The IFL is coming to Houston and we have a fight-of-the-year in the making.
Stephen Quadros wrote a great article detailing the exciting event. Here is an excerpt.
The IFL has been putting on shows for just under a year and we already have our first bona fide in-season super showdown, a battle of two of the best lightweights in the IFL - Chris Horodecki (pronounce Horo-desk-ee) from Bas Rutten’s Anacondas against Bart Palaszewski (pronounced Powa-shev-skee) with the best IFL team thus far, the Silverbacks, led by Pat Miletich.
The match will be part of the second IFL event of the 2007 season, which will be held at the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas on Friday, February 2nd.
The whole article is a great read and it demonstrates why the IFL is becoming more and more relevant. Both Horodecki and Palaszewski are forces to be reckoned with, exciting to watch, and as they accrue more experience, they will be able to rival any lightweight fighter in the world.
The greatest thing is that this meeting of mini-juggernauts will not damage their capabilities to accrue more experience in the future because they fight in a team format and they will continue to fight others regardless of a win or a loss as their team progresses in the season. Most other fighters in the rest of the world do not have this luxury. Usually it is a one-and-done and it's back to the minor league.
This isn't just an abberation either. Ben Rothwell, Alex Schoenauer, Krzysztof Soszynski, Erik Owings, Fabio Leopoldo, Brad Blackburn, Ivan Menjivar, and Rory Markham are all IFL fighters that have gained experience and are becoming forces to be reckoned with in their own rights.