New IFL Coach: Ian Freeman

[Mulla]

A few people on the CageWarriors forum were dropping hints about this recently, and somebody's just posted the following article on the UG. Cant check the IFL site as it doesnt work on my work comp, but Im guessing this is legit:

INTERNATIONAL FIGHT LEAGUE (IFL) NAMES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION IAN FREEMAN AS COACH OF BRITISH TEAM FOR 2008

Expansion into Europe for world's first Mixed Martial Arts league begins in the United Kingdom

NEW YORK, November 1, 2006 - The International Fight League (IFL) today announced the beginning of expansion into Europe by naming world champion Ian Freeman as the coach of the IFL's English team, which will begin participation in the IFL in 2008. The English team will begin training and participating in IFL activities later this year.

"We are very excited that Ian Freeman has decided to become the first of what we expect to be several IFL entries from various countries in the next few years," said IFL co-founder and commissioner Kurt Otto. "The United Kingdom has fervent support for fight sports in general and is a growing hotbed for MMA, and we are proud to be able to begin to establish our European base with Ian and his athletes."

"Being a part of the team concept that the IFL has put together is an honor for me," Freeman said. "The UK is the perfect starting point for the league in Europe, and I am looking forward to working with, and competing against, some of the sports greatest legends as well as training many of its future stars."

A former boxer, "The Iron Ambassador," is arguably one of the most popular figures in the fight game in Europe. He began his MMA career training with world champions (and now fellow IFL coaches) Renzo Gracie and Marco Ruas and competed in amateur vale tudo before turning pro in 1999. He steadily gained notoriety, eventually taking the UFC title over Frank Mir in front of a record British crowd at Royal Albert Hall in July 2002. Freeman has trained, coached and competed in various organizations over the past few years, most recently taking the British Light Heavyweight title from Mark Epstein in September 30, 2006.

The addition of a team in the UK now brings the total of teams outside the United States to three, with more teams expected to be named in the near future. The Sabres, based in Tokyo and coached by Antonio Inoki, and the Dragons, based in Toronto, Ontario and coached by Carlos Newton, have already begun play and will be part of the IFL inaugural 12 team season that will begin in the first quarter of 2007. The final two entries for 2007, which will both be United States-based, will be announced shortly, with the full 11 date IFL schedule to follow.

Founded in 2005 by Kurt Otto, a real estate investor and a life-long martial arts participant and Gareb Shamus, chairman of Wizard Entertainment Group, the International Fight League™ (IFL) was created to establish a centralized and structured organization that brings the power and influence of the mixed martial arts industry together. On August 25, 2006, IFL entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Paligent, Inc. (PGNT:OTCBB), pursuant to which IFL would emerge as the surviving entity. For further information regarding the merger, contact Paligent at (212) 755-5461. For more information on the IFL, go to www.IFL.tv.

[Nimmy]

i reckon freeman will do a good job, we might see some other quality wolfslair fighters come in also

[DrumzCT]

I think this is awesome. The IFL is doing a great job of getting the international team thing going. People have pride in thier countries (and more local geographic region) and I really think the team concept is going to do well. I've found myself being sucked in recently (though mostly by what coaches i like rather than location).

[Mulla]

Originally Posted by DrumzCT

I think this is awesome. The IFL is doing a great job of getting the international team thing going. People have pride in thier countries (and more local geographic region) and I really think the team concept is going to do well. I've found myself being sucked in recently (though mostly by what coaches i like rather than location).

Im hoping something like this will bring more MMA exposure to the UK. A lot of UK fans think that MMA=UFC and UFC=MMA. UFC is the only org to get any really good exposure over here and so the vast majority of fans dont know anything about the other shows, inc. Pride. Im guessing the IFL will sort out some British broadcasting for that particular season which will hopefully educate a lot of the British fans about the sport as a whole.