The International Fight League (IFL) and MyNetworkTV premiered their first episode of the weekly two-hour show IFL Battleground Monday. I was very curious to see what the first mixed martial arts show on network TV would look like so I tuned in for the two-hour program.

Here are my thoughts after watching the premiere episode:

• I thought the program did a good job of introducing viewers to mixed martial arts as well as to the IFL. Over the course of the two-hour show, viewers were introduced to all the IFL teams, coaches and team members.
• I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were nine fights re-played from the 2006 season, including fights from the championship match.
• Most of the fights aired on the program showcased stand-up technique (punching and kicking), while ground fighting was shown only sparingly.  I suspect IFL wanted to show viewers an exciting brand of MMA action, and for most new fans excitement is synonymous with striking. I hope over time, however, that IFL will take this opportunity to slowly introduce fans to the technical aspect of ground fighting because MMA is not just kickboxing.
• There weren't as many interviews or behind-the-scenes vignettes in this first episode as I thought there would be. I imagine future episodes will have more of these types of segments. Since IFL is a fight league, I can understand starting with fights in the first show and moving on to more behind-the-scenes reporting in later shows.
• I felt that the viewer discretion warning at the beginning of the show and Bas Rutten's warning about not trying these moves at home were appropriate. But, what I found strange was the constant emphasis on violence and aggression that followed throughout the episode.  The viewer was constantly teased about the last fight ending with a fighter leaving on a stretcher. The reason I found this strange is that I didn't quite understand who these images were supposed to appeal to. Longtime MMA fans already know what sort of action the sport delivers so I can't imagine that the imagery of violence was aimed at them. And considering the IFL is trying to appeal to a mainstream audience -- an audience that is wary of MMA because of the no-holds-barred stereotypes of the sport -- I can't imagine IFL was trying to appeal to casual or new fans with that imagery. So, who was the IFL appealing to with the constant emphasis on violent imagery?
• From a production standpoint, the fights themselves suffered from a lack of appropriate onscreen "contextual clues." For example, I would have like to have seen both fighters' names and teams on the screen at all times. I also wanted to see the round number and time elapsed on the screen. And finally, I would have liked to have seen the dates and locations of the fights in the upper corner of the screen.

All in all, I think this was a good first episode and a good introduction for new fans of MMA and of IFL. I look forward to future episodes where we will hopefully get to learn more about the fighters and the coaches.

What did you think of IFL Battleground's premiere episode?  Do you think this show did a good job of introducing MMA to mainstream America?