EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey - International Fight League titleholders Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko (Belarus), Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Jay "The Thorobred" Hieron (Freeport, N.Y./Las Vegas) each retained their respective titles here at the Izod Center on April 4th.


The attendance was 5,131.

FIGHT ONE
Matyushenko weathered a strong first round by Jamal "The Suit" Patterson (Jersey City, N.J.), then punished the challenger with a series of right hands before the bout was stopped with 30 seconds left in the second round.

FIGHT TWO
Fabiano, known for his world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu expertise, stunned Shad Lierley (Seattle) with a solid punch just 37 seconds into the first round to record the KO.

FIGHT THREE
Hieron dominated the entire round against Mark Miller (Chicago), finishing the round with a ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in for the TKO.

CAMP VS. CAMP
. In the camp vs. camp competition between Miletich Fighting Systems and American Top Team, LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) of MFS scored a knockout of Rafael Dias (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) with just seconds remaining in the third round of a very competitive featherweight bout.
. ATT's welterweight Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) won a second-round submission via kneebar over Jesse Lennox (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).
. The light heavyweight bout between Carmelo Marrero (Douglasville, Pa.) and Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) was ruled a no contest when a cut from the head of Marrero from an inadvertent head butt would not stop.

OTHER BOUTS
In addition to Matyushenko vs. Patterson, in the bouts between Midwest Combat and Renzo Gracie Academy, Gracie's Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.) scored a unanimous decision over Bart Palaszewski (Wonder Lake, Ill.) in a highly entertaining lightweight bout; Brad Blackburn (Olympia, Wash.) turned around a welterweight bout in which he was trailing with a third-round KO over Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

The night started with a non-title bout between light heavyweights, with IFL veteran Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) claiming a split decision over Brendan Barrett (Tuckerton, N.J.). In another non-title bout, Chris "The Polish Hammer" Horodecki (London, Ontario) scored a narrow but unanimous decision over Nate Lamotte (New Hampshire).

NON-TITLE BOUTS
205 lbs.: Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) def. Brendan Barrett (Tuckerton, N.J.) via decision (split) after three rounds
155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) def. Nate Lamotte (New Hampshire) via decision (unanimous) after three rounds

American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems
145 lbs.: LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) def. Rafael Dias (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) via KO (strikes), 3:56, 3rd
170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) def. Jesse Lennox (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) via submission (kneebar) 1:25, 2nd
205 lbs.: Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) vs. Carmelo Marrero (Douglasville, Pa.), no contest

Midwest Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy
155 lbs.: Jim Miller (Sparta, N.J.) def. Bart Palaszewski (Wonder Lake, Ill.) via decision (unanimous) after three rounds
170 lbs.: Brad Blackburn (Olympia, Wash.) def. Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) via KO (strikes), 1:50, 3rd

CHAMPIONSHIP BOUTS
205 lbs.: Vladimir Matyushenko (Belarus) def. Jamal Patterson (Jersey City, N.J.) via TKO (strikes), 3:35, 2nd
145 lbs.: Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) def. Shad Lierley (Seattle) via KO (punch), 0:37, 1st
170 lbs.: Jay Hieron (Freeport, N.Y.) def. Mark Miller (Chicago) via TKO (strikes), 2:10, 1st

-IFL PR