Horwich, Nelson, Schultz First To Defend Titles At IFL's First 2008 Event At Orleans Arena In Las Vegas

Courtesy of the International Fight League:

Team Xtreme Couture, Mario Sperry’s MMA Top Team To Make IFL Debuts; Team Quest To Battle Lions Den In Other Team Matchup

NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2008 – IFL titleholders Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.), Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) and Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) will defend their belts when the International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI)opens its 2008 schedule with an eight-bout card at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday, February 29. In addition to the three Championship bouts, team competition will feature Matt Lindland’s Team Quest vs. Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den and Team Xtreme Couture vs. Mario Sperry’s MMA Top Team.

Tickets go on sale beginning on January 12 and are available at www.orleansarena.com, all Coast Casino box offices, The Galleria at Sunset, by calling 702-284-7777 or by visiting www.ifl.tv.

Horwich, who claimed the middleweight title with a victory over Benji Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) at the IFL World Grand Prix on December 29, will defend his crown against Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.), who won all three of his IFL matchups in 2007 with first- or second-round finishes. Nelson, who knocked out Antoine Jaoude (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to win the heavyweight crown, will take on IFL newcomer Fabiano Scherner (Portland, Ore./Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), who trains with Lindland at Team Quest. Schultz, whose lightweight victory over Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) raised eyebrows in the entire MMA community, makes the first defense of his lightweight belt against John Gunderson (Medford, Ore.), who competes for the Lions Den.

“This card is a good example of how the flexibility of our new format makes for great matchups,” said IFL Commissioner Kurt Otto. “Fans will get to see three Championship bouts, plus some exciting team competition feeding some of our upcoming title fights.”

The rest of the card includes several matchups between top IFL athletes vying for spots in future title bouts. Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.) of Team Quest will take on Dennis Davis (Las Vegas) of MMA Top Team, with the winner possibly earning a title bout in the featherweight division; the crown is currently held by Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The Lions Den’s Pat Healy (St. Louis) will take on a Team Quest welterweight matchup that may determine a future title bout at 170 lbs. (Team Xtreme Couture’s Jay Hieron of Las Vegas holds the belt at present).

Additionally, Marcello Salazar (Portland, Ore.) will represent MMA Top Team at 170 lbs. against an opponent to be determined, and Radach will compete for Xtreme Couture in a middleweight bout. One other matchup will also be contested, athletes TBD.

IFL Las Vegas
Friday, February 29, 2008

Preliminary Bout
145 lbs.: Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.) (0-2 IFL, 8-7 overall MMA) vs. Dennis Davis (Las Vegas) (0-0, 13-6)

Team Xtreme Couture vs. MMA Top Team (Mario Sperry)
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Marcello Salazar (Portland, Ore.) (1-0, 7-1-2)
185 lbs.: Benji Radach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) (5-1, 17-4) vs. TBD
TBD: matchup TBD

Team Quest (Matt Lindland) vs. Lions Den (Ken Shamrock)
170 lbs.: TBD vs. Pat Healy (St. Louis) (2-1, 18-12)
*155 lbs.: **Ryan Schultz (North Platte, Neb.) (5-2, 18-9-1) vs. John Gunderson (Medford, Ore.) (2-2, 15-5)
*265 lbs.: **Roy Nelson (Las Vegas) (4-1, 11-2) vs. Fabian Scherner (Portland, Ore.) (0-0, 7-5)

Championship Bout
*185 lbs.: Tim Kennedy (Fayetteville, N.C.) (3-0, 9-2) vs. **Matt Horwich (Portland, Ore.) (6-3, 21-9-1)

*Championship Bout
**Current Titleholder

About the IFL

International Fight League™ (IFL) has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.