Hieron, a Long Island native who will be fighting in front of a decidedly hometown crowd, knocked out Delson “Pe de Chumbo” Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in Connecticut in December to claim the welterweight crown. His opponent in New Jersey will be Mark Miller (Chicago), a former machine gunner in the U.S. Marines who was one of the big surprises at 170-lbs. last year in the IFL.

Fabiano is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert who used that skill to record five submissions, four of them in the first round, in a perfect 2007, culminating in a win over LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) in the featherweight championship in December. He takes on Shad Lierley (Seattle), a former collegiate conference wrestling champion at New York University who moves to 145-lbs. after impressing with two victories and a well-documented thrilling battle with Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (London, Ontario) last year.

“I like the local feel of this card,” said Bas Rutten, IFL Vice President, Fighter Operations. “In addition to three outstanding championship matchups, featuring fighters from New York and New Jersey, you have Renzo Gracie’s camp, which was the champion last year, Midwest Combat, which features our top fighters from the Chicago area, and great battles with the Miletich camp and American Top Team, which we are very excited to have on board.”

Among the intriguing matchups in the Miletich-ATT pairing are those between welterweights Rory Markham (Chicago) and Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and light heavyweights Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) and Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.). L.C. Davis will also compete against a yet-to-be-determined featherweight opponent.

The Gracie-Midwest bouts include a rematch of last year’s exciting Deividas Taurosevicius (Lithuania) vs. Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski (Wonderlake, Ill.) matchup. Delson Heleno will also fight at 170 lbs; his opponent is TBD.

Outside of the camp matchups, Chris Horodecki will battle a yet unnamed lightweight for a planned minimum nine-bout card.

IFL East Rutherford, N.J.
Friday, April 4, 2008
(order TBD)

Additional Bouts
155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) (7-1 IFL, 11-1 overall MMA) vs. TBD

American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems
145 lbs.: TBD vs. LC Davis (Kansas City, Mo.) (2-0, 9-1)
170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (0-0, 10-5) vs. Rory Markham (Chicago) (6-2, 12-3)
205 lbs.: Lew Polley (Coconut Creek, Fla.) (0-0, 6-0) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) (5-3, 13-3)