By Joe Fernandez
Newsday.com
One of the only things that can stop a fighter faster than a strong overhand right or a vicious armbar is a contract issue.
The International Fight League is having one right now with fighters Ben Rothwell and Mike Whitehead.
Ben Rothwell (Getty Images)
"Jay Hieron, Mike Whitehead and Ben Rothwell, they had said that they would be remaining in the IFL in '08," IFL commissioner Kurt Otto told Newsday.com earlier this week. "We had confirmation on that. Moneywise, termwise they were fine with it, and they also agreed that it would have to be resigned before the World Grand Prix because we would not have anyone fight for a belt if they weren't resigned.
The IFL World Grand Prix, which pits the IFL fighters with the best records against each other in their respective weight classes to gain one champion in each class, can be seen live on MyNetworkTV on Nov. 3. The semifinals will be on Nov. 3 with the finals taking place Dec. 29 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
"We were all on the same page then in the 11th hour [Hieron's, Whitehead's and Rothwell's manager] Monte [Cox] decides to change gears and pursue looking at other options for Ben," Otto added. "And what was awesome was at the end of the day, Jay Hieron stepped up to the plate and resigned with us, with Monte's consent. So that means that it was good enough for Jay, but not quite good enough for Ben after we were told that it was good enough for Ben."
Because of Whitehead dropping out and an injury to Andre Gusmao, the light-heavyweight match between the other two semifinalists, Alex Schoenauer and Vladimir Matyushenko, will be for the belt in Chicago.
"That's our first belt on the line ever," Otto said.
With the growth of mixed martial arts into the mainstream, and with fighters now starting to make what they deserve for constantly building up then breaking down their bodies, this sort of thing was inevitable. A fighter's career is only so long, so I don't blame them and their representation for trying to sign the best deal out there. And in turn, it's the promoter's job to sign the best talent out there. In the end, you just hope that the fighting stays out of the meetings and on the mats.
Here is the rest of the IFL World Grand Prix lineup:
Lightweights -- Wagnney Fabiano vs. John Gunderson
Chris Horodecki vs. Bart Palaszewski
Welterweights -- Jay Hieron vs. Patrick Healy
Delson Heleno vs. Brad Blackburn
Middleweights -- Benji Radach vs. Brent Beauparlant
Matt Horwich vs. Brian Foster
Light heavyweights -- Vladdy Matyushenko vs. Alex Schoenauer
Heavyweights -- Reese Andy vs. Roy Nelson
Antoine Jaoude vs. Bryan Vetell