UFC and Affliction Join Forces!

By Rappy
in The Sporting Arena

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Grand Master

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Today's earlier report of a deal between Affliction and the Ultimate Fighting Championship has been officially announced.

Affliction, which launched a fight series in 2008 after it was banned as a UFC sponsor, today canceled its latest show, "Affliction: Trilogy," which was scheduled for Aug. 1 in California.

As expected, Affliction will no longer promote MMA shows and instead will return to the UFC octagon as an officially approved sponsor.

"We are excited about the return of Affliction to the UFC and look forward to seeing our fighters once again walk into the octagon wearing the Affliction brands," UFC president Dana White stated. "Affliction is an innovator of mixing fashion with this sport, and we are looking forward to working together to promote the sport."

White often criticized Affliction once it launched its fight promotion, which hosted two very prolific (but hardly lucrative) shows to date. With Fedor Emelianenko in both shows' headline fights, the cards drew big names and proven stars but came with hefty disclosed fighter payrolls of nearly $3.5 million each. White often referred to Affliction vice president Tom Atencio as the "T-shirt guy" and criticized company officials for saying Affliction would go head-to-head with the UFC.

Fences have apparently been mended.

"Our brand is synonymous with the 'Live Fast' approach to life, and UFC is the perfect venue for us to market our brand," Affliction co-founder Eric Foss stated. "We have come to an agreement with the UFC, which we feel will be the best for the sport and will help the UFC continue delivering the highest caliber of fights."

When asked whether the UFC would acquire fighter contracts from Affliction as part of the deal, White was noncommittal during a radio appearance on ESPN1100 today. However, he said the organization has a major press conference tentatively planned for July 31 in which the UFC will make a "laundry list" of major announcement.

[mma junkie]

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Grand Master

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Isn't Fedor's contract with M-1 Global and Affliction is merely the event promoter?

If Fedor does indeed become a free agent however, and still reject the UFC, then I think he's stupid and probably never fight the best fighters!

Grand Master

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Isn't Fedor's contract with M-1 Global and Affliction is merely the event promoter?

If Fedor does indeed become a free agent however, and still reject the UFC, then I think he's stupid and probably never fight the best fighters!

That could be the case but it seems with the UFC looking to maybe secure some of the fighters from their Affliction deals maybe he was on one of them.

Grand Master

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Back to the UFC?

The rumours are strong and the rumours are good! The latest rumour coming out of the demise of Affliction is that Vitor ?The Phenom? Belfort is finally making his return to the UFC.

Belfort was scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago on Affliction?s now defunct MMA event on August 1st. With Dana White?s previous comments about wanting Belfort back in the UFC, the recent happenings made it easier to get the deal done apparently.

The question is, of course, who gets to fight Vitor first as he gets back in the octagon. The possibilities are amazing!

[mma rumours]

Grand Master

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It's a years-old discussion, and one that is at times maddening.

Widely regarded as the world's top heavyweight fighter, Fedor Emelinanko has proven to be the one commodity the UFC hasn't been able to land, and the strained relations between UFC president Dana White and the Russian's management have often been anything but amicable.

But with the collapse of Emelianenko's recent fighting home, Affliction Entertainment, his manager, Vadim Finkelchtein, says negotiations with the UFC are again underway.

"This the moment of truth that the UFC has talked about," Finkelchtein stated in a recent release issued by his company, M-1 Global. "Fedor and I are here in the States. If they want to come out and fly here, we are ready to conduct negotiations."

With M-1 Global's recent announcement of the Aug. 28 event, "M-1 Breakthrough," many MMA observers have speculated Emelianenko may appear on the company's first edition of the "new premium fight series."

Finkelchtein said his fighter is looking at a number of options.

"We are now with Fedor in the U.S., and we hope to make a decision about his next fight within the next few days," Finkelchtein stated. "There are many business meetings and negotiations planned with all the major promotions. We will explore the possibility of Fedor fighting (Josh) Barnett and will even look into whether the fight can take place as soon as August (since Barnett has not been suspended)."

While the excitement surrounding the long-awaited matchup between Emelianenko and Barnett certainly took a step back with "The Babyfaced Assassin's" recent positive drug test result, it would still be a bout between two of the world's best heavyweights. But with Brock Lesnar's impressive win at UFC 100 and White's apparent commitment to bringing the Russian into his organization, fans will most certainly be clamoring for Emelianenko to sign with the UFC.

While Finkelchtein's latest statement seems to lend some hope for that result, the terms of a potential contract may still prove impossible for the UFC to consider.

"Of course, it still doesn't imply we are ready to accept any conditions they'll throw at us," Finkelchtein said. "We want to talk to the UFC about having Fedor compete against some of their fighters, but only within the framework of co-promotional efforts with M-1 Global."

[mma junkie]

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