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Jul
26
Affliction Comes Up Trumps
July 26, 2008 |
Fedor Emelianenko is reportedly set to defend his newly won World Association of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) heavyweight championship belt on Oct. 11 against another former UFC champ Andrei Arlovski.
After watching Affliction’s first show I can’t help but be excited. Not since the fabled days of Pride FC in Japan have such explosive heavyweight match-ups been possible. The list of fighters on Affliction’s Banned card was like a who’s who of ex-UFC talent with many moments within the fights qualifying as highlight reel material. It seems the management style and treatment of MMA fighters by UFC is starting to catch up with the Ultimate Fighting Championship…
Of all the Affliction heavyweight match-ups I would like to see, Josh Barnett vs. Fedor is probably the one I have waited for the longest. But considering the Arlovski that showed up the other night (flying knees and all) I don’t think I have much to complain about. There have been calls elsewhere for Affliction to lock down the worlds best heavyweights outside the UFC such as Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, and Mirko Crocop. Honestly it couldn’t hurt. Everyone loves to see the very best of the big boys go at it and I think the reason why the 205lb division in the UFC has been such a blue ribbon division has been because of the lack of stacked or consistent talent at heavyweight. The very best at heavyweight have been rather dispersed over the last couple of years.
As far as Affliction’s continued financial viability as a MMA promotions goes there are reports that the maiden event may have come close to breaking even. Affliction’s Tom Atencio is reported as having claimed the event made over 100,000 PPV buys and did a gate of nearly $2.1 million. The involvement of Donald Trump couldn’t hurt either. It feels like a sign of the times that someone of Trump’s caliber has taken an interest in MMA. It can only bode well for the world’s fastest growing and most exciting sport.
