IFL Update from Gareb Shamus and Kurt Otto

By E.Goldman

On behalf of everyone at the International Fight League, we wanted to thank you for all of your support and give you a brief update. It is quite amazing to think that our first event was less than a year ago, and tonight, through the work of many, especially our world champion coaches and our world class athletes, we will be able to bring you a preview of “IFL Battleground,” the first-ever opportunity for fans to view MMA on broadcast television and in prime time. Tonight’s show will be seen at 8:00 EST and PST and 7:00 CST in over 100 million homes, and will give both the casual fan and the MMA enthusiast a special look into what we know will be a very compelling weekly show on MyNetworkTV.

The regular showing of “IFL Battleground” will begin this Monday night, March 12, from 8-10 Eastern and Pacific, 7:00 Central, with a rebroadcast in the same time period on Saturday nights. The shows will have lots of original and highlight ring action, interspersed with some of the backstories and the training activities of all our IFL coaches and athletes. It will follow the teams through the season and help you get accustomed to these new stars of MMA and even closer to their very well known coaches, shot in a format that has never been used in this sport before. It will truly be a breakthrough for MMA as the sport continues to break down barriers and enter the mainstream. Go to www.mynetworktv.com/local_stations.html to find the MyNetworkTV station in your local area.

Secondly, we have been very pleased with the success that our weekly fights have had on FSN. As we have said in the past, our goal is to establish a set time and place where the fans can tune-in to watch original in-ring action. By having the Friday night time slot at 11 p.m. (although this week the show will air in most places on Saturday night at 11 due to the Pac-10 basketball tournament previously scheduled) we now have a destination for fans to tune in to, and a time slot which has been very well received thus far. We are also very excited that we will have our first-ever same-night broadcast, when Renzo Gracie’s Pitbulls, led by Jamal Patterson and Brian Vetell, take on Matt Lindland’s Wolfpack, led by Matt Horwich and Ryan Schultz from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Friday, April 13. The show will air on a one-hour tape delay at 11 p.m. and will be shown unedited.

Lastly, we wanted to talk about the rising quality of our fights and our event presentation. As those of you who have seen our early events this year in new markets like Atlanta, Houston and Oakland, the quality of the teams put together by our world-class coaches is rising very quickly, especially as these athletes train together more consistently. The skepticism of the team format has abated and the quality of the individual matches improves each event. Many insiders feel that the match between Bart Palaszewski and Chris Horodecki may already be the match of the year, especially among lightweight athletes, and we are excited to bring that fight to you on FSN next week. Our other rising stars are also quickly gaining popularity, and the growth of television coverage will only help make them more familiar to you as we go along.

We are looking forward to our next live event at the Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 17, our first event in Southern California, and we are looking forward to see all of you there to witness the IFL and its rising stars first hand.

It’s been a great first 10 months in existence, and with the growing TV audience on FSN and starting with the preview tonight and then every Monday night starting March 12 on MyNetworkTV, it's only going to get better.

Thanks for your support and as always please visit www.IFL.tv and tell us how you think we can improve all that we are doing for the sport of MMA and for you the fans.

Regards,

Gareb Shamus, Co-founder, CEO, International Fight League
Kurt Otto, Co-founder, Commissioner, International Fight League