Dana White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship's loquacious president, frequently mocks the numerous startup promotional companies that are attempting to capitalize on the burgeoning interest in mixed martial arts.

No company has incurred more of White's sharp-tongued barbs than the International Fight League.

But Gareb Shamus, the chief executive officer of the IFL, takes the attention as kind of a backhanded compliment.

Shamus said the IFL's TV ratings and heavy Web site traffic prove there remains intense interest in the sport.

The IFL has a national TV deal on My Network TV (KVMY, Channel 21) that airs every Monday from 8 to 10 p.m. Male viewership on the network has increased 400 percent, and ratings are 70 percent to 80 percent higher in the same time slot than they were before the IFL came on.

So while White took the opportunity Tuesday to mock the IFL during a conference call to announce that he and UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta had purchased the Pride Fighting Championship, Shamus wasn't bothered.

He said the UFC's purchase of Pride is good for business. He noted that the ratings on My Network TV are similar to those the UFC is getting for its programming on Spike TV.

"It's getting people talking about mixed martial arts, and it's bringing the sport onto the TV news and into the newspapers," Shamus said. "That's good. We're just scratching the surface of where this sport is going to go."

• L.A. CARD -- Former World Wrestling Entertainment champion Brock Lesnar has hung up his wrestling tights and plans to compete in MMA. He'll make his pro fighting debut June 2 at the Los Angeles Coliseum on a card jointly promoted by the Fighting Entertainment Group and ProElite.

Lesnar will face Hong Man Choi, who is 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighs more than 400 pounds.

Also competing on the card will be former Detroit Lions receiver Johnnie Morton, who will be making his pro debut.

• TITO TALKS -- Former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz didn't show for his boxing match with White that had been scheduled for Saturday, skipping the Friday weigh-in. When Ortiz signed a new contract with the UFC last year, he had a clause written into his deal guaranteeing he would get a chance to box White, with whom he has had a stormy relationship.

Spike TV was doing a documentary on the fight and planned to air it in April. The documentary still will be broadcast but will conclude with Ortiz failing to show.

Ortiz said in a news release he didn't show because he wasn't being paid properly.

"I have a very big fight with (Rashad) Evans (on July 7)," Ortiz said. "Why would I risk my health and that fight (to fight) for free?"