Guide to the International Fight League

The mixed martial arts has become very popular recently with the UFC, King of the Cage, World Combat League, and the formation of the IFL. The IFL stands for International Fight League. Unlike the usual man vs. man or woman vs woman, the IFL is team based MMA at it's best.

The IFL was formed in 2006 and can be seen on Fox Sports Net and local channel My Network TV. The IFL features two Mixed martial arts teams that compete against each other as a best-out-of type of event. The fights take place in a ring similar to that of Pride or BoDog. Most matches consist of 3 rounds that last 4 minutes. Elbow strikes aren't allowed in the IFL. In a draw, an extra round would be fought for 3 minutes.

There are only 5 weight classes in the International Fight League. The standard weight classes in sports such as Boxing consist of nine classes. The IFL weight classes are: light weights (146-155 lbs), welter weights (156-170 lbs.), middle weights (171-185 lbs.), light heavy weights (186-205 lbs.), and heavy weights (206-265). Each IFL team features one fighter from each weight class, plus alternates.

The IFL teams are based on a city and have a mixed martial arts coach, who usually is a fighter himself. There are currently 12 official teams, and 5 unofficial teams to be announced. The 12 teams are: the Los Angeles Anacondas coached by Shawn Thompkins, Toronto Dragons coached by Carlos Newton, New York Pitt Bulls coached by Renzo Gracie, San Jose Razorclaws coached by Frank Shamrock, Tokyo Sabres coached by Ken Yasuda, Quad City Silverbacks coached by Pat Miletich, Seattle Tiger Sharks coached by Maurice Smith, Portland Wolfpack coached by Matt Lindland, Tuscon Scorpions coached by Don Frye, Southern California Condors coached by Marco Ruas, Nevada Lions coached by Ken Shamrock, and the Chicago Red Bears coached by Igor Zinoviev. The five unofficial teams are coming this year and are: the British Bulldogs coached by Ian Freeman, San Diego, France, South Korea, and Brazil have coaches but no logo yet. The San Diego IFL team will be headed by Dan Henderson. The French team will be coached by Jerome LeBanner. The South Korean team's coach will be Doo B. Park. And the Brazilian team will have Mario Sperry as a head coach.

Besides, the regular team verses team the IFL has special fights like Jens Pulver battling Cole Escovedo or Renzio Gracie submitting Pat Miletich. Matt Lindland fought Carlos Newton and won. It's a nice addition to the mma event, seeing not the the teams battling it out but also the coaches.

The IFL travels to city after city putting on great performances. Go see the MMA artists, if you have the chance. It's always fun to cheer on your favorite team as in football, soccer, basketball, baseball, etc. Now we can choose our favorite IFL team! My favorite team happens to be the Anacondas.