| DULUTH, Georgia - The Wolfpack, coached by Matt Lindland and based in Portland, Ore., and the Pitbulls, coached by Renzo Gracie and based in New York, won their 2007 International Fight League debuts in front of 5,057 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center here on Feb. 23. UFC veteran Robbie Lawler defeated Brazilian upstart Eduardo Pamplona by TKO in the Superfight, which followed the team competition.
The Wolfpack topped the Dragons (Toronto), coached by Carlos Newton, 3-2, while the Pitbulls subdued the Red Bears (Chicago), trained by Igor Zinoviev, by a 4-1 margin. The victory moved the Pitbulls into first place after the first round of IFL competition.
THE FIGHTS Dragons vs. Wolfpack
• Waggney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) started the Dragons off on the right foot with a first-round choke-out of fellow lightweight Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.).
• The light heavyweights were up next, with John Krohn (Gresham, Ore.) evening the score by out-pointing Wojtek Kaszowski (Toronto) via unanimous decision.
• Middleweight Matt Horwich (Gresham, Ore.) put the Wolfpack ahead by submitting Brent Beauparlant (Montreal, Quebec) with a kimura in the second round.
• Welterweight Mike Dolce (Portland, Ore.) secured the victory for the Wolfpack by knocking out local product Jim Abrille (Atlanta) with a spectacular flurry of shots just 19 seconds into the first round.
• Rafael Feijao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) won the heavyweight matchup, scoring a second-round TKO of Devin Cole (Medford, Ore.) for the final 3-2 count.
THE FIGHTS Pitbulls vs. Dragons
• Erik Owings (New York) grounded-and-pounded Peter Kaljevic (Montenegro) before choking out his lightweight opponent to stake the Pitbulls to a 1-0 advantage against the Red Bears.
• Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) made it 2-0 in favor of the Pitbulls with a convincing unanimous decision over Mark Miller (Chicago) in the welterweight bout.
• Then, middleweight Fabio Leopoldo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) took out Chris Albandia (Chicago) via submission in the first round to clinch the Pitbulls' win.
• Tim Kennedy (Atlanta) got the Red Bears on the board with a solid triumph over Dante Rivera (New York), via submission in the second round.
• Bryan Vetell (New York) pushed the final margin to 4-1 with a heavyweight triumph over Mo Fowzi (London), gaining the first-round submission by keylock.
IFL NOTES
• The IFL is the world's first team-based professional mixed martial arts league. Each of the 12 IFL teams for 2007 have completed the first of their three respective regular season events; the teams with the top four overall win-loss team records will advance to the semi-finals, which will be held on August 2, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL Finals will then be held at The Forum in Los Angeles on September 15.
• The IFL next moves to The Forum in Los Angeles, where the Condors (Southern Calif.), coached by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Marco Ruas, take on the Sabres (Tokyo), coached by Japanese world-class trainer and bodybuilder Ken Yasuda, and the Razorclaws (San Jose), coached by MMA champion Frank Shamrock, battle the Anacondas (Los Angeles), coached by MMA champion Bas Rutten.
THE BOX SCORE
The Arena at Gwinnett Center, Duluth, Ga., February 23, 2007
Wolfpack (Portland), def. Dragons (Toronto), 3-2
155 lb: Wagnney Fabiano, Dragons, def. Ian Loveland, Wolfpack, via submission (side choke), 0:50, 1st
205 lb: John Krohn, Wolfpack, def. Wojtek Kaszowski, Dragons, via decision (unanimous), after 3 rounds
185 lb: Matt Horwich, Wolfpack, def. Brent Beauparlant, Dragons, via submission (kimura), 0:28, 2nd
170 lb: Mike Dolce, Wolfpack def. Jim Abrille, Dragons, via knockout, 0:19, 1st
265 lb: Rafael Feijao, Dragons, def. Devin Cole, Wolfpack, via TKO (strike), 0:26, 2nd
Pitbulls (New York) def. Red Bears (Chicago), 4-1
155 lb: Erik Owings, Pitbulls, def. Peter Kaljevic, Red Bears, via submission (rear naked choke), 3:03, 2nd
170 lb: Delson Heleno, Pitbulls def. Mark Miller, Red Bears, via decision (unanimous), after 3 rounds
185 lb: Fabio Leopoldo, Pitbulls, def. Chris Albandia, Red Bears, via submission (guillotine choke), 1:48, 1st
205 lb: Tim Kennedy, Red Bears, def. Dante Rivera, Pitbulls, via submission (strikes), 2:20, 2nd
265 lb: Bryan Vetell, Pitbulls, def. Mo Fowzi, Red Bears, via submission (keylock), 0:45, 1st
Superfight
185: Robbie Lawler def. Eduardo Pamplona via TKO (strikes), 1:36, 2nd
IFL STANDINGS Through Feb. 23
Team Overall Match
Pitbulls 1-0 4-1
Anacondas 1-0 3-2
Condors 1-0 3-2
Lions 1-0 3-2
Sabres 1-0 3-2
Wolfpack 1-0 3-2
Dragons 0-1 2-3
Razorclaws 0-1 2-3
Scorpions 0-1 2-3
Silverbacks 0-1 2-3
Tiger Sharks 0-1 2-3
Red Bears 0-1 1-4
|   Pro boxer Evander Holyfield (middle) poses with IFL execs Kurt Otto (left) and Gareb Shamus.
 Rafael Feijao of Team Dragons (grey trunks) battles Devin Cole (blue trunks) of Team Red Bears during the International Fight League event at The Arena at Gwinnett Center on February 23, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for IFL)
 Delson Heleno of Team Pitbulls (red trunks) battles Mark Miller (yellow/red trunks) of Team Red Bears during the International Fight League event at The Arena at Gwinnett Center on February 23, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for IFL)
 Matt Horwich of Team Wolfpack (blue trunks) battles Brent Beauparlant (grey trunks) of Team Dragons during the International Fight League event at The Arena at Gwinnett Center on February 23, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for IFL)
 Robbie Lawler (black trunks) battles Eduardo Pamploma (red trunks) during the Superfight at the International Fight League event at The Arena at Gwinnett Center on February 23, 2007 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for IFL)
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