European Throwdown: Hardy to UFC

‘Russian Dave' Gets Shot at IFL Title

After three straight wins in the International Fight League, well-rounded Lithuanian Deividas Taurosevicius (Pictures) will get a shot May 16 at the promotion's lightweight title held by Chris Horodecki (Pictures)-conqueror Ryan Schultz (Pictures).

Affectionately dubbed "Russian Dave" by his American fans, Taurosevicius is a 30-year-old jiu-jitsu player who also has knockout power in both hands and feet.

Against Schultz, a strong wrestler out of Team Quest, Taurosevicius hopes to follow in the footsteps of his "neighbor," Vladimir Matyushenko (Pictures). "The Janitor" from Belarus has been dominating the IFL's light heavyweight division for the past 15 months and has not only captured but also already defended the promotion's 205-pound title.

With a win over Schultz, Taurosevicius, who now calls New York City home, would become the second IFL champion from Eastern Europe.

Dutch Super Show Looms

While there are few details at this time, Dutch promoters Henk Kuipers and Jan Oosterbaan of KO Events have announced a super show at the 10,000-seat Ahoy' Arena in Rotterdam, Holland, for Oct. 5. Kuipers, a student of John Bluming and Gerard Gordeau, is a clever businessman who has already founded Walz Hardcore Cycles, a big security company and a great gym.

The 43-year-old karate and judo black belt also has his own sports management company, Hardcore Sports Management, and is the vice president of Black Label, a fight team that includes perhaps the biggest talent in all of kickboxing in Tyrone Spong as well as U.K. heavyweight James McSweeney (Pictures) and Moroccan BJJ master Hakim Gouram.

Together with Golden Glory boss Bas Boon, Kuipers organized the first and also the last cage fight event in the Netherlands. After years of staging only smaller events, Kuipers wants to have another go at a big show.

Tentative card:

Mixed Martial Arts
Heavyweight Bout: Bob Schrijber (Pictures) vs. Barrington Patterson
Heavyweight Bout: Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) vs. Gary Goodridge (Pictures)
Lightweight Bout: Chico Martinez vs. Sahin Yakut
Light Heavyweight Bout: Rodney Faverus vs. Martin Zawada
Light Heavyweight Bout: Dave Dalgliesh vs. Hans Stringer
Heavyweight Bout: Hakim Gouram vs. Jessie Gibson
Lightweight Bout: Danial Sharifi vs. Furdjel de Windt (Pictures)
Heavyweight Bout: Ralf Wonnink vs. Stefan Struve (Pictures)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Tomasz Drwal (Pictures) vs. Stipe Bekavac

Kickboxing
Heavyweight Bout: Alexey Ignasov vs. Björn Bregy
Light Heavyweight Bout: Tyrone Spong vs. Zabit Samedov
Heavyweight Bout: Jan Oosterbaan vs. TBA
Lightweight Bout: Ali Gunyar vs. Yodsenklai Fairtex
Lightweight Bout: Tarik El Idrissi vs. Murat Direkci
Light Heavyweight Bout: Henriques Zowa vs. Jerrel Venetiaan (Pictures)
Welterweight Bout: Alviar Lima vs. Halim Issaoui
Lightweight Bout: Chris Ngimby vs. Basha Valon
Heavyweight Bout: Mourad Bouzidi vs. James McSweeney (Pictures)
Welterweight Bout: Henry Akdeniz vs. Leonard Sitpolek
Lightweight Bout: Rachid Belani vs. William Diender
Featherweight Bout: Jorina Baars vs. TBA
Heavyweight Bout: Koos Wessels vs. Brian Douwes

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