Lori Tyler
© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
May 4, 2007
All photos copyright IFL 2006
On February 2, 2007, Bas Rutten’s Anacondas went to war with Pat Miletich’s Silverbacks for one of IFL’s biggest MMA showdowns.
One of the most anticipated bouts in IFL history was between the two unbeaten lightweights, Chris Horodecki and Bart Palaszewski. This bout went to a split decision, with neither fighter managing to conclusively dominate the other, and only the fans came away from the knuckle-pounding shootout as outright winners. Horodecki vs. Palaszewski II should be a cracker.
Fans were curious as to how Benji Radach, after such a long absence from competition, would shape up for his first return bout – particularly against the highly respected Ryan McGivern.
Conspicuous by his absence was injured Silverback, Rory Markham, who had Victor Moreno standing in for him against Jay Hieron.
And many MMA enthusiasts were curious to see how ‘hired gun’ Matt Thompson would go against the IFL heavyweight’s ‘main man’, Ben Rothwell.
If the team result was not decided before the final bout, fans knew the Schoenauer vs. Ciesnolevicz war was going to be a real nail-biter.
This team feud did not disappoint: Nor did the sizzling ring-card girls.
The Battles
Ben Rothwell (6’5”) vs. Matt Thompson (6’6”)
– Heavyweight
Ben Rothwell entered this bout with a record for having been undefeated in the IFL, with none of his IFL bouts lasting more than one round. Matt Thompson was a stand-in for the injured Anacondas heavyweight, Krzystof Soszynski. A former Golden Gloves boxer, Thompson was a bit of a surprise package coming into this fight, but it was expected he’d be testing Rothwell’s handwork.
Ben Rothwell vs Matt Thompson
Round One
Rothwell opened the match with an inside kick to Thompson’s lead leg, then forced him to the ropes with consecutive lefts and rights. They clinched and Rothwell got off body shots. Thompson responded with knees to Rothwell’s legs and Rothwell elected to stay with the rib-rattlers.
3.26: Ben switched his attack to knees, but still targeted Matt’s left ribs.
2.49: The ref separated them.
2.42: Matt delivered a shin kick to Ben’s right leg and Ben countered with a right fist before backing Matt up with another flutter of punches. However this time Matt was circling rather than backing straight up to avoid the oncoming Rothwell.
2.38: Ben leg-kicked and Matt countered with the right hand.
2.30: Matt leg-kicked and backed away.
2.27: Ben unloaded more heavy leather, which had Matt against the ropes. They clinched and Ben worked Matt’s body some more. Rothwell was outgunning the boxer. The pair proceeded to exchange knees from the clinch.
2.02: Thompson caught Rothwell with a sharp right hook, then scored with another right hook at 1.55, as Rothwell attacked Thompson’s body some more. When they broke free from the clinch, it became apparent Thompson was faring better with his long-range punches.
1.09: Rothwell went for a right high-kick and Thompson returned a right fist.
1.05: Ben tagged Matt with a left high kick, then followed with a right fist that Matt mainly blocked.
1.03: They clinched.
0.53: Matt brought up a knee and caught Ben in the face with his shin, before backing Ben up with long-range punches.
0.47: Ben forced Matt against the ropes and discharged fists, knees and an uppercut, causing Matt to clinch and hold on.
0.34: Ben looked for the takedown, but Matt defended well and fought back with uppercuts. Rothwell was landing his overhand right and delivering punches at all angles, until 0.15, when Thompson caught him with a powerful right fist. They clinched again and Rothwell dodged an uppercut before the round ended. Matt Thompson had become the first opponent to take Ben Rothwell past round one in the IFL.
Round Two
Ben moved in with lefts and rights, and backed Matt into the ropes. But Matt was also unloading hardware and scored with right uppercuts from the clinch.
3.44: He broke free, hurling fists in the process. Surprisingly, he then moved in on Ben and backed him up.
3.24: The ref intervened and had the ring doctor check Matt’s left eye. Matt and the doctor agreed his eye was okay. Another exchange followed. Matt was using his jab more and attacking Ben’s midsection with right punches. Ben appeared to be lining Matt up for the big one. He fired off a right hook, but Matt blocked it well.
2.55: Rothwell got Thompson with a straight right, then a jab, and varied his attack with leg kicks. Thompson utilized his jab and circled: His boxing skills came in handy against Rothwell.
2.22: Ben suddenly changed the tide and closed in with an overhand right, then another fist that sent Matt to the floor. Ben moved in with g’n’p. The ref pulled it up.
Result: Ben Rothwell by TKO – 1.47, Round Two.
Silverbacks 1 Anacondas 0
Jay Hieron (6’0”) vs. Victor Moreno (6’2”)
– Welterweight
Jay Hieron vs Victor Moreno
They circled and poked out tentative jabs.
3.52: Hieron caught Moreno with a stinging leg-kick.
3.41: Moreno lunged in with a right that Hieron avoided and went after Moreno, catching him with a right kick to the body.
3.25: Victor jabbed and Jay answered with another cracker of a leg kick that made Victor spin around to regain his balance.
3.23: Jay missed with a wild spinning back-kick and Victor went for the takedown. Jay clinched to avoid Victor’s attempt; he then swept Victor’s right leg and put him on the mat. Jay was in Victor’s half-guard. Hieron was attacking Moreno’s body and head with left fists.
2.17: Jay got the mount and began g’n’p-ing.
2.12: Victor gave up his back. Jay got his hooks in and latched on a rear naked choke. Victor tapped.
Result: Jay Hieron by rear naked choke – 1.55, Round One.
Silverbacks 1 Anacondas 1
Benji Radach (6’1”) vs. Ryan McGivern (6’0”)
– Middleweight
Benji Radach vs Ryan McGivern
Round One
They touched gloves and started to test the ground.
3.49: Suddenly McGivern king-hit Radach with a huge right that put Radach on his knees, then McGivern swooped in to take Radach’s back and pounded him with rapid-fire right fists. Radach did well to block some of these. Fortunately the ref stayed cool and didn’t jump in prematurely. Benji managed to climb back up and they exchanged knee strikes from the clinch. Ryan attempted a takedown and Benji reversed it, sweeping Ryan’s leg, and landed in his guard.
Originally Ryan was able to muffle most of Benji’s right-fisted pounding until Benji penetrated Ryan’s defense with some heavy-duty lefts and rights. Ryan was sliding outside the ropes, so the ref recommenced the action at center ring. Benji pounded some more.
0.38: They were stood up and brawled it out before clinching. McGivern brought up a nice high-knee shot.
0.18: The ref separated them. More wildfire action led up to the bell.
Round Two
Radach was expecting McGivern to come out again with another bone-rattler, and was ready to meet the challenge. The two men exchanged a leather broadside, before clinching. This was high-octane action. After some brief clinching, Ryan moved in on Benji and Benji unloaded a powerful left hand. Ryan lost his footing and Benji closed in with more big left and right fists. These were heavy-duty hammers. The ref shut it down, and Benji Radach had won his first comeback fight.
Result: Benji Radach by TKO – 2.22, Round Two.
Anacondas 2 Silverbacks 1
Chris Horodecki (5’8”) vs. Bart Palaszewski (5’9”)
– Light Heavyweight
Chris Horodecki vs Bart Palaszewski
Round One
Southpaw, Horodecki, got this highly anticipated fight rolling with a leg kick to Palaszewski’s inner left thigh. Bart was whipping out his jab and missed with a high kick.
3.46: Chris came back with an outer-thigh kick. Bart initiated a leg-kick trade-off before Horodecki caught one of Palaszewski’s kicks and took him down to his knees. But Bart managed to climb back to his feet, and they fought from the clinch.
2.58: The ref broke it up. There was another scuffle at center ring with Palaszewski appearing to get the better of the exchange. Horodecki was landing with leg licks, then at 2.21, he varied his attack and tried a high kick that Palaszewski blocked.
2.19: They clinched. Both men failed to take the other down.
2.00: Chris started holding the ropes and was warned by the ref for doing so.
1.46: Chris delivered a right knee in the clinch, and as they separated Bart tagged Chris with a right and left fist.
1.36: Another trade: Horodecki scored with a right; Palaszewski replied with a left, then a crisp right, and Horodecki followed with a right kick that Palaszewski took on his arm.
1.29: Chris came in with a right fist and left high kick that Bart narrowly avoided, and countered with a jab.
1.25: Bart missed landing a jab, but slapped out a shin kick to Chris’s left leg.
1.14: Horodecki ripped a right mitt into Palaszewski’s midsection. They swapped fists and Bart got a choice left hook in at
1.07. The pair continued to vigorously test each other, with an uppercut from Bart punishing Chris.
0.58: Horodecki dispatched a leg kick.
0.52: He caught Palaszewski’s right kick, but Bart smacked Chris with a right hook, then moved in with a barrage of fists and a right knee to Chris’s body, before they clinched. Bart continued to knee Chris’s body.
0.41: He tossed Horodecki to the ground from the clinch and pounded.
0.33: Horodecki stood and Palaszewski fitted him with a guillotine. Horodecki grabbed the ropes until the ref warned him to let go.
0.19: They started to waltz around the ring with Chris still unable to shake Bart’s guillotine. He was alleviating the full strength of the choke by pushing Bart’s right thigh away and gaining some leverage.
0.11: Chris fell through the ropes and as ring announcer Stephen Quadros stated, “ He (Horodecki) bought himself some very valuable time there.”
Round Two
3.36: Horodecki crashed a solid left kick into Palaszewski’s body.
3.31: They clinched and Chris swept Bart down and was fighting from Bart’s guard. Bart managed to tie Chris up till 2.51, when the ref restarted the play. Horodecki slung in another leg kick, while Palaszewski countered with right and left fists. The toe-to-toe continued – the exchange rate was pretty even.
2.26: Horodecki backed Palaszewski up with gloves and a leg kick. Bart unleashed a jab and Chris contributed with a strong right and left, and a high kick.
2.15: Chris closed in again and looked for the takedown. Bart resisted in the clinch, so Chris peppered his legs with more knees.
1.51: The ref separated the warriors. But Chris was feeling generous and gave Bart’s legs some more treatment.
1.18: Chris landed a left and right mitt before taking Bart down and fighting from his half guard against the ropes. They were stood up and Bart finished the round off well with his stand-up combat.
Round Three
3.49: Palaszewski rushed Horodecki with a leaping right knee, however Horodecki caught Palaszewski’s leg and took him down. Chris was on top of Bart, before Bart worked his feet under Chris’s body and pushed him flying overhead and through the ropes.
3.18: Horodecki picked off Palaszewski with a right fist and leg kick. He followed with another leg kick.
3.15: Bart countered with an inside leg kick, then a right, left, right combo that put Chris on his butt. Chris climbed straight back up. Bart shot in with a lunging knee, but missed, and unloaded fists which Chris mainly deflected as he backed away.
2.47: Horodecki took Palaszewski down and fought from his guard.
2.19: Chris stood and kicked Bart, before falling back on him. Bart looked to get a kimura on Chris, but it didn’t happen. They rolled, before Bart caught Chris with a knee as they were standing. The ref warned Bart for the knee.
0.22: Horodecki took Palaszewski to the floor and seemed to finish stronger.
Result: Chris Horodecki by split-decision.
Anacondas 3 Silverbacks 1
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Alex Schoenauer
– Light Heavyweight
Unfortunately footage of this bout was unavailable at the time the event was reviewed by knucklepit.com.
Mike Ciesnolevicz vs Alex Schoenauer
Result: Mike Ciesnolevicz by split decision.
Anacondas 3 Silverbacks 2
Emily Miller & Evander Holyfield
