On the ground fighting element of MMA:
"This isn't my idea of fighting..To me, two guys rolling around on the floor is tedious, like watching gay foreplay."
On trying to get investors to keep the IFL afloat:
"Trying to revive this company is like doing open-heart surgery...We're going to stick around as long as we possibly can."
On Larkin's distaste for those in the MMA industry (read: UFC) forecasting the demise of the IFL:
"Our so-called friends in the M.M.A. [mixed martial arts] world are telling people that the I.F.L. is going out of business...I like to tell people you can't spell fuck without U.F.C."
On Larkin's belief that MMA doesn't exist without the UFC in North America:
"The U.F.C. has done a phenomenal job of branding and positioning itself as the only name in the sport...That's great for the U.F.C. in the short term, but terrible for the sport in the long term. The company is growing, but not the industry. For better or worse, mixed martial arts and the U.F.C. are synonymous."
On the IFL suspending health benefits for all but the elite fighters:
"Those perks were a great idea, but they didn't square with the hard facts of the real world...The I.F.L. had been fair and generous to the point of putting itself out of business."
On the original IFL concept:
"The original idea of having the Happy Woodchucks fight the Angry Beavers flew in the face of everything combat sports is about...Nobody had any idea who was on what team, and which team represented what city."
On the IFL's talks falling through with HBO:
"HBO wants Hertz...They're not interested in Avis."
On the failure of the IFL to generate true television interest:
"I had hoped that the first big network deal would spark others...The networks want our product for free...For years, M.M.A. companies have been willing to give it away for the sake of exposure. I'm not going to. You give away, give away, give away, and before you know it, you're out of business."
On the idea of MMA sanctioning bodies existing without UFC participation:
"How can you hold a Super Bowl without the N.F.L.?...If the U.F.C. didn't take part, the entire enterprise would be a sham."
Get the latest gear
