IFL Announce 2008 Season Opener

The International Fight League will kick off the new season with a bang in Las Vegas. The first event of 2008 will feature three title defences.

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 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.

Horwich, who claimed the middleweight title with a victory over Benji Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) at the International Fight League: 2007 World Grand Prix Finals on December 29, will defend his crown against Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.), who won all three of his IFL match ups 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 defence 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 match ups,” 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 match ups 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 match up 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 Benji Radach will compete for Xtreme Couture in a middleweight bout. One other match up will also be contested, athletes TBD.

These are exciting times for the International Fight League. The promotion has long been the subject of rumours about it’s financial health, but they will go into the new season on the back of a series of positive headlines. The IFL have secured a number of high profile television contracts over the last few months. The International Fight League have revamped their team format to make it a more camp based affair and added some teams - including one based in the United Kingdom under Ian "The Machine" Freeman They have also left the door open to outsiders to fight on their cards. This obviously creates the opportunity for some high profile fighters to make guest appearances.