiger Sharks
Best submission - Jeremy Williams, Condors
Fastest finish - Shad Lierley, Tiger Sharks
Most exciting fight - Reese Andy, Tiger Sharks, vs. Justin Levins, Condors
(Lions vs. Razorclaws)
Best KO -
Best submission - John Gunderson
Fastest Finish - Roy Nelson
Fight of the Night - Dan Molina vs. Brian Foster
Most Valuable Fighter - John Gunderson
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