INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE, HDNET FIGHTS TEAM UP TO TELEVISE DECEMBER 29 IFL WORLD GRAND PRIX FINALS LIVE FROM MOHEGAN SUN
HDNet Fights Presents: IFL World Grand Prix Finals To Show Unprecedented Five Titles On One Card, starting at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time
NEW YORK, December 7, 2007 – The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI) and HDNet Fights today announced that the 2007 World Grand Prix Finals will be televised live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on HDNet on Saturday, December 29, starting at 9:30 p.m. EST. This will mark the first collaboration between the IFL, which is completing its first full season of operation, and HDNet Fights. It will also mark the first-ever live IFL broadcast in HD. The regular IFL broadcast team of Kenny Rice, Bas Rutten and Ron Kruck will call the action.
“We are very pleased to be able to offer our fans around the country this special event live and in HD for the first time,” said IFL President and COO Jay Larkin. “Our first live television event on November 3 received great reviews, and we think this event, with an unprecedented five titles on the line, may be the MMA event of the year.”
“This is a great opportunity to work with the IFL for the first time and to bring one of the best cards of the year live to MMA fans and HDNet customers,” said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. “HDNet Fights Presents: The IFL World Grand Prix Finals is a fantastic addition to a huge month of MMA action on HDNet in December and is part of our overall plan to have over 24 live fights a year with HDNet Fights. The IFL Grand Prix is showcasing some of the newest stars in the sport in what will be an action packed, exciting show. “
“Our goal is to bring the best fights possible to air in HD, regardless of what organization those fighters are with,” added Mark Cuban, chairman and co-founder of HDNet. “It is obvious from this partnership for the World Grand Prix that the IFL feels the same way, and we are really pleased to be able to have this historic night for IFL, with some of the rising stars of MMA competing for five belts, as part of the HDNet Fights Presents fight series. It will be a great night for the sport and for the fans.”
The IFL World Grand Prix Finals will feature some of the best rising talent in the sport who have stood out during the IFL’s inaugural season. Included in the matchups will be the rematch of what many believe to be the MMA “Fight of the Year” between undefeated phenom Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki and Shad Lierley, this time for the lightweight title. Others on the card include undefeated Benji “Razor” Radach against Matt “Suave” Horwich for the middleweight belt, Long Island native Jay Hieron against Brazilian sensation Delson Heleno for the welterweight crown and Roy “Big Country” Nelson of Las Vegas against Brazilian Olympian Antoine Jaoude for the heavyweight title. The IFL will also launch its featherweight division with a battle of unbeatens, Wagnney Fabiano of Brazil taking on Kansas City’s L.C. Davis for that belt. About HDNet
HDNet (www.hd.net) provides viewers with the best in original comedy, drama, news, sports and music programming. HDNet is your exclusive, high definition home for popular, critically acclaimed original programming, including television’s only HD news feature programs “HDNet World Report”, “Dan Rather Reports” featuring legendary journalist Dan Rather and “NASA on HDNet” (presenting live shuttle launches through 2010). HDNet presents championship sports coverage featuring the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, NASCAR Grand National Division, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup re-broadcasts, boxing and Mixed Martial Arts; groundbreaking music programming with the HDNet Concert Series featuring leading artists and bands including U2, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani and more, plus original music programs “Sound Off with Matt Pinfield”, and “True Music w/Katie Daryl”; entertaining interview shows including “Face 2 Face with Roy Firestone” and “Higher Definition”, in addition to fun and irreverentlifestyle programming including “Geek to Freak with Dennis Rodman”, “Deadline!”, “Art Mann Presents”, and “Get Out!” HDNet is also the exclusive high definition home to the critically acclaimed and award winning programs such as the Emmy Award winning “Arrested Development”, “The Black Donnellys”, “Blade: The Series”, “Star Trek: Enterprise”, “Dead Like Me”, “Smallville”, “Joan of Arcadia”, “Boomtown” and “Andy Richter Controls the Universe”.
HDNet Movies also features a wide selection of major studio theatrical releases – all uncut, unedited, and appearing in their original aspect ratio so that HDNet Movies viewers get the best possible home theater experience. Only HDNet Movies exclusive “Sneak Previews” bring feature films to viewers before they premiere in theaters! Some of the HDNet Movies “Sneak Previews” have included the Academy Award nominated “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”, Toronto Film Festival nominee “The War Within”, and “Bubble”, the first of six movies by acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh and produced exclusively for HDNet Films and, most recently, “Broken English”, from Zoe Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands, Parker Posey, Drea de Matteo and Griffin Dunne. Upcoming Sneak Previews include “Quid Pro Quo”, starring Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga, “Hunter”, the story of the life and death of infamous gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson from director Alex Gibney and producer Graydon Carter,”Cashback”, written and produced by Sean Ellis, “Flawless”, starring Michael Caine and Demi Moore, and “Closing Escrow”, a real estate mockumentary featuring April Barnett and Allen Friedman.
Launched in 2001 by Mark Cuban and General Manager Philip Garvin, the HDNet networks are available on AT&T, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and more than 40 NCTC cable affiliate companies. For more information visit www.hd.net.
About the IFL
International Fight League™ (IFL) has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.