Fight Notes - IFL Semi-Finals
by: hudsonmma 1 year, 2 months, 5 days, 9 hours, 26 minutes ago 0
Email Article Print ArticleThe IFL Semi-Finals were very eventful and here are my conclusive thoughts on the show that put both the Silverbacks and Pitbulls in the Finals.
Breakout stars of the night were Harris Sarmiento, substitute lightweight for the LA Anacondas and Daividas Taurosevicius, substitute lightweight for Renzo Gracie’s NY Pitbulls.
Sarmiento made his IFL debut toe-to-toeing it with the Miletich trained Bart Palaszewski. Palaszewski was given a run for his money by the hard-hitting Sarmiento, who displayed aggressive and skilled striking throughout the match. Despite the loss, via guillotine in the third round, Sarmiento just may have earned himself a future invitation to compete in the IFL.
For his part, Taurosevicius was unafraid to either stand or go to the mat with Sabres’ Savant Young. Taurosevicius came close to submitting Young by armbar in the second round, and Young was dropped by a hard left in the third. Taurosevicius showed a well rounded set of skills that may even inspire Renzo to reconsider his starting line-up (which is pure speculation on my part.)
Post fight both Krzysztof Soszynski, of the Anacondas and Wanye Cole, of the Sabres, expressed an interest in moving down to 205, after tangling with two of the leagues heaviest heavyweights. Soszynski commented that with seven meals a day, he still had trouble keeping on the pounds needed to engage with the likes of Ben Rothwell (Silverbacks). While Cole admitted that he was fatigued having to contend with the considerable mass of the Pitbulls’ Bryan Vetell.
Fight of the Night Honors went to Gerald Harris/Benji Radach (a second such award for Harris in as many IFL outings) and Savant Young/Daividas Taurosevicius. Don’t ask me how you can have more than one ‘Fight of the Night.’ Submission of the night went to Dan Miller of the Pitbulls.
Final Results: Silverbacks def. Anacondas 4-1, Pitbulls def. Sabres 3-2
It will be interesting to see Renzo Gracie’s final line up going into the finals, as injuries necessitated three substitute fighters to appear on behalf of the Pitbulls. The only missing Silverback, Ryan McGivern, was only out because he was getting married. (A hearty congrats to McGivern, btw.)