IFL World Team Championship Semifinals, Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Ore., Nov. 2, 200 Teams Advance To Dec. Finals; Whitehead Tops Kerr, Goes defeats D. Gracie in Superfights PORTLAND, Ore., November 2, 2006 ? The Silverbacks and Wolfpack claimed victories at tonight?s International Fight League World Team Championships before an enthusiastic IFL-record crowd of 7,632 at Memorial Coliseum. The Silverbacks, based in Quad Cities, Iowa/Ill., and coached by Pat Miletich, topped the Dragons, who train in Toronto and are coached by Carlos Netwton, by a 4-1 score. In the other semifinal, the homestanding Portland-based Wolfpack, coached by Matt Lindland, edged the Anacondas, based in Los Angeles and coached by Bas Rutten, 3-2. As a result of their victories, the Silverbacks and Wolfpack advanced to the IFL World Team Championship Final at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Dec. 29. In the two Superfights which followed the team competition, Mike Whitehead (Salt Lake City) registered a first-round TKO of Mark Kerr (Portland, Ore.), and Allan Goes (Rio de Janeiro) defeated Daniel Gracie (Rio de Janeiro) with a second-round TKO. In the Silverbacks-Dragons matchup, lightweight Bart Palaszewski (Wonderlake, Ill.) drew first blood for Quad Cities, winning a split decision against Ivan Menjivar (Montreal). Rory Markham (Chicago) put his team up, 2-0, winning via TKO when the Dragons? Keith Wisniewski (Portage, Ind.) could not answer the bell for the fourth round, which was necessitated by a draw after three rounds. Joe Doerksen (Winnipeg, Manitoba) submitted Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) in the middleweight fight to cut Toronto?s deficit in half, on a rear naked choke. But Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) clinched the victory for the Silverbacks by choking out Brent Beauparlant (Ottawa, Ontario) to earn the light heavyweight point. Ben Rothwell (Kenosha, Wis.) tapped out Wojtek Kaszowski (Toronto) in the heavyweight bout via keylock for the final 4-1 margin. Miletich praised all his athletes, but made particular note of Ciesnolevicz. ?Building momentum early on the game was important,? he noted, ?but Mike C is one heck of a competitor. That guy?s a horse.? For his part, Ciesnolevicz added, ?Clinching the win for the team is the greatest moment I?ve ever had in fighting.? In the other semifinal, the Anacondas? Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) took it to Ryan Schultz (Gresham, Ore.), winning by TKO early in the second round to give the Anacondas the early 1-0 lead. In what may have been the most exciting bout of the entire evening, welterweights Jay Hieron (Las Vegas) and Chris Wilson (Portland, Ore.) slugged away for three full rounds, with Wilson taking the unanimous decision for the Wolfpack to event the score at 1-1. Matt Horwich (Gresham, Ore.) of the Wolfpack scored a second-round win by submission over Mike Pyle (Dresden, Tenn.) in the middleweight bout; before Aaron Stark (Portland, Ore.) secured the triumph for the Wolfpack with a submission of Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) in the light heavyweight matchup. Anacondas heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski (Winnipeg, Manitoba) earned a submission win over Devin Cole (Medford, Ore.) for the final 3-2 count. ?This was a true team effort,? said Lindland. ?We knew coming in how good a fighter each one of the Anacondas was, but our guys came in really focused and aggressive. With that crowd behind us, we were especially happy to get the win and move to the finals.? About the IFLFounded in 2005 by Kurt Otto, a real estate investor and a life-long martial arts participant and Gareb Shamus, chairman of Wizard Entertainment Group, the International Fight League? (IFL) was created to establish a centralized and structured organization that brings the power and influence of the mixed martial arts industry together. On August 25, 2006, IFL entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Paligent, Inc. (PGNT:OTCBB), pursuant to which IFL would emerge as the surviving entity. For further information regarding the merger, contact Paligent at (212) 755-5461. For more information on the IFL, go to www.IFL.tv. Event Results Silverbacks (Quad Cities) def. Dragons (Toronto), 4-1LW/155: Bart Palaszewski, Silverbacks def. Ivan Menjivar, Dragons, via decision (split), after third roundWW/170: Rory Markham, Silverbacks def. Keith Wisniewski, Dragons, via TKO (can?t answer bell), after third roundMW/185: Joe Doerksen, Dragons def. Ryan McGivern, Silverbacks, via submission (rear naked choke), 3:04, 3rd.LH/205: Mike Ciesnolevicz, Silverbacks, def. Brent Beauparlant, Dragons, via submission (guillotine choke), 2:31, 1stHW/265: Ben Rothwell, Silverbacks, def. Wojtek Kaszowski, Dragons, via submission (keylock), 3:14, 1st Wolfpack (Portland) def. Anacondas (Los Angeles) , 3-2LW/155: Chris Horodecki, Anacondas def. Ryan Schultz, via TKO (strikes), 0:24, 2ndWW/170: Chris Wilson, Wolfpack, def. Jay Hieron, Anacondas, via decision (unanimous), after three roundsMW/185: Matt Horwich, Wolfpack, def. Mike Pyle, Anacondas, via submission (rear naked choke), 1:02, 2ndLH/205: Aaron Stark, Wolfpack, def. Alex Schoenauer, Anacondas, via submission (guillotine choke), 2:43, 2ndHW/265: Krzysztof Soszynski, Anacondas d. Devin Cole, Wolfpack, via submission (armbar), 1:14, 2nd SuperfightsAllan Goes def. Daniel Gracie, via TKO (strikes), 1:03, 2ndMike Whitehead def. Mark Kerr, via TKO (strikes), 2:40, 1st Bonus Awards for the Night1st Bracket: Silverbacks vs. DragonsSubmission of the Night: Joe Doerksen, DragonsFastest Finish of the Night: Mike Ciesnolevicz, SilverbacksMost Exciting Fight: Rory Markham, Silverbacks, vs. Keith Wisniewski, Dragons 2nd Bracket: Anacondas vs. WolfpackSubmission of the Night/Fastest Finish: Krzysztof Soszynski, AnacondasSubmission of the Night: Matt Horwich, WolfpackMost Exciting Fight: Chris Wilson, Wolfpack vs. Jay Hieron, Anacondas Most Valuable Athlete: Chris Horodecki, Anacondas
