The IFL’s New Year’s Resolution
December 19, 2007
The International Fight League held a press conference earlier today to announce their plans for the coming year.
It’s no secret that 2008 will go a long way in determining whether or not this promotion can become a viable player in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Several weeks ago, IFL president Jay Larkin hinted at a few of the changes to come but today commssioner Kurt Otto shed some light on the specifics.
The main points were:
* As speculated, they will be moving away from calling their teams names like Silverbacks or Dragons to being named after the camp their coach is affiliated with. The coaches on board are: Ken Shamrock, Pat Miletich, Renzo Gracie, Matt Lindland, Bas Rutten, Marco Ruas, Ian Freeman and Mario Sperry and a group managed by a Chicago-based coach (Arlovski? Just kidding).
* They will also be implementing an “open-door policy” where if a coach not officially affiliated with the organization (Frank Shamrock, Carlos Newton etc.) has a team he can enter them to fight one of their own. Basically, this is a nice way of saying: “Mr Couture, please bring some fighters to our show.”
* They will hold eight events in 2008 with four camps competing on each show. The camps will have a minimum of three fighters competing on a particular show. So, it will likely go down as a best-of-three format. In all, each camp will compete twice a year.
* The eight events will be held in three locations: The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, The Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ (formerly known as Continental Airlines Arena) and The Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. The first event of ’08 will be on February 29 (leap year!) at The Orleans Arena.
* There will be two title defense per card. Here’s hoping that the curse of the Lightweight title doesn’t cross over into ’08.
* No news on a new TV deal. That should come in January.
To read more about their plans for ’08 click here OR just listen below.
IFL Press Conference – 12/19/07
