Affliction Fallout
Affliction ceases all operations as MMA promotion
Following several reports by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Affliction has announced that the popular mixed martial arts sponsor and clothing company has ceased all operations as a fight promotion. The surprising news follows on the heals of the abrupt cancellation of the California-based promotion’s third fight card, Trilogy, which was set for August 1 before Josh Barnett tested positive for a banned substance and was forced to be removed from the card.
Although it was not the only factor that led to the folding of one of the largest upstart promotions in MMA, Barnett’s removal from the card led to a panicked search for a worthy replacement to main event draw and consensus top heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko.
Affliction announced yesterday that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort was in the running to fight the Russian star, but after a Sherdog poll suggested that the majority of fans would still feel cheated out of a main event, Fedor’s management team appeared dismayed at the potential fight, citing Strikeforce heavyweight prospect Brett Rogers as a more worthy opponent.
While both Affliction and representatives from Rogers’s camp seemed warm to the idea, Showtime, the premium cable company responsible for airing the PPV broadcast suggested that they did not have enough time to properly promote a new main event with a little over a week until the fight.
Following the announcement that Affliction was ceasing operations as a fight promoter, the company quickly announced that they had reached an agreement with their top rival, the Ultimate Fighting Championship to come back as a top sponsor for the top promotion in mixed martial arts today.
In a joint statement released on USAToday.com, UFC President Dana White said, “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. Affliction is an innovator of mixing fashion with this sport and we are looking forward to working together to promote the sport.”
Although some of the 22 fighters that were essentially kept out of the loop until the very last minute before the promotion’s collapse have elected to shift to an upcoming August 28 card being promoted by M-1 Global, one of Affliction’s main partners, it is unclear at this time exactly what will become of the fighter contracts that were owned by Affliction.> Buy Affliction clothing & apparel through Pro Fighting Fans where we now provide fans with the opportunity to rent or buy MMA & boxing video games online!
It has been suggested that some fighters could become free agents, while some could immediately be folded into the ranks of the UFC, bringing hope to MMA fans around the world that have been calling for Emelianenko’s first foray into the Octagon in history.
UFC President Dana White announced today via ESPN Radio 1100 that the UFC will be holding a press conference on Friday, July 31 to address all of the “crazy things” that have occurred in the last few days and what effects they will have on the UFC and MMA as a whole.
Stay tuned to ProFighting-fans.com for up to the minute updates on one of the biggest stories in the short history of the sport.
By Steven T. Kelliher
ProFighting-fans.com Senior Staff Writer