IFL Cancels August 15th Event In New Jersey
On Tuesday the International Fight League (IFL) officially announced the cancellation of a planned August 15th event in New Jersey due to financial issues.
Here’s the full press release announcing the cancellation:
Organization Working On Financial Situation
NEW YORK, June 10, 2008: The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI ) today announced that it has canceled its scheduled August 15 event at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in light of the company’s current financial condition. IFL continues to explore options for maximizing shareholder value. However, if the IFL is unable to successfully leverage any of those options, the company may seek protection from its creditors through a court proceeding.
The IFL is working with other top MMA organizations to keep its top fighters active in the sport and showcase their talent, while it pursues options that may enable it to continue its MMA operations. Several IFL athletes will compete on the Adrenaline MMA card in Chicago on June 14, and announcements with other promoters working with IFL athletes are expected in the near future. The IFL will also continue to downsize its staff to reduce costs.
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Trouble!!!!!
This is exactly what Dana White was talking about today on CNBC. Running an organization isn’t as easy as it looks. I hope this isn’t the beginning of the end for the IFL.
The IFL has been going under for some time. They went public in a last ditch effort to save face. Now some new octagon, but when it’s over, it’s over.
Well, that just leaves some decent talent up for grabs for the other promotions like EliteXC, Strikeforce, Affliction, Dream, World Victory Road, and even the UFC. I’m sure there’s some fighters of there that Dana wouldn’t mind scooping up….i guess we will see what happens.
I would like to see how Horodescki (spelling is wrong i know) would fare in the UFC or WEC
I think Hor…..ski is the best talent they have, and that he could fare decent in the UFC or WEC. He would be a good pick up. He is young, talented, and marketable.
Jamal Patterson is another good young talent. I would also like to see Vladimir Matyushenko (their light heavyweight champ) against some better skilled fighters because he is a telented fighter.
It would be interesting to see how these guys would do against other talent.
the IFL had 2nd rate talent, if that. But their biggest problem was the promotion of their coaches rather than the fighters…who the hell cares who the coach is! does anyone go to a fight thinking it’ll be exciting to see the coach in action? In boxing, the de la Hoya /Mayweather story makes for an interesting read, but nobody in their right mind will go to the fight because Mayweather is the coach. The IFL management needs someone to give them some decent advice on how to run the org.
also, I think they would get more viewers if they would break them up sooner when they start wrestling. for one, its harder to see the action when its on the floor, and two, most people would rather see them throwing blows rather than wrestling.
The IFL is just terrible. Most of the fighters are never going anywhere. I hope the decent talent goes to WEC or Affliction. The team concept was stupid. A team battle of mixed martial artist 5on5 would be great but that was not the case. They threw the team idea aside and brought in a funny cage. Just stupid.
Yeah DP, Vlad Matyusheuko (IFL LHW Champ) is pretty good. I know hard to tell just how good right now, because of the level of competition….Same can be said about Wagnney Fabiano their FW Champ. He looks like he has the potential to be an absolute terror….I see everyone is pretty much agrees that Hordescki is a nice talent and if that’s true than Ryan Shultz must be a good talent as well, because he just KO’D Hordescki and won the LW Title a little while ago….Jay Hieron (WW) and Dan Miller (MW) are also guys that show a lot of promise….Honestly, after seeing how well Jake Shields (currently fighting in EliteXC) is doing and he came from the IFL, that leads me to believe that these guys I’ve just mention would be able to hold their owne in any of these other promotions including UFC and WEC.
REPORT FROM MMAJUNKIE.COM:
IFL cancels August show, indicates bankruptcy is possible
The International Fight League has canceled its Aug. 15 event at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and warned investors that the company might be forced to protect itself from creditors.
In an announcement today, the struggling league blamed the cancellation on its weakening financial condition and said it is continuing to seek ways of remaining in business.
The league also stated that it is:
“… working with other top MMA organizations to keep its top fighters active in the sport and showcase their talent, while it pursues options that may enable it to continue its MMA operations. Several IFL athletes will compete on the Adrenaline MMA card in Chicago, Illinois on June 14, and announcements with other promoters working with IFL athletes are expected in the near future. The IFL will also continue to downsize its staff to reduce costs.”
While the IFL has drawn tepid interest from fans, official acknowledgment by the company that it potentially faces bankruptcy if it can’t stop the financial bleeding is worth noting. Despite a presence on TV, a handful of talented fighters and a retooling of the brand under former Showtime executive Jay Larkin, the IFL just hasn’t connected with a large enough fan base, and its stock has taken a beating as a result.
Back on Jan. 25, 2007, IFL’s stock hit an intraday high of $17 a share. Today, you can buy a share for a nickel.
Given the league’s prospects, even that price seems steep.
It never connected with a fan base because it was elementary MMA. The team thing was a bad idea. Fights are one on one. I remember Ken Shamrock loving the team concept. I knew right then it has got to be a bad idea.
IFL died when it went to The Orleans Casino…..
I had problems with the team concept as well as the constant reruns from the shows but the IFL’s biggest mistake was the “HEX”. LIke that was going to make it all better. IFL should merge with the Sun Organization(Art of War) and try to be a feeder for Afflication. Horedcki Hieron and Nelson have plenty to offer the fans.