UFC Could Schedule Card To Spoil Affliction Debut
It was with a degree of surprise (although not too much) that Affliction (up until recently just a harmless manufacturer of MMA wear under its own lable) announced it was entering into the MMA fight promotion game in direct competition with UFC. As most of you know by now, UFC responded by banning its fighters from wearing any Affliction apparel wear… which prompted Affliction to name its very first card “Affliction: Banned” (not a bad move actually).
But the card has more than just a title that snubs the UFC. The main event of the evening on July 19th not only features the mighty Fedor… but also a recent departees Tim Sylvia and Andre Arlovski. So what do you do if you’re the UFC? Well… snub them right back and put a fairly big card on free TV on at the exact same time Affliction is debuting their show.
The good folks over at MMA Junkie give us this:
The UFC has begun preparations to host a live fight event on Spike TV on July 19, the same night that the upstart Affliction promotion hosts its first pay-per-view event, Sherdog.com reports. According to the report, the event could feature a light heavyweight main event between Wanderlei Silva and former heavyweight Brandon Vera, and it’s expected to take place in Las Vegas.
What a giant kick in the groin that would be to the fledgling new MMA brand!
Now I’ve got to say that unlike EliteXC, this Affliction cared looks fantastic from top to bottom and I’m more than a little interested in seeing it… but if UFC actually does move ahead and puts a Wanderlei Silva on free TV at the same time… it will be harsh for Affliction. Would the move be cruel? Yup. Done almost just out of spite? Certainly. But it’s business baby, and you do what you need to do.
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