Anacondas, Tiger Sharks, IFL “USO Fleet Week” Visit Featured Monday on “IFL Battleground” on MNTV
Coaches, Athletes Board Navy Ships For Unforgettable Experience; “Bad Brad” Blackburn, NYU’s Shad Lierley Among Top International Fight League Athletes Highlighted
NEW YORK, July 11, 2007- The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts league, takes a look at the matchup between the unbeaten and first-place Los Angeles Anacondas and the surprising Seattle Tiger Sharks, with a playoff berth on the line, in the next episode of “IFL Battleground” on Monday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT/MT). “IFL Battleground” airs every Monday night, with a replay on Saturday, on MyNetworkTV.
One of the highlights is a behind-the-scenes look at IFL coaches, athletes, and “IFL Battleground” Co-host Tiffany Fallon on board several U.S. Navy ships as part of “USO Fleet Week,” during which Navy sailors and officers and U.S. Marines took part in training, meet-and-greet and autograph sessions. Fallon joined Silverbacks coach Pat Miletich, Pitbulls mentor Renzo Gracie, and IFL athletes Ben Rothwell (Milwaukee, Wis.), Jamal Patterson (Hoboken, N.J.), Mark Miller (Chicago), Brian Foster (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Bryan Vetell (Jamaica, N.Y.).
Top athletes profiled in the episode include the Tiger Sharks’ “Bad” Brad Blackburn (Olympia, Wash.), a self-described “adrenaline junkie” who takes viewers along for the ride on his ATV, and Shad Lierley (Seattle), a former wrestling champion at New York University who puts his unbeaten record on the line in his toughest test vs. teen sensation Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario).
Many of the league’s top stars and matchups are profiled in and out of the ring in the episode, which features action from the Everett Events Center in Everett, Wash., including:
• Blackburn looks to re-establish his position among the top IFL welterweights against tough Jay Hieron (Las Vegas), a native New Yorker and former junior college All-American wrestler• Toughguy middleweights Benji Radach (Coconut Creek, Fla./Seattle native) of the Anacondas vs. Bristol Marunde (Sequim, Wash./Alaska native), both of whom have independently been involved in preventing violent crimes. Radach helped subdue an armed robber at a restaurant, while Marunde interrupted an attempted rape in a nearby apartment, for which he was cited by the Bellevue, Wash., police.• Two of the league’s top veterans at light heavyweight clash in a contrast of styles as Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas), a native of Argentina who moved to the U.S. at age 15, has an advanced Engineering degree and also used to captain ships on the Pacific, battles Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Allan Goes (Aliso Viejo, Calif/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native), who has won all three of his IFL bouts to date.• Former wrestlers who have big right hands to match put their skills to the test as Krzysztof Soszynski (Winnipeg, Manitoba), a former professional wrestler who also runs an MMA series in Winnipeg, challenges Reese Andy (Billings, Mont.), an All-America grappler at the Univ. of Wyoming.
Additionally, the search for the next IFL Ring Girls wraps up, with two ladies facing elimination as the final selections are made prior to the IFL Championships.
Viewers can find their local MyNetworkTV affiliate at www.mynetworktv.com/local_stations.html.
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.