Heavy Handed 09.20.07: IFL fans make the trek for World Championship
Posted by Joe Newman on 09.20.2007
Through the International Fight League's ups and downs, one thing is evident: Give mixed martial arts fans quality matchups at affordable prices, and the fans will stand by you. They'll even travel cross country to be part of the IFL's big show.
Simon Young and his buddies flew into South Florida Wednesday morning from Pittsburgh for a trip they had been planning for more than a month.
Forget about the beaches or the golf courses or the deep sea fishing that draws the typical tourist to Florida, these guys had only one thing that really mattered on their agenda.
They were in town because they're part of the new wave of mixed martial arts fans.
If the International Fight League is ever going to emerge from the long shadows of the UFC, it's going to be because of fans like Young and his friends.
Forget that none of the Pittsburgh guys could actually name any of the matchups in tonight's IFL World Championships beyond the heavyweight bout of Ben Rothwell and former UFC champ Ricco Rodriguez.
These guys were soaking up Wednesday's official weigh-in at the Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel & Casino like it was the Super Bowl.
"We've got pictures of people I didn't even expect to see," said Simon, a 31-year-old animator. "I just saw Matt Lindland walk by and go past Robbie Lawler."
Three of the Pittsburgh guys with the lovely IFL ring girls. (Photo: Joe Newman)
Lindland, coach of the IFL's Portland Wolfpack, was there for lightweight Ryan Shultz, a Wolfpack member who is on the preliminary card against Aaron Riley. Riley trains out of the Florida-based American Top Team camp and was one of three Florida-based fighters on the preliminary card.
Lawler, who is coming off of an impressive win over Murilo Rua for the EliteXC middleweight title, was there to support his longtime mentor Pat Miletich, coach of the Quad Cities Silverbacks.
The Silverbacks, the two-time defending IFL Champions, are facing the New York Pitbulls coached by Renzo Gracie.
The Pittsburgh guys are rooting for the Silverbacks. Why? Because they're fans of Miletich. That is the one thing the IFL has going for it -- its lineup of star coaches.
Even if you have no idea where the Quad Cities are (and why would you?), you probably have heard of the IFL's coaches, who include Carlos Newton, Ken Shamrock, Frank Shamrock and Don Frye.
One of the marquee match ups will see Rothwell, left, face Rodriguez in a heavyweight bout. (Photo: Joe Newman)
In the world of mixed martial arts, the IFL is going against the grain by promoting a format that downplays individual match ups in favor of a 12-team league competition.
Some would say they're swimming upstream.
I'm not entirely convinced that the IFL's format is one that can survive over the long run.
The league has had its ups and downs since it kicked off last year.
After seeing its stock reach $17 a share early in the year, the company based in New York and Las Vegas saw its stock close at 50-cents a share on Wednesday, the day before its Championship event.
Let's face it. It's difficult to get behind the team concept as it currently exists.
At the end of the year, you're left with the two best teams facing each other but not necessarily the league's best fighters.
To me, that's anti-climatic.
The league should take a cue from high school wrestling. There, your dual-meet record is secondary to how you do in the district, regional and state tournaments, where it's the individual match ups that count.
The IFL should award a regular season champion based on how the teams do against each other, but at the end of the season, why not a series of tournaments where the individuals advance? You could seed the tournament so that fighters who have already met during the regular season are put in different brackets.
Just a thought.
But I think the biggest issue with the IFL is the fact that you can't watch the matches on live TV. Until it finds a way to put its matches on live TV, the IFL is always going to have trouble building its fan base.
Here's the thing, though. In its short history, the IFL has shown a remarkable ability to improve and adapt.
In its first year, it expanded from an original four teams to the current 12, with plans to add four more for the 2008 season.
They've slowly added partners and sponsors and addressed a major shortcoming this year by adding a Grand Prix event that will pit the four best fighters in each weight class, regardless of team affiliation, against each other in a single-elimination format.
And now IFL co-founder Kurt Otto says the organization is working on a deal to broadcast the 2008 season on live TV, according to a report by FOXsports that appeared on their website Wednesday.
You get the sense that Otto and his partner Gareb Shamus are pushing the IFL in the right direction.
The key will be in signing and developing enough talent to keep the interest of fans like the four Pittsburgh guys. This is the first live MMA event that any of the guys have seen.
To say they're psyched would be an understatement.
"We've been waiting to see a live show for awhile," said Travis Willis, who flew down with Young and their other two friends, Pete Casper and Ian Frantz.
How serious are these guys? They're not even staying to enjoy the weekend, opting to fly back to Pittsburgh on Friday.
Fan Darlyn Baker poses for a picture with IFL commentator Bas Rutten. (Photo: Joe Newman)
They weren't even the fans who came the farthest to see the event. That distinction might have belonged to Chuck and Darlyn Baker, who came all the way from Bakersfield, Calif.
The Bakers have been to UFC and Pride events. They don't really follow the team concept of the IFL. What's important to them is being part of one of the sports "big events."
"We're fans of the sport of MMA," said Chuck Baker, who says they used to be boxing fans before they discovered mixed martial arts.
With these fans, the IFL has struck a chord. Provide quality MMA at affordable prices and the fans will come.
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This is my first column for 411mania.
My goal in future columns is take readers to the heart of mixed martial arts in America, which often means leaving the glare of the UFC's bright lights far behind.
While the fighters will always be the soul of MMA, there are a lot of other interesting stories out there, from the small-show promoters to the people behind the scenes of organizations like the UFC, the IFL and its host of competitors.
This is where you can help. Drop me a line at the email address below and tell me some of the people and events that you think exemplify the real spirit of MMA. I've got some ideas for some interesting columns but I could always use more.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything there is to know about MMA.
In fact, as I write this, every single one of my picks on the UFC Fight Night main card lost. I had picked Din Thomas, Terry Martin, Pete Sell and Junior Assuncao to win. To my horror, every single one of them seemed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
Go figure.
I thought my fighters were ahead in three of the four main card matches up to the point where they lost. But that's the beauty of being an MMA fan. It doesn't matter how far behind you are in a fight, a single punch can win it at any time. It's hard to be disappointed when both fighters give it everything they have.
Unlike a lot of you, I haven't been watching since UFC 1. I can't quote you every single member of Team Quest or tell you who has headlined every UFC pay-per-view event ever put on. (Of course, I'm pretty good at looking that stuff up).
What I do know, however, is a good story when I see it and, hopefully, that's what you'll get every Thursday here in Heavy Handed.
Got a comment, question or column idea? You can reach Joe Newman by emailing cagebuzz AT gmail DOT com or on his blog at Cage Buzz.
