IFL to be sold to Cuban's HDNet

After peeking at over $15 per share in the beginning of 2007, the IFL is now worth as much as a moderately priced house. The company has made recent moves to be sold to Mark Cuban’s HDNet for $650,000. Just a few years after been highly praised by both the fight community and Wall Street, the IFL is no more.

Several months ago, in the Spring, I spoke with the Jack Tipton, a Manager dealing with sponsorships. It was evident to those who are enveloped in the fight community that IFL was in trouble. I don’t think many people realized just how bad things were though.

At a card in Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Arena, which was to be taped to air on FSN and other regional TV networks, the IFL were selling sponsorships for cheap. It was a fire sale. You could get visible promotions on television for a few grand.

By the Summer things were looking even worse. In early May they announced that there August event would be the debut of their new six sided cage, called ‘the Hex’. One month later they canceled their August 15th event at the IZOD Center in Jersey basically to never be heard from again.

There were rumors in June and July of a UFC buyout of the IFL’s contracted fighters and archived footage but this never happend. What was one seen as a potential (really, the only true) rival for the UFC is dead. They had major backing financially and via prominant names in the mixed martial arts industry.

The IFL was going through a tough period a year ago but they still had a a viable shot at being a factor in the MMA game. Jay Larkin became President and COO (later re-titled CEO) of the IFL last September after coming over from Showtime. Less than a year later, the IFL is no more.

Here are Larkin’s impressive credentials:

His multi-faceted career includes an extensive background in live theater. Larkin attended the Boston Conservatory of Music; the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and received a degree in theater and directing from C.W. Post College of Long Island University.

Even after being an Executive at Showtime, working with boxing, maybe this isn’t the type of candidate you want running a multi-million dollar business. Live and learn.