Pro fight league is a hit — and it’s coming here
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 31, 2007
Aaron Stark will step into the ring at the Everett Events Center tonight with his mind set on knocking his opponent unconscious or beating him into submission.
The Oregon native is 205 pounds of tough, a fighter in the International Fight League, the world’s first team-based professional mixed martial arts league, which is making its first stop in Washington tonight.
And Stark’s long-term dream: To make world-class pinot noir.
Seriously.
When he’s not busy fighting or training, Stark is the vineyard manager for Colene Clemens Vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The family-owned vineyard, named for Stark’s grandmother, planted pinot noir vines – three different Dijon clones, Stark says with pride – two years ago, and Stark said they hope to produce their first wines next year.
Oh yeah, the former college wrestler is also a member of Mensa International, an organization of people with high IQs.
While mixed martial arts competitions, best known from the Ultimate Fighting Championships that draw huge crowds and pay-per-view ratings, continue their rapid growth in this country and abroad (see last week’s cover of Sports Illustrated as evidence), they also fight constant misconceptions.
Gone are the early days of the sport when there were no weight classes and few rules. Despite the violence of the sport – and there’s no arguing that it is violent – fighters say the sport is much safer than the casual observer might believe.
These are athletes, and well-rounded ones at that, not brawlers.
“I do think that’s something we’re always dealing with,” Stark said. “I won’t tell you that there aren’t any savages in the business, but most of the guys tend to be fairly well-rounded guys outside of the ring. They’re guys with families, guys who went to college. I don’t have any hatred for my opponents. It’s a sport.”
The IFL’s visit tonight gives local fight fans a chance to see the sport up close. The IFL, which started last year and is in its first full season, differs from Ultimate Fighting by being a team sport. Tonight’s card features fighters from four of the teams in the 12-team league: Seattle; Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles; and Tokyo. Each team has fighters in five weight classes, and teams win by winning three or more of the five matches.
Competitions take place in a round-robin format from January to June, with the top two teams competing for the IFL Championship in September.
While the IFL may not have the name recognition of Ultimate Fighting, it is certainly doing well in its first full season. Matches are held in smaller venues, similar in size to the 8,300-seat Everett Events Center, and usually draw between 5,000 and 8,000 fans. The league also has TV contracts with FSN, which airs a weekly show Friday nights, and with MyNetworkTV, which has a two-hour show on Mondays that is part fight action and part a behind-the-scenes look at the league.
In the early to mid-1990s, the early days of mixed martial arts in the U.S., fighters could get away with almost anything. The sport was referred to as “human cockfighting” by Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona and was banned in many states before changes were made.
Now the sport is regulated. It has weight classes and rules.
The IFL’s Web site lists 27 actions constituting fouls, including butting with the head, eye gouging, biting, hair pulling, fish hooking, groin attacks of any kind, elbows to the face or head, and – get ready to cringe – intentionally placing a finger in any opponent’s orifice.
The sport’s top athletes are just that: athletes, not barroom brawlers stepping into the ring. Most come into the sport with a background in one fighting discipline and then learn others such as boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, karate, Muay Thai or tae kwon do.
Unlike boxing, mixed martial arts has not had a death in a sanctioned event.
“It’s definitely not as bad as what people think,” said Ryan Schultz, a member of the Portland Wolfpack and one of the league’s stars. “We’re not just brutes up there beating the crap out of each other. We’re all friends. It’s totally a sport. Most of us, we’re pretty easygoing guys.”
The IFL is also unique in that is provides a steady fight schedule and steady pay. While the top fighters on pay-per-view fights are making good money, other fighters can struggle to find fights at all, let alone fights that pay well. IFL fighters, on the other hand, have contracts with the league that provide a steady paycheck and health benefits.
“I’ve fought all over the place, in Japan, Hawaii, Canada, just looking for fights,” said Schultz, who wrestled at the University of Nebraska. “With this league it’s great. With IFL, you can plan your life a little bit better. You know when you’re fighting. They take care of us.”
That financial security is something some fighters never thought they’d get from fighting.
“My first five fights were for free,” said Brad Blackburn, an Olympia native who fights for the Seattle Tiger Sharks. “Now I’m getting paid enough to pay my bills. I was hoping one day it would pay, but I never really thought it would. I’m getting paid to go out and do something I love.”
Controversial or not, the sport on display tonight in Everett seems here to stay.
“This sport is definitely blowing up,” Schultz said. “It’s fun to be on that train. It’s exciting; you can definitely see the change in how popular it’s becoming. I think it’s here to stay and I see it doing big, big things.”
More about the sport
Fighting styles used: Boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, karate, Muay Thai and tae kwon do are the most prominent also judo, aikido and others.
How a fight is won: Matches are won by knockout, technical knockout (referee or corner stoppage), submission or tap out (when an athlete resigns the match because he is in a compromised hold or choke), or a judges decision. The team that wins the best three of five matches wins the team competition.
Common terms
Armbar: A type of armlock in which the arm is hyper-extended at the elbow in order to get an opponent to submit or tap out.
Ground-and-pound: A technique in which an athlete gains an advantage through a takedown, assumes a top position and strikes down on the opponent.
Heelhook: A submission hold applied on the heel and then fully accomplished by twisting the knee at the joint.
Submission hold: A choke or joint manipulation that is meant to cause an opponent to submit or tap out.
Tap/tap out: An act of submission or giving up in which an opponent, hopelessly captured in a submission hold or being pummeled by strikes, taps the mat or his opponent in lieu of blacking out or risking bodily harm.
Takedown: The act of putting your opponent to the floor with a tackle, sweep, Greco-throw or other technique, typically involving the legs.
IFL timeline
Jan. 6, 2006: Real estate developer and martial arts aficionado Kurt Otto and Gareb Shamus, founder of Wizard Entertainment, announce the creation of the International Fight League. The IFL will field four teams (Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Moline, Ill.) and play host to two national tournaments in 2006 before formally launching a full season in 2007.
April 29, 2006: The IFL makes its debut at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. The Quad Cities Silverbacks post a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Anacondas, and the Seattle Tiger Sharks edge the New York Pitbulls 3-2.
June 2-Nov. 20, 2006: The league expands to 12 teams for the 2007 season, adding franchises in Portland, Ore.; Tokyo; Toronto; San Jose, Calif.; Tucson, Ariz.; Orange County, Calif.; Chicago; and in Nevada.
Nov. 29, 2006: The IFL begins trading as a public company under the OTC Bulletin Board ticker symbol (IFLI: OTC.BB).
Jan. 19, 2007: The IFL holds its inaugural regular-season event at The Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., where the Toronto Lions defeat the San Jose Razorclaws and the Southern California Condors beat the Seattle Tiger Sharks.
Today: The IFL comes to the Everett Events Center.
Source: The IFL
