If you were fortunate enough to catch the IFL Grand prix Finals on HDnet this past Saturday night, then you caught one of the best live mixed martial arts events broadcasted in 2007.

You might not know some of the names, actually you might not know any of them, but these professional mixed martial artists put on a display of energetic, action packed bouts. Each fighter came into the Mohegan Sun arena ready for a war. There were no lay and pray antics and there was no modesty in stand up exchanges. These fighters came out throwing crisp punch/kick combinations, shot for takedowns in ground and pound fits, and worked for submissions all night long.

The first fight of the night went to decision, but after that a fight never got out of 2 minutes into the second round.

MMA legends Randy Couture, Renzo Grazie, Ken Shamrock, Matt Lindland, Carlos Newton, Marcos Ruas, and Ian Freeman were in attendance as corner men for their fighters.

Here are the results of the fight:

Match	Winner	Loser	Method	Round	Time
1	Marcello Salazar	Alex Cook	Decision (Unanimous)	3	4:00
2	Brett Cooper	Rory Markham	TKO (Strikes)	1	1:15
3	Tim Kennedy	Elias Rivera	KO	1	2:00
4	Roy Nelson	Antoine Jaoude	KO (Punch)	2	0:22
5	Wagnney Fabiano	LC Davis	Submission (Armbar)	1	3:38
6	Jay Hieron	Delson Heleno	TKO (Leg injury)	1	4:00
7	Matt Horwich	Benji Radach	KO (Punch)	2	1:58
8	Ryan Schultz	Chris Horodecki	TKO (Strikes)	1	2:51

This is the third IFL event I have been to over the past year and I have not yet been dissapointed. The IFL puts on a quality show from top to bottom. The produciotn value is always top notch and the fights are always entertaining.

The IFL website has a play by play of the fights here .

I took a lot of pictures at the fight. I have 4 different photo galleries you can check out below. The IFL gave me the opportunity to stand ringside at the event so I took some pretty good action shots.

Click the galleries below to check out the pictures. The links will display in a pop up window, so disable your pop up blocker if you wish to view the pictures.

IFL GRAND PRIX WEIGH IN

IFL GRAND PRIX – GALLERY 1

IFL GRAND PRIX – GALLERY 2

IFL GRAND PRIX – GALLERY 3

I attended the International Fight League weigh in last night at the Mohegan Sun. Every fighter made weight and the event went smoothly. Legendary mixed martial artists turned coaches were there preparing their fighters for the weigh in. Ken Shamrock, Matt Lindland, Marco Ruas, Pat Militech, and Ian Freeman were some of the names in attendance.

I got the opportunity to speak with the commissioner of the IFL, Kurt Otto. Kurt was accommodating and pleasant and took the
time to talk to fans.

The photo department at LoHud.com was nice enough to lend me an SLR digital camera. I took some pictures at the weigh in, but the awful windows Vista operating system will not recognize the camera I am using, so I cannot load them up right now. Curse you, Bill Gates. The photos will be up Monday when I get in to work and can use a USB card reader.

I hope to get some pretty good action shots tonight so I will have those up as well.

The IFL World Grand Prix finals will air live tonight in HD on HDnet. Check out their programming lineup here.

The card is as follows:

Preliminary Bouts

170 lbs.: Rory Markham, Silverbacks (Chicago) (2-0 IFL 2008, 6-1 IFL overall, 12-2 MMA overall) vs. Brett Cooper (Long Beach, Calif.) (6-4, 0-0, 0-0)

185 lbs.: Marcello Salazar (Brazil) (0-0, 0-0, 6-1-2) vs. Alex Cook (Whitehaven, England) (0-0, 0-0, 8-5)

185 lbs.: Elias Rivera (Meriden, Conn.) (0-0, 0-0, 3-2) vs. Tim Kennedy, Red Bears (Fayetteville, N.C.) (2-0, 2-0, 8-1)

Championship Bouts

145 lbs.: L.C. Davis, Silverbacks (Kansas City, Mo.) (2-0, 2-0, 9-0) vs. Wagnney Fabiano, Dragons (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (4-0, 4-0, 8-1)

155 lbs.: Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (3-0, 4-2, 17-9-1) vs. Chris Horodecki, Anacondas (London, Ontario) (4-0, 7-0, 11-0)

170 lbs.: Jay Hieron, Anacondas (Las Vegas) (3-1, 5-2, 13-4) vs. Delson Heleno, Pitbulls (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (5-1, 6-2, 13-3)

185 lbs.: Matt Horwich, Wolfpack (Portland, Ore.) (3-1, 5-3, 20-9-1) vs. Benji Radach, Anacondas (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (5-0, 5-0, 17-3)

265 lbs.: Roy Nelson, Lions (Las Vegas) (3-1, 3-1, 9-2) vs. Antoine Jaoude, Condors (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (4-0, 4-0, 8-2)

When the IFL festivities are over, I will be racing back to my hotel to watch UFC 79 from my laptop. By two or three in the morning, I will have seen about 14-16 mixed martial arts fights between two top notch mixed martial arts organizations.

I was originally conflicted about coming to see the IFL live because I did not want to miss the UFC pay per view. Luckily for me, the UFC is offering the ppv on demand for a fee via their website. I’ll get the best of both worlds.

This card is not to be missed. On paper, it looks to be the best UFC card of the year.

Main Card Bouts :
-Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes
-Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
-Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Lyoto Machida
-Melvin Guillard vs. Rich Clementi
-Eddie Sanchez vs. Soa Palalei

Preliminary Bouts :
-Dean Lister vs. Jordan Radev
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Nate Mohr
-James Irvin vs. Luis Cane
-Roan Carneiro vs. Tony DeSouza
-Mark Bocek vs. Doug Evans

In a long-awaited fight to determine the undisputed king of the middleweight division, reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva will take on PRIDE 183-lb. Champion Dan Henderson when the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) makes its third trip to the state of Ohio on Saturday, March 1, 2008 for UFC 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION, live from Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

The UFC visited Columbus, Ohio last year when it held UFC 68: THE UPRISING at Nationwide Arena on March 3. More than 19,000 people attended the sold-out event, which grossed a gate of more than $3 million. The event set a new record for the highest North American attendance figure for a mixed martial arts event, and still stands as the largest gate in Nationwide Arena history.

UFC 82: Pride of a Champion
Nationwide Arena: Saturday, March 1, 2008

Presale
Begins: Saturday, December 29 at 10:00 a.m.
Ends: Saturday, December 29 at 10:00 p.m.

Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and seating is subject to availability. To take advantage of this offer, click HERE and use the password: Middleweight .

If you are in the mood to travel into the city this weekend, then you might want to check out the UFC 79 viewing party hosted by current UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra. The event is taking place at Madison Square Garden.

This comes from the MSG’s website:



UFC 79: “Nemesis” is one of the most highly anticipated UFC events ever. To celebrate, the UFC and Madison Square Garden have teamed up to throw a party for the Tri-State area UFC fans. Come watch the action on The Garden’s huge video boards – PLUS, hang out with UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra and Light Heavyweight Contender Forrest Griffin!



Saturday – December 29
8:30pm – Special Q and A Session with UFC Superstars Matt Serra and Forrest Griffin

10:00pm – UFC 79: ‘Nemesis’ Simulcast
– Georges St-Pierre vs. Matt Hughes (for the Interim World Welterweight Title)
– Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
– Lyoto Machida vs. Rameau Sokoudjou

Plus other great bouts!



GENERAL ADMISSION – $30



The first 100 fans who bring this e-mail to the MSG Box Office will receive a voucher that will admit them into the exclusive pre-event autograph session where you will meet UFC stars Matt Serra, Forrest Griffin, Kenny Florian and Frankie Edgar!

I just received this press release from the IFL:

INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE PUTS AN UNPRECEDENTED FIVE TITLES ON THE LINE FOR DECEMBER 29 “WORLD GRAND PRIX” AT MOHEGAN SUN

Undefeated Chris Horodecki vs. Ryan Schultz, unbeaten Brazilian star Wagnney Fabiano’s debut at featherweight, undefeated Benji “Razor” Radach and rising star Jay Hieron all part of the biggest night of MMA action ever in the northeast

NEW YORK, December 2007 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) today announced several additions to the card for the 2007 IFL World Grand Prix finals, the individual all-star competition for the world’s number one mixed martial arts league. Five Championship bouts, believed to be unprecedented in North America, will take place on Saturday, December 29, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Headlining the upgraded card will be a matchup between undefeated (11-0) star Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (London, Ontario) and slugging lightweight Ryan “The Lion” Schultz (North Platte, Neb.). Schultz is moving into the lightweight spot created when undefeated Brazilian Wagnney Fabiano (5-0) was moved to the new featherweight class where he will fight in 2008. Fabiano will not go untested, meeting another undefeated rising star, L.C. Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) of Pat Miletich’s Silverbacks.

“We have set up what will be one of the memorable nights for fans, and a night which showcases the six weight classes that will be the key component of our 2008 season,” said Kurt Otto, IFL commissioner and co-founder. “Moving Wagnney to his natural featherweight, and having a worthy opponent such as L.C. already in the league, shows our depth of talent and also sets up a great matchup between Chris and Ryan for their natural lightweight title. The other fights, and the undercard featuring a sneak peak at some of our U.K. talent and another rising star in Rory Markham, will make this a night not to be missed.”

In addition, the night will feature title shots at welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight:

At welterweight, the Pitbulls’ Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), the top seed with a 5-1 overall mark this year, takes on Long Island native Jay Hieron of the Anacondas, who has won three of four bouts in 2007.

At middleweight, hard-hitting top-seed Benji Radach (Coconut Creek, Fla.) tries to remain unbeaten (5-0) in the IFL when he battles Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) of the Wolfpack (3-1).

At heavyweight, Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro) also unbeaten in IFL (4-0), goes against Roy “Big Country” Nelson (Las Vegas), who has two punishing TKO’s to his credit among his three victories in 2007.

Horodecki and Fabiano won their IFL World Grand Prix semifinal bouts on November 3, at the Sears Centre in Chicago, along with six others, to advance to the finals. Three other highly-anticipated Championship fights are also on tap for Mohegan Sun, including:

Standout Rory Markham (Chicago) of the Silverbacks will take on Brett Cooper (Long Beach, Calif.), who was selected through the IFL Draft in Los Angeles in October. Alex Cook (Whitehaven, England) will help introduce the new British team, coached by Ian Freeman, which will begin competition in 2008, against Marcello Salazar (Portland, Ore./Brazil) in a rematch from March 2006, won by Cook. Undefeated military vet Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.), one of the bright spots for the Red Bears, battles (local) standout Elias Rivera (Meriden, Conn.) in a middleweight preliminary bout.

Vladimir Matyushenko (El Segundo, Calif./Retchisa, Belarus) claimed the first IFL World Grand Prix Championship belt with a win at 205 lbs. over Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) in Chicago.

Tickets for the Finals can be purchased at the Mohegan Sun box office, online at www.Ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-860-886-0070.

Athletes were selected for the World Grand Prix based on their respective match records during the 2007 regular season. In the event of a tie, competitors with the fastest finishes or best strength of victories earned the higher seeds. The winners will defend their individual belts throughout the 2008 IFL season.

The full rosters for the World Grand Prix Finals follow. Bout order to be determined prior to the weigh-in on Dec. 28.

Championship Bouts

145 lbs.: L.C. Davis, Silverbacks (Kansas City, Mo.) (2-0, 2-0, 9-0) vs. Wagnney Fabiano, Dragons (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (4-0, 4-0, 8-1)

155 lbs.: Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (3-0, 4-2, 17-9-1) vs. Chris Horodecki, Anacondas (London, Ontario) (4-0, 7-0, 11-0)

170 lbs.: Jay Hieron, Anacondas (Las Vegas) (3-1, 5-2, 13-4) vs. Delson Heleno, Pitbulls (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (5-1, 6-2, 13-3)

185 lbs.: Matt Horwich, Wolfpack (Portland, Ore.) (3-1, 5-3, 20-9-1) vs. Benji Radach, Anacondas (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (5-0, 5-0, 17-3)

265 lbs.: Roy Nelson, Lions (Las Vegas) (3-1, 3-1, 9-2) vs. Antoine Jaoude, Condors (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (4-0, 4-0, 8-2)

Preliminary Bouts
170 lbs.: Rory Markham, Silverbacks (Chicago) (2-0 IFL 2008, 6-1 IFL overall, 12-2 MMA overall) vs. Brett Cooper (Long Beach, Calif.) (6-4, 0-0, 0-0)
185 lbs.: Marcello Salazar (Brazil) (0-0, 0-0, 6-1-2) vs. Alex Cook (Whitehaven, England) (0-0, 0-0, 8-5)
185 lbs.: Elias Rivera (Meriden, Conn.) (0-0, 0-0, 3-2) vs. Tim Kennedy, Red Bears (Fayetteville, N.C.) (2-0, 2-0, 8-1)

About the IFL

International Fight League™ (IFL) is the world’s number one 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.

Ever wonder what MMA fighters get paid? Certain athletic commissions require that organizations disclose fighter payroll.

The figures below are base salary figures from World Extreme Cagefighting 31, which took place on December 12 in Las Vegas. World Extreme Cagefighting is owned by Zuffa LLC. Zuffa also owns the UFC.

The numbers do not include bonuses the organization might give; those numbers will remain private. Sometimes an organization will provide a monetary bonus for finishing an opponent by knockout, submission, etc. Best fight of the night is usually awarded a bonus as well.

MAIN EVENT & TITLE MATCH FIGHTERS

-Jens Pulver: $60,000 (1st fight in WEC; defeated Cub Swanson; includes win bonus of $30,000)

-Paulo Filho: $56,000 (2nd fight in WEC; defeated Chael Sonnen; includes win bonus of $18,000)

-Urijah Faber: $40,000 (5th fight in WEC; defeated Jeff Curran; includes win bonus of $20,000)

-Chael Sonnen: $25,000 (2nd fight in WEC; lost to Paulo Filho; win bonus would have been $5,000)

-Jeff Curran: $10,000 (3rd fight in WEC; lost to Urijah Faber; win bonus would have been $4,000)

-Doug Marshall: $10,000 (9th fight in WEC; defeated Ariel Gandulla; includes win bonus of $5,000)

-Cub Swanson: $5,000 (3rd fight in WEC; lost to Jens Pulver; win bonus would have been $5,000)

-Ariel Gandulla: $4,000 (2nd fight in WEC; lost to Doug Marshall; win bonus would have been $4,000)


PRELIMINARY MATCH FIGHTERS

-John Alessio: $26,000 (6th fight in WEC; defeated Todd Moore; includes win bonus of $13,000)

-Charles Valencia: $12,000 (3rd fight in WEC; defeated Ian McCall; includes win bonus of $6,000)

-Bryan Baker: $8,000 (2nd fight in WEC; defeated Eric Schambari; includes win bonus of $4,000)

-Alex Karalexis: $8,000 (4th fight in WEC; lost to Ed Ratcliff; win bonus would have been $8,000)

-Ed Ratcliff: $8,000 (2nd fight in WEC; defeated Alex Karalexis; includes win bonus of $4,000)

-Brian Bowles: $6,000 (2nd fight in WEC; defeated Marcos Galvao; includes win bonus of $3,000)

-Marcos Galvao: $5,000 (1st fight in WEC; lost to Brian Bowles; win bonus would have been $5,000)

-Eric Schambari: $5,000 (3rd fight in WEC; lost to Bryan Baker; win bonus would have been $5,000)

-Todd Moore: $4,000 (1st fight in WEC; lost to John Alessio; win bonus would have been $4,000)

-Ian McCall: $3,000 (2nd fight in WEC; lost to Charles Valencia; win bonus would have been $3,000)


DISCLOSED FIGHTER PAYROLL: $295,000

The International Fight League is teaming up with Paltalk™, the leading real-time, video-based online community. The two companies announced a partnership designed to expose IFL content to a larger worldwide audience and to allow the millions of Paltalk members to get up close and personal with the league’s athletes and coaches.

“Connecting with Paltalk is an innovative way for us to allow fans access to our exciting brand of mixed martial arts through the dynamic personalities who compete in the IFL,” said IFL Senior VP, Live Events and Marketing Mark Selva.  “They have great stories to tell, and it’s exciting to be associated with a company whose platform has attracted many of the biggest entertainment stars and media entities.”    
 
“This partnership with the IFL puts millions of Paltalk members in touch with the growing sport of professional mixed martial arts in a very personal way,” said Joel Smernoff, Paltalk’s president and COO.  “It’s another example of the compelling content available to the Paltalk community.”
 
The IFL debuted on Paltalk on Dec. 7 when charismatic welterweight star Rory Markham served as a guest.  Heavyweight title contender Roy Nelson is scheduled to appear on Dec. 21 (8:30 p.m. EST), with others to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Paltalk rose to prominence when shock jocks Opie and Anthony began using the software to give listeners an insider’s view of their morning show.  The radio hosts broadcast from two separate radio studios and have paltalk cameras equipped at each location.  

if you would like to purchase the Paltalk Software, please visit the website here.

Former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko recently commented to MMAWEEKLY.com that he is definitely interested in a fight with Former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture. The problem does not reside with Fedor or Randy; the problem is with the UFC’s president Dana White.

Dana talks a lot and uses words lightly. Let Randy Couture fight me. Allow this fight that everyone wants to take place. Me, Randy and MMA fans all over the world want it. The only obstacle is Dana.

People want to see this fight and I want to meet him in the ring. I have the greatest respect for Randy and have always admired him. I am also thankful that he has such a high opinion of me.

Dana White wants this fight to happen in the UFC. He wants both fighters under exclusive UFC contracts, however. Fedor Emelianenko turned down all contract offers from the UFC and signed with the new M-1 Fight organization. Randy Couture has opted to sit out the rest of his contract. It has been rumored that a Randy Couture and Fedor Emelienanko fight could happen in October of 2008. The fight would most likely take place outside the UFC.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner is set to return to the octagon after a two-year layoff. According to his website, Evan Tanner has had an adventurous two years since his departure from the UFC.

This is a picture from my first day back after almost two full years of being on the road. I lived off of fast food, drank a lot of beer, and did no training. I spent time in Huntington Beach, Las Vegas, Portland Oregon, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Atlantic City, Kauai Hawaii, Bakersfield, Oceanside, Troutdale, Salt Lake City, so many different places. I took cross country motorcycle trips, drove the Land Cruiser cross country. I rode down the coast of Oregon and California, through the Redwoods, across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, ate clam chowder in Monterrey Bay, saw the wonders of Yosemite, stood beside the Giant Sequouias, watched the sun set over Death Valley, almost fell off the cliffs while hiking the Na Pali Coast of Kauai. Got caught up in some bad things in Huntington Beach, again in Hollywood, ran into some trouble on the ocean when my sailboat sank, ran out of gas in the mountains of California, had countless adventures. I met some great people along the way, and others that I would rather not have met. I started many projects with good intent, some successful, some were miserable failures.

I’ve been a traveler my entire life, constantly on the move, searching for new adventures, seeking knowledge, looking for the truth of things. It has been my way of life. The last two years were a little bit more extreme than usual though. There were so many problems in my personal life, women, drinking, finances, ways of thinking, all which kept me a fraction of my true self in my professional life. I had to burn some things out of my system, I had to catch my breath. Two years on the road.

To those who have been loyal to me as friends and fans, I thank you. Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed when I step back into the Octagon. The picture above represents what a man was. I will show you what a man can become. And I assure you that if I can rise, we all can rise.

Evan has been training full time at Hard Knocks Mauy Thai in Las Vegas.

Tanner’s last MMA fight was a triangle choke submission victory over Justin Levens at UFC 59. With the UFC struggling to find quality opponents for Anderson Silva’s 185lbs title, Evan Tanner will be a welcome addition to the division. Michael “The Count� Bisping has recently announced that he will be dropping to 185lbs so perhaps the timing of the announcement indicates that Bisping will be Tanner’s first opponent since his sabbatical.

A few months ago I wanted to add the ESPN HD channel to my cable lineup. In order to get the channel, I had to buy some channel package that included 6-7 channels I figured I would never, ever watch. For an additional 8 dollars a month, I got ESPN HD and some additional channels I perused through once or twice and never gave a second thought to.

A few months back Mark Cuban announced that he was throwing his hat into the MMA game and was going to use a high definition channel called HDNET as the platform for his brand of mixed martial arts.

I had seemed to recall that HDNET was one of the so thought useless channels I acquired when I acquired ESPN HD.  Low and behold it was, and I am thrilled at the mixed martial arts content this channel provides.

Every Friday night there is a one-hour, commercial free show called Inside MMA. Hosts Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice provide all the latest news and highlights, along with features, analysis, and rankings. The show also includes a panel of professional athletes and sports writers that participate in mma discussions. 

HDNET broadcasts mixed martial arts bouts in beautiful, crisp, high definition. All bouts are commercial free.

To see if you get the channel, check out the HDNET channel availability:
http://www.hd.net/watch_at_home.html

HDNET is jam packed with fights and fight analysis this weekend.

Friday:

Inside MMA: Special guests include MMA fighter and lead writer/editor for ProElite.com, Sam Caplan, Inside MMA #7-ranked Welterweight Karo Parisyan and MMA and Special Forces Trainer Amir Perets. Airs 9:30 PM ET

HDNet Fights Presents
Ring Of Combat XVII – Ring of Combat XVII MMA action from the Tropicana Hotel and Resort in Atlantic City. Featuring Gregor Gracie vs Eric Henry in a Welterweight Superfight. Tournament Finalist will also compete for their belts. Airs 10:30 PM ET


Saturday:

HDNet Fights Presents Countdown to Reckless Abandon – Go inside the training camps and watch the war of words fly as Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg, and others prepare for HDNet Fights’ “Reckless Abandon” – Live on HDNet Dec. 15th at 8PM eastern

Following the Countdown show, the Reckless Abandon card will air.

The fight features UFC veterans Yves Edwards, Edwin Dewees, and Pete Spratt.

The card begins at 8PM eastern time and is as follows:

HDNET FIGHTS: DECEMBER 15, 2007 IN DALLAS, TEXAS

-Jason “Mayhem” Miller vs. Tim Kennedy
-Frank Trigg vs. Edwin Dewees
-Yves Edwards vs. Alonzo Martinez
-Chris Bowles vs. Cory Mahon
-Pete Spratt vs. Tristan Yunker
-Patrick Castillo vs. Jay White
-Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Robert Villegas
-Jason House vs. Liam McCarty
-Lee King vs. Marcus Lanier
-Freddie Espiricueta vs. TBA