Wallace tapped out “Juggernaut” Antwain Britt (11-3) in an armbar in the tournament’s finale after disposing of Gregory Milliard (1-2) by decision in the first round and Team Quest’s Aaron Stark (9-5) by decision in the semi-final.

Britt had won decisions over “Fury” Carmelo Marrero (9-4) and Richard Hale (8-3-1) on his path to the final.

According to Vendetta FC promoter Chris Allen, Wallace was signed by the UFC shortly after returning home from Aruba.  Fighters.com could not verify with Wallace or the UFC.

Marrero will seek vengeance for Britt’s eight-second KO of Marerro’s American Top Team stablemate “Samuray” Antonio Mendes (2-4) in the Shine Fights premier in Columbus last May.

Marrero comes to the tournament from a UD loss to “Darth” Ryan Bader (7-0) at UFC Fight Night 18 in Nashville last April, Marrero’s second, though brief stint in the Octagon.

The winner between Marerro and Britt will fight the winner between Brazilian Top Team’s Angelo Araujo (8-2) and Team Quest’s Aaron Stark (8-4).

Araujo TKO’d “Furacao” Cristiano Machado (0-1) at RFC 2 in Rio De Janeiro 20 June while Stark was tapped in a guillotine by “Barbarian” Tim Boetsch (9-3) at KOTC in Everett 15 August.

At the other end of the bracket, Aruban Evan Nedd (0-0) and Richard Hale (7-2-1) will fight in round one. Hale TKO’d Adam Padilla (3-2) at RITC 130 in Arizona 18 July.

The remaining islander, Gregory Milliard (1-1), and “Sho Nuff The Master” Rodney Wallace (6-0) will also fight in round one, the winner meeting the winner of Nedd versus Hale in round two.

Wallace won a two-round UD over Marcus Vanttinen (9-2) at M-1 Challenge 16 in Kansas City 5 June while Milliard was tapped in an armbar by Tom Murphy (3-0) at TKO 34 in Montréal 7 June.

The tourney features enough 205-pound talent that the winner is sure to draw some eyeballs from national and international promotions. Monday, Wallace and Nedd told Fighters.com about their preparations for the grueling Night of Vengeance.

The main event features fought-everywhere, pimped-everything “Mr. International” Shonie Carter (45-18-7) versus Minnesota Martial Arts Academy’s “Eraser” Derrick Noble (24-12-1).

Former UFC heavyweight champion and King of Pancrase and veteran MMA broadcaster “El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1) will call the action, humorously no doubt, from ringside with Kenny Rice. FOX Sports Radio personality Tomm Looney will announce in the ring.

Tickets for A Night of Vengeance can be purchased at Etix; and, if you live in the southern United States, mark 1 October on your calendar to watch the replay on FOX Sports South.

Former UFC heavyweight champion and King of Pancrase and veteran MMA broadcaster “El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1) will call the action, humorously no doubt, from ringside. FOX Sports Radio personality Tomm Looney will announce in the ring.

The main event features fought-everywhere, pimped-everything “Mr. International” Shonie Carter (45-18-7) versus Minnesota Martial Arts Academy’s “Eraser” Derrick Noble (24-12-1).

The meat of the card will be filled with an eight-man light heavyweight tournament that includes a formidable lineup of up-and-comers: Team Quest’s Aaron Stark (8-4), “Juggernaut” Antwain Britt (9-2), American Top Team’s “Fury” Carmelo Marrero (9-3), “Sho Nuff The Master” Rodney Wallace (6-0), Brazilian Top Team’s Angelo Araujo (8-2), Gregory Milliard (1-1), Evan Nedd (0-0), and Richard Hale (7-2-1).

It’ll be a steep mountain-climb for the eventual winner!

The tournament will feature two-round fights with a third-round tie-breaker when necessary through the semi-finals. Fighters.com will report the first round tournament match-ups when they’re announced 4 September.

International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) will sanction the fights and provide the referees who’ll disallow elbows on the ground and knees to the head of a downed opponent. The fighters will be drug tested. “Stitch” Duran will serve as a cutman and a doctor used by the UFC will be ringside too.

Allen told Fighters.com, “We are working in Aruba because I love the place. I have friends and family who work in Aruba.”

Vendetta FC’s debut in Aruba and deal with FOX Sports South demonstrates both the increasing scope and mainstream legitimacy of mixed martial arts, the world’s greatest athletic endeavor.

Tickets for A Night of Vengeance can be purchased at Etix; and, if you live in the southern United States, mark 1 October on your calendar to watch the replay on FOX Sports South.

Carter is on a three-fight winning run that most recently included a split decision over George Lockhart (7-3) at Throwdown III in Salt Lake City last February.

One-time UFCer Noble came up short to “Mandingo” Antonio McKee (22-3-2) in a UD loss at MFC 20 in Enoch last February.

Britt is coming off an eight-second KO of American Top Team’s “Samuray” Antonio Mendes (2-4) in the Shine Fights premier in Columbus last May. Mendes’s teammate, Marrero, surely intends to exact some furious vengeance on Mendes’s behalf. Marrero comes to the tournament from a UD loss to “Darth” Ryan Bader (7-0) at Fight Night 18 in Nashville April, Marrero’s second, though brief stint in the Octagon. Fighters.com hopes Britt and Marrero get a crack at each other in round one.

IFL vet Stark tapped Rashad Brooks (2-5) in a rear naked choke at CATC 4 in Alabama last November. An eight-man tournament seems like a mouthful after a 10-month hiatus.

“Sho Nuff The Master” Rodney Wallace (6-0) and Brazilian Top Team’s Angelo Araujo (8-2) will also compete in the tournament while Gregory Milliard (1-1), Evan Nedd (0-0), Richard Hale (7-2-1), Ovince Saint Preux (3-2), and Xtreme Couture’s Nick Fekete (1-0) will fight on the card.

“El Guapo” Bas Rutten (28-4-1) will announce the card and soak up some of the white powder beaches of Aruba.

Brown took the title decisively following a right hand that laid the former champ out. 

Chael Sonnen (21-9-1) won a surprisingly boring unanimous decision over Fighters.com’s third-ranked middleweight and WEC Middleweight Champion Paulo Filho (15-1) in a non-title fight that was heckled by fans throughout.  Official scores were 10-9 twice for Sonnen, 10-8 for Sonnen.

 ”Bad Boy” Leonard Garcia (11-3) dismantled “Little Evil” Jens Pulver (22-9-1) in a 1:12 TKO shocker to move up the ranks in the WEC’s stacked 145-pound division.

Jake Rosholt (5-0) powered to victory over Nissen Osterneck (4-1) in the second round via TKO stoppage.

Rani Yahya (12-2), Danny Castillo (4-1), “The Fury” Carmelo Marrero (9-2), Jose Aldo (11-1), “The A-Train” Aaron Simpson (2-0) and “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone (8-1) were all winners within the cage as well. 

Brown Shocks Faber To Take the WEC Featherweight Title

The arena was pumped for the title bout of the night as Mike Thomas Brown entered to a favorable home crowd.  The fight started quick as expected, but soon tied up into the clinch.  Both fighters threw leather, but Brown’s right hand set the tone for the surprise to follow. 

“I train with the best team in the world.  All I have to do is perfrom like I do in training each day.  I don’t have a lot of knockouts on my record, but I hit fucking hard, man,” announced the new WEC Featherweight Champion, Brown. 

Faber rushed in with a careless elbow attempt only to get tagged with a hard and heavy right hand from the challenger.  Faber went down to the mat and covered up as Brown plastered the champ with punches.  Referee Troy Waugh stopped the fight at 2:23 of the first round. 

Sonnen Glides To A Boring Victory Over An Overweight and Passive Filho

Filho’s entrance into the cage proved to be a metaphor for his performance to come as fans heckled loudly in disapproval in what most assume was a reaction to the veteran’s failure in making weight for the bout. 

The fight between Filho and Sonnen was an absolute deflation to an evening of otherwise exciting and fast-paced bouts.  Filho preferred to lay on his back for the majority of the fight resulting in continuous stand-ups by the referee.  During the fight, Sonnen definitely scored in the stand-up game, but showed hesitation at moments in answering Filho’s lackluster performance. 

Sonnen seemed satisfied to pepper his opponent with jabs and the occasional straight shot resulting in what appeared more as an exhausted round of western boxing set to a chorus of moans and vocal disappointment by the fans on hand. 

Sonnen took a unanimous decision win in this unfortunately boring mixed martial arts sequel. 

Garcia Stuns Pulver With Heavy Hands

Going into the fight,  Garcia hoped for a stand-up war with veteran “Little Evil”.  Although temporarily wobbled by a flurry of punches early from Pulver, Garcia weathered the storm to eventually land a strong right hand.

Pulver was immediately rocked falling to his knees and visibly hurt.  Garcia went in for the kill and unleashed a storm of punches resulting in a quick and surprising stoppage.  It was all over but the shouting at 1:12 of round one.

Rosholt Overpowers Osterneck

This middleweight challenge started out with the lightning fast pace of a typical featherweight affair.  Both fighters came out swinging with Nissen Osterneck (4-1) swarming Rosholt with a sloppy but continuous barrage of fists.  But, it wasn’t long before the superior wrestling skill of Rosholt took root and found Osterneck on the receiving end of pounding following numerous takedowns. 

Osterneck attempted a few submissions only to find himself mounted again and again by the feisty Rosholt. Momentarily in the second round Osterneck caught Rosholt with another flurry of punches, but the wrestler survived the clash only to get his hooks in again and score another strong mount.  The second round came to an official end via TKO stoppage at 3:48 with Rosholt pounding his way to victory.

The A-Train Railroads Avellan 

Pardon all the clichés here, but if ever there was an train wreck in the cage, this was certainly one for the ages.  “The A-Train” Simpson landed a devastating overhand right at 0:18 of the first round sending David Avellan (5-1) into the realms of unconsciousness.  It was a strong KO victory for Simpson augmenting his undefeated record in stunning fashion.

Yahya Chokes Maeda

Yoshiro Maeda (23-6-2) secured an early guillotine in what appeared to be a potentially tight and winning submission only to have Yahya escape and come back with a guillotine of his own.  Yahya hung on strongly to the choke, making Maeda tap at 3:30 of the first round. 

Castillo Stops Dias

Rafael Dias (12-5) was winning on the cards in round one with more technique all around against more wild shots coming from Castillo.  The fight was up and down with Dias looking the better of the two.

Round two found the two fighters in familiar exchange. Dias scored a takedown while Castillo attempted a guillotine. Castillo then tried for an armbar that proved too loose. Dias took Castillo’s back for a moment, but then wound up on the bottom.

But, it was a missed shoot by Dias that finally delivered the ending.  After missing the shoot, Castillo got on top and rained down punches until the fight was stopped at the 2:54 mark.

Marrero Wins The Split Over Steinbeiss 

Marrero’s wrestling skills came in handy for the UFC veteran in the bout against “The Hooligan” Steve Steinbeiss (4-2).

Taking Steinbeiss down often, Marrero avoided submission attempts.  The fighters utilized all weapons, exchanging body kicks in the second round before Marrero appeared gassed in the closing minutes.

Steinbeiss appeared fresh in round three, delivering shots to Marrero and temporarily stunning him.  Winning the round, Steinbeiss nearly got caught in a late guillotine attempt and took an elbow.  The final round ended with Steibeiss in the guard.

Marrero won a split decision with a 29-28 score twice against Steibeiss’ 29-28 third round score. 

Aldo Defeats Brookins In Late Round Stoppage

Aldo scored much better than Jonathan Brookins (8-2) through the first two rounds and winning on the cards.

Aldo came into the second round with a knot over his eye even though he handed out the worse of the stand-up punishment.  Brookins looked surprisingly crisp in the second, but eventually took a lot of damage via leg kicks.

In the third round, Aldo dropped Brookins with a left hook and laid down the leather.  Taking a lot of punches but also hanging in, referee Troy Waugh stepped in and stopped the fight at 0:45 of the final round. 

The Cowboy Disposes The Razor

“Razor” Rob McCullough (16-5) came out with strong low kicks against Cerrone, only to have them answered by the middle of the first round.  Cerrone dropped McCullough with a right and mounted the injured fighter.  An elbow cut McCullough and eventually resulted in a stop to inspect the cut.  The first round started back up; and, Cerrone dropped McCullough again, but was saved by the bell.

In the second, a right uppercut dropped McCullough yet again, but ended up with Cerrone on the bottom.  Cerrone then grabbed an armbar; but, McCullough escaped.

The third round found McCullough landing an overhand right; but, Cerrone soon answered with leg kicks.  There were equal exchanges, but Cerrone turned on the heat and scored a strong takedown.  Cerrone landed a combination of punches late in the final round that hurt McCullough yet again.

Cerrone won a very clear unanimous decision.

The reason for Ratcliff’s withdrawal is unknown at this time; Schoenauer is injured with a torn hamstring.

Although the WEC has made no official announcement, American Top Team representatives confirmed that Rafael Dias (12-4) has agreed to replace Ratcliff versus Danny Castillo (3-1), according to Five Ounces of Pain.

UFC veteran “The Fury” Carmelo Marrero (8-2) has agreed to replace Schoenauer versus “The Hooligan” Steve Steinbeiss (4-1), according to MMA Weekly.

Dias last fought in September, earning a submission win over Rocky Long (17-23).

Castillo suffered his first career loss in June when Donald Cerrone (7-1) tapped him with an armbar at 0:30 of the first round.

Marrero won his last fight in September versus Chuck Huus (0-2) via ankle lock.

Steinbeiss, who will be making his WEC debut, last fought in June, defeating Francisco Alcantara (0-3) with a first-round TKO.

“The Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3), Wagnney Fabiano (10-1), and Jay Hieron (15-4) all defended their respective titles with knockouts.

Lightweight standout Chris Horodecki (12-1) picked up a unanimous decision, while one-time top 155-pounder “Bartimus” Bart Palaszewski (28-11) continued his slide with a loss by unanimous decision.

Featherweight Fabiano set-up a right slobber-knocker to Shad Lierley (2-2) with just his reputation as a submission specialist.

“People think I’m just a jiu-jitsu fighter,” Fabiano explained after the fight.  “Today I knew he would expect me shooting, so I changed my game plan.”

The KO came after just 37 seconds.

Hieron, an Xtreme Couture 170-pounder, dispatched Mark Miller (8-3) in just 2:10.

“It went quicker than I thought, but man it was not easy,” said Hieron after his right hook set-up a single-leg takedown leading to a G’n'P finish.

“The Janitor” had the toughest time of the IFL’s three defending champions.

Hometown Jamal Patterson (4-2), who’s won exclusively by submission, cranked up striking flurries in the first round causing Matyushenko to duck-and-cover.

But, Matyushenko handed Patterson his ass in the second with a ground’n'pound barrage the required the ref to wave the fight finished at 3:35.

IFL newcomer Jim Miller (11-1) ran “Bartimus” ragged for three rounds, dumping the winless-in-three lightweight at will and filing through submission attempts like he had an extra limb.  Palaszewski fought back valiantly with several crafty escapes, but Miller took all of the cards in his IFL debut.

Horodecki had a handfull named Nate Lamotte (6-3) to contend with in Horodecki’s return from his first loss to “The Lion” Ryan Schultz (19-9-1) in IFL’s Lightweight Grand Prix final.

Lamotte delivered some vicious G’n'P when he was able to catch Horodecki, but the IFL vet kept Lamotte at bay with a snapping jab and pin-pointed punches to take a UD by 29-28 times three.

And the rest of the story saw light heavyweight “Shark” Emyr Bussade (11-5) win his IFL debut with a kneebar of Jesse Lennox (6-1) at 1:25 of round two.

“Bad” Brad Blackburn (12-9-1) TKO’d “Pe de Chumbo” Delson Heleno (13-5) at 1:50 of the third round of a welterweight matchup.

Featherweight LC Davis (10-1) kicked Rafael Dias (10-4-1) in the head for the KO “W” at 3:56 of round three.

Xtreme Couture middleweight Alex Schoenauer (13-9) eeked out a split decision over Brendan Barrett (3-3).

Finally, heavyweight Miletich fighter Mike Ciesnolevicz (13-3) cut Kongo-conqueror “The Fury” Carmelo Marrero (7-2) with an unintentional headbutt in a fight declared a No Contest after 1:37.

The IFL returns 16 May in at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.