So. Calif., Quad Cities Move to 2-1, Still Alive For Playoff Berths; Smith Tops Ruas in Superfight
CHICAGO, May 19, 2007 - The Southern California Condors and Quad Cities Silverbacks kept their respective playoff hopes alive with International Fight League victories tonight before 5,286 at the Sears Centre. The Condors defeated the San Jose Razorclaws and the Silverbacks took out the host Chicago Red Bears, both by 3-2 counts, in the final regular-season matches for each team.
With the win, the Silverbacks (2-1 team, 9-6 individual), who won the 2006 IFL Legends and IFL World Team Championships, move into fourth place in the IFL standings. The Condors (2-1, 8-7) currently sit in fifth, but with a very slim chance to qualify. The top four teams in the 12-team circuit advance to the IFL playoffs, set for August 2 (semifinals, E. Rutherford, N.J.) and September 15 (finals, Los Angeles).
Maurice Smith, coach of the Tiger Sharks, defeated Marco Ruas, coach of the Condors, by fourth-round TKO in the Superfight which followed the team matchups.
In the first matchup, Donnie Liles gave the Razorclaws (0-3, 4-11) an early 1-0 edge by tapping out Rodrigo Ruas (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) via keylock, late in the first round of their welterweight bout.
Heavyweight Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) evened things up for the Condors with a unanimous decision over Dan Christison (Las Vegas).
Emanuel Newton (Toreno, Calif.) won the pivotal middleweight bout with a first-round TKO over Jeff Quinlan (San Jose, Calif.), securing a side choke for the win.
Adam Lynn (Huntington Beach, Calif.) earned a unanimous decision over Josh Odom (Tallahassee, Fla.) in the lightweight bout to secure the team win for the Condors.
San Jose’s Brian Foster (Moreno Valley, Calif.) scored a first-round TKO over Justin Levens (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) for the final 3-2 margin to SoCal.
In the nightcap, lightweight Bart Palaszewski (Wonder Lake, Ill.) opened the scoring with a bang, knocking out John Strawn (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) with a vicious right early in the first round for a 1-0 Silverbacks lead.
Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) doubled the advantage with a light heavyweight TKO over local favorite Adam Maciejewski (Chicago) in the second round.
Tim Kennedy (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) pulled the Red Bears (0-3, 4-11) to within 2-1 by choking out Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) in the second round of their middleweight bout.
But Ben Rothwell (Kenosha, Wis.) earned a dominant submission victory over Travis Fulton (Cedar Falls, Iowa) in the heavyweight bout to give the Silverbacks the victory.
Mark Miller (Chicago) thrilled the hometown crowd with a first-round KO of Josh Neer (Des Moines, Iowa) to give the Red Bears a second point.
In the preliminary bouts which preceded the regular team competition, Danny Suarez of the Condors took a decision from Clint Coronel of the Razorclaws in a bout that was drawn after three rounds, necessitating a fourth round, and L C Davis of the Silverbacks submitted Jay Estrada of the Red Bears via guillotine choke early in the second round.
The IFL next visits the Everett Events Center in Everett, Wash., where Smith’s host Seattle Tiger Sharks take on the first-place Los Angeles Anacondas and the unbeaten Tokyo Sabres tackle the 2006 World Team Champion runner-up Portland Wolfpack.
About the IFL
International Fight League™ (IFL) is the world’s first professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.
