IFL and MyNetworkTV aired their second two-hour offering of IFL Battleground this past Monday night and after the generally harsh criticism of the premiere episode by most of the online MMA media, I tuned back in to see if any changes had been made to the program from week one to week two.

First, let's look at the improvements made in episode two:

• IFL and MyNetworkTV clearly heard the rumblings in the MMA media about the gratuitous violent imagery in episode one, including the teasers about a fighter being taken off on a stretcher , the ambulance sirens, and the 911 call.  This week, there were no such images or teasers.
• There were more onscreen contextual clues given during the fights themselves.  The fighters names and trunk colors were flashed on the screen at the beginning of each fight.  The round and time elapsed were shown at the beginning and the end of each fight.  Why not display the clock the entire match?  I surmise this is not done because the fights are edited and not shown in their entirety. 
• I like interactivity the program introduced by asking viewers to vote online at IFL.com on the controversial ending to the fight between Alex Schoenauer and Aaron Stark.  I believe the referee erred in this instance by being indecisive and first acting as if he was about to end the fight and then allowing the fighters to continue.  Although Stark looks like he is about to tap out, he never actually does.  If anything I would rule that fight a no-contest.
• There was more ground fighting shown in this week's fights.  Ground fighting is big part of MMA and I feel that episode one relied too much on showing only striking.  Episode two expanded on this with more footage on the ground.
• The commentators did a better job of explaining the rules as the fights were occurring.  For example, they explained that fighting near the corners is usually stopped and fighters are moved to the center of the ring where they assume their previous relative positioning.

Despite the improvements, I feel there are still more things the producers can do to further improve the program:

• Tell a story!  One reason The Ultimate Fighter brought UFC so many new fans is because the reality show told a very easily understandable story while introducing the viewers to new fighters.  IFL should look at IFL Battleground as a similar vehicle that can tell the story of its teams, coaches, and fighters.  Right now, the viewers are being given a lot of fights, but there's little setup between the fights, and even less context for why the matches are being shown.  There is a very helter-skelter feel to the whole episode.  It is very difficult to keep track of when and where the fights are taking place and why they are supposed to be important.
• Show the entire fight. In order to do mixed martial arts justice, new viewers need to see the entire fight, not simply a highlight reel version of the fight.  MMA fights are struggles that ebb and flow.  New viewers would be better served by being shown the entire struggle rather than being fed only the knockout punch or the submission attempt.
• Bring us more behind-the-scenes footage.  This relates to telling a story.  Rather than trying to pack in 11 fights in an episode, pace the episode better with about 6-8 fights and fill in some of the behind-the-scene details and fight setup with interviews, training footage, and more in-depth examination of what the teams and fighters are like outside of the ring.  Tiffany Fallon was supposed to be a co-host for this show and I assume her role would have been somehow tied to this aspect of the program.  However, in two episodes, I don't know that I've seen Fallon once.

Overall, IFL appears willing to accept criticism and make changes to their program.  However, I still believe there is more work to be done.  More than anything else, the episodes need to feel more coherent and a better job needs to be done in telling a story rather than trying to squeeze as many fights as possible into the two-hour slot.  IFL has a great opportunity with IFL Battleground to attract more fans to the league and to MMA.  It would be a shame if such an opportunity was wasted.

I will continue to watch the show over the next few weeks and I will post an entry in a month or so to let you know if I think IFL Battleground has made the necessary changes to keep viewers tuned in.