Team Sacrifice
Although a few tweaks and adjustments still need to be made in order to fine tune the "Team MMA" concept, co-founders Kurt Otto and Gared Shamus are pushing full speed ahead to bring this International Fight League into the eyes of the American mainstream sports public. When I mentioned the concept of team MMA to various friends and acquaintances who are not hardcore fans, they seem to really be attracted to this idea; with replies like "cool," or "wow, reminds me of wrestling meets."

Travis Wiuff had to sacrifice his preferred weight class for his team's sake, replacing Rothwell at heavyweight.

Perhaps it is a cultural phenomenon, the American obsession with sports statistics, especially when one thinks of a "team" sport such as baseball, although the stats seem to center more on individuals aside from teams. Perhaps that is the most difficult aspect of promoting this team concept, the fact that many of the individuals, in particular the newer faces, are as of yet unknown. I suppose some of the exceptions were fighters like Dennis "Superman" Hallman, famous for twice defeating reigning UFC champ Matt Hughes.
Also, Alex Shoenauer, from the first TUF program and veteran UFC man Travis Wiuff, who faced off against each other in the IFL’s debut event on April 29th were also less obscure than the rest of the crews. The star power seems to be invested more on the coaches rather than the "unknown fighters" whom the IFL is hoping to cultivate.

Clutch Man
I suppose the prime example of teamwork, or doing it for the "team spirit" in this particular case was the tough role, which Travis Wiuff was assigned. Although Wiuff was once upon a time a heavy weight, he had more recently trimmed down to light heavyweight (205 lbs.) This was the weight at which he confronted Alex Shoenauer at the first show. Although, on that occasion he started out-wrestling and was all over Alex, Shoenauer was able to pull off a beautiful ankle lock, which shocked Wiuff and the fans. That fight for me was one of the most memorable in that first show.
On this second occasion though, coach Pat Miletich, whose Silverbacks team took it all had to ask Wiuff to step back up to the heavyweight plate in order to pinch-hit for teammate Ben Rothwell who was injured. As the last fight of the night his encounter with Devin Cole was a silent war, which was difficult to judge, but there were some interesting back and forth twisting and turning including a couple bizarre slams that invigorated the rather quiet crowd. In the end though, Wiuff got another L in his individual record, although his team defeated Maurice Smith's Tiger Sharks 3-2 to capture the first team cup of the IFL.

Dennis Hallman could not quite get his groove at his heavier weight class and seemed to lack luster.

The Replacements
I suppose there exists a dilemma here, in that an MMA fighter's individual record could suffer depending on which weight gap the team coach may want them to fill. In this case, Wiuff had to go back up in weight to replace his teammate Big Ben Rothwell who was injured and unable to participate. Although Wiuff did give Cole a run for his money losing 29-28 in all the judge's cards, perhaps he is wondering how he would have faired against American National Wrestling star Reese Andy, who had a scrappy back and forth tug of war against Mike Ciesnolevicz, but in the end was able to pull off a split decision. For Wiuff, Ciesnolevicz could have added up to another W in his personal record, rather than a W for team Silver Backs. The problem here is that this "Team W" means nothing in this fighter's personal record within the very international MMA world. Another fighter who seems to be suffering at his particular weight is Superman himself, Dennis Hallman. Since fighting at the 185 lbs. category, Hallman has suffered several losses, and in each loss he seems to run out of gas and then gets manhandled by the opponents power. If you can recall when Superman fought Jorge Rivera in the Octagon, Dennis was completely out powered by the P.R. MAN, and in a very similar way, Ryan McGivern dictated the pace of this fight and basically controlled at least eight minutes of the twelve minute encounter. In Hallman's case, it must be noted that he would rather fight at this weight rather than 170 lbs., perhaps because he is no longer motivated or challenged enough to fight at welterweight.

Begrudging
The thing that seemed a bit baffling to me, as far as the live show goes, was the fact that the main event was the fifth fight of the evening, and the hottest fight of the night was second in the line up. After Buckeye Wes Simms brought the pro wrestling vibe into the ring, it was up to Daniel Gracie to revive the family Aura for those watching live and in TV land, only one week after Royce's return to the octagon. After setting up with some low kicks, the much shorter Daniel clinched the "Mild Retarded Killer" styled man, and with great equilibrium achieved a take down. Suddenly I had a flash back to Rickson Gracie vs. Masakatsu Funaki, as Daniel trapped Wes' arm across his own mug, like when the big brother makes the little bro choke himself. Sims wanting no part of this turned over and exposed his back as Daniel mounted him from behind. But the very tall Sims stood up with the smaller man climbing up his back to his neck, and proceeded to dart forward across the canvass towards the opposite side of the ring and tried to unload Gracie over the ropes. As Simms exerts all his energy to defend the choke, they bounce off the ropes and Simms falls backward like a tall Buckeye tree, with a lion strapped around his neck and back. At 2:21 into the match, Simms was put to sleep, and Gracie soundlessly stood up leaving him tucked into the ground. The crowd was a hootin’ and a hollerin’ after this one, and these two big men definitely set the stage for the night. At the press conference it was rumored that Wes wanted yet another rematch against Daniel whose words after the conquest where simply. "I am a Renzo Gracie Black Belt, that's all I have to say."

Don't let the baby face fool you, this kid is a dangerous rising star at only eighteen years of life. Chris Horodecki the new pride of Canada.

Stealin' The Show
Although the standing n striking war between Rory Markham vs. Brad Blackburn definitely deserved the Fight Of The Night Award as far as team competition goes, it was a young man from Canada who really set the stage on fire at this particular event. Baby faced Chris Horodecki vs. Eric Owings from Renzo's Pitbulls was pure lightning in the darkness of the house. In the first IFL show, Kentucky Lightnin' Owings overwhelmed Tiger Shark Justin Jones with a rapid fire submission, which was over before the fans first sip of a beer. This time, Owings was tested by the new kid in town, who utilized the clinch and worked the legs with dangerous knees. This fight was amazing because every time Owings came forward for a takedown or was about to seemingly out strike the young man, the eighteen year old reacted with a spark giving back everything he took. As they traded at a furiously fast pace, Horodecki refused to go to the ground as Owings twice attempted this strategy. Almost in synthesis with the bell, Horodecki lands a big right straight, followed by a right high kick which sent Owings face forward, followed by another right kick to the face as he "intelligently fell." (New Christian term for gravity) Horodecki definitely deserved to drink a brew after the show, although at the press conference the local puritans seized the young Canadian’s well-deserved trophy. Hell, everything is better in Canada; there they still have civil liberties.

Wrap
Perhaps it will be talent like Horodecki, Jamal Patterson, Bart Palaszewski, Rory Markham, Brad Blackburn or even Eric Owens who in the end will rescue this, as it is all about cultivating new talent in the growing world of MMA. At the same time, the IFL announcing Pat Miletich vs. Renzo Gracie in the future, means that the IFL still recognizes the powers of the individual MMA veterans, and the pulling power of well known names to warm up the show. But next time, lets save the big names for last and have a real main event.

Other Photos & Official Results IFL 06/03/2006 >>