Issue 023

March 2007

You may not know their names, but International Fight League athletes Andre Gusmao and Brent Beauparlant want you to remember them. Their chosen method of ensuring you notice who they are? By standing in a ring and leathering each other with punches from start to finish of a wild and exciting fight.  

Our photographer Zack Lynch was ringside to capture their tussle at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and described the fight as follows: “Brent was like a Neanderthal, he kept coming. He won’t dodge a punch, but he sure as hell will hit back. Gusmao was lulled into a false sense of security. One, two, three shots for Andre and wham, one big one for Brent. Brent’s strategy is ‘if he’s close enough to hit me, then I can hit him harder’. Gusmao learned by the end of three rounds that Beauparlant wasn’t to be knocked over easily and kept his distance, winning by decision.”  

Image: Zack Lynch, MMAphotography.com