Sabres, Anacondas remain unbeaten at IFL L.A.
By Ben Fowlkes | Special to CBS SportsLine.com
LOS ANGELES -- The L.A. Anacondas swept the San Jose Razorclaws 5-0 in an International Fight League team match at the Forum on Saturday night.
The Tokyo Sabres also improved to 2-0 by beating the Southern California Condors.
The win was particularly important for the Anacondas. Coach Bas Rutten stepped down just before the match to pass leadership of the team to assistant Shawn Tompkins. Tompkins has been with the team since its inception and is largely responsible for bringing along undefeated lightweight Chris Horodecki.
"Honestly, I was scared as hell," Tompkins said. "I've known Bas (Rutten) for eight years. He's my mentor, and I wanted to prove myself to him."
The Anacondas looked nothing short of dominant in the win over Frank Shamrock's Razorclaws, ending two of the five bouts in the first round.
The Canadian Horodecki improved to 9-0 with a unanimous decision over a defensive-minded Josh Odom, and heavyweight Krzysztof Soszynski showed why his teammates can't stop talking about his rapid improvement as he looked like a completely new fighter in his decision victory over MMA veteran Dan Christison.
"My first fight in the IFL was against Ben Rothwell, and I wasn't ready for that fight," Soszynski said of his evolution. "Now I am. I'm looking forward to meeting him in the Grand Prix."
The heavyweight didn't end with calling out Ben Rothwell, however. He also addressed Tiger Sharks coach Maurice Smith -- who lingered in the back of the room at the post-fight press conference -- asking for a match with Tiger Sharks fighter Allan Goes when the two teams meet in Seattle on June 1.
"Are you fighting heavyweight then?" asked Smith.
When Soszynski said he was, Smith nodded. "Then you got your wish."
Goes, standing by stoically, added a grunt of approval.
In the other match, the Tokyo Sabres continued their IFL resurrection with a 3-2 victory over the game Condors.
Lightweight Savant Young scored a devastating knockout win over the Condors' Adam Lynn, and Vladimir Matyushenko further cemented his dominance over the IFL's light heavyweight division with a first-round stoppage against Justin Levens.
