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INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE

APRIL 4, 2008

IZOD CENTER - EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY

The International Fight league is putting on its second show of the year on Friday, April 4th from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. The show will feature title defenses from champions Wagnney Fabiano, Vladimir Matyushenko, and Jay Hieron. Chris Horodecki will also look to get back on the winning track after losing for the first time in December.

The fight will air live on HDNet..

Love them or hate them, here are my predictions for the fight:

IFL Featherweight Championship
Wagnney Fabiano vs. Shad Lierley

Since suffering his first career loss to Jeff Curran in 2006, Wagnney Fabiano has been on a submission spree. He has won his last 5 fights using an array of chokes and armbars and has put the featherweight division on notice. The challenger, Shad Lierley, has a tough task ahead of him. Lierley is relatively inexperienced. Shad's record stands at 2-1, with all of those fights taking place in the IFL. Lierley is coming off of a loss to Chris Horodecki, and will be dropping down from the 155lbs division for this fight. It is kind of strange to give a title shot to a fighter that is coming off of a loss, but the IFL's featherweight division is still in its infancy.

ODDS

Fabiano -650

Lierley +450

Prediction: Wagnney Fabiano - Submission round 1

IFL Light Heavyweight Championship
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jamal Patterson

Vladimir Matyushenko will be making his first light heavyweight title defense against rising IFL star Jamal Patterson. Patterson is a submission fighter, and has won every one of his 4 victories by submission. Vladimir Matyushenko brings a wealth of experience to the ring, however, and has never been submitted. Vlad has been in the ring with talent like Andrei Arlovski, Pedro Rizzo, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, and Vernon White. That is quite an impressive resume. I expect that Vlad will use his experience to his advantage to keep the fight standing and eventually put Patterson down.

ODDS

Matyushenko -500

Patterson +300

Prediction: Vladimir Matyushenko - TKO Round 2

IFL Welterweight Championship
Jay Hieron vs. Mark Miller
This match is probably one of the best title match ups on the card. The challenger, Mark Miller, is coming off of a surprising knockout win over UFC vet Josh "The Dentist" Neer. That victory probably earned him this title shot. Hieron has been training at Xtreme Couture and his fight game is showing it. He has looked very impressive in his last two wins and I expect him to retain his title.

ODDS

Hieron -350

Miller +275

Prediction: Jey Hieron - Unanimous Decision

As the year progresses and the IFL focuses more on developing their weight classes, the league will should have some stellar championship matches by the years end.

Additional Fights:
Carmelo Marrero vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz
You may remember Carmelo Marrero from the UFC. After bursting onto the scene with a split decision victory over highly touted heavyweight Cheick Kongo, Marrero lost his next two matches and was sent packing from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Marrero's only two losses have come in the UFC and he is coming off of a TKO victory over Rafael Real in November. He is pretty well rounded, but not incredibly exciting to watch.

Mike Ciesnolevicz is an experienced veteran of the sport who has 16 fights under his belt and an impressive 13-3 record. Ciesnolevicz is a product of the Miletich Martial Arts academy and has shown the ability to both knockout and submit his opponents.

ODDS

Marrero -150

Ciesnolevicz +120

Prediction: Ciesnolevicz - Round 3 Unanimous decision

Chris Horodecki vs. Nick Lamotte
Before being utterly handled by Ryan Schultz in December, Chris Horodecki was 11-0 and was the odds on favorite to become the IFL lightweight champion. Horodecki has fought the bulk of his career in the IFL, and the company has a vested interest in him maintaining a winning record. Horodecki is a young guy, and a lot of kids look up to him. Nick Lamotte is a 6-2 fighter who has not fought in any of the bigger shows. This fight will prove to be a big test for him. Win or lose, this is Lamotte’s chance to make an impression on one of the bigger stages in MMA.

Horodecki is looking for a title shot, and a rubber match with Ryan Schultz, so I expect the Xtreme Couture fighter to be dominant in his performance.

ODDS

Horodecki -650

Lamotte +450

Prediction: Horodecki - TKO Round 1

Larry Vollmer Jr. is a mixed martial arts blogger for the Journal News. Check out his blog at http://mma.lohudblogs.com.

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