ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUEMIXED MARTIAL ARTS DEBUT EVENT IN HOUSTON FEB. 2
Two Original IFL Franchises, Two New Squads To Compete At Reliant Arena; Superfight between World Champion Carlos Newton and Olympic Silver Medalist Matt Lindland
NEW YORK and HOUSTON, January 11, 2006- The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the worlds first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, today announced the 11-bout card at Reliant Arena in Houston, set for Friday, February 2, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The event will feature two flagship IFL franchises in the Los Angeles-based Anacondas, coached by world MMA champion Bas Rutten, taking on the Silverbacks, led by fellow world champion Pat Miletich. The second team matchup will feature the Tokyo-based Sabres, led by Antonio Inoki, taking on the Tucson-based Scorpions, led by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and MMA world champion Don Frye.
In addition to the compelling team matchups, fans will get to see a special Superfight between MMA world champion Carlos The Ronin Newton and MMA world champion and Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt Lindland. The Houston card is the first IFL event in the Southwest and is part of the full 11-event IFL 2007 schedule, the most comprehensive advance schedule in the history of fight sports.
Below are the matchups for the Houston event. Bout order is to be determined by coaches choice, selected prior to the weigh-in on February 1.
Sabres vs. Scorpions (IFL, Overall)155 lb.: Savant Young (Pasadena, Calif.) (0-0 IFL, 5-4 overall) vs. Ed West (Tucson, Ariz.) (0-1, 8-2)170 lb.: Antonio McKee (Lakewood, Calif.) (0-0, 17-3-2) vs. Gabe Rivas (Tucson, Ariz.) (0-0, 12-9-1)185 lb.: Kazuhiro Hamanaka (Tokyo) (0-1, 4-3-1) vs. Shane Johnson (Tucson, Ariz.) (1-0, 8-4)205 lb.: Vladimir Matyushenko (Los Angeles) (0-0, 15-3) vs. Dwayne Compton (Tucson, Ariz.) (0-0, 2-0)265 lb.: John Marsh (Hawthorne, Calif.) (0-0, 7-5) vs. Chad Griggs (Tucson, Ariz.) (0-0,. 4-0)
Anacondas vs. Silverbacks155 lb.: Chris Horodecki (London, Ontario) (3-0, 7-0) vs. Bart Palaszewski (Wonderlake, Ill.) (5-0, 25-7)170 lb.: Jay Hieron (Las Vegas) (2-1, 10-3) vs. Rory Markham (Chicago) (4-1, 10-2)185 lb.: Benji Radach (Castlerock, Wash.) (0-0, 12-3) vs. Ryan McGivern (Bettendorf, Iowa) (3-2, 9-3)205 lb.: Alex Schoenauer (Las Vegas) (2-2, 10-6) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (Williamstown, Pa.) (2-2, 10-2)265 lb.: Krzysztof Soszynski (Winnipeg, Man.) (2-1, 11-5-1) vs. Ben Rothwell (Kenosha, Wis.) (4-0, 19-5)
SuperfightCarlos Newton (Newmarket, Ont.) (0-1, 13-11) vs. Matt Lindland (Eagle Creek, Ore.) (1-0, 11-6-1)
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 IFLs plan of managed growth.
About the IFL
International Fight League (IFL) is the worlds 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 IFLs 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 Companys 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 Companys assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statement s.
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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