Preview: The Undercard
Of the 12 fighters making up the IFL’s undercard Friday night at Mohegan Sun, nine of them with be making their IFL debut, unofficially dubbing the prelims “The Freshman Dance.” IFL.tv will now take a look at each of the matchups in the order they are scheduled to take the ring.
Frank Latina v John Franchi
Opening up the night, this promises to be one of the most explosive bouts of the evening. They’ve only got a total of eight fights between them and they’ll both be looking to prove something as this could represent a make-or-break fight in their career. Both are similar fighters, they’re well-rounded with good wrestling. The difference lies in their age. John Franchi, 25, represents a ripe young fighter ready to break into the serious fight world, while Latina is quickly running out of his prime, at 31 years old. This could be Latina's last shot to make it big, so expect to see a sense of urgency from him that will be missing from Franchi’s game. Both fighters will be looking to keep this match on the feet and finish early with a lot of noise.
Aaron Stark v Lamont Lister
Aaron Stark has the edge in experience with this bout. Though they have similar records, – 5-4 and 5-3, respectively—Stark is used to the big stage. He has been with the IFL since the beginning and fought in the ’06 Team Championships. He should have no problem dealing with the added pressure of television cameras and thousands of screaming fans. All of this however, will be new to Lister. Stark, an accomplished wrestler out of the University of Wisconsin, will want to go for the takedowns and try to finish with a ground-and-pound. But like so many wrestlers, he’s had trouble adjusting to the striking aspects of MMA, losing all three of his bouts by way of TKO. If Lister can fend off the takedown and keep this fight on the feet, it could be an early night for Stark.
John Howard v Calandrino
Another striker/wrestler matchup, Howard represents the striker while Calandrino is more comfortable on the ground. Howard comes from the Thai tradition of Wai-Kru and is riding on the momentum of an impressive upset victory, which snapped a two-fight losing skid. But Calandrino is yet to lose a fight in his professional career and has shown that he has knock-out power despite his tendency to take fights to the mat.
Joey Guel v Matt Horwich
Matt Horwich has proven to be an intimidating fighter. He's fearless beyond the rational and notoriously unorthodox, making him difficult to prepare for. During a ringside interview Pat Miletich once equated Horwich's style to that of a zombie, and with 32 fights on his record there is little that Horwich hasn’t seen. Joey Guel however, is no rookie and this is actually a relatively good matchup for him. Horwich’s biggest advantage may be that no one knows how to prepare for him, or how to handle his arduous attacks, but Guel, a former Team Quest member, has trained with Horwich and knows exactly what to expect. Though it will still be a mammoth task keeping up with Horwich, Guel should be able to neutralize the shock factor that takes over so many of Horwich’s opponents. The feeling-out process will be short and the fight promises to be a ground war, yet it will likely be one of the most exciting fights of the night. Both men will take risks and go for the big submission, making it a flip-flop fight with plenty of "oh's" and "ah's."
Josh Souder v Zac George
Josh Souder will not only be making his debut in the IFL, he will be the first fighter out of Ohio’s Team Prodigy to break into a major fighting organization. Trained predominantly by Hector Pena, Team Prodigy fighters are well-versed in the conventions of kick boxing, but they frequently travel to California where they can mix up their training. Souder has spent the past six weeks at Bas Rutten’s Los Angeles gym, so he’s no doubt been working on his ground game and striking. Zac George on the other hand, has been with the established Team Quest for nearly three years, and has the experience of a seasoned veteran. If Souder can keep the external elements out of his head, he’s primed to make a big impact for Team Prodigy, but George will have a solid game plan and won’t take Souder lightly. This fight will be all over the ring and full of fireworks.
Danillo Villefort v Mike Massenzio
This will be a matchup of strategies on the mat. Both fighters should be looking to take this to the ground. Massenzio, a NJ wrestler will likely look for an early takedown and try to overcome the Brazilian with a ground-and-pound while Villefort will seek out the submission from the bottom. Massenzio is eager to start making waves in the IFL, and was recently named in an SI.com list of the top 10 up-and-comers in MMA but Villefort, dangerous on the ground, will not be very forgiving of mistakes.
