IFL Houston Weigh In

by: DarthMolen 1 year, 11 months, 1 week, 18 hours, 23 minutes ago 1

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The IFL weigh-ins were held at the Hooters on Kirby in Houston, Texas. The eye candy was aplenty but nobody was eating the wings for some reason.

The fighters sat down a long table on one side, the media was placed on the other side, fans and photographers were in the middle. Sports Radio 610 came as the live D.J. but they didn't even have wireless mic's or a cable long enough to reach the front. The IFL ended breaking out their own Sennheiser and 610 moved their amp closer to the action.

All the fighters were grumpy. The usually gregarious Silverbacks Ben Rothwell and Mike C. wouldn't even talk with Komikazee before the weigh-ins they were so sick. Mike C. especially looked rough. His lips were chapped and his face had a listless look.

It should be noted that Komikazee saw Mike C. much later on and he seemed much more perky and happy again. It's amazing what can happen when you put water and food back in your body.

Bart Palaszewski immediately started to drink after the weigh-in and threw up right there in Hooters on the ground in between swigs of pedialyte.

All the fighters made weight except for a couple exceptions.

Rory Markham had a previous injury to his eye. Not a separated retina but some holes in his retina that they were able to repair through surgery. The Silverbacks subsequently brought in Victor Moreno, a substitute for this fight, to fight Jay Hieron of the Anacondas.

Victor stepped on the scales at the weigh-in. The Texas State Regulatory person announced his weight of 173, 3 pound over 170, and there was a collective gasp from the audience. The aforementioned official then announced that he had 1 hour to cut the three pounds.

Victor came back after an hour. They raised a towel and he dropped his boxers right there in Hooters and stepped on the scales. The official announced 172 and there was another collective gasp. A chorus of "C'mon, let him fight!!!!" went up from the crowd of fighters watching the spectacle. After discussing the issue among themselves and with the IFL, they decided to let the coaches decide and both coaches agreed to let Victor fight Jay.

When Komikazee congratulated Pat Miletich afterwards on all his fighters making weight, he replied with a disgusted face, "Well, most made weight....".

One absence was noticeable at the weigh-ins. Shane Johnson, a highly popular fighter fighting for Don Frye's Scorpions, was not present. He had been cutting weight and the doctors determined the he was not mentally fit to continue and disqualified him. When Komikazee asked various teammates about the incident, their reply was that he had mentally flipped trying to cut weight for the event.

That night, all the fighters were reminded that that they were all professionals and that weight cutting was part of the game and the missing weight problem had to stop immediately. It was a very professional speech by IFL officials and contrasted starkly with how Dana White handled the same problem with his fighters on "The Ultimate Fighter".