Zuffa To Buy IFL?
Fighters.com reports the following knowing and emphasizing it’s only a rumor, but a rumor among fighters and MMA insiders:
The rumbling from Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, where Affliction will premier Saturday, is that Zuffa is considering buying-out the IFL.
Requests for comment from Zuffa and the IFL respectively were ignored.
If true, the UFC would takeover the near-bankrupt MMA league, absorb its best fighters into it’s two promotions, the UFC and WEC, and kill off the IFL brand.
The idea puzzled one industry insider, who queried, “Why would they do that? It is worthless. They would have learned their lesson from PRIDE. Let it go another six months and it will die.”
A valid observation; but, buying out failed promotions is a pattern Zuffa has followed to exert its supremacy in the market.
The PRIDE buyout could be considered a failure; but, the buyout of the WFA netted “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (29-7), “Dragon” Lyoto Machida (13-0), WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber (21-1), and can be considered a relative success.
It’s unclear who is still under contract to the IFL and whether or not IFL fighters have the re-negotiation clause PRIDE fighters had in their contracts in the event of a buyout.
However, adding IFL Welterweight Champion Jay Hieron (15-4) to the UFC’s 170-pound mix, IFL Light Heavyweight Champion “Janitor” Vladimir Matyushenko (21-3) at 205-pounds, and IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson (13-2) into the UFC’s thinned big boy division strengthens the UFC fighter roster, as well as bolstering the WEC with additions of IFL Lightweight Champion “Lion” Ryan Schultz (20-9-1), lightweight star Chris Horodecki (12-1), and IFL Featherweight Champion Wagney Fabiano (10-1).
There are other IFL fighters who could be successful in one of the Zuffa promotions too; but like, with Zuffa’s fighter acquisitions from PRIDE and the WFA, if they win, Zuffa can market them as their fighters; if they lose, “See, the other promotions are the minor leagues and can’t compete with our fighters.”
From that aspect, it’s a win-win for Zuffa.
There’s also the prospect of lucrative title unification bouts, like the successful Jackson versus “Hollywood” Dan Henderson (22-6) UFC and PRIDE Light Heavyweight Championship unification fight.
Fighters.com will continue attempting to determine the validity of this rumor.
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Ya I agree, let the IFL die, it’s worthless, no reason to pull another Pride. This one should take care of itself.
On simple dollars and cents scale, it probably doesn’t make sense…or cents. But, I think there’s an argument for it on other levels. The buy-out exerts the UFC’s dominance in the market. There are valuable fighters in the IFL roster the UFC and WEC can absorb. The IFL brand isn’t worthless. They were well publicized, just poorly managed. I could see WEC title unification bouts at lightweight and featherweight, and even a Hieron v GSP title unification fight in the UFC.