The new IFL (International Fight League)

[Andrew Green]

http://www.internationalfightleague.com/

Basically the idea they have planned is a league of saleried fighters, split into teams consisting of one fighter from each weight class. They want to try and stick MMA into a team sport like set up.

They are set to run there innagural event at the end of April:

Date: April 29, 2006
Location: Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ

Four teams will compete in the first LIVE event. Each team will consist of five fighters, one representing each weight division of the International Fight League (lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight), and one head coach.

While none of the fighters have been announced, the 4 coaches of the teams fighting in the first event have, and it's a pretty heavy line up:

Pat Miletich
Bas Rutten
Maurice Smith
Renzo Gracie

And here is the latest press release naming Maurice Smith as the 4th coach:

[FONT=Verdana,MS Sans Serif]PRESS RELEASE:

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion is the newest coach in the IFL as it was officially announced today. Maurice Smith will be the fourth and final coach for the upcoming International Fight League debuting on April 29th. Smith joins other Hall of Fame coaches Bas Rutten, Pat Miletich, and Renzo Gracie, all former champions as the coach on the show. Here is the official press release from today's announcement....

INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE ANNOUNCES

FIRST MAJOR EVENT

New Mixed Martial Arts Fight League Reveals Four Teams That Will Compete in

Action-Packed Battles

Who: Some of the greatest fighters in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) will fight for the following four teams in the inaugural International Fight League (IFL) event:

Each team is driven by the leadership, vision, style and skills of the following MMA giants:

Bas Rutten – Coach Pat Miletich – Coach Renzo Gracie – Coach Maurice Smith - Coach

When: Saturday, April 29, 2006 – 8:00pm

Where: Trump Taj Mahal – Atlantic City

Tickets for IFL’s first event will be priced at $250, $150, $100 and $50

Tickets on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com and Taj Mahal Box Office.[/FONT]

So what's everyones take?

Good idea? Bad idea? Will it work?
[FONT=Verdana,MS Sans Serif][/FONT]

 

[terryl965]

It will work, every single Art is becomming nothing more than a sport for money and glory.
Terry

 

[punisher73]

I think it's a neat concept. It could be like a wrestling meet. Each team has a person in the weight class and then gets points for the win and that team wins. You'd have two things to root for, your favorite fighter and team.

 

[Henderson]

Pitiful idea.:disgust:

 

[Eternal Beginner]

The April 29th card has been announced. I'll be watching it closely as one of our good friends is on the "Anacondas".

Silverbacks vs. Anacondas
Coaches: Pat Miletich and Bas Rutten
155-lb. Fight: Bart Palaszewski vs. Urijah Faber
170-lb. Fight: Rory Markham vs. Mike Pyle
185-lb. Fight: Ryan McGivern vs. Amir Rahnavardi
205-lb. Fight: Travis Wiuff vs. Alex Schoenauer
255-lb. Fight: Ben Rothwell vs. Krysztof Soszynski

Pitbulls vs. Tigersharks
Coaches Renzo Gracie and Maurice Smith
155-lb. Fight: Eric Owens vs. Chanti Johnson
170-lb. Fight: Gustavo Machado vs. Eric Dahlberg
185-lb. Fight: Fabio Leopoldo vs. Dennis Hallman
205-lb. Fight Jamal Patterson vs. Ivan Salaverry
255 lb. Fight: Carlos Kline vs. Devin Cole

 

[Andrew Green]

Inside fighting has a new piece up on this:

The IFL is here, there is no doubt about it. Barring some unforeseen disaster, its first show will take place on April 29 at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Yet, questions still hover over the fledgling mixed martial arts promotion, at least for this writer. As I mentioned in yesterday’s column, one is the team concept. Three more concerns include the dot-com craze that seems to be attracting new promotions, the IFL’s current litigation with the UFC and the whole announcing fights and selling tickets to those fights when some of the participants aren’t signed to IFL contracts yet.

Will the innovative IFL be a casualty of the MMA “dot com” craze?

http://www.insidefighting.com/betweenRoundsDisp.aspx?uid=2860

 

[RoninPimp]

More power to the promoters if they can make money off the concept. People making money is good for everybody.

I think in a few years there will be a dozen or so MMA camps that are the power houses in training fighters. Everybody else will be the hangers on. I believe Sumo is similar in Japan.

 

[thechamp]

They already have tv deals. This will make a bunch of money. MMA is big enought for at least 2 major companies. Right now its UFC and Pride but Pride is on there way out.

 

[dok]

They already have tv deals. This will make a bunch of money. MMA is big enought for at least 2 major companies. Right now its UFC and Pride but Pride is on there way out.

which would be a pity as UFC really should go the way of the dodo way before Pride.

 

[7starmantis]

I'm ok with it, maybe it will be a venue for some newer or more unkown fighters. Bringing more attention to MMA and MMA fighters isn't neccessarily a bad idea. It should be fun to watch, maybe it will inspire some more teamlike attitudes....maybe not, who knows....either way I'll probably be watching

 

[zDom]

I've seen some IFL fights on basic cable.

Very good fights and fighters.

 

[Tez3]

Ian Freeman is a coach too! He has chosen the British team which looks to be a good one! I know who they are but as it's not be announced yet I can't give it away! Bisping sadly isn't on the team because of his commitment to UFC.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Maybe it was just the show I caught but the technical level of the fighters was not that good. I will check out another show based on some other people's comments here.

 

[DavidCC]

Maybe it was just the show I caught but the technical level of the fighters was not that good. I will check out another show based on some other people's comments here.

Honestly, is the technical ability of most UFC fighters all that great?

I think of the IFL as the AAA league for the UFC...

 

[thechamp]

Anyone been to an event? I got my tickets to the championship on the 28th and i'm pumped

 

[Dave Leverich]

Reminds me of Master Norris' WCL (World Combat League).

But that hasn't seemed to really take off yet.
ALthough I had a blast at the inaugural fight in Las Vegas

It had a slightly odd format though, 2 rounds, but separated by like 15 minutes. And if the first guy couldn't fight again, he'd have a replacement. Kind of PKA style rules (rather than the UFC style).

I'm interested to see what this one does.

 

[Tez3]

This may not do too well, there are stories that it's going bankrupt! I'm chasing down some rumours at the moment but it seems the money isn't as secure as it could be! Ian (Freeman) has just signed a six year contract with them and put aside other stuff so it may be a panic now!

 

[SideWinderGX]

wow, what a similiar format to that of the World Combat League. its almost exactly the same thing haha. well, except its international. but other than that, its the same thing

edit: dave leverich beat me to it. i went to the fight in uncasville (the first fight there), wow, it was amazing. my dad said he saw a WCL fight on TV a couple weeks back, which is good...it might finally start getting popular.