The IFL format

This quote pretty much sums up what's wrong with the IFL:

But instead of focusing on personalities, as the well-known Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit has done with athletes like Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture, Shamus based his league on teams, hoping that would appeal to mainstream sports fans and TV executives. He also courted the mass market by outlawing elbow shots to the face, a leading cause of bloodletting in mixed martial arts.

Pop quiz: someone name a professional sports team that doesn't focus major attention on its star players? Ready for the answer? There isn't one. No matter if its baseball, football, basketball, soccer, or even cricket, even leagues with teams highlight their star players and use their presence and playing time as a recruiting tool for live attendance, merchandise sales, and every other marketing effort.

In a sport as individualized as MMA, to not do this is a surefire recipe for failure. The IFL needs to fix this immediately.

The case of Ben Rothwell

Ben Fowlkes of CBSsportsline has a piece detailing the unfortunate plight of Ben Rothwell. While the article suggests Rothwell's perfectionism has him both diminishing his achievements and spurring him into action, the more important observation is that its going to be hard to get Big Ben the attention he deserves. Notable quote:

"It's a constant uphill battle," he said. "Like our team. We won the championship, and the hill only got steeper. No team in the IFL has fought as much as we have. Now if I could rematch Dan Christison and make up for that loss, that would be good. But even if I knock him out in the first round, people will say, 'So what?' If I beat somebody I've already beaten, like Krzysztof (Soszynski), they'll say, 'So what?'"

"I'm going to have to beat somebody nobody thinks I can beat. That's what it's going to take, and I think I have the skills to beat anyone. Not every fighter can say that."

That's true, not every fighter can say that. But Ben can. The problem is that the list of competitors for Ben that will enable him to be marketed effectively or move up the heavyweight rankings are dwindling. The UFC is actively trying to score as many of the world's top heavyweights and while Ben is in that category, his MFSElite teammate Tim Sylvia already fights in that organization. If Ben wanted to fight big names he'd have to jump ship, but eventually it seems those two would have to cross paths (they did once before they were teammates) and that's something both would like to avoid.

Ben is a legit talent, but the team concept isn't doing him very many favors. Outside of the individual superfight competitors, its the teams that get the lions share of marketing. Ben Rothwell is on television now more than ever, yet is still virtually anonymous. He's having difficulty amassing victories over recognizable names, but since the teams are the focal point for the IFL, they don't have a great deal of incentive to correct this problem.

If Rothwell wants to reach the top of the heavyweight rankings, fighting Dan Christison as part of a team isn't going to get him there anytime soon. Something has to change. Either the IFL needs to recruit talent and market him properly or he needs to leave the organization.

Video of the Day

Jazze Pha is a legit rap producer, so the IFL got at least that much right. But whenever I hear a rap song that's promoting a business entity (movie, show, organization, product, etc.) I'm constantly reminded of the Ninja Turtle rap with Vanilla Ice.

The case for the IFL

Sam Sheridan makes it in his new column over at Inside Fighting. Notable quote:

My first impression was that the camaraderie level is astronomical, the fighters love it. Mike Ciesnolevics, the Silverbacks 205 lb-er. who was sitting out the fights with a broken nose, commented that he preferred the team fighting to fighting on his own.

”Everyone in the gym is on the same schedule, pushing each other, training hard, cutting weight and suffering the misery of starvation,” he said.

They all suffer the horrors of cutting weight together; which is hard to understand unless you’ve gone through it. Consider that a fighter usually is going to make weight at something that is ten to twenty pounds less than his “walking around” weight.

For the weeks before the weigh-in, the fighters begin to scale back what they eat, increase cardio, generally manage the weight; and they get meaner and hungrier as time goes by.

The team can help keep a fighter on track, losing a few pounds every week as opposed to having to do it all in a few days. The few days before and the day of the weigh-in are consumed by “cutting,” the process of dehydrating the water out of the body, which sheds an additional 6-8 pounds (or more).

There’s the hunger, and then the dehydration, working out in sauna-suits, turning your hotel bathroom into a sauna, all to cut the water. It’s a thoroughly miserable process, and having teammates going through it with you, shares the pain: misery loves company.

After everybody “makes weight” comes the joy of the post-weigh-in eating frenzy, and the group mood changes like the sun coming out from behind a cloud.

The morning of the fights, they all meet for a big breakfast and talk strategy. The long day of waiting, the building stress of the fight, it’s all made a little easier by having your training partners around you, everyone going through the same thing. For many, the worst part of fighting is the waiting, especially the day of the fight. Some of the intense loneliness that fighters deal with is abated.

When the fights are over, everyone gets the same time off, to re-charge the batteries.You get a chance to get away from these guys who you spent so much time with, but soon enough, you’ll all be back in the gym together. Going through an ordeal together, as a team, will always be easier than doing it alone. They gain strength from their teammates.

UPDATE: One note. Sheridan's argument makes the case for the team on behalf of fighters, not fans. For the fighters, the help and camaraderie that comes from mutual suffering is a wonderful thing. But for the fans, does it really make a difference? Do the fans feel the same need to rally around certain teams? Maybe. But ultimately, what the fans want is ultimately what's going to make or break the team concept. I'm willing to give the team concept a pass provided the teams themselves designate something fans care about. So far the Tigershark vs. Red Bears format isn't doing much.

Snapshot of the Day 2

The IFL's Tiffany Fallon.

Lindland and the UFC

It's looking more and more likely they'll eventually reunite. Notable quote:

Lindland and the UFC's executives had a well publicized falling out in the lead-up to UFC 54, where he would go on to decision win over Joe Doerksen. During the weigh-in, Lindland wore a shirt that included the logo of one of his sponsors, Sportsbook.com. The UFC determined that he had violated the organization's policy against wearing clothing with the online gambling sponsor's emblem.

Since the split and Lindland's foray into the IFL (as both a coach and fighter), Bodog, and the now defunct WFA, relations between the two have improved.

Without going into specifics, Lindland confirmed that he has received offers to return to the UFC – including a spot on the Ultimate Fighter.

“I just got offered better money on better terms,” Lindland said. “I got an offer to do their ‘gameshow,’ but I'm 36 years old. I don't want to be living in a house with a bunch of frat guys.”

Nevertheless, Lindland said he would return to the UFC if they present the best offer, but he's currently content with his multi-fight deal with Bodog and IFL coaching gig.

“Whoever makes the best offer, that's where I'll end up going.”

I wonder what he means by "best". Judging by his current endeavors, I'd say its the ability to wear a bunch of different hats. He likes to fight, but also coach. He's a natural middleweight, but is very willing to move up in weight class. He likes the IFL, but also Bodog. My guess is if the UFC signs him to a contract (and their's are exclusive) it will either only be for a few fights or will have to fork over serious dollars. Lindland won't give up his freedom to move around or coaching gig without a lot of incentive.

An illuminating conversation

I was watching IFL Battleground with my longtime friend and roommate last night. Now, for purposes of context and clarification, let me give you a bit of background. He's not necessarily a fan of MMA, but he'll watch UFC fights and enjoy them from time to time. Like any reasonable human being, he thought Karo vs. Diego was amazing. And in general, he's definitely a sports fan. He loves football and basketball, is excited to see Mayweather vs. De La Hoya, actively lifts weights, TiVo's SportsCenter, and so on. He's also my age. In other words, he is part of the 18-34 demographic and tends towards sport-activities and sport-related programming.

But halfway through last night's show he became quickly bored. Yes, the NBA playoffs were on, but that wasn't the only reason. Rather than just rehash what he said, read it for yourself. Remember, this is a guy doesn't look down on MMA at all. He's not an avid watcher, but for lack of a better description, he "gets" the sport.

The following deals with the IFL, their fighters, and the Battleground show.

Him: Dude, are you enjoying this?

Me: Yes, why are you asking?

Him: Are these guys good?

Me: Yes, they're professionals. The IFL is a professional league.

Him: Well, I don't care. Can we not watch it?

Me: Dude, these guys are good. Why don't you want to watch it?

Him: Look, I like the UFC. It's fun, whatever. But I'm not trying to learn a whole new UFC. I've got room for one fighting...thing, you know? There's one NFL, one NBA. I'm not going to learn a bunch of new fighters, and their "teams". And why are they fighting on teams anyway?

Me: It's part of their way of differentiating themselves.

Him: But it's an individual sport.

Me: Well, you compete individually, but you definitely train with a team.

Him: Yeah, but those teams don't matter. I mean, there's no significance or deep relationship to their cities or the other members. These teams don't even have home venues. Big time sports teams have their own venues.

Me: Yeah, that's part of the problem.

Him: Seriously, change it. I'm sure these guys are good, but I'm already spent trying to learn the UFC.

I know that was long and boring, but its important. I don't know how typical his attitude is or how reflective of larger sentiment it is, but I can tell you the IFL better hope he's an anomaly. What he's suggesting is that the brand awareness about the UFC is a) incredibly strong and b) that new comers are UFC-saturated, and c) the UFC has established itself as the brand leader.

Points A and C don't need belaboring, but B does. What my friend is suggesting is that as a casual observer of the sport, there's isn't a MMA world. Hardcore fans of MMA look at all of the sports' players and follow where they wind up. But casual fans do not. They are looking for that one outlet, that one leader, that one source of authority. To them, that is how the sport should be organized (or at least where most of the attention should go). The IFL is going to have to compete with the UFC, but more importantly, they're going to have to undo the idea the UFC is all that matters. The universe of MMA is not the UFC, but unless the IFL can convince people otherwise it might as well be.

Zuffa has also done a good saturating the market. Fans are already overloaded with the ubiquity of UFC-related programming and coverage. As a consequence, casual observers have it in their head that if they want more of MMA, they know to go to the UFC. It's their frame of reference and a focal point for the sport.

The team concept has its advantages, but to the casual fan, it signals the IFL is covering for a deficiency. To the occasional passer-by it says: the team concept is a cover for not having the best fighters. Why else would they do it? After all, its not a team sport. In order for the IFL to succeed and team concept to connect with audiences, putting on good fights - even with legends like Miletich, Renzo, Shamrock(s) - is not enough. You have to make people believe in separate, but equal. I have serious doubts as to whether that's even possible.

17.69%

That's how much IFL stock rose on Wednesday. Is the move from Reno to Las Vegas for the June 16th fights that significant?