You couldn’t have written a better script. After going down two fights to none in the 2007 IFL World Championship Final, the Quad Cities Silverbacks would not go away quietly. After seeing both of his teammates (Palaszewski & Ellenberger) fall victims to armbars, Ben Rothwell showed why he is the best IFL heavyweight by taking it to Ricco Rodriguez for three rounds to earn the unanimous decision. The weight then shifted on the shoulders of middleweight Ryan McGivern and he delivered with a TKO victory over Fabio Leopoldo in round two to keep hopes of a Silverback repeat title alive. With momentum shifting, the New York Pitbulls and coach Renzo Gracie put all of their hopes on Andre Gusmao against tough IFL veteran, Mike Ciesnolevicz. After a faced paced beginning to the fight, Gusmao knocked his opponent out cold with a knee from the clinch giving the Pitbulls the 2007 IFL World Championship. Here are the official results:
IFL 2007 World Championships
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida
2007 IFL Final: Pitbulls vs. Silverbacks
170lbs: Jake Ellenberger vs. Delson Heleno
Winner: Heleno (Pitbulls) by armbar – 3:45 rd. 2
155lbs: Bart Palaszewski vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
265lbs: Ben Rothwell vs. Ricco Rodriguez
Winner: Rothwell (Silverbacks) by unanimous decision after three rounds
185lbs: Ryan McGivern vs. Fabio Leopoldo
205lbs: Mike Ciesnolevicz vs. Andre Gusmao
*The New York Pitbulls win the series 3-2 and are the 2007 IFL World Champions.
Jamal Patterson def. Chris Baten by choke – 0:56 rd. 1
Rolles Gracie def. Sam Holloway by rear-naked-choke – 1:49 rd. 1
Brad Blackburn vs. Travis Cox – no contest – accidental knee to the head of a downed opponent
Ryan Schultz def. Aaron Riley by unanimous decision after three rounds
