Recently in IFL Category

All right, things are looking great - at least on paper - in the world of MMA for the rest of the year. Here are just some the major match-ups I've heard about, most confirmed, some still just rumor, but probably will happen:

-- Matt Lindland Vs. Trevor Prangley at Affliction 2 - Day of Reckoning.

-- Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett, also at Affliction 2.

-- Jake Shields vs. Paul Daley at EliteXC's Oct. 4 show on CBS.

-- Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn on UFC's Jan. 31 show.

-- Also upcoming on a UFC event is Brock Lesnar vs. Cheick Kongo and Joe Steveson vs. Kenny Florian.

-- Also on the CBS show, Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobald and Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson vs. Brett Rogers.

-- And finally, another Affliction match-up, former IFL lightweight champion Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon.

Holy crap! That's a lotta MMA.

Looks like Affliction likes the idea of getting as much talent from the now-defunct International Fight League (IFL) as it can.

Former International Fight League welterweight champion Jay Hieron has followed in the path of Xtreme Couture teammates Mike Pyle and Chris Horodecki, announcing his intent to sign a one-year, three-fight deal with Affliction.

IFL Heavyweight champ Roy "Big Country" Nelson is on board to fight at the next PPV in October. Former IFL lightweight champ Chirs Horodecki just recently signed a one-year, three-fight deal with Affliction.

And now, we have this news:

IFL welterweight champ Jay Hieron last week told MMAWeekly.com he had offers on the table from EliteXC, UFC, and Affliction, but the clothing company turned fight promotion brought the best deal.

"They came and offered me what I thought I was worth, and I'm happy to be a part of it," he said.

From fiveouncesofpain:

Following up an exclusive story we first reported yesterday, former IFL lightweight wunderkind Chris Horodecki has officially signed a contract with Affliction.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the news earlier this afternoon with one of his agents, Matt Stansell of North County Fight Club. According to Stansell, Horodecki has inked a three-fight deal.

MMAjunkie.com is also reporting that Horodecki will debut for the promotion during its next card on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas. An opponent has yet to be named.

By Mike Russell, of The Fight Network
The long speculated moratorium of the International Fight League now has a date. According to IFL senior vice president of communications Joe Favorito, the team-based MMA promotion will turn out the lights July 31 as its assets are sold to a yet-to-be-named buyer, confirmed today by several anonymous sources as the UFC ownership group Zuffa LLC.

"As of July 31 my role at the IFL will be no more as the company goes into its final stage of being sold and/or closed down," Favorito stated via email.

Favorito, who cited the financial deficit of the company as the reason for the sale says he is proud of what the IFL was able to accomplish in the sport.

"We are very proud of what we did here in just over two years, building a brand from nothing into something that people in the industry and outside of the industry actually noticed, and I enjoyed working with so many different people and helped tell some great stories," added Favorito. " At the end of the day sometimes the finances don't make sense, but it certainly wasn't for lack of trying."

The buyout, which will mirror Zuffa's takeover and subsequent closure of the now defunct WFA and PRIDE FC organizations in 2007 will see the UFC and WEC's parent company take control of the rights to current IFL contracts as well as the promotion's video library.

Founded in 2006, the IFL has been a breeding ground for up-and-coming mixed martial artists such as Wagnney Fabiano, Chris Horodecki, Ben Rothwell, Ryan Schultz and Roy Nelson who may now all be headed to the WEC or UFC.

As of time of writing, representatives from Zuffa had not responded to a request for comment on the acquisition.