The highly anticipated world premiere of the International Fight League was a resounding success, with over 3,000 excited fans cheering teams featured in the action-packed inaugural event at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. The Silverbacks and the Tigersharks both won their respective battles and will advance to face each other on June 3 at the very same venue. In a special Super Fight, lightweight Jens Pulver (Pictures) knocked out Cole Escovedo (Pictures) in the first round of their match-up.

With electricity in the air, the evening was kicked off by the Silverbacks, led by Coach Pat Miletich (Pictures), taking four out of the five matches from the Bas Rutten (Pictures)-led Anacondas. Starting with the IFL’s first-ever fight, lightweight Bart Palaszewski (Pictures) (21-7-0) of the Silverbacks scored a TKO with strikes at the 1:31 point in the second round over John-David Shackelford (1-2-0). Next up was the heavyweights going toe-to-toe in a match that found the gorillas’ Ben Rothwell (Pictures) (17-5-0) landing his own strike-laced TKO at the end of round one over Krzysztof Soszynski (7-5-1). In the lone victory for the Anacondas, light heavyweight Alex Shoenauer (9-4-0) came from behind to defeat Travis Wiuff (Pictures) (40-8-0) with a heel hook at 3:23 into round two. In the middleweight match-up, the Silverbacks’ Ryan McGivern (Pictures) (7-1-0) restored the team’s momentum by winning a unanimous decision against Amir Rahnavardi (Pictures) (9-7-0). And, in perhaps the evening’s earliest shocker, Silverbacks’ welterweight Rory Markham (Pictures) (6-1-0) upset fan favorite Mike Pyle (Pictures) (11-3-1) via knockout punch 44 seconds of the first round having elapsed.

At the halfway point of the evening, the IFL presented a strong contest between two well-known fighters, pitting Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (21-6-1) against Cole “The Apache Kid” Escovedo (11-3-0). Pulver landed a knockout punch with 56 ticks into round one.

When team action resumed, it was the Renzo Gracie (Pictures)-led Pitbulls battling against Maurice Smith (Pictures)’s Tigersharks. The ‘Dogs’ lightweight Erik Owings (Pictures) won his first MMA battle ever by guillotine submission at the 2:50 mark in the first round over the Tigersharks’ Justin Jones (Pictures) (9-4-1). That match was followed by an action-packed bout between the Pitbulls’ welterweight Gustavo Machado (Pictures) (10-5-1) and the ‘sharks Brad Blackburn (Pictures) (8-7-0), and it was Blackburn who squeezed out a split decision at the end of three rounds.

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IFL SCORES EXCITING WORLD PREMIERE – 2

An illegal upkick by the Pitbulls’ Delson Heleno (Pictures) (5-2-0) led to the Tigersharks’ Dennis Hallman (Pictures) (34-12-2) winning the middleweight fight by disqualification. Following that quick bout was the Pitbulls’ light heavyweight Jamal Patterson (Pictures) (1-0-0), who in his MMA debut made an early exit for the Tigersharks alternate Matt Horwich (Pictures) with a rear naked choke submission at 2:57 in the first round. In the heavyweight finale, the Tigersharks’ Devin Cole (Pictures) (5-1-0) ruined Carlos Kline (0-1-0) MMA debut by winning a unanimous decision, propelling the T-Sharks to their upcoming battle against the Silverbacks.

The IFL’s first live event had all the markings of a well-oiled and seasoned organization behind it. The ring announcer Jimmy Lennon was in fine form from the start, and the night was being filmed for television. Fox Sports Net (FSN), a division of the FOX Broadcasting Company and News Corp, will nationally televise the IFL’s debut event across a series of shows that will air on May 21 and May 28 at 6pm local, as well as June 5. Peter Lasser, one of the leading athletic event producers in the country, is overseeing television production, and the IFL’s broadcast team includes “The Fight Professor” Steven Quadros handling play-by-play, color commentator Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and reporter Shannon Knapp.

The IFL also plans on finalizing a DVD distribution deal shortly and is actively seeking partners across licensing categories, including videogames, trading cards, apparel and accessories, fitness equipment and nutritional supplements.

About the International Fight League: Founded in 2005 by Gareb Shamus, founder and chairman of the comics empire Wizard Entertainment Group, and Kurt Otto, a highly successful real estate investor and a life-long martial arts participant, the International Fight League™ (IFL) and Pure Sport™ were created to establish a centralized and structured organization that brings the power and influence of the mixed martial arts industry together. Currently, four teams comprise the IFL: Silverbacks, Anacondas, Pitbulls and Tigersharks. For more information and action, go to www.IFL.tv.