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Affliction Faces Its Own “Day of Reckoning”


(Hey, at least you’ll get to keep those totally sweet t-shirts…)

You may have completely forgotten about it because there’s been virtually no promotional push to speak of, but yes, Affliction will be holding its long-delayed sophomore MMA event just 12 days from now, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Fedor Emelianenko will face Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett will take on Gilbert Yvel, and very few people will be watching.

According to Bloody Elbow, only 1,400 tickets to "Day of Reckoning" had been sold as of last week. (FYI, the Honda Center can hold about 18,000 spectators.)   At first, Tom Atencio wouldn’t confirm or deny that figure, but now he’s saying that the ticket sales are comparable to last July’s "Banned" event, where over 6,000 tix had been sold three weeks before the show. CagePotato can neither confirm nor deny how full of shit Atencio’s public statements are.

So, a few things come to mind…


First, if you’re in driving distance of Anaheim, you might want to make it out to "Day of Reckoning," because cageside seats will probably be going for like $40. (Remember last time?) Also, if that 1,400 figure is anywhere close to accurate, and Affliction can only sell a couple thousand more tickets in the next two weeks, and assuming that pay-per-view buys will be as disappointing as the live gate, they will be finished as an MMA organization, guaranteed. Negligible income + the highest fighter payroll in the world  = financial ruin. There’s no way they’ll set themselves up to lose another couple million on a third event.

I can’t help but think that for MMA fans, the best-case scenario for "Day of Reckoning" would be if Arlovski somehow managed to beat Emelianenko. Then, the UFC would re-double their efforts to sign him and we’d get to see another world-class fighter added to their increasingly-compelling heavyweight roster. Because it’s not like you’ll ever see Fedor in the UFC, and an Emelianenko/Barnett match in Affliction is far from guaranteed. What’s certain is that MMA fans didn’t latch on to Affliction’s MMA brand like Atencio & Co. had hoped. Will you be watching on the 24th? If not, what’s getting in the way of you caring about Affliction’s product?

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Xamot- January 14, 2009 at 12:59 pm

Affliction should have started from a television show first, and used it as a promotional tool for their title fights (much like the UFC). But instead of showing us a bunch of bonding homos in a house they should be showing undercard fights and documentaries on their fighters.

That kind of material is far more interesting than the Real World meets gameshow format that is the Ultimate Fighter show .

AussieJosh- January 12, 2009 at 9:33 pm

Id get the Affliction event but i dont think its on ppv in AUS???

Eveboy420- January 12, 2009 at 6:29 pm

OK I admit it.
I like getting poked in the ASS!

thebusinessman- January 12, 2009 at 5:04 pm

Where are the mullets!

pierre larouche- January 12, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Yes,… it will end soon and then Ben can devote 100% of his time sucking Dana’s balls.

The first card was very good as is this one yet the overwhelming majority of your Affliction (or should we say non-UFC?) articles are ridiculously bias. Every article or comment is a barb, innuendo or rumor if not straight up bashing a very good card.
It doesnt take a genius to figure out the sub-text.

You might call a few part of the charm of ‘trying to be funny’ but this is constant.

DREAM had amazing cards in 2008, Sengoku had a few very good ones, Afflction’s was excellent and even the Kimbo fiasco one carried 4-5 interesting fights on Elite’s final show…. there is excellent MMA outside the UFC and you would figure a healthy MMA scene would be a boon for a MMA site.
Im not saying to sugar coat it or to do the fluff jobs you reserve for the underwhelming UFC cards (Bisping/Leben as a main event should have been laughed at non-stop) but EVERY non-UFC event is presented as worthless, a failure, non-competitive when the opposite has been true.

Thank god for the Youtube. Dailymotion, live streaming sites and online cable software.
Someone without access to these and relying strictly on your slanted coverage would have a different view of what is out there beside your ‘precious’.

Personally, i dont care where fights happen. if I cant get the PPV or feed like HDNET, then there are tons of ways to see them.
And I dont care if the Vegas mob or the Yakuza runs a show as long as the fighters get paid well.
I dont care because I like mixed martial arts.

You on the other hand like being Perez Hilton a bit too much.
Maybe he’ll tell you how to get the taste of White’s ass out of your mouth.

Best regards.

bankruptcy4certain- January 12, 2009 at 3:09 pm

These guys are leaving money on the table. Instead of having rock bands they could have taken that money and figured out how to sell the pay-per-view online. I can watch UFC, WWE, etc., via pay per online but I can’t buy Affiction.

I don’t have cable, none of the bars I go to even know who these guys are. In short, these guys have no business sense. Everything from over-paying someone like Fedor who no one in North America has ever heard of. To working with Golden Boy, who clearly do not have a genuine interest…It all frustrates me.

I don’t want *M-1 to be my only Fedor option (yes he is not a multi million dollar draw in the US but he is the man). Unfortunately, this may be the swan song for Affliction.

*Didn’t IFL and Bodog Fight prove to us that tape-delay doesn’t work for MMA….did M-1 miss the memo?

Eveboy420- January 12, 2009 at 3:02 pm

LMAO well Tyler looks like you took someone elses cue and started posting under other ppls names huh very clever tricky tricky(as well as very original you loser hack!), As for a skinny internet loser LMAO I would love to see you say that to me of course you wouldn’t but a guy can hope and dream right? As for the fight predictions spot on man I am pulling for PITBULL I hope he does knock Fedor out

Eveboy420- January 12, 2009 at 2:40 pm

Looks like a fair lineup, but I’d still rather not pay that much to see it. Maybe the price will go down! Not. And sorry, I didn’t realize that I was being a skinny internet keyboard warrior as well, by wasting my time here in this chair, typing all this random stuff, arguing on the net. My bad…
Whatever becomes of Arlovski, I hope he has good fortune; He’s a fierce striker and I respect him very much.

Ricky- January 12, 2009 at 1:39 pm

Nice shirts ya bunch of doubebags.

Jay Smith- January 12, 2009 at 12:34 pm

@ Anonymous
I’m a butt reamer for what I did to your mother and your sister, not for misspelling a word. I know you did it to make a point though so, I’ll let it slide.

Anonymous- January 12, 2009 at 12:27 pm

banned ruled, i don’t know why people wouldn’t watch this. well, unless they eat n00b-cereal for breakfast.

Anonymous- January 12, 2009 at 12:16 pm

UFC is great, they really have paved the way for MMA. But it will only hurt the sport in the long run if they are the only successful organization. I’m not sure Affliction is ready to step up and be the next competitor but if we want this sport to be successful and grow we need to have love for organizations other then UFC.

Anonymous- January 12, 2009 at 11:49 am

Thank the gods for this thing called the internet, which lets me download the broadcast videos the next day and watch them on my TV. Plus I can skip over all the boring parts.

Anonymous- January 12, 2009 at 11:48 am

I hate Jay Smith because he spelled “kooky” as “cooky”. What a butt-reamer!

Armbreaker- January 12, 2009 at 11:33 am

I wish Affliction or the UFC would put an event in Dallas. Residents of California and Nevada are spoiled from having so many choices.

Thoughts- January 12, 2009 at 11:15 am

OBI

As a genuine MMA fan, I do appreciate other organizations and what they do. I have watched the UFC for years, enjoyed Pride back in the day, and frequent local shows whenever possible. I enjoy all MMA and regardless of talent level, a good fight/show can be put on by any organization.

The difference with all other organizations and the UFC is marketing power. That’s really it. Do you get Huerta-like hype anywhere outside of the UFC (in MMA)? I mean, he left the UFC to pursue an acting career.!.!..if to take a moment to let that sink in, it becomes pretty profound. What about Ken-Flo working at ESPN? The UFC represents the top level of MMA in the eyes of our media, just like the NFL represents the top for football. Although other organizations can scratch and claw at the idea of someday being equal to the UFC, the facts say something different.

Only the organizations that focus on long run survival by building up talent on a local level, will stand a chance, and that is only a chance. All the ones who reach out and sign the scraps that the UFC cannot or will not….are doomed to fail as Elite and soon Affliction.

Last, I dont mind it that the UFC has a strangle hold on MMA right now. If you want to fight the best, be recognized as the best, then the UFC is the only place to go. I bet the average person right now, if asked (the casual fan, not a hardcore) would acknowledge Brock as the best Heavyweight….sad but true.

Eveboy420- January 12, 2009 at 10:50 am

Just throwing it out there, Tyler= Tito? unemployed and searching the net for his next fight no matter who or where it is? Well Come on then Tito I don’t sweat you??

UFCinCalgary- January 12, 2009 at 10:46 am

Why in the name of GOD, would anyone want to pay for this, when it will be on the internet FREE 5 min after it happens!

I think that Tom, is going to have alot of t-shirts to wipe his ass with after this!

Old, Bald and Irish- January 12, 2009 at 10:34 am

@ Thoughts

The NFL vs UFC analogy has some merit, but there are some differences I’d like to point out.

First off, I was one of those guys who actually watched the XFL games. And you know what? Some of them weren’t half bad! I don’t know where you live “Thoughts” and if you had an XFL franchise there, but when I went to Vegas I got in a conversation with a sports nut and he said XFL was huge in Vegas. No other competing football teams.

The XFLs biggest downfall was the talent pool. There are only so many world-class NFL players…and they all play for the NFL.

I don’t think the UFC is the same way. They may have the best fighters in the world, but is there enough talent outside of the UFC to support another large orgnization? I think so. It’s just really hard to get something like this off the ground.

I never thought that Affliction would be bigger than the UFC. I did hope that they would at least be able to put on a good show every two to three months. Same with EliteXC. They have a lot good fighters and overall, I’ve enjoyed all of their shows, if not some of the matches.

I don’t think someone else is gonna take down the UFC. Face it: Dana and Company know what the hell they are doing. I just want to see as much good MMA as possible, that’s all. The more the merrier. No one is gonna break the UFC, but not every fighter is a good match for the UFC.

Jay Smith- January 12, 2009 at 10:27 am

I love how on this site, you can think that you’re just making a quirky comment; ya know, bein all cooky with your buddies, and then be viciously attacked from someone that seemingly hates your guts for what you said even though, your comments weren’t directed at him or anyone else for that matter!

Thoughts- January 12, 2009 at 10:22 am

God Damn, its like watching Titanic or something…all this bullshit just to watch the fucker sink in the end…

If Fedor wins, the only horse left in the stable in Barnett (provided he wins)
If A.A. wins, the light dims on Fedor and Affliction. Although an A.A./Barnett fight would be compelling to hardcores, they will not hold enough viewers to sustain an organization.
The only difference between Elite and Affliction in my book is one bet on a horse with Talent. Nobody wins forever.

And lastly to all the afflicted who want another organization to rise up and claim some of the UFC’s market/fighters/power….
Its like listening to a fan of football screaming about how huge the XFL is going to be and how the NFL is doomed…haha. Run, “He Hate Me”, Run.

Just dont forget to go out and buy a T-shirt so when you sink, you do it with style.

Remsaa- January 12, 2009 at 10:06 am

lol, look at Tito’s shit-eating grin, did he sneak into that pic?

Is Jenna hiding behind everyone else on her knees in front of Tito?

Jack Booted Thug- January 12, 2009 at 10:02 am

I’ll forego UFC 93 for the Affliction PPV. Itr looks like it will be much better anyway…

Anonymous- January 12, 2009 at 10:02 am

Well I am 40 minutes away from the Honda Center, and since its on my birthday my friends and my wife are going to travel there and score some comps. YAY us.

Anonymous- January 12, 2009 at 9:59 am

“Why is Tito there? Because he’s a fucking announcer for the event Jackoff.”

Yea he’s in the picture with all the other announcers for the show….oh wait it’s just him pretending he’s one of the fighters on the show. If John Madden ended up in a picture of the Dallas Cowboys roster people would be asking what he was doing there too.

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