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L.A., Tokyo Clinch IFL Playoff Spots

Anacondas close out perfect season

Benji Radach (Pictures) started the night off for Los Angeles by firing a few shots down the pike. His timing was great, as he got off some fairly clean shots, however Seattle's Bristol Marunde (Pictures) changed things when he stunned Radach with a punch.

The Anacondas middleweight kept it together and moved around the ring before landing a picture-perfect punch that began at Benji's back foot and ended with an overhand right that dropped the Tiger Shark to the mat.

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Radach pounced, but before he could get too many more punches in, the referee stepped in for a quick TKO stoppage at 1:28 in the first round.

Losing the first bout of the evening, the Tiger Sharks, like Portland, started off on a bad foot, and with the undefeated "Polish Hammer" facing fellow lightweight Shad Lierley (Pictures) next, things didn't look too good for them.

Chris Horodecki (Pictures) (Anacondas) looked real loose as Lierley (Tiger Sharks) met him in the middle of the ring. Lierley landed a nice combo but the 19-year-old Horodecki came back with a right of his own.

Throwing hard punches and landing a kick that has Seattle on their feet for the hometown boy, Horodecki was starting to shine.

The combinations began to develop for Horodecki, who took Lierley's back on the ground for a moment. But as soon as they stood up, Horodecki again unloaded with punch and kick combos.

Both men landed hard, bringing the crowd into a frenzy. Horodecki finished the round by pulling guard and going for a guillotine but Lierely quickly escapes before the bell.

Round two and the crowd chanted while stomping their feet. Again the two come out swinging and Horodecki dropped Lierely with a shot, but as quickly as he went down, he was back up and forced Horodecki to the ground. From Horodecki's guard, Lierely tried some hammer fists until the ref stood them back up.

Horodecki jumped up and started throwing more combos. Lierley also landed all kinds of solid shots along the way and was able to take Chris's back during a transition. The crowd went wild sensing that this could be it for the Hammer but without any hooks, Chris is able to get out and take things back to their feet.

Both guys have motors that won't stop and by the end of the second round they delivered with flurries, again the crowd was ecstatic, and during the break nearly everyone in the house is on his or her feet during the break.

The final round began as Horodecki landed a hard right kick to Lierely's face. The Seattle fighter responded with a stiff left jab that snapped Horodecki's head back. Just when it seemed like Lierely might be tiring, he scored a takedown.

By now Lierley's eyes are both swelling and a little bloody and he seemed slow down. The fight ends with Horodecki landing a back kick to Lierley's stomach and the crowd roars with a standing ovation. Horodecki raises his hands and is greeted with boos since the crowd favors their local boy.

Despite giving as good as he got, Horodecki was a just a bit better tonight with his precision striking and non-stop motor and scored a unanimous decision: 30-27, 29-28, 30-27.

If Horodecki is the top lightweight in the IFL, Lierley has to be a close second and with more experience he can be a major force at 155 pounds.

After that slugfest Jay Hieron (Pictures) (Anacondas) and "Bad" Brad Blackburn (Pictures) were going to have a hard time matching the intensity. Before the crowd could catch their breath this fight was over. It took Blackburn only 14 seconds to knockout the favored Hieron, effectively slating the crowd's thirst for blood.

In another eye raising match-up, Allen Goes found himself under attack by Alex Schoenhauer, who came right at him with some flurries that had Goes covering up.

Schoenhauer mixed in some nice leg kicks and combos that kept the Brazilian from getting anything going offensively, and soon those combos began to wear on Goes. A hard right on the button had Goes rocked and soon after Schoenhauer finally dropped him with a right hand. Once on the ground Schoenhauer bent down and gave the veteran a few more until the referee stepped in to stop the match 3:00 in the first round.

The Tiger Sharks won't be going to New Jersey for the playoffs, but Los Angeles will definitely be there.

The final fight of the night was between the heavyweights and Reese Andy (Pictures) (Tiger Sharks) started off by throwing some inside leg kicks against Krysztof Soszynski.

Andy tossed the fight the floor and dominated positions before Soszynski managed to get into the wrestler's guard.

The L.A. heavyweight made a move to get out and Andy seized the moment to take his back. The went back-and-forth to close out the period.

The second round began with Andy picking up his larger opponent and slamming him to the mat. They stood up and after an exchange, Andy again planted Soszynski on his back.

The heavyweight exchanged submission attempts and as action move to the third, it was Andy who had more left. He scored with sharp jabs and wrestled to a stalemate. As action came to an end, Andy attempted to finish strong by unloading punches until the final bell.

The decision came in and the smaller Reese Andy (Pictures) was able to squeak by with a split decision -- 27-30, 29-28, 29-28.

In the second lightweight alternate bout of the evening, Tristan Wit (Pictures) (Tiger Sharks) traded with Conor Heun (Pictures) (Anacondas) in a punching exchange that had both fighter's heads turning from the impact. In the end, it was Heun, sliding off back-control into an armbar and with one second left in round one he forced Tristan to tap.

The Los Angeles Anacondas remain undefeated and are headed to Trenton for the IFL playoffs. Coach Shawn Tompkins (Pictures) was disappointed that his team didn't sweep their opponents, but added: " I envision this season like my guys do, with rings on our fingers".

After the gutsy performances of Anacondas like Horodecki, Radach and Schoenauer, his vision might just turn out to be right.

Although the Tiger Sharks were eliminated from any playoff hopes, they had to be pleased with the efforts of Reese Andy (Pictures), Brad Blackburn (Pictures) and Shad Lierley (Pictures), which should serve as hope for next season.

More than anything, they were more than impressed with the Seattle crowd and the love they showed for their Tiger Sharks. Coach Maurice Smith (Pictures) and his whole team were quick to comment that they had never seen support like that for any other IFL team when they were in their hometowns.

On June 16 in Las Vegas, the 2007 IFL campaign comes to a close when the Pitbulls, Dragons, Scorpions and Lions call it a season.

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