CLASSIC ANACONDAS-SILVERBACKS MATCHUP GRABS SPOTLIGHT AS INTERNATIONAL
FIGHT LEAGUE SEASON ROLLS ON FRIDAY NIGHT ON FSN
TV Debut Of Epic Horodecki-Palaszewski Bout Highlights Card As
Rutten’s Anacondas Look To Choke Out Defending Champion Silverbacks In 2007
Openers For Both Teams
NEW YORK, March 14, 2007- The International Fight League (OTC.BB:
IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts
league, and television partner Fox Sports Net present one of the league’s
most interesting matchups, Bas Rutten’s Anacondas against Pat
Miletich’s defending IFL Champion Silverbacks in action from last month in
Houston, debuting on Friday, March 16. This also marks the first airing
of the much-discussed lightweight bout between teen sensation Chris
Horodecki and unbeaten Bart Palaszewski.
Start time for the show is 11 p.m. in most markets. The March IFL on
FSN schedule, with dates and times on each Regional FSN network, can be
seen at http://www.ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html. Viewers can also check
their local schedule at http://msn.foxsports.com/tv/schedule.
In addition to Horodecki-Palaszewski , which by all accounts is one of
the great bouts in IFL history, the episode features the return of
Anacondas middleweight Benji Radach to the ring after more than two years,
against tough Ryan McGivern, as well as three other fights.
The FSN schedule will continue each Friday, following the order of IFL
events in the first third of the regular season. Then the battle at
Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., between two of the league’s top
teams, the Pitbulls, coached by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master Renzo Gracie
and based in New York, and the Wolfpack, coached by Olympic Silver
Medalist Matt Lindland and based in Portland, Ore., will air on same-night
delay at 11 p.m. on Friday, April 13.
The 22 hours of original programming scheduled on FSN this year
represents nearly 70% more than the 13 hours shown in 2006, when the network
aired three hours of coverage of the IFL Legends Championship in May and
June and followed up with 10 hours of IFL World Team Championship
action, September through December.
The FSN coverage is in addition to the 22, two-hour episodes of
“International Fight League Battleground,” seen on over-the-air
MyNetworkTV nationwide every Monday (8 p.m. ET/PT).
In all, 66 hours of original IFL programming are scheduled to run on
the two networks, which together reach more than 95% of U.S. television
households.
The remaining schedule of matchups on each FSN debut date is as follows
through April:
March 23, Dragons vs. Wolfpack (Atlanta, Feb. 23)
March 30, Pitbulls vs. Red Bears (Atlanta, Feb. 23)
April 6, Condors vs. Sabres (Los Angeles, March 17)
April 13, Wolfpack vs. Pitbulls (Uncasville, Conn., April 13 same day
show)
April 20, Anacondas vs. Razorclaws (Los Angeles, March 17)
April 27, Dragons vs. Scorpions (Uncasville, April 13 show)
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.
Each of the 12 IFL teams for 2007 will compete in three regular season
events; the teams with the top four overall win-loss team records will
advance to the semi-finals, which will be held on Thursday, August 2,
at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL
Finals will then be held at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday,
September 15.
About the IFL
International Fight League (IFL) is the world’s first professional
mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York,
NY and offices in Las Vegas, NV. For more information about IFL,
please see: www.ifl.tv.
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