Jay Hieron, Chris Horodecki, Vladimir Matyushenko, Ben Rothwell Featured In “Meet the Stars” Special
NEW YORK, June 5, 2007- The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts league, takes a look at some
of the circuit’s most exciting athletes, including Jay Hieron and Chris Horodecki of the Los Angeles Anacondas, Vladimir Matyushenko of the Tokyo Sabres
and Ben Rothwell of the defending champion Quad Cities Silverbacks in the latest episode seen on Fox Sports Net this week. The show debuts across the FSN
Regional Networks on Friday, June 8, at 11 p.m. in most markets.
Friday’s show features bout action and behind-the-scenes interviews with the four stars. Hieron, Horodecki, Matyushenko and Rothwell have been stalwarts
in the IFL, which concludes its inaugural regular season this month, with playoffs set for August and September.
Hieron, one of the league’s standout welterweights, is a master of quick finishes, with three of his four IFL victories coming in the first round, via three
different types of chokes. The New York native and Las Vegas resident has helped lead the Anacondas to a 3-0 team record and qualification for the IFL
playoffs. Horodecki, at 19 the youngest athlete in the IFL, is an explosive lightweight with an exciting style who has treated fans to some of the most-talked-about
fights in IFL history. The London, Ontario native’s February bout with the Silverbacks’ Bart Palaszewski has been talked about as an early candidate for
MMA fight of the year, and is among the action on Friday’s show.
The upstart Tokyo Sabres turned a winless 2006 into an undefeated 2007, and veteran light heavyweight Matyushenko from Belarus has been a major force in
that turnaround. Unbeaten in three IFL bouts and boasting an 18-3 overall mark, the well-rounded athlete came to the U.S. more than a decade ago with little
money and speaking no English but has utilized his talents to become one of the world’s best MMA stars.
Dubbed “The North Star,” Rothwell has been the IFL’s premier heavyweight since the league’s first event last April. His imposing physical presence is complemented
by quickness and flexibility usually seen in lower weight classes. His powerful high kicks and boxing skills are highlighted in the episode.
This week’s show is the first in a series of “Meet the Stars” programs that will highlight the up-and-coming stars of the mixed martial arts world this
summer. A preview of the program, along with the the IFL on FSN schedule, with dates and times on each Regional FSN network, can be seen at http://www.ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html.
Viewers can also check their local schedule at http://msn.foxsports.com/tv/schedule.
The FSN schedule will continue each Friday, following the order of IFL events through the regular season. Regular event programming resumes on June 16 with
the Condors-Razorclaws matchup from last month in Chicago.
The 22 hours of original programming scheduled on FSN this year represents nearly 70% more than the 13 hours shown in 2006, when the network aired three
hours of coverage of the IFL Legends Championship in May and June and followed up with 10 hours of IFL World Team Championship action, September through
December.
The FSN coverage is in addition to the 22, two-hour episodes of “International Fight League Battleground,” seen on over-the-air MyNetworkTV nationwide every
Monday (8 p.m. ET/PT).
In all, a minimum of 67 hours of original IFL programming are scheduled to run on the two networks, which together reach more than 95% of U.S. television
households.
The upcoming schedule of matchups on each FSN debut date is as follows:
June 15, Condors vs. Razorclaws (Chicago, May 19)
June 22, Red Bears vs. Silverbacks (Chicago, May 19)
June 29, Sabres vs. Wolfpack (Everett, Wash., June 1)
July 6, Anacondas vs. Tiger Sharks (Everett, Wash., June 1)
Each of the nine regular season IFL events will consist of four teams – each with an athlete in all five weight classes competing. The team that wins the
best three of five match setup will be declared the team winner for the match, similar to collegiate and high school wrestling meets. The IFL also differs
from other MMA organizations in that the bouts are held in an oversized five-rope boxing ring with three, four-minute rounds, each designed to create the
most compelling in-arena experience for local fans.
Each of the 12 IFL teams for 2007 will compete in three regular season events; the teams with the top four overall win-loss team records will advance to
the semi-finals, which will be held on Thursday, August 2, at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2007 IFL Finals will then be held
at The Forum in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 15.
About the IFL
International Fight League™ (IFL) is the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York and offices
in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.
Labels: Ben Rothwell, Chris Horodecki, IFL, Jay Hieron, Mixed Martial Arts, Press Release, Television, Vladimir Matyushenko
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