Affliction: Trilogy CANCELLED!!!!

[Christian]

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/

With Affliction: Trilogy collapsing around Tom Atencio's ears like a house of cards, two big questions need to be asked:

Is this the end of Affliction as a ppv fight promoter?
If so, who is more to blame? Josh Barnett for failing a drug test or the entire model of building an entire promotion around one fighter -- let's call it the Kimbo Slice model.
I suspect that Showtime PPV was the decision maker who finally pulled the plug on Affliction. Check this:

However, none (of the potential replacement opponents) would have the drawing power of Barnett, and a source close to Showtime PPV, which is Affliction's pay-per-view partner, told MMAjunkie.com www.mmajunkie.com) it's a major reason the show was canceled.

Executives from the show's co-promoter, M-1 Global, are flying into Anaheim, Calif., today. An additional announcement from the Russian-based promotion could be made later today that could give information about Emelianenko's next fight. It's possible, of course, some of the "Trilogy" fighters could be shifted to M-1's Aug. 28 card, which takes place in Los Angeles as the first event of the company's newly launched "premium fight series."

The fact that Showtime PPV and M-1 Global -- Affliction's key partners -- are both talking to the press while Affliction is silent reminds me ominously of EliteXC. Like that doomed promotion, Affliction's fate ultimately lay in the hands of their business partners.

After Kimbo Slice was dropped by Seth Petruzelli at EliteXC's final CBS show, it was CBS/Showtime's decision not to continue investing in the doomed promotion that closed the books on EliteXC.

Ultimately, Affliction was vulnerable to this kind of disaster because they had one draw fighter: Fedor Emelianenko. Despite the money and effort they put into signing a who's who of MMA stars -- Vitor Belfort, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Matt Lindland, Andrei Arlovski, Tim Sylvia, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Gegard Mousasi, Takanori Gomi, Chris Horodecki, etc etc -- all that did was inflate their expenses since what was selling the PPVs was the prospect of seeing Fedor face the top heavyweights in the world.

EliteXC at least had Gina Carano to complement Kimbo Slice, but the utterly anemic ratings they produced on their sole network card to feature neither of their stars testified to the weakness of their approach. Building a fight promotion around a star fighter creates a corollary problem -- you must find a credible opponent for that star to sell the event. And unless you want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg, the opponent shouldn't be too dangerous or you might lose your drawing power if your star takes a loss.

Ironically, that need to rely on opponents for the star proved to be the Achilles heel of both promotions. In EliteXC's case, aging star Ken Shamrock seemed like the perfect opponent to continue getting Kimbo over with fans. Shamrock was on an embarrassing losing streak and seemed to present no actual threat to beat Kimbo while being a name that would draw casual fan interest.

Unfortunately, Shamrock injured himself hours before the fight under very suspicious circumstances. (Next time Gary, pay the man what he wants) and Seth Petruzelli was pulled up from the undercard to face Kimbo. Shamrock had a long record of botching main events going back to UFC 3, and EliteXC fell prey to the same Sharmock karma. The rest is history and so is EliteXC.

In Affliction's case, they hoped to close out their trilogy by pitting Fedor Emeliananko, the consensus #1 heavyweight in the world against the one top heavyweights he'd never faced in PRIDE, #2 heavyweight Josh Barnett. Unfortunately for Affliction, Barnett's star-crossed history of failing steroid tests came back to bite them in the ass.

Once Barnett was gone, so was the credible opponent and despite a couple of days of aggressive floundering on Tom Atencio's part, it was too late to pick up the pieces. Sorry, Vitor Belfort, Jeff Monson, Don Frey, et al, there won't be a Seth Petruzelli of Affliction.

UPDATE: Kevin Iole has some big news, looks like Strikeforce will be the beneficiary of Affliction's collapse just as it benefited from EliteXC's end:

Affliction itself is fighting simply for survival. Several sources have said that Affliction and Strikeforce will have some type of merger with Strikeforce retaining its name. Affliction’s Tom Atencio denied any merger is imminent, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is in Italy on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment.

However, two independent sources told Yahoo! Sports a deal is either completed or on the verge of completion.

[NOTE from Kid Nate: The following two paragraphs were included in Iole's original post but have since been removed. Interesting.]

White said an Affliction attorney flew to Las Vegas only days after UFC 100 and offered to fold and turn its contracts over to the UFC if the UFC would remove its ban on its fighters wearing Affliction T-shirts.

“I told him, ‘I hope you idiots stay in business,’ †White said. “We had a record year in 2007. We had a record year in 2008. And we’re going to have an even bigger record year in 2009. I said, ‘I hope you … stay around in 2010 and burn every dollar you have.’ What they do is of no concern to me.â€

fucking gay

 

[xtremebadass]

My friend told me about this earlier today. Affliction always says it's folding, but for some reason it always pops back up.

Got to love Dana White though, he had the ability to bag some great fighters from Affliction but just wouldn't do it because he doesn't want his fighters wearing Affliction, dude has some balls.

LOL at Bobby Lashley not getting the fight now.

 

[MikeRaw]

^Lashley was never getting the fight...

Anyway, I dont pay much attention to Affliction, but hopefully this increases Fedors chances of comign to UFC...

 

[xtremebadass]

I know, but it's a fun thing to think about.


Anyways, yes, I agree. I don't know how much Strikeforce could possibly pay Fedor, maybe it's time he excepts that huge check from Dana White and jumps into the UFC.

 

[MikeRaw]

Yahoo, Sports Illustrated, and numerous MMA sites are reporting that Afflicion has now joined the UFC,

 

[Wrestling Station]

Does this makes Fedor a one step closer to UFC? I strongly believe so now.

 

[Switchy]

http://www.fiveknuckles.com/mma-new...fered-Strikeforce-deal-What-happens-next.html

There's a pretty interesting article about the future of Fedor and tbh the more I think about it Fedor and UFC could just be one of those "weren't meant to happen" things. I think Gegard Mousasi will be signing with UFC and him Vs Machida would definately determine who the best LHW in the world is.

As for the rest of the guys, Dana White is holding a press conference soon (http://www.fiveknuckles.com/mma-news/Dana-White-set-to-make-big-announcement.html) with some major announcements so that should tell all about Tito, Fedor, Affliction and all the Affliction fighters.

As long as Fedor, Mousasi and Belfort sign for UFC I'll be happy. The death of Affliction is quite similar to PRIDE except, there were plenty more big names to jump ship from PRIDE, I just wanna see what White gotta say in the press conference tbh.

 

[xtremebadass]

Dana White basically said if Fedor signed "he gets a title shot right away" so why wouldn't Fedor want to sign? Is he Blue, oh wait, that's right he's russian.

That was a low blow, sorry to all you russians.

Seriously, biggest promotion, biggest names, full blown worldwide exposure, biggest matches, biggest stage, and a title shot right away? HE HAS IT MADE. There is no reason for him not to sign unless he is a full blown COMMUNIST.

 

[Switchy]

^^Exactly, what is there that Strikeforce or anyone else offer him that UFC can't? Nothing except maybe a few little minor clauses or nothing but when you compare the money, the exposure, the success and all that then a few clauses don't mean shit anyway.

Now I reckon the reason Fedor hasn't signed for UFC is the opposite to why he should sign for them (if that makes any sense). The reason he hasn't is because he doesn't want to ruin his legacy as the unbeatable Russian beast whereas the reason he should join is to prove he is the unbeatable Russian beast agaisnt the top opposition and to clear everyone of their doubts and make everyone know he is the best P4P fighter without debate.

So there are now 3 ways Fedor would be seen if he were to retire, depending on his decision:
1) The guy who joined the UFC and beat Lesnar, Couture, Mir etc and is the best P4P fighter of all time.
2) The guy who is an absolute legend all around the globe but unfortunately couldn't cut it in the UFC (this is what Cro Cop wil be seen as)
3) The guy who was too scared to go to UFC because he didn't want to lose, rather than trying to prove he was the best.

Now I think about it, Fedor and UFC is soo similar to Sting and WWE...

 

[xtremebadass]

So there are now 3 ways Fedor would be seen if he were to retire, depending on his decision:
1) The guy who joined the UFC and beat Lesnar, Couture, Mir etc and is the best P4P fighter of all time.
2) The guy who is an absolute legend all around the globe but unfortunately couldn't cut it in the UFC (this is what Cro Cop wil be seen as)
3) The guy who was too scared to go to UFC because he didn't want to lose, rather than trying to prove he was the best.

YES! You put it into words that I couldn't.

Fedor is all about his reputation, and he is a little leary about whether he should test the waters in the UFC and risk his reputation. So, much like Affliction, he might go to Strikeforce only to dominate everyone and build up his reputation even more.

Is it me or is Fedor sounding like a little bitch?

 

[X-Sterl-X]

Hahahaha XBA don't call Fedor a bitch. Fedor has never been scared of any fighter he has fought, guys like Randleman,Lindland,Arlovski,Sylvia etc. Fedor would go into a fight with Lesnar knowing he could win the fight and most likely would. I think you Lesnar fans need to take a step back and thank Fedor for not going to UFC. Every champion in the UFC right now is dominant, except Lesnar because Carwin is still a major threat. If Fedor comes in and beats Lesnar, were goona have dominant champions in every division.

 

[Quintastic One]

Fedor wont sign because he's scared of losing. Case in point.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

Fedor won't sign because he's still under contract to Affliction Clothing and wants to wear Affliction to the ring. Right now, he's still silent. Affliction still hasn't gone under. They struck up a new deal with UFC to hold off on money until they either get their cards back up, or shut down Affliction Fighting and then Fedor will more than likely join up. I don't get why people think Fedor is a bitch. He's staying true to his friendships in Affliction, and when Dana White closed the door on Affliction a few months ago, it really hurt his opportunity to bring Fedor over. As long as Affliction Fighting is up, Fedor can't just jump ship to UFC without breaking contract, and he's not going to quit, because the guy's biggest sponsor is Affliction, and he knows that if he wears Affliction on a UFC PPV and wins, it'll boost his paycheck further than what Dana White would pay him for the draw.

Everyone needs to shutup until Affliction Fighting announces if it's going to stay up, and then what the details about Affliction Clothing in UFC are.

@ calling Fedor a bitch or a pussy.

 

[Quintastic One]

Yes of course, being able to wear crappy glimmering skull t-shirts is SOOOOO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than a multi million dollar contract, global exposure, facing the best fighters in the world and not just washed up former UFC heavyweights, ya know, actual competition!

Yeah I get it, crappy t-shirt sponsorship > millions of dollars, global fame and actual competition.

Fedors a pussy.

 

[xtremebadass]

Every website says Affliction Entertainment is defunct. They can't get their cards back up. There was not one site where I read that Affliction might comeback, it was either "Affliction shuts down" or "Affliction to re-sponsor UFC" despite what Dana said in his interviews, that's what the site said. Where is this that you saw Affliction "isn't shut down completely?"