The International Fight League (IFL) released a statement that its next show at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. has been canceled because of “financial situations,” signaling perhaps the eventual demise of the struggling mixed martial arts promotion.
In fact, FiveOuncesOfPain.com is reporting that it is “unlikely that the IFL has the funding needed to keep its offices open past October.”
This latest move is designed to create more time — perhaps six more months — for the promotion to dig itself out of the financial crater it began digging with its inception back in 2006. The goal is to find a partner and to “explore options for maximizing shareholder value” and to “continue to downsize its staff to reduce costs.”
In short, the IFL is looking to sell or land a major investor who can turn the ship around. In the meantime, its fighters will be able to compete for other promotions if desired.
Here’s a snip:
“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’s original concept was in stark contrast to the industry’s biggest player, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, providing a new approach to the business. The IFL proposed annual salaries and health benefits for its fighters (as opposed to purses) and placed the emphasis on teams (rather than individuals) as the cornerstones of its business model.
It was one that UFC President Dana White often referred to as the “dumbest on the planet.”
Even though there were some milestones, including television deals with FOX Sports Net and MyNetworkTV, the IFL never was able to capture the attention and interest of fans. And that’s despite some great events and a talented fighter roster.
Perhaps it was a flawed business model or just the cold hard reality that it is extremely difficult to own and operate a successful and profitable MMA promotion unless it is somehow affiliated with the UFC brand.
(Thanks to MMAmania.com contributor Drew Hall for help with this report.)
20 Comments »
You hate to see any business go under, but this is no big surprise.
Yeah, this company is going down! It was a good idea, but we all knew it wouldnt last!
Vm: I cant believe “Bullet” punked out like that on the finale of the BET MMA show!
I’m curious. It seems that a few people watched this Iron Ring stuff (not me). But nobody picked up on T.O.P. Army Fighter. It had some decent fights on there.
Does this mean we won’t be able to see the debut of The Hex in action?
This is not a surprise but I am saddened by the news. I like what the IFL was trying to do with adding real “teams” It puts a positive light on the places we train at and sometimes these gyms get lost in the shuffle!
i agree. i liked the whole “team” concept. the problem was that they kept changing formats every year. they should have stuck with one and that was it. adding titles and everything else took the focus off the team aspect that was their selling point.
i enjoyed the ifl as well, they had some good fights hopefully they can pull through this but it does not look good.
Only a few of the IFL fighters are great, or even have the potential to be great. Still they were all solid fighters, all well-trained by champion-level veterans and always gave great effort. I hope they don’t go under, but cancelling a show is never a good sign.
Hopefully Dana can snatch up some of the free talent.
they do have some good fighters.
ryan schultz. i think hordecki would get mauled in the ufc’s 155 div. maybee some of there better fighters can go to the wec and im sure elite will get a few like that big country guy.
i think they would be solid in the wec and down the road maybe make the ufc, some of them are still young.
The IFL was shown on the Janice Dickinson Modeling Show a couple of years ago. Some of her models were the ring girls for one of the fights. I wonder if her ex-partner, Peter, has the dough to help them out now that she’s dissolved their partnership.
LOL. You know a little too much about that show.
Tell me about it. I realized that after I typed it. What can I say. My wife watched the show, I saw the hot chick models and watched a little more than any self respecting man should have.
Haha, that is true. You completely lost me. Peter?
Let’s just pretend it was Peter Parker, and I was watching a show about models and Spider Man.
no danny abbadi = no chance
In my opinion, the major flaw in the IFL’s business model was failing to get their events on live TV, whether it was network, cable or PPV.
The UFC should look at bringing back Jay Hieron. He lost to Goulet due to a cut, and he got unlucky in his UFC debut by getting GSP. I’m sure at the time he was thinking “Who the hell is Georges St. Pierre?” lol.