April 18, 2011 – The International Extreme Fighting Association returns to bring another exciting event to Texas MMA fans this Saturday, April 23rd, from Nutty Jerry’s in Winnie, TX. Known as Southeast Texas’ largest entertainment center, Nutty Jerry’s will be sure to host the IXFA with a packed house of fans as the promotion brings ten bouts of Mixed Martial Arts action highlighted by a flyweight title matchup between Humberto De Leon of Houston, TX and Jimmy Flick of Corpus Christie.
Also, none other than “The Iceman” himself will be in attendance as the IXFA plays host to special guest and former UFC Lightweight Champion Chuck Liddell, who will be on hand meeting fans and signing autographs!
Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the Top 10 Burning Questions surrounding this IXFA card.
1 – Can Josh Foster Deliver Another Knockout Performance?
The last time fans saw Josh Foster (2-2) in an IXFA cage, he was busy KTFO’ing Terrance Ferguson in Fedor-like fashion on the ground this past February in Houston. Coming off that tremendous performance, all eyes will be on Foster as he looks to deliver a repeat performance against Submission Boxing’s Edgar Verdin (0-1). Coming off a split-decision loss in his pro debut, Verdin is no slouch to the KO as well, having nearly decapitated Raymond Burgos in 15 seconds in his last amateur bout. Be on the lookout for a vicious ending to this one at Nutty Jerry’s!
2 – Will Justin Ledet’s Star Continue to Rise?
3 – How Will the IXFA cage hold up with Mitchell and Cleveland in There?
With a combined weight hovering around the five-hundred pound mark, the heavyweight attraction of the night will feature Dale “The Alpha Male” Mitchell (1-3) taking on Rakim Cleveland (1-3) in a battle of brawny big men. Dale Mitchell has been making the rounds in the heavier portion of grappling tournaments as of late while Cleveland has been busy honing his skills at IV Ounce Fight Club. Not too sure whether to expect a standing or submission battle in this one but one thing’s for sure, IXFA better hope those cage reinforcements are enough to contain these two.
4 – Will the Rematch Between Trujillo and Yarbrough be as Electrifying as their First Bout?
The last we saw these two fight was in November of 2009, when Rey Trujillo (8-3) ‘ninja gaiden’d’ his way across the cage to attack and overwhelm Yarbrough (10-8) at a blistering pace to secure the :53 TKO victory. That bout set the stage for Trujillo to be recognized as one of the most exciting fighters from the Houston area, a reputation he secured with a subsequent win against Jesus Rivera in his next bout. “Tru” has only won once in four tries since then, however, and will look the correct his path by revisiting this bout.
With other priorities on his plate, the revenge-minded Lane Yarbrough competed only once since that loss to Trujillo, winning at IXFA in December of last year against Josh Lee. Fighting since 2002, Lane is a long-time veteran of the Texas MMA scene and has faced the likes of opponents such as UFC-vet Kyle Bradley, Adam Schindler, Randy Vera, and many others. Don’t look for him to be intimidated from their first bout, but rather use it as a lesson to try and revise the history in this one.
5 – How will the Hometown Favorite Cody Williams do against Gerzan Chaw?
With two titles and a 6-1 amateur record in the bag, “Wolverine” will be making his professional debut against Gerzan Chaw (1-1), one of the more respected bantamweights from the Houston area with a well-rounded arsenal of attacks sure to test the hometown fighter.
6 – Who Will Re-emerge a Contender? Jared Taylor or Brian Lightfoot?
Both the fighters in the matchup between Brian Lightfoot (2-3) and Jared Taylor (5-7) currently sport losing records but are continuously referred to as fighters who are better than they appear. Perhaps it is due to both fighters willing to take on all comers, such as Matt Thompson and Darrill Schoonover, just to name two. Both these fighters do have a win over highly-regarded Artenas Young at this point and now look to improve their win/loss ratio in this won. Taylor in particular Is coming off two wins in a row so look for him to try to find his third against Lightfoot, who likewise will look to rebound after losing this past December’s IXFA title shot against Ike Villanueva.
7 – Will Rashon Lewis Prove Himself to Be a Worthy Title Contender?
Known as “Sho-Nuff,” Rashon Lewis (1-0) was originally supposed to take on Antonio “King Kong” Flores for the IXFA welterweight title in Winnie prior to the state stepping in to nix the bout due to Rashon’s inexperience. “Sho-Nuff” is a physical specimen who fancies himself as explosive and powerful and has also proclaimed himself ready for title contention no matter what the TDLR or anybody else says. This bout will be telling as far as whether that hype of warranted or not as Lewis will be taking on a highly-seasoned (and skilled) Justin Murray who should provide the toughest test of his career.
8 – How will Justin Murray Bounce Back After His Last Close Fight?
9 – Will the “Mongoose” Get to Dance Once Again, or will Alden Herbert Spoil the Party?
Watching Marc Ramirez (2-1) win fight is a very entertaining proposition. As evident by his two TKO wins as a pro along with his loss against Bellator-signee Adam Schindler, Ramirez is a very exciting fighter, win or lose. Perhaps the only thing more entertaining than his fights are his post-fight celebrations, with dance moves reminiscent of promoter Chris Reed in his younger days partying back in the groovin’ 1970’s. Time will tell whether Ramirez will get to show off those moves this Saturday or if the undefeated Alden Gerbert (3-0) will mark a celebration of his own in his IXFA debut.
10 – Who Will Reign as the First IXFA Flyweight Champion; Flick or De Leon?
Judging their faceoff at the last IXFA event announcing their flyweight title fight, in addition to quotes from both fighters in their exclusive TXMMA interviews (Flick | De Leon) upon this bout being signed, there is absolutely no-love-lost between between Humberto De Leon (5-4) and Jimmy Flick (2-0).
Their first bout at Bellator was won by Jimmy Flick via unanimous decision back in May of last year and the two have not stopped talking since, with Flick confident in repeating while De Leon displaying a renewed sense of vigor in wanting to get this loss back. We’ll see who comes out with bragging rights in the main event on Saturday night!
Bonus – What’s the Over/Under on the Number of Autographs Chuck Liddell Will Have to Sign?
As all IXFA fans should know by now, UFC hall-of-famer and current executive honcho Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will be in attendance at Nutty Jerry’s in Winnie as the IXFA’s special guest of the evening. I am told Chuck will be signing autographs and meeting fans prior to the event. With a capacity of over 6,000 at Nutty Jerry’s and a status as one of the most famous fighters to ever lace on a pair of four-ounce gloves, look for the Iceman to have to ice down his pen-finger by the time the night is done!
IXFA – Full Fight Card for April 23rd in Winnie, TX
125 Title – Humberto Deleon versus Jimmy Flick - 205 – Justin Ledet versus Alexander Pappas
- HWT – Dale Mitchell versus Rakim Cleveland
- 205 – Brian Lightfoot versus Jared Taylor
- 135 – Cody Williams versus Gerzan Chow
- 155 – Lane Yarbrough versus Rey Trujillo
- 205 – Joshua Foster versus Edgar Verdin
- 170 – Rashon Lewis versus Justin Murray
- 155 – Marc Ramirez versus Alden Herbert
- 170 – Lester Batres versus Evan Cutts
For more information and to buy tickets, please visit IXFA.tv.
