No Holds Barred: Jay Larkin on the Rise and Fall of the International Fight League

No Holds Barred: Jay Larkin on the Rise and Fall of the International Fight League

http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-01-28T20_05_37-08_00

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Jay Larkin, the former head of the Showtime boxing program, and more recently the CEO of the International Fight League (IFL) mixed martial arts company. Once the second most popular mixed martial arts company in America, the IFL stopped running shows in 2008 after losing millions of dollars, and is no longer in business.

In a lengthy, candid, and spirited interview, we discuss the rise and fall of the IFL, some of the mistakes that company made, the status of mixed martial arts in America, the role of grappling in mixed martial arts, how MMA compares to boxing, the media bias which the IFL faced, and much more.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441.

The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/).

Make sure to check out my regular weekly boxing show SecondsOut Radio, at http://www.secondsout.com/radio/. On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, we present a tribute to the late former light heavyweight champion and Hall of Fame fighter, Jose "Chegui" Torres, who passed away January 19. He was 72. Jose Torres retired in 1969 with a record of 41-3-1with 29 KO's after fighting in 45 fights and 300 rounds. He won the world light heavyweight championship in 1965 by stopping Willie Pastrano in the ninth round in Madison Square Garden. After three successful defenses, he lost that title to Dick Tiger in 1966 by decision, also in Madison Square Garden. He was also known as an author and writer, a former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, and a fighter for social justice and many causes, including the movement for boxers to form a union. To remember and honor Jose Torres, we spoke with his long-time colleague and friend, Paul Johnson, the chairman of the Boxers Organizers Committee. He attended the funeral for Jose Torres held this past week in Ponce, Puerto Rico. We spoke about Jose's life, his legacy, and a project in which he was involved, to call a conference of the major players in boxing, including the fighters, to create some unified structure for the sport. It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, http://www.secondsout.com/radio/, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

Gladiator Magazine (http://gladmag.com/), for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com) or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear (http://jiujitsuprogear.com/).

BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.

Wrestling 411 (http://wrestling411.tv), providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions (http://www.mediasportsproductions.com/), whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

Enjoy!
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See you at the Fights.
Thanks for your time.

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™2007, 2008 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios, Khris Kirkpatrick Morrisey for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

No Holds Barred: KJ Noons, Yves Edwards, Muhsin Corbbrey, Mary JoSanders, Holly Holm, Jay Larkin

No Holds Barred: KJ Noons, Yves Edwards, Muhsin Corbbrey, Mary JoSanders, Holly Holm, Jay Larkin

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins bycommenting again on the growth of the sport of roller derby in theU.S. This Saturday, June 14, EliteXC has another major televised mixedmartial arts show. This one will be shown on Showtime in the U.S. andbe held in the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the main event, EliteXC lightweight champion KJ Noons will defendhis title against the veteran Yves Edwards. In the co-feature, theversatile and controversial lightweight Nick Diaz will take on MuhsinCorbbrey, who has also been a pro boxer. On a media teleconference call this week, we spoke with KJ Noons, YvesEdwards, and Muhsin Corbbrey about their fights. This Friday, June 13, in a bout being billed as for pound-for-poundsupremacy in women's boxing, welterweight champion Holly Holm (21-1-2,6 KOs) will fight unbeaten middleweight champion Mary Jo Sanders(25-0, 8 KOs) in the ten-round main event for the vacant IFBA worldjunior middleweight belt. This fight headlines a women's boxing cardwhich will be shown on pay-per-view television in North America and onSecondsOut.TV elsewhere. We spoke with both champions, Mary Jo Sanders and Holly Holm, on amedia teleconference call this week, about what to expect in thisfight. In disappointing but not entirely unexpected news, the InternationalFight League (IFL) announced this week that they are cancelling theirplanned august 15 show at the Meadowlands. In both a news release andon a media teleconference call, IFL CEO Jay Larkin explained thisdecision and outlined their business plans. On that call, we discussed the problem of the absence of a majortelevision deal for IFL with Jay Larkin, and we also play his openingcomments from that call. To listen to No Holds Barred, click on one of the links below and justpress the play button on the player: http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/2008-06-11T09_52_13-07_00 http://www.mediafire.com/?mcmbzgcdt1m The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download. The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician IanCarpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/). No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by: IFL, the International Fight League (http://ifl.tv/). Make sure tocheck out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/1636002) in the U.S., and to check your locallistings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site (http://ifl.tv/), for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule, athttp://ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html. Gladiator Challenge (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/), shaking up themixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year.For more news and info, check out their web site,GladiatorChallenge.com (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/). BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com), your premier source for allBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more. Gladiator Magazine (http://gladmag.com/), for in-depth coverage ofBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well aslifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. GladiatorMagazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com(http://bjjmart.com) or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear (http://jiujitsuprogear.com/). FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com/), for news, results, interviews,and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martialarts.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™ 2007, 2008 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Studios, for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

Jay Larkin Statement About CBS/EliteXC Event‏

“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.” -Jay Larkin, longtime TV executive at Showtime and CEO of the International Fight League

Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience The Video Channel Online http://www.youtube.com/ELEmpress1

EL Boxing Empress Keisha Morrisey's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/Keishadivine

Honorable Keisha Morrisey http://www.keishamorrisey.com

©®™ 2007, 2008 All photos by "EL Boxing Empress" Keisha Morrisey- Empire Morrisey Studios, for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved

NeuLion Packs a Punch with the IFL‏

Plainview, NY & New York – IPTV service provider NeuLion and the International Fight League (IFL) announce today a new partnership to deliver The IFL Network to fans worldwide. The International Fight League is one of the world’s premier Mixed Martial Arts fighting organizations, currently in its second year of operation. The new IFL Network brings fans closer to the action and is the next best thing to being ringside. The IFL Network is free to viewers and has already attracted many top advertisers. Through its iPTV service, NeuLion will also provide the IFL with complete billing services to support pay-per-view, registration, and future subscriptions. The IFL will be able to offer live events and video on demand showing the preparation fighters endure before going inside the ring. This announcement follows the successful launch of NeuLion iPTV networks for the National Hockey League, New York Knicks, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Toronto Maple Leafs regional sports network, New York Dragons, Cuban Baseball and others. “NeuLion Sport Networks continue to grow. We are excited to have the IFL as a new network and partner. It gives fans the opportunity to watch the best IFL content as never seen before. Consumers prefer to have a choice in watching sports on either the TV or the PC and that is something we specialize in, since our platform can deliver to either device,” said Chris Wagner, executive vice president and co-founder of NeuLion. “We have had some of our greatest success, both internationally and domestically, on the television and digital platforms, and partnering with an industry trailblazer such as NeuLion gives us another piece to the new media puzzle that others don’t have,” said IFL CEO Jay Larkin. “The future of MMA lies in growing the sport and telling the stories of our young and dynamic athletes and coaches, and this will be a great stage to further reach that goal.” The IFL Network is now live and can be accessed by visiting http://www.ifl.tv/Video.html. Viewers can watch high quality video right from their web browser and have the option of sharing videos through NeuLion’s syndication features. Other social networking IFL opportunities for online chat, text messaging, and Fantasy Fighters will be added to the service in the future. Leveraging NeuLion’s iPTV platform to broadcast content, the IFL Network is user friendly and can be accessed anywhere, anytime. The IFL Network features elements such as: What’s New, Behind the Ropes, Live Events, IFL on TV, Championship bouts and much more. The IFL is currently televised in the United States on Fox Sports Net and HDNet and in over 70 countries worldwide. This exciting video player caters to the growing fan base and gives consumers one central place to access all things IFL and watch the latest content not available anywhere else. To access the IFL Network please visit http://www.ifl.tv/Video.html and a complete media kit can be found at http://www.neulion.com/IFL. Log-on, put on your gloves and step inside the ring today. About NeuLion:NeuLion is an IPTV service provider that builds broadcasting networks operating over the Internet. By using the public Internet, content can reach viewers anywhere in the world. NeuLion customers are interested in reaching specific markets with a broadcast television and video streaming service or are broadband providers looking for new applications. NeuLion offers an end-to-end service that delivers content directly to the TV, PC or a variety of other consumer devices. Programming carried by NeuLion includes sports, religious networks, broadcast television from international providers and others. The technology used by NeuLion allows streaming video to be delivered at lower bandwidths than cable and satellite television signals without sacrificing picture quality. NeuLion’s service also allows Customers to have their own network. To learn more visit www.neulion.com About the IFL: International Fight League™ (IFL) has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv. "But you know he’ll always keep movin’You know he’s never gonna stop movin’Cause he’s rollin’, he’s the rollin’ stone.And when you wake up it’s a new morning The sun is shining, it’s a new morningBut you’re going, you’re going home."- Gerry Rafferty, 'Baker Street' www.ifl.tv * Catch the IFL on FSN Saturdays at midnight and LIVE on HDNet on May 16