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