Rosters for the Quad Cities Silverbacks and New York Pitbulls, which face off Sept. 20 at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Fla. for the 2007 International Fight League World Championship, were announced Wednesday.
Following a semifinal round marred by injuries, the only notable finals' absence is Silverbacks' welterweight
Rory Markham (Pictures), who broke his left hand in a first-round KO of
Chris Clements (Pictures) that helped propel his squad over the top-seeded Los Angeles Anacondas.
New York, seeded second after going 3-0 in the regular season, will once again feature Deividas Taursevicius at lightweight. Taursevicius replaced an injured
Erik Owings (Pictures) during the Aug. 2 semifinals when the Pitbulls defeated the Tokyo Sabres 3-2. Facing Bart Palaszweski, one of the most successful 155-pounders in the league, Taursevicius, now a starter, will be tested.
At welterweight,
Delson Heleno (Pictures) waits on Silverbacks' head coach
Pat Miletich (Pictures) to find a replacement for Markham.
The middleweight contest sees the returns of
Ryan McGivern (Pictures) and
Fabio Leopoldo (Pictures), who both missed their semifinal fights.
Light heavyweights
Mike Ciesnolevicz (Pictures) and
Jamal Patterson (Pictures), recovered from an injury that kept him out of the semis, square off.
Ben Rothwell (Pictures), the anchor of the Quad Cities squad, faces
Bryan Vetell (Pictures) in a heavyweight clash.
In addition to the league championship, the IFL also announced four fights pitting IFL veterans against members of Florida's American Top Team.
Ryan Schultz (Pictures) fights
Aaron Riley (Pictures) in a lightweight tilt.
Brad Blackburn (Pictures) takes on
Travis Cox at 170 pounds.
Allan Goes (Pictures) fights
Chris Baten at 205 pounds. And Rolles Gracie makes his MMA debut against
Seth Petruzelli (Pictures) in a heavyweight contest.