View Full Version : Affliction Folds...Will Return as UFC Sponsor
LEONARD
07-24-2009, 05:40 PM
Wow...didn't take long after cancelling the event...
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AuNbzphZg4IrbW84csrSUnc9Eo14?slug=ki-afflictiondone072409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Affliction folds MMA promotion, will sponsor UFC
After promoting two critically acclaimed but financially disastrous mixed martial arts cards, Affliction on Friday first canceled its pay-per-view card scheduled for Aug. 1 and then opted to get out of the promotional business, Yahoo! Sports has learned.
The company and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are expected to release a statement sometime on Friday in which it is announced that Affliction will cease operations as a promoter and that its clothing division will become a UFC sponsor.
Affliction had a card slated for Aug. 1 with a main event of Fedor Emelianenko, the No. 2 fighter in the Yahoo! Sports mixed martial arts rankings, against former UFC champion Josh Barnett at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
But Barnett tested positive for an anabolic steroid and on Tuesday was denied a license to fight by the California State Athletic Commission.
That left Affliction scrambling to fight a replacement for Emelianenko. With no viable alternatives – the best was former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, who was already down to 195 pounds for a scheduled middleweight fight – Affliction early Friday opted to scrap the show.
Later in the day, Affliction came to terms on a deal in which it would quit promoting fight cards. However, the status of the fighter contracts belonging to Affliction is unknown.
They could revert to the UFC or they could become free agents, able to sign with the promoter of their choice.
Multiple sources had indicated to Yahoo! Sports that Affliction was on the verge of a deal with Strikeforce for some sort of merger, but that fell apart in the last 24-48 hours. That’s when talks began anew between White and Affliction. They had spoken earlier in July about such a scenario, but were unable to come to a deal.
Obviously this was in the works for awhile and its likely, IMO, that the event was never going to happen in the first place regardless of Josh.
robbie380
07-24-2009, 05:50 PM
awesome stuff to hear. now we just need fedor to get a deal done
i wouldn't mind seeing buentello back in the ufc as a gatekeeper or even seeing arlovski see if he can get his career back together.
http://www.fightlinker.com/pics/danaiscoming.jpg
I kinda feel sorry for Tapout for some reason....been a rough year for those guys....
LEONARD
07-24-2009, 06:09 PM
Obviously this was in the works for awhile and its likely, IMO, that the event was never going to happen in the first place regardless of Josh.
Yep...here is what Iole removed from his article...
EDIT
[NOTE from Kid Nate: The following tparagraphs were included in Iole's original post but have since been removed. VERY Interesting.]
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.
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.”
dallaskd
07-24-2009, 06:14 PM
Dream and Sengoku will probably be dead soon enough too. UFC will be all of MMA by next year.
Sneaky bastards....
My my my how fast the MMA world turns on its axis. This was faster than when the WFA and WEC got sold. Remember that? That was just like...POW!
Dream and Sengoku will probably be dead soon enough too. UFC will be all of MMA by next year.
If they both folded tomorrow I wouldn't be surprised.
People can complain all they want about the UFC and Dana but obviously...clearly...without a shred of legitimate argument left they are the only ones that know what they are doing.
dallaskd
07-24-2009, 06:22 PM
I dont even really mind. Its just nice to sometimes watch a decent card other than the UFC.
Its just nice to sometimes watch a decent card other than the UFC.
Strikeforce is very stable and a quality product at least.
dallaskd
07-24-2009, 06:24 PM
I can hear Jeff Sherwood crying right now..
i can hear jeff sherwood crying right now..
lol!!!!!!!
dallaskd
07-24-2009, 06:36 PM
I'm sure they will try and act like it never happened and give us analysis of the next Shooto fight, like any of us give a damn...
I'm sure they will try and act like it never happened and give us analysis of the next Shooto fight, like any of us give a damn...
pretty much.
dallaskd
07-24-2009, 07:01 PM
wtf evan. :lol
I didn't make it but I wish I had...the best part is Dana at the end...
angelbelow
07-24-2009, 07:29 PM
Wow.. so what of Fedor??
angelbelow
07-24-2009, 07:31 PM
Obviously this was in the works for awhile and its likely, IMO, that the event was never going to happen in the first place regardless of Josh.
I didn't think of it that way until you mentioned it but that is so true. No way this all happens so fast.
I didn't think of it that way until you mentioned it but that is so true. No way this all happens so fast.
way way way too fast.
As for Fedor...I suspect we have 6 months of insane back & forth rumors ahead of us.
BlackSwordsMan
07-25-2009, 12:01 AM
what if barnett wasn't dirty and just needed a fall guy
The TroutBum
07-25-2009, 12:50 AM
what if barnett wasn't dirty and just needed a fall guy
Tin foil hat -- HURRY!
polandprzem
07-25-2009, 01:06 AM
I was the one that said Affliction will be their last show. I was too optimistic I guess :rolleyes.
Also I said month or so after Arlovski - Fedor fight that Fedor will probably fight in December. Nobody was taking it seriously. Hopefully I will be wrong and we will see Fedor sooner.
UFC taking over, Dana said they will burn money and they did. On it's last event they had so many sponsors it was insaine. I knew it would not stand.
And it was laughable when all the golden boys were jumping up and down when Fedor knocked Andrei out ...
Ehh ... I'm still shocked and pissed about that cancelled event
djohn14
07-25-2009, 10:24 AM
So does this mean....Vitor, Fedor,Gegard Mousasi, Jorge Santiago and everyone else can fight in the UFC now?
LEONARD
07-25-2009, 11:17 AM
Can, doesn't mean they will... (I don't think they were held to exclusive contracts with Affliction though)
I expect Vitor and Santiago will. Who knows about the 2 Russians. Mousasi is a guy to watch...and he plans to move up to HW eventually.
LEONARD
07-25-2009, 11:20 AM
Dana on Fedor...
“My job is to put on the best fighters and to give you, the fans, the fights you want to see. I’ve been trying to get Fedor in the UFC. I want it because you want it. Believe me, I’m trying to make it happen. He’ll fight for the title first. What does he need, a tune-up fight or something? … To argue where this guy sits in the heavyweight division, we can argue that all day. Fedor has a ton of experience. The guy’s been around forever. But you can’t take anything away from Brock Lesnar … It’s an interesting fight. It’s a very good fight. Fedor’s got to come to a deal first. If Randy can go out there and cut that deal with Fedor, then Randy, get to work, buddy.”
------------
My preference would be Randy, then title fight. Randy to introduce him to the fans mainly...and Randy still wants that fight and he's not gonna be at this much longer. Also get used to the cage...
desflood
07-25-2009, 12:43 PM
Fedor and the UFC will never come to any kind of agreement. The UFC wants to lock him up and his management will not allow it (rightly so). At the same time, it would probably be in his best interest as a fighter, and they're obviously not looking out for his best interests. It's not the kind of situation in which I can take a stand on either side.
desflood
07-25-2009, 12:48 PM
“It’s like a funeral.”
That’s how Xtreme Couture head jiu-jitsu coach Neil Melanson summarized the gym’s feeling after Friday morning’s announcement of the cancellation of the Aug. 1 Affliction “Trilogy” show, and later, the shuttering of the promotional arm of the company.
“Everybody’s shown up to the gym, not all of them are training, but they’re there and they’re just… they’re all speechless.”
News of the cancellation traveled quickly Friday morning that the promotion was closing down the event due to its inability to find a suitable replacement for main event fighter Josh Barnett, who allegedly tested positive for an anabolic steroid earlier in the week.
Without Barnett, Showtime, who was carrying the pay-per-view, put pressure on to pull the plug, citing an inability to inform viewers of the change and market a new opponent for Fedor Emelianenko.
Melanson felt especially bad for the Canadian contingent of Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick, both missed the last Affliction event due to injury and illness.
“You know, (Shawn) Tompkins’ guys, they’re all really nice guys and they worked really hard and were in the gym all the time (and) they were ready to win,” he said. “They wanted these fights to help them get to the next level.
“To have the card pulled from them like this, on this short notice… it’s tough.”
For Vitor Belfort, the eventual cancellation of the event capped off a rollercoaster ride of a week that saw him go from the undercard to a possible replacement for Barnett in the evening’s main event.
“I trained him closely, had lunch with him and would be with him every day; he would look at pictures of his kids at lunch and would say, ‘It’s so hard to be away from my kids and my wife right now,’ and was just really upset,” related Melanson.
Joining Horodecki, Hominick and Belfort is longtime Xtreme Couture welterweight Jay Hieron, who also now sits on the outside looking in.
“I don’t want to judge (Affliction), because I’m not them, they might have a damn good reason (for cancelling the show), but they definitely hurt and affected a lot of people,” stated Melanson.
“I feel bad for all these (fighters). They did nothing wrong – they trained their asses off and trusted their company, and their company took a dump on them.”
While the sting of losing money is one that is surely being felt by the fighters left without a match, the general consensus is that what is truly frustrating is simply not being able to do what they’ve worked so hard to do, fight.
“I sure hope they pay these guys,” said Melanson. “They’ve got to have some kind of contract agreement to pay these guys, but it’s still not the same.”
djohn14
07-25-2009, 01:04 PM
Fedor and the UFC will never come to any kind of agreement. The UFC wants to lock him up and his management will not allow it (rightly so). At the same time, it would probably be in his best interest as a fighter, and they're obviously not looking out for his best interests. It's not the kind of situation in which I can take a stand on either side.
Way to be open minded!
desflood
07-25-2009, 02:48 PM
Way to be open minded!
:lol
I think a more appropriate word would be "realistic".
everyone take 5 minutes and read this
"The True Story Behind Affliction's First Attempt to Exit the Fight Game"
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/7/25/962733/bloody-elbow-exclusive-the-true?login=1248552538
:lol
I think a more appropriate word would be "realistic".
but you also have to be realistic that every org Fedor joins dies in a pool of fire. Obviously he is not by any means worth his contract or strict stipulations.
desflood
07-25-2009, 03:18 PM
Forgive my ignorance, but: Who exactly is Todd Beard? What does he do? I've heard his name so many times but never in direct relation to any particular org.
desflood
07-25-2009, 03:19 PM
but you also have to be realistic that every org Fedor joins dies in a pool of fire.
Heh. Fedor "The Org Killer" Emelianenko.
Forgive my ignorance, but: Who exactly is Todd Beard? What does he do? I've heard his name so many times but never in direct relation to any particular org.
He is the co-owner of affliction. He was in the background and suddenly emerged out of nowhere and caused untold damage to the company in a 2 week spree of public chaos.
http://cdn.cagepotato.com/www/sites/default/files/todd%20beard%20affliction.jpg
He is still a part of them but I believe he got kicked out of the fight promotion aide of things and exclusively deals with the clothing.
Heh. Fedor "The Org Killer" Emelianenko.
Rings
PRIDE
Bodog
M-1 Global
Affliction
desflood
07-25-2009, 03:54 PM
Ooh - thanks Evan.
Oh yeah...what about WAMMA
lol
LEONARD
07-26-2009, 09:19 AM
Sources close to the fighter have informed FiveKnuckles.com that Strikeforce were in talks with Affliction, M-1 Global and Golden Boy promotions on a long term deal with Emelianenko with in the last couple of days. The promotion reportedly offered the former Pride champion between 500,000 and 700,000 per fight, a non-exclusive contract, guaranteed exposure on CBS shows and a cut of any PPV event he was a part of. Emelianenko would certainly be able to get maximum mainstream U.S. exposure via CBS and Showtime which could lead possible big money endorsement deals and he'd also get to enjoy the freedoms associated with Strikeforce's non-exclusive contracts. This scenario is considered a strong possibility if Emelianenko is indeed a free agent according to inside sources.
Rumors are flying right now, so it's difficult to know exactly how all of this will play out. Sources have stated that Emelianenko's management contract allows him to brake his management contract if he's not put into a certain number of fights each year, and that may also be a possibility how unlikely it seems given his strong relationship to Vadim Finklestein and the rest of his management team at M-1.
Emelianenko is currently en route to California, according to M-1 officials, and will be making a statement regarding the situation by soon after his arrival, which should shed more light on the situation.
We'll have that for you as soon as it becomes available.
http://www.fiveknuckles.com/mma-news/Fedor-Emelianenko-offered-Strikeforce-deal-What-happens-next.html
Strikeforce cannot afford him. They will go under if they give him a contract. They are bleeding too much money.
Just stop thinking about Fedor and the UFC....seriously done with it.
************************************************** ****
“This the moment of truth that the UFC has talked about. Fedor and I are here in the States. If they want to come out and fly here, we are ready to conduct negotiations. Of course it still doesn’t imply we are ready to accept any conditions they’ll throw at us. 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.”
BlackSwordsMan
07-26-2009, 09:49 AM
fuck fedor tired of his bullshit
UFC makes money...fighters get paid and get royalties the rest of their life...shows never get canceled
Everybody else...fighters don't get paid and no royalties....shows get canceled
Simple fact is the UFC does not need Fedor and when you consider how many orgs crumble underneath him its clearly 100% irrelevant if he is on the roster. In fact its safe to say its dangerous to a unstable org to have him on the roster.
polandprzem
07-26-2009, 10:11 AM
Yup but this is the last chance for Fedor to fight in the octagon and this oppurtunity can never repeat. Fedor simply yes earns big sums of money and only UFC can guarantee those money not getting into trouble.
I don't know why would they promote M1 Global?
Can't fedor make a logo on his towel of M-1 or make a tatoo on his chest with "M-1"?
This looks bad because Fedor is wasting his prime
xcJnbEwqU48
dbreiden83080
07-27-2009, 12:14 PM
way way way too fast.
As for Fedor...I suspect we have 6 months of insane back & forth rumors ahead of us.
Man i have been out of the looop here.. :lol
Well what else can he do? For big paydays and fights for him now,(consistant big ones) it's the UFC or nothing..
ATRAIN
07-27-2009, 12:17 PM
Do you guys think Strikeforce will benefit from this? Its funny how Affliction pretty much lost its tshirt wear ability. I saw more tapout clothes now, i wonder if they will rebound?
Do you guys think Strikeforce will benefit from this? Its funny how Affliction pretty much lost its tshirt wear ability. I saw more tapout clothes now, i wonder if they will rebound?
Strikeforce spent all of their money on pro-elite so i dunno
In regards to strict terms of UFC contract, we asked Aleksander Emelianenko to comment:
"You can deal with UFC, I know that they have flexible contract system. All these talks about "strict" contract terms with signing with UFC, come ONLY from Vadim Finkelstein, who wants to push his owns business projects through Fedor's fights"
polandprzem
07-28-2009, 01:25 PM
It's quite intresting that Alex says so. Maybe he can persuade Fedor to talk with UFC and take care about his business.
dbreiden83080
07-28-2009, 01:41 PM
Well Fedor himself says basically "UFC deals are unfair" So maybe he is just a mouthpiece for his Manager but he looks bad when 90% of the best talent is in the UFC fine with their deals and he keeps saying "Terms are Not fair"
They are fair for the likes of GSP, Anderson Silva, Wandy, Rich, Page, Lyoto, Hendo, etc
So why not Fedor?? If i have to hear one more time about this guy and freedom to compete in Sambo, i am going to scream..
polandprzem
07-28-2009, 02:01 PM
If he won't solve this shit this year he will be screwed and I don't know if he will be feelin fine with that or not.
He just takes life like it is. But he is looking for a competition and which organization have the best HWs now?
I think it is really some kind of American-Russia stuff...
I don't know, I just wanted to see Fedor fight.
Do you think that Drea or Strikeforce can come up with something legit for Fedor?
BlackSwordsMan
07-28-2009, 02:02 PM
http://www.mmamafia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1399
dbreiden83080
07-28-2009, 02:12 PM
http://www.mmamafia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1399
Horrible idea for Strikeforce. He's not a big draw in the US for those paydays, and as has been said here before by Evan and others, they are still bleeding money as a company..
BlackSwordsMan
07-28-2009, 02:13 PM
another company fedor causes to fold?
BlackSwordsMan
07-28-2009, 02:13 PM
seriously fedor is running out of organizations to duck the UFC in
desflood
07-28-2009, 02:42 PM
So why not Fedor?? If i have to hear one more time about this guy and freedom to compete in Sambo, i am going to scream..
Look at it this way - would you go to work for any company that told you that you couldn't participate in your favorite activity on the weekends? I know that may seem a bit oversimplified, but that's what it boils down to.
dbreiden83080
07-28-2009, 03:58 PM
Look at it this way - would you go to work for any company that told you that you couldn't participate in your favorite activity on the weekends? I know that may seem a bit oversimplified, but that's what it boils down to.
Most jobs are not directly tied with you getting hurt in your spare time and that having an effect on your ability to work. You can break your arm and still be a used car salesman. There are tons of clauses in pro contracts with the NBA, MLB, NFL that say do this or that in the offseason, get hurt and kiss this amount of money goodbye. Jason Williams lost millions in NBA bucks when he crashed his motorcyle, since his contract said specifically he was not permitted to do that. Happens all the time, what the UFC is asking of Fedor is not unique... They can't have this guy booked for a huge card, then get hurt in a Sambo tournament forcing him to pull out.
desflood
07-28-2009, 04:46 PM
Most jobs are not directly tied with you getting hurt in your spare time and that having an effect on your ability to work. You can break your arm and still be a used car salesman. There are tons of clauses in pro contracts with the NBA, MLB, NFL that say do this or that in the offseason, get hurt and kiss this amount of money goodbye. Jason Williams lost millions in NBA bucks when he crashed his motorcyle, since his contract said specifically he was not permitted to do that. Happens all the time, what the UFC is asking of Fedor is not unique... They can't have this guy booked for a huge card, then get hurt in a Sambo tournament forcing him to pull out.
That's a good point. I wonder, however, what the odds are of his becoming seriously injured in Sambo, considering his skill level? Also considering the fact that fighters "fight hurt" all the time and that (so far as I know) he's never pulled out of a fight due to a prior injury, it would seem the odds of that happening are low. If you were to cut any fighter in the world some slack, it should be Fedor, yes?
dbreiden83080
07-28-2009, 05:01 PM
That's a good point. I wonder, however, what the odds are of his becoming seriously injured in Sambo, considering his skill level? Also considering the fact that fighters "fight hurt" all the time and that (so far as I know) he's never pulled out of a fight due to a prior injury, it would seem the odds of that happening are low. If you were to cut any fighter in the world some slack, it should be Fedor, yes?
Guess it is more of precautionary deal with the UFC than anything else. Fedor i am sure would fight hurt but why risk it the UFC likely feels. Lets just ban his right to do it. As far as cutting him slack, i'd have to say no. Not hating on Fedor at all he is a legend but if GSP or Anderson walked into Dana's office demanding to be non-exclusive, not be completely part of the company, getting to compete in Sambo or another risky activity they'd be told to take a walk. Fedor has no real track record of making a company money. That's my main issue with him. Huge MMA stars are not demanding what he is. More people in the US know who Brock is than Fedor.. Fedor just seems content to spit out what his people tell him, the same people that are probably robbing him blind, as Evan always says..
This right here says it all for me..
In the end, Fedor needs the UFC more than the UFC needs Fedor. At UFC 100, we saw that the UFC simply doesn't need Fedor to sell PPV while the Affliction debacle clearly shows that as good as he is, Fedor needs marketable adversaries to do the same.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/224551-what-does-fedor-want-from-the-ufc/page/2
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