The IFL has been hammered for many things by fans, and often justifiably so.  The tape delays on the broadcasts made them difficult to become immersed in, and the regional team format never exceeded the exalted rank of ‘cheesy.’  This Grand Prix has answered the call.  Tournaments are the most definitive way to determine who is the best (just ask any LSU or Hawaii Football Fan) and MMA fans get gleefully nostalgic when thinking about the UFC’s early days.

The IFL took a page out of PRIDE’s old playbook and put this one together for us and the final card is solid.  Not only do we see the culmination of the tournament, but there’s five title fights.  Yep, that’s right; five.  Hard to find that anywhere.  In addition to that, it’s free if you got the right cable package!  Good stuff all around and with the exception of the light heavyweights, every division will be active.  Five men will join Vladimir Matyushenko as inaugural IFL champs in their respective weight classes and we can drink it all in without spending any more money than we already have.

The Title Fights
Featherweight: Wagnney Fabiano (8-1) vs. L.C. Davis (9-0)

The two 145lbers both sport a spotless record in the IFL, and only one loss beyond it; combined.  The WEC has proven that the lighter weight classes are exciting as hell, and Fabiano and Davis are no exception. 

Davis brings the patented Miletich offensive, a headstrong approach with a foundation of strong wrestling, good conditioning and judicious hands.  Davis has gone on record saying he can handle Fabiano on the feet and he’ll keep it there. By my estimation, he’d better.  The 5’6” Brazilian has shown surprising strength, and combined with superior jiu-jitsu skills is on a 4-0 tear behind four submissions. 

Aggressive wrestling has played into the hands of the slick jiu-jitsu artists before, and I look for the same to happen here. The Carlos Newton trained fighter will be the strongest opponent Davis has tangled with. Fabiano’s recent move from lightweight down to his natural 145lb world will make him the IFL’s first Featherweight champ.

My Pick:  Fabiano by Armbar, Round 2

Lightweight: Chris Horodecki (11-0) vs. Ryan Schultz (17-9-1)

The entire MMA world is well aware of who Horodecki is by now.  The IFL posterboy possesses that strange cocktail of boyish looks and deadly fighting ability that is tough to resist.  At just 20 years of age, the Polish kickboxer is poised to be an MMA superstar. There’s only one man standing in his way, and that’s Schultz. 

The scrappy Schultz hails from Team Quest and should look to employ a grinding ground and pound attack.  These two faced off in November ’06 and Horodecki finished the Oregon native early in the second frame.  He no doubt wants that to happen again, and as Shad Lierley proved Chris is at his least dangerous when he’s on his back.

The records of the two fighters are trending in polar opposite directions; Horodecki with eleven straight wins and the ten year elder Schultz posting a 6-5 record.  The discrepancy is a little misleading.  Schultz has fought much tougher competition, notably recent UFC contender Hermes Franca and Rich Clementi over his last eleven.  He also has wins over the UFC’s great Hispanic hope Roger Huerta, Jason Dent and took ‘JZ’ Calvancante to a draw.

All signs point toward The Polish Hammer being another A-Class 145lber, and he’ll hand the Gresham native his tenth loss of his career.  The Hammer’s striking shoots in from all angles, and the especially swift right leg of Horodecki will wear down the wrestler for the first eight minutes, paving the way for a late TKO win.  The IFL will crown its first LW champ, and top-ten lists everywhere will be forced to take notice.

My Pick:  Horodecki by TKO, Round 3

More...

The International Fight League will end their year on Saturday night by putting on their final event as part of the Grand Prix series. The final matches will determine the new divisional titles and set up future title matchups for the IFL, something that is new to the promotion. Unfortunately for the IFL, injuries, contract problems, and overall bad luck have plagued the Grand Prix events and caused a huge gap in the talent pool that the IFL cannot seem to remedy.

The IFL has an even taller task in trying to compete with the UFC's own event, UFC 79. It's evident that the IFL is looking to only grab up a very small portion of viewers and not the mainstream fans that will be tuning into the UFC. Nonetheless, the IFL Grand Prix final has a couple of interesting matchups, and we'll briefly look at the card in its entirety.

Jay Hieron vs. Delson "Pe de Chumbo" Heleno

The most interesting bout of the night by far pits a fairly well-rounded Jay Hieron against a phenomenal grappler in Delson Heleno. Hieron has fought some tough competition in the past, but has lost some battles that were questionable as far as his opponent's talent level. Hieron's main weakness has been his inability to finish opponents, but for the most part, he's well-rounded and is very durable in the ring. He'll use his superior striking abilities to most likely keep this fight standing, and will try to avoid being submitted by using his good wrestling skills.

Heleno will counter the rough ground and pound style of Hieron with an excellent Brazilian jiu-jitsu background. Heleno doesn't have impressive wins over high quality opponents, but he definitely has a submission game that can defeat quality guys that begin to step in front of him. That is what Heleno's goal will be on Saturday.

Prediction: Hieron by decision

Hieron has a much better standup game and has never been submitted in his career. He also has the backing of some solid training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Look for Hieron to pull this win out.
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Chris Horodecki vs. Ryan "The Lion" Schultz

A rematch of a battle that happened in IFL's semifinals last year, this should be a clear cut win for Horodecki. Since nearly all of Horodecki's opponents leading up to this Grand Prix final were injured or moved away from the bout, Schultz will get a chance to redeem a loss.

Fact is, Horodecki is a dynamic striker with excellent takedown defense, and he is only improving with his training at Xtreme Couture. I see no reason why Schultz will be able to win this fight, especially when many of his losses are by way of TKO.

Prediction: Horodecki by second round TKO/KO
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Benji Radach vs. Matt Horwich

Another matchup that has a small amount of intrigue surrounding it. Both Middleweights have solid experience in the cage, but both have styles that are completely opposite of each other. Radach is a devastating striker whereas Horwich is primarily a submission weapon. Radach boasts 13 KO/TKO's in 17 wins and Horwich has 18 submissions in 20 wins, heavy percentage of wins in one area for both fighters.

Radach does have some excellent wrestling ability and has never been submitted. His takedown defense is excellent, and it will be a tough task for Horwich to avoid Radach's power striking if he's stuffed during a shoot. This would be the ideal situation for Radach, but Horwich has never been knocked out. Will Radach's wrestling be enough to avoid the submissions and stop Horwich's own takedown attempts?

Prediction: Radach by TKO, second round.

Radach is a very strong striker and has the wrestling skills to back up his standup style. Horwich has lost some big fights by submission, but has never been knocked out or stopped. Look for Horwich to be stopped by Radach's power.
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Antoine Jaoude vs. Roy Nelson

The battle of the heavyweights in the IFL has never really been an interesting prospect. Rothwell blew through the division, then had contract issues with the IFL and the Grand Prix event at the end of the year. This fight does, however, feature Antoine Jaoude, who narrowly lost to Rothwell.

The most significant difference between both fighters is the weight factor. Nelson will most likely have 20-30 lbs. on Jaoude, but Jaoude has shown better skill in his most recent contests. Nelson may have some serious trouble with Jaoude's skills in general.

Prediction: Jaoude by decision.

I think Jaoude can outlast Nelson and also show off some better wrestling skills in the process.
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Wagnney Fabiano vs. LC Davis

After the IFL ruined the potential matchup of Fabiano vs. Horodecki, he was relegated to a lower weight division and now has to face a tough LC Davis who is 9-0. Both men are primarily jiu-jitsu fighters with some decent standup skills. Davis has an impressive win over Jay Estrada, but most of his competition hasn't been on a world class level. He combined decent power in his hands with an excellent ground game. Fabiano will be a very tough test.

Fabiano comes straight out of Rio and will be looking to extend his four fight win streak. His only loss is to the veteran grappler in Jeff Curran by decision. Fabiano has had an easy cakewalk through the IFL's competition, and Davis may possibly be in for a rude awakening.

Prediction: Fabiano via second round submission

Fabiano's jiu-jitsu should be able to exploit the fact that Davis hasn't fought competition that is on his level, but we could be in a surprise if Davis brings the type of game he used on Estrada.
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Tim Kennedy vs. Elias Rivera

It's hard to dislike Tim Kennedy at all in this fight and in everyday life. He's an enlisted soldier, and also a fighter who embodies everything that is a class act to this sport. He has very good wrestling skills and some good power in his hands. He has a much more well-rounded game than his opponent Rivera, who is very susceptible to the knockout. Look for Kennedy to end this in by TKO/KO.

Prediction: Kennedy via KO, 1st round
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Rory Markham vs. Brett Cooper

Markham is coming off two big wins over Chris Clements and Pat Healy. He has dynamite in his hands, and an excellent takedown defense from fighting out of the Miletich camp. With primarily a wrestling and striking background that is proven in the cage, Markham will be a tough task for Brett Cooper.

I'm not privy to much of Brett Cooper's recent work in the MMA. He does have a good win over Jason Von Flue as recently as December 1st. If anyone has seen Cooper's fight with Ed Ratcliff, he was straight knocked out cold by a spinning back kick that was out of a Chuck Norris movie. Cooper has seemed to improve since those battles early in his career. He has some decent power in his hands and also some good wrestling skills. I think Markham will put Cooper down fairly easily regardless of Cooper's renewed drive.

Prediction: Markham via TKO/KO, 2nd round