Ken Shamrock?s Squad Tops Brother Frank?s; Marco Ruas? Southern Calif.-based team also victorious at ORACLE Arena; Horn Wins Superfight Following Team CompetitionOAKLAND, Calif., January 19, 2007 — The Condors, based in Southern California and coached by Marco Ruas, and the Lions, based in Reno, Nev., and coached by Ken Shamrock, won their respective season-opening International Fight League matchups today in front of 5,005 at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland, Calif. MMA veteran Jeremy Horn (Salt Lake City) won the Superfight which followed the team bouts, scoring a split decision over Niko Vitale (Honolulu).The mixed martial arts competition marked the first of 11 events on the 2007 IFL schedule, the most comprehensive advance schedule in the history of fight sports. Ruas? Condors edged the Tiger Sharks, based in Seattle and coached by Maurice Smith, 3 bouts to 2, while the Lions got past the Razorclaws by the same 3-2 count.In the opening matchup, lightweight Shad Lierley (Seattle) got the Tiger Sharks off to a quick start with a first-round TKO, flooring Adam Lynn (Pittsburgh) with a series of strikes before the referee stopped the bout just 44 seconds in. Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) drew the Condors even with a unanimous decision over Curtis Crawford (Portland, Ore.) in the heavyweight bout, before Danny Suarez (Redondo Beach, Calif.) pushed the Condors ahead with a first-round submission win over Tristan Wit (Seattle) in a battle of lightweights, substituting as alternates for the regularly-scheduled welterweight bout. Suarez caught Wit with a triangle choke for the tap-out. Middleweight Jeremy Williams (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) secured the victory for the Condors, defeating Bristol Marunde (Sequim, Wash.) with the last of a series of chokes, a triangle choke which ended by referee stoppage at 1:13 of the first round. Tiger Sharks light heavyweight Reese Andy (Billings, Mont.) scoreda unanimous decision over Justin Levens (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) for the final 3-2 margin.In the battle between the Shamrocks, lightweight John Gunderson (Medford, Ore.) tapped out Josh Odom (Tallahassee, Fla.) with a triangle choke in the last minute of the first round to give Ken?s Lions first blood. Heavyweight Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) took out Vince Lucero (Casa Grande, Ariz.) with a barrage of punches following a takedown for a first-round TKO to extend the Lions? margin to 2-0. Clint Coronel (San Jose, Calif.) shaved the Razorclaws? deficit in half with a second-round TKO of fellow lightweight Joe Martin (Susanville, Calif.), in which he used a straight-right to sting Martin, then followed with a barrage of punches to induce the referee stoppage. Welterweight Pat Healy (St. Louis) then earned the Lions the victory with a unanimous decision over Ray Steinbeiss (Phoenix). The Razorclaws? middleweight Brian Foster (Moreno Valley, Calif.) completed the scoring with a second-round TKO of Daniel Molina (Carson City, Nev.), as the Lions took the match, 3-2.The IFL next moves to Houston, where the Anacondas (Los Angeles) meet the Silverbacks (Quad Cities) and the Sabres (Tokyo) battle the Scorpions (Tucson) on February 2 at the Reliant Arena.The IFL is the world?s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league. Each of the 12 IFL teams for 2007 will compete in three regular season events; the teams with the top four overall win-loss team records will advance to the semi-finals, which will be held on Thursday, August 2, 2007 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL Finals will then be held at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 15, 2007.The 10 venues for the 2007 season (The Forum in Los Angeles will host two events) will scale to between 7,000 and 13,000 seats, which has been consistent with the IFL?s plan of managed growth.About the IFLInternational Fight League? (IFL) is the world?s first professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York, NY and offices in Las Vegas, NV. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tvInternational Fight LeagueORACLE Arena, Oakland, Calif., January 19, 2007Condors (Southern Calif.) def. Tiger Sharks (Seattle), 3-2LW/155 lbs.: Shad Lierley, Tiger Sharks, def. Adam Lynn, Condors, via TKO (strikes), 0:44, 1st roundHW/265 lbs.: Antoine Jaoude, Condors def. Curtis Crawford, Tiger Sharks, via decision (unanimous) after three roundsLW/155 lbs. (alt.): Danny Suarez, Condors, def. Tristan Wit, Tiger Sharks, via submission (triangle choke), 1:44, 1st roundMW/185 lbs.: Jeremy Williams, Condors, def. Bristol Marunde, Tiger Sharks, via TKO (triangle choke), 1:13, 1st roundLH/205 lbs.: Reese Andy, Tiger Sharks, def. Justin Levens, Condors, via decision (unanimous) after three roundsLions (Reno, Nev.) def. Razorclaws (San Jose, Calif.), 3-2LW/155 lbs.: John Gunderson, Lions, def. Josh Odom, Razorclaws, via submission (triangle choke), 3:05, 1st roundHW/265 lbs.: Roy Nelson, Lions, def. Vince Lucero, Razorclaws, via TKO (ref stoppage), 1:58, 1st roundLW/155 lbs. (alt.): Clint Coronel, Razorclaws, def. Joe Martin, Lions, via TKO (ref stoppage), 0:45, 2nd roundWW/170 lbs.: Pat Healy, Lions, def. Ray Steinbeiss, Razorclaws, via decision (unanimous) after three roundsMW/185 lbs.: Brian Foster, Razorclaws, def. Daniel Molina, Lions, via TKO (ref stoppage), 2:05, 2nd roundSuperfight190 lbs.: Jeremy Horn def. Niko Vitale, via decision (split), after five roundsIFL Standings Through Jan. 19Team Overall MatchCondors 1-0 3-2Lions 1-0 3-2Anacondas 0-0 0-0Dragons 0-0 0-0Wolfpack 0-0 0-0Pitbulls 0-0 0-0Red Bears 0-0 0-0Sabres 0-0 0-0Scorpions 0-0 0-0Silverbacks 0-0 0-0Razorclaws 0-1 2-3Tiger Sharks 0-1 2-3Special Awards(Tiger Sharks vs. Condors)Best KO ? Shad Lierley, Tiger SharksBest submission ? Jeremy Williams, CondorsFastest finish ? Shad Lierley, Tiger SharksMost exciting fight ? Reese Andy, Tiger Sharks, vs. Justin Levins, Condors(Lions vs. Razorclaws)Best KO -Best submission ? John GundersonFastest Finish ? Roy NelsonFight of the Night ? Dan Molina vs. Brian FosterMost Valuable Fighter ? John Gunderson
