ROSTERS ANNOUNCED AS INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE IS FIRST TO BRING TEAM MIXED MARTIAL ARTS COMPETITION TO THE ATLANTA AREA
The Arena at Gwinnett Center to host four-team event coached by Matt Lindland, Renzo Gracie, Carlos Newton and Igor Zinoviev on February 23; Lawler and Pamplona To Battle In Superfight
NEW YORK and ATLANTA, February 14, 2007 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, today announced the updated 11-bout card for its first event in the Southeast, on Friday, February 23, at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., beginning at 7:30 p.m. The matchups at The Arena at Gwinnett Center will include the Portland, Ore., based Wolfpack, coached by Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland, taking on the Dragons, based in Toronto and coached by world champion Carlos Newton. The second team matchup will feature the New York-based Pitbulls, coached by world jiu-jitsu champion Renzo Gracie, taking on the Chicago-based Red Bears, led by Russian MMA standout Igor Zinoviev.
In addition, UFC veteran Robbie Lawler (Davenport, Iowa) will battle one of Brazil’s best in Eduardo Pamplona (Sao Paulo, Brazil) in a highly-anticipated Superfight following the team competition.
The evening is part of the full 11-event IFL 2007 schedule, the most comprehensive advance schedule in the history of fight sports. The matchups are as follows:
Dragons (Toronto) vs. Wolfpack (Portland) (IFL Record, Overall)155 lb: Wagnney Fabiano (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (0-0, 4-1) vs. Ian Loveland (Portland, Ore.) (0-0, 6-4)170 lb: TBD vs. Mike Dolce (0-0, 2-0)185 lb: Brent Beauparlant (Montreal, Quebec) (1-2, 4-3) vs. Matt Horwich (Gresham, Ore.) (2-2, 17-8-1)205 lb: Wojtek Kaszowski (Winnipeg, Manitoba) (0-2, 0-4) vs. John Krohn (0-0, 1-0)265 lb: Rafael Feijao (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (0-0, 2-0) vs. Devin Cole (Medford, Ore.) (2-3, 6-4)
Red Bears (Chicago) vs. Pitbulls (New York)155 lb: Peter Kaljevic (Montenegro) (0-0, 1-5) vs. Erik Owings (New York) (2-1, 2-1)170 lb: Mark Miller (Chicago) (0-0, 5-1) vs. Delson Heleno (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) (1-1, 7-2)185 lb: Chris Albandia (Chicago) (0-0, 5-3) vs. Fabio Leopoldo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) (1-0, 3-1)205 lb: Armin Mrkanovic (Long Island City, N.Y.) (0-0, 0-0) vs. Jamal Patterson (Belvedere, N.J.) (2-1, 2-1)265 lb: Mo Fowzi (London) (0-0, 0-1) vs. Bryan Vetell (New York) (0-1, 0-1)
Superfight185: Robbie Lawler (Davenport, Iowa) (0-0, 12-4) vs. Eduardo Pamplona (Sao Paulo, Brazil) (0-0, 5-1)
Tickets are available through www.ifl.tv or via Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com, by telephone or at Ticketmaster outlets.
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, 2007 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, 2007.
The 10 venues for the 2007 season (The Forum in Los Angeles will host two events) will scale to between 7,000 and 13,000 seats, which has been consistent with the IFL’s plan of managed growth.
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
Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and IFL’s management’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future financial condition, and results of operations. There can be no assurance that future developments actually affecting IFL will be those anticipated.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ (favorably or unfavorably) from the expectations stated in this release include the risks and uncertainties such as the conditions of the markets for live events, broadcast television, cable television, pay-per-view, Internet, entertainment, professional sports, and licensed merchandise; acceptance of the Company’s brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to litigation; risks associated with producing live events; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; effects of competition, including locations of competitors and operating and market competition.. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
IFL undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. This press release may include the opinions of IFL and does not necessarily include the views of any other person or entity.
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