Just recieved a news alert from the IFL regarding next weekend's World Grand Prix:
Due to injury, Brad Blackburn will not compete at welterweight; he will be replaced by Gideon Ray, who will battle Delson Heleno.
Also because of injury, Reese Andy will not fight; he will be replaced by Shane Ott, who will fight No. 1 seed Antoine Jaoude. The other heavyweight bout pits No. 2 Roy Nelson vs. No. 3 Bryan Vetell.
The complete updated card is as follows (bout order TBD):
Lightweight (155 lb.)
No. 1 Wagnney Fabiano, Dragons (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (3-0 IFL 2007, 3-0 IFL career, 7-1 overall) vs. No. 4 John Gunderson, Lions (Medford, Ore.) (2-1, 2-1, 15-4)
No. 2 Chris Horodecki, Anacondas (London, Ontario) (3-0, 6-0, 10-0) vs. No. 3 Bart Palaszewski, Silverbacks (Wonder Lake, Ill.) (3-2, 8-2, 28-9)
Welterweight (170 lb.)
No. 1 Delson Heleno, Pitbulls (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (4-1, 5-2, 12-3) vs. No. 4 Gideon Ray (1-1, 1-1, 14-6-1)
No. 2 Jay Hieron, Anacondas (Las Vegas) (2-1, 4-2, 12-4) vs. No. 3 Pat Healy, Lions (St. Louis) (2-1, 2-1, 18-11)
Middleweight (185 lb.)
No. 1 Benji Radach, Anacondas (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (4-0, 4-0, 16-3) vs. No. 4 Brent Beauparlant, Dragons (Ottawa, Ontario) (2-1, 3-3, 6-4)
No. 2 Matt Horwich, Wolfpack (Portland, Ore.) (2-1, 4-3, 19-9-1) vs. No. 3 Brian Foster, Razorclaws (Moreno Valley, Calif.) (2-1, 3-2, 9-11)
Light Heavyweight (205 lb.) - Championship Round
No. 1 Vladimir Matyushenko, Sabres (El Segundo, Calif.) (4-0, 4-0, 19-3) No. 2 Alex Schoenauer, Anacondas (Las Vegas) (2-2, 4-4, 12-8)
Heavyweight (265 lb.)
No. 1 Antoine Jaoude, Condors (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (3-0, 3-0, 7-2) vs. No. 4 Shane Ott (Reading, Pa.) (1-1, 1-1, 3-1)
No. 2 Roy Nelson, Lions (Las Vegas) (2-1, 2-1, 8-2) vs. No. 3 Bryan Vetell, Pitbulls (Jamaica, N.Y.) (2-1, 2-2, 3-2)
I'm stoked at Gideon getting the nod. He is a really good guy and a pretty decent fighter. It's always good to have a local guy on the card too. Once I move toward the end of December I'm planning on training out at Hackney's and getting popped in the face by Gideon and the guys out there...so I'll probably be slightly more than an "impartial observer" for that fight.