Call it fear, nervousness, or aggressiveness, but the UFC is making a move to make sure another organization doesn’t step to up to the plate. As everyone in the MMA world knows, the first ever Affliction show which will feature two of the top heavyweights in the world in Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia will take place on July 19th from the Honda Center in Anaheim California. The 19th could be a night of decision making for many fans as the UFC is rumored to be working on a fight card that will likely feature the premier of Brandon Vera at 205 against “The Axe Murderer” Wanderlei Silva.
Dana White has not been quiet on other organizations and has said that he is not worried about anyone else in the MMA game. However this move gives another impression. The Affliction card is drawing UFC like anticipation and looks to have the best MMA PPV numbers outside of the UFC. To throw another wrench in their game, it is also rumored that the UFC card could take place on Spike for free.
While Wand and Vera could make for a great fight, many feel that Vera was an overrated overhyped fighter that never has put it all together in the cage. Wand is coming off of a great KO of championship pretender Keith Jardine, but really… That fight (and the other random thrown in fights) over Fedor vs.Timmy, Barnett vs. Rizzo, Rothwell vs. Arloski, and Whitehead vs. Babalu?
Fedor has been called the best heavyweight to ever live, but also criticized for not fighting formidable foes. Sure he has beaten great talent, but Timmy may be the best standup fighter he has faced. It is no shock that Sylvia will try to keep this fight on his feet and Fedor will try to do the opposite. On paper it looks good, but this could make a relatively boring fight in comparison to the possible standup war between Vera and Wand.
If there is a contest on which card will generate more viewers I would put my money on the Affliction card, but would not be shocked by the number of viewers the UFC would produce. Affliction is new, the UFC is the best. If the UFC card is free people may decide to save the money and watch the Affliction card on YouTube. It would not surprise me if a UFC card the same night could hurt the new organizations numbers.
In a way the UFC needs Affliction to step up and be another solid MMA organization. Not one that uses bells and whistles to get viewers (EliteXC) but one that puts on solid fights by solid fighters. Bird needed Magic, NY needs Boston, Duke needs UNC, with the presence of another good organization the UFC would be pushed to perform. They would be challenged every time they put on a fight to make sure it is the best they can. If there is somewhere else the fans can go to watch good MMA then they will have to fight to keep our attention. For this reason I am begging for Affliction to not end up like the IFL,or Bodog. Make this sport grow! Make yourself as well as the UFC better.
On the 16th I will watch Fedor vs. Timmy. I want to see just how good Fedor is, and the same about Sylvia. I want to see the quality of show that this upstart organization can put on, but I will be going back and forth between Spike and PPV. Thank goodness for Tivo.
The July 16th UFC fight card is not confirmed by the UFC, however is rumored everywhere. More information on that can be found here.
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June 17th, 2008 at 12:06am
Curtis, you’re missing the point of all this.
It’s not that the UFC needs Affliction. WE need Affliction, as fans, to make the UFC compete, to make the UFC improve the quality of the product.
Competition is not good for a monopoly like the UFC, but it’s great for the consumer.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:12am
I’m surprised that people actually think Affliction will be around more than a year. Do they not know MMA’s history of upstart organizations over the past few years? Affliction will not just bleed money, they will be hemorrhaging at the rate they’re going.
Believe it or not, one of their biggest mistakes is the live bands they’re adding to the shows. It’s been done before and is just a horrible idea that has a proven track record of failure. One of the CEO’s for Affliction was recently on Inside MMA and he was quoted as saying they were going to bring “entertainment value” to MMA by bringing in live bands. What the hell? I thought MMA was already entertaining. He sounds like the guys that were running the IFL.
Look, people will pay to see good fights with fighters they like. No need to piss off the audience with some kind of music that many are sure to not like. Hell, even music they do like always sounds like crap live. Now imagine an arena filled with 50% rap fans listening to Megadeth. Boo’s are on the way, and Affliction CEO’s will wonder why.
June 17th, 2008 at 8:25am
Jose,
Whether they are around for 1 year or 5 years, they are still going to put Fedor against top 10 competition and provide good fights.
Their downfall will not be the bads, although that may be looked upon negatively, the question will be next year once all of these big guys have fought each other. Will they be able to bring in more talent? Will free agency in MMA really begin? Will they sign top notch smaller guys?
Don’t forget money isn’t a problem right now. With Trump on board they have more than needed, and with shirts at 50$ and more a pop, they will be just fine for the near future.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:27am
Well it looks like Affliction doesn’t need to worry about the UFC trying to counter-program anymore. Good for Affliction, I hope they do well.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:45pm
I take that back, I think we’ll find out today around 4:30PM EST that Dana White is announcing a “surprise” show to counter the Affliction PPV.
Please don’t be an even bigger toolbag, Dana. Please stop being the Vince McMahon of MMA.