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Man oh Man...a blast from the past!
Can't believe this board is still going. Have some very fond memories of this stock and some of the great people I had a chance to talk to.
Hope all is well!
Seabee, very sad to hear about your loved one going thru that, could not imagine.
Will be in our prayers.
Been out of this for sometime. Good to see people still making money off of it.
Guys I have not been around and not sure what the status is on anything anymore. I can say that I have been watching TFN for the last 3 months and seems to be an OK channel. The original programming they have is the bread and butter so far. I must say though they still have a long ways to go before I believe it is ready for the US.
Hope all is well!
Dana White Interview Today>>>>
The interview will be at 4 pm/EST, and you can listen to it on Sirius channel 98 or streamed on their website, Hardcore Sports Radio .
Well say what you want, but even Bas said there's work still going on which to me is a good thing. Website is still up and LABS is been constantly on the bid.
One of the first things Lorenzo Fertitta did with the Station properties was take it public. If the UFC wants to go global they will have to do it with raising capital. How they go about that is the ultimate question. Yes, I do know they have all kinds of money and could do it on there own. I just don't think they are willing to take that big of a risk with out investors. I actually think Lorenzo transitioned over knowing that this would be the next step in the expansion of the UFC.
Of course we could all be sitting with useless shares in our portfolio also.....only time will tell.
- BAS RUTTEN ON THE DEMISE OF THE IFL
Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - by Mick Hammond - MMAWeekly.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In just a few short years the International Fight League went from ambitious concept to reality to demise.
At its best, the promotion helped reintroduce a group of veteran mixed martial arts pioneers to the new era of MMA fans, as well helped jumpstart the career of what would become some of the sport’s best young fighters.
One of the promotion’s first and most prominent figures was former King of Pancrase and Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder Bas “El Guapo” Rutten.
Starring initially as the head coach of the Los Angeles Anacondas, Rutten then transitioned to a commentator role and ultimately ended up as Vice President of Fighter Operations, and shined with the usual El Guapo flair in each position.
Still, all things come to an end. As such, Rutten has been released from his contract with the company, and now he looks to transition to other things.
Speaking from his adoptive hometown of Los Angeles, Rutten spoke to MMAWeekly about his time in the IFL, his roles in the promotion, and what’s coming down the pipeline for one of MMA’s premier personalities.
MMAWeekly: First off Bas, tell us about your recent release from the IFL.
Bas Rutten: Well, from what I understand, there is no more IFL, right? We’ve been sold, but there’s still some working going on. Exactly what, I have no clue, but the paychecks have stopped coming in. For me it’s stopped and for all the people I knew in the IFL it’s stopped.
I knew the company was struggling. I had gotten emails from people there that had been let go. “Thanks for the great time working together,” and stuff like that. There was a hardcore group left, and once they started getting rid of those people, I knew the end was near. I was aware it was going to happen.
MMAWeekly: Looking back, how do you feel about your time overall with the promotion?
Bas Rutten: I thought it was a great ride. I came to America to become an entertainer, to do something in the entertaining business; and I truly believe I had an opportunity to do this with the IFL. First coming in as a coach, then I went over to being a host of IFL Battleground with the beautiful Tiffany Fallon, and Kenny Rice and all those guys, it was a great experience.
That opened doors to more things like the Inside MMA show that I’m doing with Kenny Rice. For me, definitely, I was having a lot of fun. They never put me on any leash, so to say, so I could do what I wanted and they let me be Bas.
MMAWeekly: Okay, let’s talk about your individual roles with the IFL, starting with your time as the head coach of the L.A. Anacondas.
Bas Rutten: That was great, but the credit must also go to Shawn Tompkins. He was my first choice to be a coach on the Anacondas. I told him that he was not going to be an assistant coach, but together with me as a coach. I insisted that he be in the pictures with us, because he was doing the same work I was.
It was so great; we had such a tight group. We went fishing in Mexico, had barbecues, and went to movies together. We had a lot of fun with those guys, and it showed. When the fighting wasn’t that good, it was literally because we didn’t hang out as a group. It was a great experience, we got to help build them into stars, because that’s what they are right now, all of them.
MMAWeekly: From there you transitioned to being an announcer and IFL Battleground co-host. Tell us about that move.
Bas Rutten: It was hard to step away as a coach, but they (the Anacondas’ fighters) could understand it. I was going to know the inside-outs of the guys that they were fighting and it was a conflict of interest. There’s no way I was going to get away with it. I wouldn’t appreciate it as a coach, say if Pat Miletich knew everything about every person (on my team), every injury or whatever, it’s not right.
Also, even when I knew those things, I never went to those guys and said things like, “You should go for his nose, his nose is broke,” because I had some great insight, but I never used it, because I believe in karma. I think if you do that, it will all backfire on you.
There’s nothing bad I can say about it. Working with Stephen Quadros again was great. It wasn’t a big switch for me, because I had been doing my stuff in Japan with Pride Fighting Championships. So it was not a big change for me to be on camera.
MMAWeekly: Lastly, your time with the promotion ended as VP of Fighter Relations. What are your thoughts on that?
Bas Rutten: I’ve always been a guy that people have come to, to put them in contact with somebody. Someone will come up to me and be like, “Hey can you get me in contact with Renzo Gracie?” So I get them in contract with Renzo, or whoever they want. I’ve never screwed anybody over, and I’m not going to do it, and people/fighters know that of me.
They know that I’m there in the best interest of the fighters. So my name can open a lot of doors. I can call somebody and get them for anybody, because I’m really there for them, it’s not an act. If there was a problem with a certain guy or fighter, I’d pick up the phone and fix it. I was doing that pretty much already, behind doors closed doors so they say, but then I just started doing it in the open.
MMAWeekly: Now that your time with the IFL is over, what is it you have coming up next?
Bas Rutten: I’m so happy about this thing coming out called the B.A.S., the Body Action System. It’s a punching, kneeing and kick device that you can put up in your bedroom, gym, garage, anywhere you like. We train on it at our gym, actually. Kimbo (Slice) hits it and everybody’s done it. I cannot say too much about it, but you can hit it as hard as you can, it’s going to be good for your aim and it’s going to be very good stamina-wise. The whole infomercial is done and I saw the final product a week ago. I think a lot of guys are going to like this thing; it’s a really fun thing.
I love doing Inside MMA, and of course we have HDNet Fights, and they’re doing Dream events, so I’m right back in Japan like I was before. The last Dream was a great show, and the next one is looking like a crazy show. They’ve asked me for some pro wrestling, maybe I’ll do it. I’m working on a reality show right now. We’ve done some really funny stuff already that I think people will really like. Outside the house, how is El Guapo, and what goes on in his life?
MMAWeekly: What about coming back to the sport in some capacity with another promotion?
Bas Rutten: I’ve already been asked by some other organizations, so I’m going to have some meetings with them coming up. I have my family over from Holland, so I’ve put everything on hold right now. The only thing I’m doing is the Inside MMA show right now. My family will be gone (soon), so I’ll start taking meetings next week.
MMAWeekly: Thanks as always for your time, Bas. Is there anything you want to say in conclusion?
Bas Rutten: I don’t need to say look me up, the fans will find me. Trust me; I’m going to be right in your face. I’m hoping I’ll make the right decisions. I hope the reality show gets picked up, we’ve got some good companies looking at it, and they’ve really liked what they’ve seen. BasRutten.com, don’t forget that. CureForAutism.org, go there and do something with your tax money, that’s where you can donate it. They really need it. It’s a write-off, its great thing to do, so do something good with your money.
Been a while since I have posted. Have had some life changing things happen... hope everybody is doing well and enjoying life.
Fight Club:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=8324
Mark this post! Hendo will take care of Silva!
I'll say it now...Hendo will beat Silva.
Have to agree sounds kind of strage to say the least. As always some great fight and some ZZZZZZZZZZ....Exciting to see Lesnar in the mix his wrestling background alone is scary. Have not been on much and just found out about Randy THAT SUCKS!!!!
I try to post some picks when the full card comes out. I have to agree with you Newb on the Franklin vs Silva fight. Franklin looked horrible in the Okami fight and don't get me wrong Okami is a mad M*#(@er but Franklin should have showed some more offense. Silva is going to some out full speed and it's up to Franklin to see if he can handle the heat. Franklin might have a different game plan now knowing how strong Silva is in the clinch. I think that's what really took Frankling out of the first fight. Franklin thought he would be able to man handle Silva and got lost when he couldn't. It will be fun to see what happens and how Franklin goes about his game plan.
GOD I hope Jardine does not fight Wandy. I still think they will have Chuck fight him. Don't forget Wandy lost two in a row also. Although this fight has lost ALOT of luster from a year ago.
What a NIGHT!!!!Guess we all learn that in MMA anything is possible. I dont care what they say Forrest beating RUA was the biggest upset of the night. RUA looked aweful and I'm starting to believe that all the Pride guys are just on the JUICE. Once the get over here where it's refulated they can't hang. You can have all the natural ability in the world but if you can't go 3 rounds you will eventually get an ass whoopin.
ALL for FREE too!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is HUGE!!!
Britain's Cage Rage Championships Gets Knockout Backing from New Partner, ProElite
I saw them and Chase Beebe impressed the hell out of me! Rani Yahya is a stud in the ground and Chase showed alot of heart to not tap to that knee bar. For the Main Event I have know idea what the hell Crunkilton was thinking banging with McCullough. I would also like to see Stann fight someone with a little better stand up before I jump on the bandwagon. All in all a great night of fights!
FREE LIVE MMA tomorrow on VS.
WEC
Randy Couture vs Gabriel Gonzaga:
Sorry Newbie been on vacation here you go...
http://www.mmatko.com/randy-couture-vs-gabriel-gonzaga-ufc-74-fight-video/
Nice DD Seabee!
AS ALWAYS
Hey! Guys! In Dallas for the past several days on business. I even missed the fights. Hope to get posting again when I get back have fun!!!
Q&A: Shamus on the State of the IFL
July 1, 2007
by Scott Holmes (sholmes@sherdog.com)
Consider what the International Fight League -- A 12-team league that allows competition for 50 or so fighters that are salaried, fully benefited and given exposure on network broadcast television in primetime -- has accomplished in little over a year's time.
In 2007, nine regular season dates were held in cities across the U.S., several of which broke mixed martial arts' attendance records in their respective state. Two playoff events, scheduled for August and September, are rapidly approaching, as is the IFL Grand Prix, which will be comprised of the league's top fighters.
The coaches of the IFL teams are some of the of the biggest names in MMA, and not only do they bark orders at their squads, they step into the ring and fight on occasion.
After two seasons, new faces have emerged and seasoned vets have fought to get their names back into the MMA zeitgeist. Even the most casual IFL fan perks up his or her ears when names like Rothwell, Horodecki, Wagnney, Whitehead and Matyushenko are mentioned.
Star power isn't just limited to between the ropes either. To round out the viewing experience they've got "El Guapo" and the "Fight Professor" back together -- Madden and Summerall if they popped amyl nitrate.
So the IFL has the talent area covered, what about marketing?
Enjoying domestic television deals as well as international, partnerships with brand names like Topps, Xbox, FOX and more, the IFL seems to have a strong chance to be a major player in the wild, wild that is today's MMA landscape. Add to the fact that the fights shown in primetime have been stellar, it's a pretty impressive list of accomplishments for a company that's barely been doing business for over a year.
This all begs the question: With everything the IFL has going for it, why isn't it making any money?
The league's biggest battle will take place on paper. Since it is publicly owned, where the investors go, the IFL will surely follow. This kind of arrangement is certainly unique in the fight world and while at times things have looked promising, they can also look all too bleak.
After a story on the IFL appeared on "60 Minutes" at the end of last year, the IFL stock price shot up to over $17 per share. Once it hit the $16 mark, many early investors bailed out happy as clams. Since that time the IFL has continued to operate at a loss, and their stock price now hovers around the $1 mark.
Detractors have pointed to the steadily falling stock, the lack of revenue, a still-too-novel-team concept, and live events such as the poorly attended regular season finale in Las Vegas as writing on the wall that the young company is headed for troubled waters.
It might be too soon to judge. Many publicly traded companies are able to survive such scenarios -- heck, if the IFL were a car company it would be right on track. With new partnerships seeming like they arrive daily as well as the league's upcoming DVD releases, the IFL might yet see some year-end cash flow come their way.
Recently I tracked down IFL founder and CEO Gareb Shamus, and asked him about the league's second season, the strides and stumbles they have made, and whether or not the sky was really falling:
Sherdog.com: How did this IFL season compare to last year?
Gareb Shamus: This season was incredible because it really showed that we could produce a full season of a professional sports league for mixed martial arts. It's the first time it's ever been done. People have told us that these are some of the most exciting events they have ever been to in their life. They've experienced some of the most exciting fights they have ever seen in their life. I think we've been able to show the level of talent in our organization is really unbelievable and we've been able to show that on television to over 2 million people a week. The world is also really recognizing how popular the IFL has become in just a short time.
Your coaches have legendary pedigrees but you've been making names out of guys like Horodecki and Ben Rothwell (Pictures), who have made their way into the common household through the IFL, which has to be exciting.
Right, well it's great and it also illustrates that there's no such thing as a monopoly on talent. You know there's just an incredible array of talent that's out there in the marketplace and the IFL is just a great place for that talent. Where else can these guys get that kind of exposure on not only just national television but broadcast network television on primetime? We have the widest distribution of television out there. We're in over a 100 million homes you know; it's pretty incredible the reach our guys are able to experience, unlike any other network running MMA.
Speaking of, are you guys going to stay with FSN and the groups you have now?
MyNetwork and FOX have been incredible to work with. They've been there since the start and have been major supporters of us and what we've been able to accomplish. And literally they've been there from day one so they've been incredible in terms of the support that we've gotten from them in building our organization.
You guys expanded to 12 teams this year and have had events in over 11 different cities -- pretty ambitious for your second year. Do you guys want to continue that expansion or perhaps scale back or stay with where you're at now?
Well, we're still working on our '08 plans and we're actually very, very excited by them. We are not ready to share what's going to be part of the season next year. If history is an example of the excitement we've been able to bring to the market, history will repeat history for us. We are going to continue to innovate and just create a lot of exciting and interesting new dimensions to the league for the future so you can definitely expect that, but we're not ready to say what "that" is just yet.
Ok, you guys recently moved the IFL Finals from the Forum in L.A. to the Hard Rock in Seminole, Fla. What was the reason for the move. Was it the California State Athletic Commission or did you just want to get over to Florida?
Yeah, we've been talking with the Hard Rock for a while. It's an amazing venue for MMA. The UFC has had a number of successful shows there. It's a very strong community for people who are interested in MMA. It's a new market that we haven't been to yet so it's someplace that we've wanted to go to. There's a lot of exciting reasons for us to be there. Luckily we were able to make that happen.
We get along great with the California commission as well as every athletic commission. We run a pretty tight ship for our athletes and working with the commissions on that stuff, which is actually a lot more complicated than what people think it is, there's a lot of people involved. There's a lot of testing that's involved, a lot of medical assurances that need to be made, so we work very closely with every single athletic commission.
When you go into a place like Florida that's new for you guys, is there also a possibility of adding teams there?
We are always investigating where the best opportunities or places are, not only for our venues to host events but also where to place teams. So you know that's why if you look at like exactly like you said, we've been to a lot of places this year and worked with a lot of athletes and coaches all over the place, so we're really starting to find out what works for us and we'll continue to do more of that.
A hot topic amongst your fighters is the Grand Prix event. Have you decided where and when that will take place this year?
We're working on finalizing the details for that. I think we are pretty close to putting out the list of all the guys that have qualified for that, so that's going to be a very, very exciting announcement. When that comes out, you guys will be the first to know.
With your company being publicly traded, your finances are on display. A lot of people have been worried about share prices dropping. On paper, things look kind of grim but the partnerships you're getting, to use a financial term, are "robust." What do they know that we don't and basically, will there be an IFL next year?
Absolutely. We've been doing a lot of great things with the company and, yes, we are public and certainly share price is one way of judging the company. However our intent has always been to just build a great organization. The structure of the business is just one aspect of the company, but you know really what we're doing with the company in our opinion is what people should be focused on. When you look at what we've been able to accomplish in a very short period of time, you know, like I said, if history is an indication of what we've been able to do you can kind of project out our future here. When you look at what other organizations have been able to accomplish in their first year -- they didn't have television; they weren't selling out arenas; they didn't have stars that people knew about -- and in one short year we have all of those things. For us it's really concentrating on our business over the long term as we build our business; the market value or the price of the stock will reflect where we are at that time.
In your quarterly earnings statements it says things like "seasonality" in terms of when you'll expect to see revenue. Is it fair to say that you'll really know where you stand financially at the end of the year?
The thing is being a public company in the age of the Enrons and the WorldComs and what they call the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (financial record-keeping legislation), it's really important for us to disclose every single possible risk to our business because we don't want to be in a position where somebody invests in the company and says, "You never told us this or you never told us that or we weren't aware." So we have to paint the riskiest picture for every investor out there because these are all risks of the business. We as a management team are building a company we think will lead to a really successful MMA sports league.
You've got a new partnership with Topps trading cards, the USO organization and others recently. Everyone understands a TV deal, but explain what these moves mean to the IFL?
If you look at all these kinds of relationships we are building, they're all really long-term relationships that also have a short-term benefit as well. But it's really aligning ourselves with companies that can add a lot of value to what we do and it adds a lot of people that are interested in what we do to kind of our roster of fans we've created.
So when you look at Topps, it's got the most incredible sports history in the trading card world, and that's the company that we're working with to do our sports trading cards. When people are kids and they are growing up and they are thinking of sports cards, what's the first name that comes to mind? Topps.
When you look at the governing body for the Olympics what's the one organization that comes to mind for being most closely aligned to MMA? USA Wrestling. They've got members all over the country and all over the world that participate in wrestling and the Olympics and it's just a phenomenal organization for us to align ourselves with especially because of their penetration into the wrestling world at both the high school and collegiate level all the way up to the Olympics.
We have this incredible military, not just stationed here but throughout the world, that's going to benefit from the kind of things that we can do. We had guys training with sailors on five ships coming into New York for Fleet Week and were the only television cameras allowed on the ships. We've got Pat Miletich (Pictures) and a few other guys going over to Afghanistan next week to see the troops over there. That's a relationship where we can give back; also if you think about who are most likely fans: it's guys that train for a living. So it's really building a lot of relationships that will over time create a real everlasting appeal for the IFL because we've been there for them and they've been there for us.
We also continue to expand those relationships, whether it's also with companies like Warner Home Video on a global basis. So again, when you look at these partners that we are bringing in like Warner Home Video, it's the largest home video distributor in the world, and when you add in all the movies that they distribute -- Major League Baseball the NBA and the NFL -- these companies are huge in terms of their reach to their fan base and they are the best at what they do.
Yes we have and Thank You for talking to Gareb. Before the merger allot on this board made a good chunk of change with IFLI.
This sucks:
Q:
Eventually making company stock available to the public?
Dana White:
No, no. I will never do that.
Q:
Why not?
Dana White:
My reason for that is -
The Fertitta brothers, the principle owners of the UFC, who also own Station Casino. They are a public company and if you ask them, they would never go public again. Vince McMahon (of WWE), if you asked him, he probably would never go public again.
I mean, the reason people go public is to raise capital to expand your business but there is no way. We have no need to. You can't control where your stock price is, economy can be bad, you know, there are so many factors, which can crush you. So never.
Penn Vs Pulver 2
http://pandachute.com/videos/ufc_bj_penn_vs_jens_pulver
Nate vs Manny TUF Finale
http://pandachute.com/videos/ufc_nat...anny_gamburyan
I agree! IFL needs to stay far away from that company. Gareb and Kurt have allot going for them and being mentioned in the same breathe with IPEI.....IS NOT GOOD!!!!!!
Not Jungle Fight but K-1 and allot of older kick boxing and Mui Thai.
ESPN shows plenty of Mui Thai and Kickboxing if not more than TFN. Everything else you stated is already on in the US (besides the mud wrestling):). Ranzy would you not agree that the re-runs are somewhat TO MUCH!
I also said that if TFN gets a deal cut with the UFC, TFN is golden. My point is THEY HAVE TO GET SOMETHING DONE WITH ZUFFA! I have many friends in this stock and pray that TFN makes it and Sandy takes all the longs along for the ride. God knows this board deserves some good Karma and a huge run.
Call me naive then. That's all I see in the programming.
If you think that TFN can make it being a Boxing,Wrestling and old fight movie channel, then by all means go for it. The only topic I ever see getting any attention on this board is MMA related. I can't speak for everybody but I would imagine more than half the people in this stock was betting on TFN and MMA.
Oh I know this sport will be huge and is still growing, or should I say Zuffa is going to be huge. Unfortunately most people don't even know what MMA is they only know it by Ultimate Fighting.I guess what i'm saying is...TFN is being left behind. The big boys are stepping in and stealing the thunder.
A year ago this concept was worth something. Now with Spike, Ion, Vs, and a ton of others I find it hard seeing TFN making a run at the success of MMA. TFN was all about going big with being able to show MMA i.e. UFC weigh-ins and old Pride events. Unless they make a deal with Zuffa they are done. Boxing,Crappy Wrestling and old Kung-Fu Re-runs are not going to be able to carry this network. Oh!! and I think everyone knows how I feel about Sandy.
God I just wish that Zuffa would buy into this team concept and make a run at the IFL. CHA CHING!!!!!!!!!!!
PELE is another stock ProElite but I think the PPS is bloated. Have been looking at it for a while now and only trades at 12 and 15. Somebody is buying it though...who knows!
I have to say the Franklin/Okami fight was very lackluster. If all the credit to both of them for getting in there but if either one goes up against Silva like that they will get demolished.
As long as ARCA stays away we should see it level out around here.
I wish George would man up with the immigration issue. This bill is just plain stupid and I pray this thing does not go through.
300k shares traded????SOMETHINGS UP!!!!!!!!