(Props: Keegan on the UG)

Affliction paid out a little over $3.3 million in disclosed fighter salaries for “Day of Reckoning,” pretty much guaranteeing that they’ll take a financial loss on this event, as we all expected.  Naturally, the payouts include several head-scratchers and jaw-droppers, including $1.5 million to Andrei Arlovski for his 3:14 KO loss to Fedor Emelianenko last night.  At least when you compare it with Tim Sylvia’s $800,000 loss in 0:36, it’s proportional.  Now someone explain to Mark Hunt where his $4 million is.

Here’s how the disclosed salaries broke down:

Fedor Emelianenko $300,000 (no win bonus)
Andre Arlovski $1,500,000 (win bonus would have been $250,000)
Josh Barnett $500,000 (no win bonus)
Gilbert Yvel $30,000 (win bonus would have been $9,300)
Vitor Belfort $200,000 (includes $80,000 win bonus)
Matt Lindland $225,000 (win bonus would have been $75,000)
Renato "Babalu" Sobral $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
Thierry Sokoudjou $50,000 (win bonus would have been $50,000)
Paul Buentello $90,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
Kiril Sidelnikov $10,000 (win bonus would have been $25,000)
Dan Lauzon $12,000 (no win bonus)
Bobby Green $4,000 (win bonus would have been $4,000)
Jay Hieron $45,000 (includes $25,000 win bonus)
Jason High $10,000 (win bonus would have been $5,000)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira $150,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus) def. Vladimir Matyushenko $50,000 (win bonus would have been $30,000)
L.C. Davis $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus)
Bao Quach $7,000 (win bonus would have been $6,000)
Albert Rios $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus)
Antonio Duarte $3,000 (win bonus would have been $2,000)
Brett Cooper $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Patrick Speight $2,000 (win bonus would have been $3,000)

Thoughts…

("Fedor, you hear of this ‘Stevia’? It melt 40 pounds of fat and six tumors from my uncle Wladimir’s body. I’m just saying." Photo courtesy of Sherdog.)

Quick prediction for tonight’s main event: During the pre-fight face-off, Fedor and Andrei will say "I must break you" to each other simultaneously, after which Fedor will quickly call "jinx," prohibiting Andrei from speaking until someone says his name, which won’t be until the afterparty. As for the fight itself, you already know how we stand on that. Anyway, the main card for Affliction’s second event is about to pop off. Results from the undercard, and round-by-round updates/commentary for the pay-per-view broadcast await you after the jump. TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL!

(Looks like Andrei’s the only thing standing between Fedor and another trip to the scary rollercoasters.  That is not a safe place to stand.)

Is it sad that this installment of Ben vs. Ben is forced to dwell on questions surrounding Affliction’s possible demise?  A little, but that’s life.  We can’t just pretend that they aren’t paying Andrei Arlovski roughly 20,000 t-shirts for an event that has no clear path to a profit…or does it?  That discussion and more awaits you below.

What are the odds that this is Affliction’s last show?

BF: -300.  In other words, 3-1 odds that we’ll never see another Affliction MMA event again.  I’m not happy about that, but if I’m being honest I have to look at how difficult it’s been for them to get a second show together, how much they’ll spend on it and how little of that will be recouped in ticket sales or pay-per-view revenue, and I can’t see how they justify another money pit of a show after this.

Of course, three has always been their magic number.  That’s how many shows they said they were committed to, and it would give them the chance to put on the Josh Barnett-Fedor Emelianenko fight they’ve obviously been angling for since the start.  But if Arlovski’s getting over a million bucks for this fight, imagine what it would cost to put on Barnett-Fedor alone, not to mention the rest of the card.  It would be an obvious money-loser, and even Affliction can’t bleed cash forever.  If they don’t pull out a miracle on Saturday night, they’re going to pack it in.

BG: I really hope nobody at Affliction has their fingers crossed and breath held for this miracle of which you speak. Between Margarito/Mosley and the UFC’s usual counter-programming and market saturation, Affliction won’t even be outperforming their first event in terms of ticket sales or pay-per-view buys. But I have to assume that they already know this. Maybe Atencio & Co. are bad at running an MMA organization, but they’re not childish enough to believe that money will literally fall out of the sky. And yet they sign Gegard Mousasi to fight in their third event, and announce they’ll be promoting four events a year with Golden Boy.

I’m not Affliction’s CFO, so I don’t know how much money the company is willing to lose on this MMA pursuit. But is it naïve to think that they wouldn’t be making these concrete plans if their future really depended on the financial performance of "Day of Reckoning"? Short answer: yes. Still, I’m going to set the odds for this one at a more generous -200. Now if I could just find a gambling site that offers a parlay bet on "Affliction won’t put on a third show" + "Tito Ortiz will never fight again," I could probably make a decent profit…

If Affliction’s Fedor Emelianenko-Andrei Arlovski main event at “Day of Reckoning” this Saturday doesn’t draw as well as expected, you certainly can’t blame a lack of video hype.  Above is a preview for what is being billed as a documentary called “Fedor: Baddest Man on the Planet,” which will air on Fox Sports Net Tuesday night.  It’s important to note that this was put together by the people from M-1, so don’t expect a warts-and-all look at Emelianenko.  More like a really long commercial or an extended version of the "Arlovski 360" hype videos.  Speaking of which…

…here’s the latest installment, in which “The Pitbull” explains his plan to “fight like lightweight.”  We also get to hear more people talk about how great Arlovski is, how hard he trains, etc.  This is the fifth episode.  We get it.  He trains hard.  He’s a good fighter.  It’s not as if it becomes more true the more people you can find who are willing to say it on camera.

After the jump, Gilbert Yvel explains to “Inside MMA” why he punched that referee.  The short version?  It was wrong, but the ref was a dick.

Dana White’s UFC 93 video blog, episode 4 – Watch more free videos

We finally get a look at Dana White’s video blogger at the start of episode four in the UFC 93 series, and while the task of following the UFC prez around with a video camera may not sound so difficult, it seems like where you really earn your money is when it comes time to absorb some verbal abuse.  Other highlights include a lengthy conversation with Irish boxer Barry McGuigan, and then we end with a rant as Dana realizes he was swindled by 82-year-old PR Director Jim Burn during their bet to see who could navigate the streets of NYC faster.  Riveting stuff, in other words.

In a preview of the upcoming episode of "Inside MMA" we’re talking drummer greats with Josh Barnett, Gilbert Yvel, and author of Blood in the Cage, L. Jon Wertheim, who also happens to be a friend of the Potato.  Everybody seems willing to have a good time and mention their favorite rock drummer, except that Gilbert.  Does anything interest that dude besides weird tattoos and poking people in the eyes?

If the purpose of Arlovski 360 is to get fans to relate to Andrei on a personal level, he loses a little bit of ground in the latest episode, as we’re introduced to the Pitbull’s personal chef, jeweler, flag-maker, and club-owner homeboys. One of his friends even delivers the line "Guys wanna be like Andrei, and girls wanna be with Andrei." Must be nice. Meanwhile, Fedor is probably making his own borscht, sewing his own flags, and sleeping with his wife exclusively. [*shudders*] Careful of that rock-star lifestyle, Andrei — you saw what it did to Chuck.

Below: Gilbert Yvel — generously described here as "a fairly controversial fighter with a bit of a checkered past" — is going to rely on his unpredictability to beat Josh Barnett at "Day of Reckoning," and the general consensus is that Barnett will try to stand and bang with him. Sounds like a crowd-pleasing strategy, as long as it doesn’t blow up in his face… 

(Running around shirtless like that, it’s no wonder he got sick.  A little chicken soup will fix you right up, Mark.)

Affliction’s second event has hit its first real snag as the organization revealed that Mark Hominick has come down with pneumonia and has been forced to pull out of his bout with former IFL fighter L.C. Davis.  Affliction is looking for a replacement for Hominick and hoping that they won’t have to scratch the bout altogether.  Fans of brutal head kick knockouts should remember Davis for this little beauty (skip to 12:22, and have your ‘holy shit’ face ready), and it’d be a real shame if he ends up with no one to fight.

In other Affliction news, Tom Atencio has been hitting the media circuit hard lately.  He spoke with USA Today about the many questions surrounding “Day of Reckoning” and disputed rumors of poor ticket sales, and also responded to the backlash against Gilbert Yvel ever since it was announced that he’d take on Josh Barnett in the evening’s penultimate bout.  On the subject of Yvel’s penchant for illegal and downright despicable acts in the ring, Atencio called for leniency:

Those are in the past. It’s been four years since he’s had any problems, yet people still want to bring that up. Yeah, did he do things wrong? Yes he did. Did he pay for them? Yes he did. We sat in front of the California athletic commission and they approved him to go forward in the process. So I think that’s just it. I think it needs to be dropped. He has a chance to prove himself and if he comes out and fights and he puts on a good show — which I think he will; I know he will — then let’s just leave it alone.

After the jump, Atencio appears on Inside MMA and assures everyone that things are going juuuuuust fine.

(When you absolutely, positively need someone who will poke you repeatedly in the eye, there really is no substitute.)

While there are any number of reasons why an athletic commission might not license Gilbert Yvel (he is, after all, one of MMA’s most despicable people), it seems as if the CSAC is going to let him fight.  They’ve cleared him to apply for a license, which basically means that all he has to do pass medicals and not pull an Aleks Emelianenko and get himself benched at the last minute.  

But just in case Tom Atencio says he has “people in line if it doesn’t work out."

Trouble is, finding a credible replacement to face someone like Josh Barnett isn’t the same as finding someone to go against Paul Buentello in an undercard fight.  There you could just call up Gary Goodridge and nobody would feel as though they’d lost out.  In the case of Barnett, you’ve got to get a high-level replacement in order for the fight to feel like anything other than a consolation prize or premeditated ass-whipping.  

Atencio wouldn’t say who he has lined up, but whoever it is can’t be a serious opponent for Barnett.  It would have to be someone with enough of an ‘I don’t give a fuck attitude’ to take that fight on short notice, and also someone who is a non-UFC heavyweight not already on the Affliction card, which rules out Paul Buentello, thank God.

Fortunately Affliction has set hopes low by giving Barnett someone like Yvel to begin with, but dammit, if we see “Big Daddy” Goodridge come shuffling out at the last minute again, whatever credibility Affliction has left will be destroyed just as surely as he will.

(Photo courtesy of Shootboxing.org.)

Well, it looks like Brett Rogers is getting shafted again. From a press release that landed in our inbox this morning:

As with anything related to M-1 or Affliction, treat this announcement more as a possibility than a confirmation. But if it does come together, the Babyface Assassin had better be on guard — Yvel, after all, has three disqualifications under his belt due to biting, eye-gouging, and knocking out a referee. Still, he’s often brilliant when he keeps his emotions in check, and has won his last seven fights via stoppage, most recently a 22-second TKO of Alexander Timonov at last month’s M-1 Challenge event in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Barnett has been a perfect 3-0 since the demise of PRIDE, and last competed at Affliction’s "Banned" show in July, where he scored a second-round knockout of Pedro Rizzo. Personally, I’m happy to see Barnett fighting any legitimate opponent — and if he can punish Yvel for all his bad in-ring behavior, even better — but if you’re interested in the opposing viewpoint, Fight Opinion has four reasons why this matchup is "worthless."

(“Well, it was nice knowing you.” Photo courtesy of M-1 MixFight; props to BloodyElbow for the heads-up.)

M-1 is holding an M-1 Challenge event today in St. Petersburg, Russia, with Team Russia Red Devil taking on Team Korea, and Team Russia Legion facing Team Holland; the full lineup is here. Headlining the team competition will be two “superfights” that reflect the card’s nation vs. nation theme. The Legion/Holland main event will be 1-1 rookie Alexander Timanov vs. Dutch bad-boy Gilbert Yvel, while the Red Devil/Korea feature will be none other than Alexander Emelianenko vs. Spirit MC/DEEP/M-1 vet Sang Soo Lee (10-4). Soo has won four of his five fights this year, including a submission victory over Emelianenko’s Red Devil clubmate Roman Zentsov. The Korean fighter may be a step up in competition from Aleks’s last opponent, but we still think The Grim Reaper should be able to take this one relatively easily. More photos from yesterday’s weigh-ins are after the jump, courtesy of M1MixFight.com.

In an apparent attempt to boost their anemic ratings, DREAM has signed notoriously dirty fighter Gilbert “Hurricane” Yvel to a three-fight contract. The Dutch striker is expected to face Alistair Overeem in the near future.

Yvel took the #7 spot in our list of the 10 Most Despicable People in MMA for his trio of DQs — one for biting Karimula Barkalaev in 1998, one for eye-gouging Don Frye at PRDE 16 in 2001, and once for knocking out a referee during a match against Atte Backman in 2004; video of that one is above. Yvel last competed in May — at an event in Holland ironically titled “Gentlemen Fight Night” — picking up his fifth-straight win with a knockout of Michael Kita.

Speaking of despicable fighters, UFC/Cage Rage brawler-turned-armed robber Lee “Lightning” Murray will be immortalized in the feature film Breaking the Bank, which will be based on his involvement in the $92 million raiding of Securitas AB in 2006 — the largest cash heist in history.