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INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE SILVERBACKS-DRAGONS SEMIFINAL TO AIR ON FOX SPORTS NET THIS WEEKEND
Action From Portland On Deck As FSN Coverage Of IFL World Team Championship Continues Through December 31

The coverage is part of FSN’s 10 hours of IFL World Team Championship coverage this fall, which continues on November 26 with the Wolfpack-Anacondas battle and concludes with the final on New Year’s Eve.

Rogers Sportsnet will also be airing coverage of the quarterfinal matchup between the Silverbacks and Pitbulls beginning on Saturday, November 18. The Canadian sports network will also broadcast quarterfinal action next weekend.

In the main event, undefeated Rafael Assuncao took on UFC-veteran and local favorite Jeff Curran in what proved to be a grueling back and forth battle. Both fighters were relentless in their aggression, trading bombs on the feet and slick transitions on the ground. Curran suffered two illegal blows by Assuncao in the first round: a solid groin kick early followed by a kick to his leg when he was down (kicks to a downed opponent are illegal in Illinois) that clearly hurt him and seemed to affect him for the remainder of the round. Regarding the kick to his leg, Curran said, "I definitely think I have a cracked bone or something and that kind of took it out of me a little."

Assuncao didn’t let the referee warnings affect his aggression as he continued to land snapping leg kicks whose loud smacks echoed throughout the arena. Curran countered with punches, landing stiff jabs and several big hooks that had Assuncao’s mouth bleeding. Going into the third and final round, Assuncao turned it up, scoring several takedowns and landing solid knees from the clinch. He appeared to be winning the round, however, a third foul for fence grabbing cost him a point and as the round finished the question was whether he had shot himself in the foot with the fight seemingly in the bag. Mixed reactions came forth from the crowd as Jeff Curran was declared the victor by majority decision. Addressing the crowd on the microphone, Curran apologized, saying, "I don’t think I won that fight."

Assuncao hammers Curran with a knee to the body

After the fight, Curran reinforced his statements in the ring. "If I was a judge it was definitely going to be Raphael’s fight. I’m not looking to stretch by and take these close wins or anything like that. I think what gave me the stretch was he was warned twice on some illegal things he was doing in the fight. On the third thing he was holding onto the cage while he was landing shots and ref felt it was time to take off a point." Curran added, "In my eyes and my heart, I give him the victory."

Antoine "Herc" Hayes had strong words regarding opponent Alonzo Spellman. "He’s not a fighter, he’s a football player trying to fight. I respect him as an athlete but not as a fighter. He hasn’t earned a fight against me." When pressed to say how he’d like to finish the fight, Hayes said with a smile, "Kick to the head."

It was not to be, however, as Spellman, all 6’4" and 300-plus pounds of him, was able to stifle much of Herc’s offense early on. After eating a smacking leg kick, Spellman charged, using his enormous body and his superior strength to pin Herc against the fence, where Spellman was able to repeatedly dig his gigantic knees into Herc’s midsection. Spellman followed with a trip takedown where he took Herc’s back and worked for a rear naked choke. Herc got his chance to finish in the second and third rounds, each of which saw him securing a tight arm bar. Spellman survived both attempts and his control of the first round plus his strong finish in the final minutes of the third earned him a unanimous decision.

Spellman creates space to punch Hayes

UFC-veteran Terry Martin overcame two point-deductions for fouls in his battle with opponent Jason Guida, dropping him with a big right hand just eight seconds into the third round. Guida was game but overmatched as Martin imposed his will both standing and on the ground. In the bizarre scene that followed Martin’s KO victory, Jason Guida’s brother Clay was attacked by Martin as he jumped over the fence to aid his fallen brother. Hanging from the top of the fence, Clay yelled to Martin, who thought Clay was jumping in to start a fight, that he was just trying to help his brother, after which Martin backed off.

Justin McElfresh captured the XFO 205-pound title, quickly taking down opponent Ron Fields and securing an armbar from the mount midway through the first round.

Matt Fiordirosa put his 145-pound belt on the line against challenger Justin Robbins, successfully defending it within the first round. Both fighters scored knees from the clinch before Fiordirosa landed a wicked right hand that put Robbins on the mat. Fiordirosa followed him down where he was able to finish Robbins with a rear-naked choke. Fiordirosa continues to impress at 145 pounds.

Brian Gassaway returned to the XFO to face Donnie Liles. Victorious at XFO 12, Gassaway defended Liles’s takedown attempts early. A few brief exchanges later and Liles was able to get the fight to the ground, where he caught Gassaway in a rear-naked choke to end the fight.

Full Results

Professional Fights (3×5-minute rounds)

Jeff Curran def. Raphael Assuncao by majority decision (29-27, 29-27,29-29)
Alonzo Spellman def. Antoine "Herc" Hayes by unanimous decision
Chris McDaniels def. Bob Schirmer by KO 3:37 Rd 1
Donnie Liles def. Brian Gassaway by rear-naked choke 3:58 R1
Terry Martin def. Jason Guida by KO 0:08 R3

145 lb Title Fight
Matt Fiordirosa def. Justin Robbins by rear-naked choke 3:07 R1

205 lb Title Fight
Justin McElfresh def. Ron Fields by armbar 3:17 R1

Mike Marrello def. Josh Taibl by rear-naked choke 2:31 R1
Kerry Schall def. Geza Kalman by guillotine choke 0:21 R1
Ryan Williams def. Kenny Nyquist by TKO (Ref stoppage – strikes) 3:54 R1
Nate Mohr def. Norm Alexander by TKO (Ref stoppage – strikes) 1:20 R2
Mustafa Hussaini drew Jon Hosman

Amateur Fights (3×3-minute rounds)

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