Jerry Milani sent along the following:
International Fight League Coaching Legends to Visit Troops on USO Tour
to Persian Gulf Region
ARLINGTON, Va. — The International Fight League (IFL), the world’s
number one mixed martial arts league, will have two of its world
champion coaches–the Quad Cities Silverbacks’ Pat Miletich and Tucson
Scorpions’ Don Frye, along with reigning PRIDE world champion and
Portland Wolfpack assistant coach Dan Henderson–embark on a USO tour to the
Persian Gulf region in late June. These three legends will visit with
service members and perform demonstrations of their fighting techniques
to the troops. The tour is co-sponsored by U.S. Army Europe.
The International Fight League, based in New York and Las Vegas,
differs from other MMA organizations, with teams of five world class athletes
competing against another team of five athletes in a best three-of-five
matchup over a six month regular season. The IFL competes in a ring as
opposed to a cage, and has outlawed many of the moves that cause excess
blood, such as elbows to the head, while emphasizing strategy and
athletic technique. The 12 teams in 2007, 10 in the United States, one from
Japan and one from Canada, are each coached by a former world champion
and are made up of the newest wave of MMA rising stars, like undefeated
lightweight Chris Horodecki of the L.A. Anacondas, light heavyweight
Jamal Patterson of the New York Pitbulls and Quad Cities’ undefeated
heavyweight Ben Rothwell. This trip is the latest in a series of IFL
events with service men and women. Others recently have included clinics
in Everett, Wash., and Chicago, a meet-and-greet at the U.S. submarine
base in Groton, Conn., and a series of clinics and events aboard ships
leading into Fleet Week New York 2007. More events are also planned
for the near future.
The IFL is seen weekly in the United States on Fox Sports Net (Fridays
at 11 p.m.) and on MyNetworkTV’s “IFL Battleground,” Monday
nights at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific and 7 p.m. Central time. For more
information on the IFL, log on to ifl.tv.
The trip continues the USO tradition of bringing professional athletes
and sports-related events to troops serving far from home. Previous
tours this year include NFL players Drew Brees and Donnie Edwards meeting
service members in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The USO’s Operation Hardwood series groups NCAA basketball coaches
with service members in a tournament setting. In addition, the USO —
as part of its Operation Links tour — brought professional golfers to
bases in Kuwait and Iraq to visit troops during Thanksgiving.
USO tours are sponsored by AT&T, Inc., the official telecommunications
sponsor of USO entertainment tours.
# # #
About the USO: For more than 66 years, the USO (United Service
Organizations) has been providing morale, welfare and recreational services to
U.S. military personnel and their families. The USO is a nonprofit,
charitable organization, relying on the generosity of the American people
to support its programs and services. The USO is supported by
Worldwide Strategic Partners AT&T Inc., BAE Systems North America, Clear
Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, DRS Technologies, Inc.,
Military Channel, S & K Sales Co., TriWest Healthcare Alliance and The Walt
Disney Company. Other corporate donors, including the United Way and
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381), have joined thousands of
individual donors to support the USO. For more information on the USO, please
visit our Web site at www.uso.org.
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