Mayhem v. Trigg Tonight!!!

Stay posted for Icon results tonight!!!

IFL Becomes A Publicly Traded Co.

Press Release 

IFL Completes Merger and Begins Trading Under New Stock Symbol: IFLI

NEW YORK – International Fight League, Inc. (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, reached another milestone in its early history this week, becoming one of a handful of professional sports entities to be traded as a public company. The IFL began trading on the over the counter bulletin board under the symbol “IFLI.”

“This is a landmark day for all fight sports, ranging from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to professional boxing,” said IFL CEO Gareb Shamus. “As a publicly traded sports entity, the IFL will be able to help the sport grow beyond its current boundaries and move into the mainstream with both fans and business partners. MMA has seen some significant growth in the last few years, from the emergence of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on Spike TV to increasing ratings and attendance numbers, and we expect our model to add to that success in this new expanded international sports marketplace.”

“For a long time, champions of the sport like Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Renzo Gracie, Matt Lindland, Bas Rutten, Antonio Inoki and Pat Miletich have never been able to achieve the renown in the mainstream that they have long sought,” said IFL Commissioner Kurt Otto. “By becoming a public company and having them part of the IFL, we feel that not only these legends, but the next wave of athletes, will get more of what they work for and deserve in terms of recognition. It’s a great day for all fans, business partners and competitors in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.”

The IFL, which began less than eight months ago with the IFL “Legends Championship” at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey has already experienced success on every level. Early developments have included:

• A deal with Fox Sports Net (FSN) to cover the initial IFL events that grew from three hours in the spring to 10 hours in the fall and pulled in millions of viewers.

• Initial business partners such as Microsoft’s XBox, Suzuki, Dale and Thomas Popcorn, Coca Cola’s Vault brand and Sandal’s Resorts.

• Attendance at events in Atlantic City, Portland, Oregon and Moline, Illinois exceeded original projections.

• The attendance at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut for the “World Team Championship” final on Friday December 29 is also expected to be near-capacity.

The League will very soon announce its 11 date schedule for its 2007 regular season, and will begin 2007 with a 12 team field representing 10 United States cities (including four teams in California, two in Illinois and others) Toronto, Ontario and Tokyo, Japan. The League plans further expansion to include additional teams from around the globe.

Each of the nine regular season IFL events will consist of four teams – each with an athlete in all five weight classes competing – along with a special Superfight, for a minimum of 11 bouts per card. The team that wins the best three of five match setup will be declared the team winner for the match, similar to collegiate and high school wrestling meets. The IFL also differs from other MMA organizations in that the bouts are held in an oversized five rope boxing ring with three four minute rounds, each designed to create the most compelling in-arena experience for local fans.

All events will be subject to the rules and approval of the applicable state athletic commission. The scoring system is similar to professional boxing as well. However, in the event of a draw, a fourth round will take place to decide a winner.

The four IFL regular season teams with the best records will move on to the IFL semi-finals expected to be in early August, 2007, with the first IFL Team Champion expected to be crowned in mid-September, 2007.

After receiving the requisite shareholder approval at Monday’s special meeting of Paligent, Inc. (OTC.BB: PGNT) shareholders, the IFL completed its previously announced merger with Paligent, which was effective at 1:01 A.M. this morning. The merger became effective immediately after a 1-for-20 reverse stock split by Paligent. Immediately following the merger, Paligent changed its name to International Fight League, Inc. Shareholders of Paligent will continue to own their post-split shares, but will be entitled to receive new certificates representing the same number of IFL shares of common stock as the number of post-split Paligent shares they held, which will constitute approximately 5% of the outstanding stock of IFL. The holders of the pre-merger International Fight League, Inc. shares of common stock (including the converted Series A preferred stock) will be entitled to receive approximately 1.032373 shares of post-merger Paligent shares of common stock, which will constitute approximately 95% of the outstanding stock of IFL. Letters of transmittal will be sent to appropriate holders for them to receive their new shares.

Inside The UFC Review

Last night Spike TV debuted its newest UFC program.  Inside the UFC is a half hour, magazine style show hosted by Joe Rogan.  Inside will air a new episode every Thursday night at Midnight.

Last night’s show started with Rogan giving us an overview of the show, and gave us his Top fight KO’s by punch of the past year.

1. Scott Smith v. Pete Sell
2. Chuck Liddell v. Renato Sobral II
3. Chuck Liddell v. Randy Couture III
4. Rich Franklin v. Nate Quarry
5. Tim Sylvia v. Andre Arlovski II

Rogan then interview Dana White. I felt like the interview was rushed for time.  It was basically one question one answer, one question one answer.  I would like to have had White elaborate more on some of the topics.  White did however promise to figure out a way for his champions to fight the top guys from other promotions in 2007

Finally Rogan interviewed Matt Serra and GSP about their up-coming fight.  Pretty good stuff.  Both guys like each other, and we got to hear how much Serra doesn’t like Matt Hughes again.

This show has a lot of  potential, and FTT recommends watching every Thursday night (Midnight Eastern) on Spike TV.

UFC Premieres New Show Tonight!

The UFC will premiere its new show, Inside The UFC, tonight at Midnight (11 p.m. central) on Spike TV.

The show will be a magazine style show hosted by Joe Rogan.  For more info click here.

FTT

My Take

Recently Pride FC announced some major changes to their programming, and I gotta say they’re pretty smart moves. Moving in the the American market is not going to be easy for them, so copying the UFC style of programming is a good move considering the recent PPV buy figures.

Let’s start with Sakakibara saying the 6 of the 12 Pride events in 2007 will be held in the U.S. They may not get the PPV buys the UFC has initially, but the best way to compete for the American public’s attention is to be in their face as often as possible. (Does anyone even remember the WFA at this point?) It would also benefit them greatly if they could move their free programming from FSN to a bigger audience. As anyone who follows MMA closely knows, it is pretty much impossible to watch Pride on FSN without TiVo. Having another major organization doing regular shows in the U.S. is going to be great for MMA fans and MMA fighters.

The second major change is that Grand Prix’s will be held once every four years (Four weight classes = One grand prix per year).  I believe this is another good idea.  By increasing the time between Grand Prix’s Pride is increasing the hype and anticipation behind each event.  Only getting a chance to win a Grand Prix every four years will increase its significance to fighters around the world.  Imagine what its going to be like for Gomi (after losing this year) to have to wait four years for a chance at redemption.  This will also help reduce the number of rematches that we see.

Finally, having at least one Pride champion defend his title on every show is going to be great.  People love the drama of a good title bout, so if you want to sell PPV you need to have some drama.  The UFC does this, and as we know PPV buys have been through the roof.  Now, if Pride can just get off of FSN, and on to a channel with a regular programming schedule, there’s no telling how much they can grow.

Eddie Mott

Six U.S. Shows for Pride

In a recent interview Pride FC CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara stated the organization will hold 6 shows in the U.S. in 2007.  This is exciting news for MMA fans, as the Pride roster is generally considered the best in the world.  They have also announced several other changes to their shows:

1.) No more Bushido events in Japan.

2.) Grand Prix’s will be held once every 4 years (4 weight classes = one grand prix per year.

3.) At least one title fight at every Pride event.

FTT

What’s In A Nickname

What’s in a Nickname

It’s time to sit down at the dinner table and talk about nicknames. We’re going to talk about the good the bad and the ,well the typical. Every up and coming fighter wants and needs a nickname. It helps the crowd identify who you are, and what to expect when you step in the cage. We’re going to talk about the best nicknames in the business. The worst nicknames in the business, and the guys who could have just tried a little harder.

The top three nicknames in MMA.
1.) “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva
Silva gained his nickname from his insanely wild style of fighting. Silva rushes his opponents with a plethora of knees, kicks, and punches. If Silva gets his opponant to the ground, often it looks like they’ve gone to an axe fight without and axe.

2.)”The Prodigy” B.J. Penn
B.J. was nicknamed “The Prodigy” after taking up BJJ at the age of 17. He has since become one of if not the most well rounded fighter in MMA today. When stepping into the cage he can beat his opponents with striking or grappling.

3.)George “Rush” St. Pierre
The nickname says it all. The newly crowned UFC welterweight champ comes at you quick and non-stop.

Three worst Nicknames in MMA

1.) “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” Ken Shamrock
Do I really need to explain?

2.) Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko
Nicknamed “The Janitor” because he cleans up in the ring. Just awful.

3.)_____ “The Pitbull” _____
Seriously no more Pitbulls. Sherdog.com lists no less than 10 MMA fighters with the nickname Pitbull. It’s overused, and has lost all of its meaning.

Three that could have tried harder.

1.) “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni
We get it, you’re from New York, and you’re a badass.

2.) Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell
This was tough for me to put here because it is a very appropriate nickname. I just think that it doesn’t make you fear one of the best strikers in the game.

3.) Josh “Kos” Koscheck
This one is not his fault. His friends call him Kos, but it falls in the T-Mac, K-Mart, A-Rod realm which I really hate.

Let me know what you think. Who’s the best? Who’s the worst? Who should have tried harder? I’d also like to know who you think has the funniest nickname.

Eddie Mott