COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 13, 2007 -- More than 250 mixed martial arts athletes from all walks of life – and varying skill levels – made their way to L.A. Boxing in Costa Mesa, Calif., yesterday for the first of three 2008 IFL Draft sessions, doing their best to make strong impressions to the collection of coaching talent evaluating them. The trio of IFL team coaches, Ken Shamrock of the Nevada Lions, Matt Lindland of the Portland Wolfpack and Marco Ruas of the Southern California Condors, joined “IFL Battleground” Co-Host Bas Rutten and IFL Commissioner Kurt Otto in putting them all through the paces, which made for some intense battles for attention.
Would-be athletes whose day jobs range from X-ray technician to Federal agent to fashion business owner showed off their grappling, striking and jiu jitsu skills in front of Otto and the coaches as well as scores of spectators who lined the windows outside L.A. Boxing. After a first round of competition which helped pare the roster down to about a third of the original list, the top athletes went at it in two, one-minute rounds of full MMA, giving them a chance to put all their skills on display.
In all, more than 25 athletes rose to the top of their respective weight classes and now comprise a pool from which the coaches can select, in inverse order of 2007 team standing, to invite to their respective training camps. Two more sessions are set for the next two Saturdays, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (Oct. 20) and Schaumburg, Ill. (Oct. 27).
For many, this was the first tryout in front of IFL coaches. But Derek Thornton of Hawaii hoped that the third time was a charm. “I tried out at Ken (Shamrock)’s Lions team tryouts last year and (Razorclaws Coach) Frank (Shamrock)’s tryout this year,” said Thornton, “so I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. I’ve been working on my game non-stop since then and hopefully the coaches see that and want to see more.”
Thornton made it through to the final round but suffered a slight injury before he got to go up against the other top middleweights.
Another athlete who impressed was sinewy 6’8” heavyweight Maurice Jackson, a Newark, N.J., native who played basketball at the University of Texas after starring at national prep power St. Anthony’s. After playing hoops overseas for two years, he was introduced to the sport of mixed martial arts and was soon hooked. Two opponents found out about his power and reach advantages the hard way, slamming into – and in one case, partially thorough – the L.A. Boxing wrestling/jiu jitsu room wall.
“If Maurice continues to work on his ground game, he could be a force in the heavyweight division of the IFL,” said Rutten.
The athletes were divided into more and lesser experienced groups within each weight class. But in many cases the coaches were pleasantly surprised with the top-to-bottom talent.
“I think a lot of the times, the ‘twos’ (less than four pro bouts) were as good or better than the ‘ones,’” noted Shamrock when discussing the overall talent pool with his fellow coaches. “Most guys had at least one very strong area, and with some work on other aspects could really have potential. There’s plenty of guys here I’d like to see more of.”
Occasionally the talent pool would run a bit thin, especially in the early “weeding out” process. Two full sets of six middleweights each were dismissed after the first round, none succeeding in impressing the coaches.
Several IFL athletes served as referees, also offering advice to prospective athletes. In the case of John Gunderson, they listened a bit more intently, as the Lions lightweight earned his way onto Shamrock’s team via last year’s tryout in Reno. Sabres lightweight Savant Young and light heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko and Anacondas middleweight Benji Radach and light heavyweight Alex Schoenauer were also on hand.
“John, Benji, Savant, Alex and Vladimir not only did a great job in controlling the action, they gave the guys trying out a sense of what they were shooting for,” said Otto. “In some cases, you could see that they were almost in awe of the coaches and were definitely interested in hearing from our athletes about their experience in the league.”
A few former IFL athletes looked to work their way back into the league, including Raphael Davis, a Los Angeles firefighter who competed for the Razorclaws in 2006. He was the only one to make the final pool, as former Sabres middleweight Jesse Juarez, former Tiger Sharks light heavyweight Curtis Crawford and ex-Scorpions lightweight Gabe Casillas all failed to advance to the final round.
Would-be athletes whose day jobs range from X-ray technician to Federal agent to fashion business owner showed off their grappling, striking and jiu jitsu skills in front of Otto and the coaches as well as scores of spectators who lined the windows outside L.A. Boxing. After a first round of competition which helped pare the roster down to about a third of the original list, the top athletes went at it in two, one-minute rounds of full MMA, giving them a chance to put all their skills on display.
In all, more than 25 athletes rose to the top of their respective weight classes and now comprise a pool from which the coaches can select, in inverse order of 2007 team standing, to invite to their respective training camps. Two more sessions are set for the next two Saturdays, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (Oct. 20) and Schaumburg, Ill. (Oct. 27).
For many, this was the first tryout in front of IFL coaches. But Derek Thornton of Hawaii hoped that the third time was a charm. “I tried out at Ken (Shamrock)’s Lions team tryouts last year and (Razorclaws Coach) Frank (Shamrock)’s tryout this year,” said Thornton, “so I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. I’ve been working on my game non-stop since then and hopefully the coaches see that and want to see more.”
Thornton made it through to the final round but suffered a slight injury before he got to go up against the other top middleweights.
Another athlete who impressed was sinewy 6’8” heavyweight Maurice Jackson, a Newark, N.J., native who played basketball at the University of Texas after starring at national prep power St. Anthony’s. After playing hoops overseas for two years, he was introduced to the sport of mixed martial arts and was soon hooked. Two opponents found out about his power and reach advantages the hard way, slamming into – and in one case, partially thorough – the L.A. Boxing wrestling/jiu jitsu room wall.
“If Maurice continues to work on his ground game, he could be a force in the heavyweight division of the IFL,” said Rutten.
The athletes were divided into more and lesser experienced groups within each weight class. But in many cases the coaches were pleasantly surprised with the top-to-bottom talent.
“I think a lot of the times, the ‘twos’ (less than four pro bouts) were as good or better than the ‘ones,’” noted Shamrock when discussing the overall talent pool with his fellow coaches. “Most guys had at least one very strong area, and with some work on other aspects could really have potential. There’s plenty of guys here I’d like to see more of.”
Occasionally the talent pool would run a bit thin, especially in the early “weeding out” process. Two full sets of six middleweights each were dismissed after the first round, none succeeding in impressing the coaches.
Several IFL athletes served as referees, also offering advice to prospective athletes. In the case of John Gunderson, they listened a bit more intently, as the Lions lightweight earned his way onto Shamrock’s team via last year’s tryout in Reno. Sabres lightweight Savant Young and light heavyweight Vladimir Matyushenko and Anacondas middleweight Benji Radach and light heavyweight Alex Schoenauer were also on hand.
“John, Benji, Savant, Alex and Vladimir not only did a great job in controlling the action, they gave the guys trying out a sense of what they were shooting for,” said Otto. “In some cases, you could see that they were almost in awe of the coaches and were definitely interested in hearing from our athletes about their experience in the league.”
A few former IFL athletes looked to work their way back into the league, including Raphael Davis, a Los Angeles firefighter who competed for the Razorclaws in 2006. He was the only one to make the final pool, as former Sabres middleweight Jesse Juarez, former Tiger Sharks light heavyweight Curtis Crawford and ex-Scorpions lightweight Gabe Casillas all failed to advance to the final round.