Executives at the International Fight League have already taken note of EliteXC’s strong showing on CBS and are hoping to reap some of the benefits.
As the league prepares for its August 15th card at the IZOD center in NJ, where it will unveil its new six-sided ring, “The Hex,” CEO Jay Larkin has issued the following statement to the media regarding EliteXC’s CBS debut:
“Saturday’s ratings success of ProElite’s show on CBS again shows that the market for the sport in the mainstream is growing, and we at the the International Fight League are very excited to be one of the industry leaders that can help grow the sport of Mixed Martial Arts collectively. We look forward to continuing our work both independently with our great roster of young, marketable athletes, and with other promotions, to help make exciting fights and encourage further growth of the sport to a larger audience.â€
With a roster of somewhat unknown , but incredibly talented fighters like Wagnney Fabiano, Roy Nelson, Tim Kennedy and Jay Hieron, the IFL is certainly in a position to help put on a great night of fights for any organization that wants to co-promote.
While “co-promotion” has been quite the buzz word in the MMA world, especially as a weapon against the UFC, fans have yet to see it except in rare instances.
With EliteXC’s live broadcasts on CBS, and Strikeforce’s taped programming on NBC, it will be interesting to see if either brand is willing to take the IFL up on it offer, or if they will keep their coveted deals to themselves.
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