UNCASVILLE, Connecticut - Bart Palaszewski wasn't the biggest Silverback at the IFL World Team Championship. In fact, he was the smallest. Nevertheless, when one win was all that stood between his team and a championship, he took destiny into his right hand.

"It got me pumped up for sure," said Palaszewski. "It was a big moment for me, probably one of the biggest moments of my career."

The Iowa Silverbacks jumped out to an early lead against the Portland Wolfpack, thanks to a guillotine submission by Mike Ciesnelovicz and a thunderous-KO kick from heavyweight Ben Rothwell.

With the Silverbacks ahead two matches to none and with more than 6,000 sets of eyes glued to the ring at Mohegan Sun Casino, fight fans waited eagerly to see if Pat Miletich's team could secure a title without losing a single match. In a lightweight battle, it was up to Portland's Ryan Shultz to keep his team alive.

At 2:16 of Round 3, Palaszewski devastated Shultz with an authoritative right hook. Shultz's head turned, the expression on his face went blank and he hit the mat like a ton of bricks. Palaszewski then ran around the ring, overcome with joy and pointing to his ring finger. The Silverbacks were the 2006 International Fight League World Team Champions before Ryan McGivern and Rory Markham ever had to step inside the ropes.

THE COIN TOSS
Prior to the fights, coach Matt Lindland won the coin toss for Portland, a new practice that will become a standard for IFL competition in 2007. The winner will select the first and third fights.
Lindland chose Ciesnelovicz and Aaron Stark for the night's opener, a decision that backfired when the Silverbacks' Ciesnelovicz defeated Stark with a guillotine choke 1:03 into Round 3.

"I definitely took it as a slap in the face, because if we were picking, I would definitely pick the weakest link and try to gain momentum," Ciesnelovicz.

The Silverbacks did just that, using their first victory as a momentum builder that catapulted them to the championship by a score of 4-1.

Miletich kept the ring shaking when he sent in "Big Ben" Rothwell for win No. 2. Asked why he chose Rothwell with his first pick, Miletich said, "Ben wants to go out and do damage and get a KO. I wanted to start things off with an explanation point and let them know we meant business."

Rothwell squared off with Devin Cole and both fighters were on a path for mass destruction. Unfortunately for Cole, Rothwell's hands were every bit as fast as they were heavy. Cole ultimately dropped his hands for no more than an instant, and Rothwell shocked him with a standing right kick to the temple, sending Cole to the ground at 3:16 of Round 1.

After the fight, Rothwell said he'd been waiting to unleash a kick on somebody for some time.

"I don't care if the whole world saw it coming," Rothwell said. "The one guy who didn't got hit with it."

Lindland said after the fight, "Cole's whole game plan was to always be moving forward with his hands up, and his hand wasn't up when he got hit with that kick."

THE SUPERFIGHT
Pitbulls coach Renzo Gracie entered the ring once again and met with Dragons coach Carlos Newton in the Superfight that followed championship competition. After three rounds, it was announced the fight had been called a split-decision victory for Gracie, but the Brazilian shook his head in disbelief, pointing to Newton as the better man that night.