The International Fight League (OTC.BB: IFLI), the world’s number one team-based professional mixed martial arts league, will hit the Chicago area hard with a week of partner activations and media activity, all leading up to Saturday night’s live broadcast on MyNetworkTV at the Sears Centre in suburban Hoffman Estates, Ill., the first-ever live Mixed Martial Arts event on primetime broadcast television. The IFL “World Grand Prix,” which will air on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT, will feature the light heavyweight title fight between Vladimir “The Janitor” Matyushenko and Alex Schoenauer, and a highly-anticipated rematch between undefeated lightweight Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki and local favorite Bart “Bartimus” Palaszewski among the nine bouts.

“This will be a big week, not just for the IFL, its coaches and athletes but also for the sport of Mixed Martial Arts,” said Gareb Shamus, IFL co-founder and CEO. “Whether it is a lengthy national feature on a legend like Pat Miletich and his athletes on ESPN, our live broadcast on MyNetworkTV, or the activation of sponsorships with partners like the USO, Warner Home Video and Muscle Milk, we are continuing to show that in just over a year the sport and the IFL brand continues to make solid strides into the mainstream.”

The IFL visibility will begin on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT, when the new ESPN newsmagazine “E:60″ takes an in-depth look at Quad Cities Silverbacks coach Miletich, his Bettendorf, Iowa, gym and all the athletes that make up his camp. On Wednesday, the IFL, through its partnership with the USO, will host a dinner and seminar for servicemen and women at the Great Lakes USO station. On Thursday, Miletich and local athletes Rory Markham and Palaszewski will visit the General Nutrition Center store in downtown Chicago to sign autographs, while world champions Ken Shamrock and Carlos Newton and Matyushenko will sign copies of WHV’s “IFL Greatest Knockouts and Extreme Action” at a downtown FYE. Later in the day, a suburban GNC will host a signing with world champion Bas Rutten and stars Horodecki and Benji Radach.

All this will lead to Saturday’s card at the Sears Centre, which will showcase the best of the IFL’s nine-event regular season in each of five weight classes. For a look at some of the top matchups on Saturday, go to http://www.ifl.tv/Multimedia.html.

About the IFL

International Fight LeagueT (IFL) is the world’s number one professional mixed martial arts sports league. IFL has its headquarters in New York and offices in Las Vegas. For more information about IFL, please see: www.ifl.tv.

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