It has been leaked that Affliction’s sophomore fight card will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event’s feature bout will showcase Fedor Emelianenko defending his World Association of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight championship belt against Andrei Arlovski. But despite having the event right in the middle of the UFC’s stomping grounds, the venue will not be quite the same. The Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus will play host to the event.
An unofficial announcement will not come until next Tuesday according to Affliction President Tom Atencio. For both Fedor and Arlovski, it will be their second straight Affliction bout. And judging by each man’s previous fight, the match-up should be much more competitive than Fedor’s annihilation of Tim Sylvia.
So Affliction has brought in Fedor Emelianenko, Donald Trump and even Megadeth to try to help generate interest in its debut event. Now the Megadeth part may not be fair. After all, who could resist paying good money to see a heavy metal band of leftovers from the 80’s?
Assuming that a good portion of those fans are not just die-hard Megadeth fanatics, it shows that Affliction is making some pretty good headway in its first ever event. It is quite certain that the UFC isn’t helping out matters as it will air a free night of fighting opposite Affliction’s banned.
So 58 percent isn’t so bad considering the circumstances. However, how that event pans out could determine whether those numbers increase or decrease in the future, notwithstanding another encore performance from Megadeth.
Now that Affliction: Banned is less than a week away, the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia match-up is starting to get even more hype than it has in previous weeks. Affliction is banking on a strong main event and will likely feature Fedor at its follow-up attraction. However, a Fedor loss could throw a monkey wrench into those plans. In this recent interview with Inside MMA, both Fedor and Sylvia talk about this Saturday night’s fight. Of course, Fedor needs a little assistance from his interpreter while Sylvia’s English comes out just fine.
Next weekend’s main events in both the UFC and Affliction both feature a couple of big name fighters who will enter their respective fights both as the favorite. Most experts, fans and even fighters have already predicted that pair as being the ones whose hands will be raised in victory at the end of the fight. But if history has proved anything, it is that no fighter can ever be underestimated. Just ask Quinton Jackson.
Although Forrest Griffin wasn’t considered a slouch by any means, most people did not give him a legitimate chance at taking the light heavyweight tittle away from Jackson. It was left up to Griffin to make believers out of all those naysayers. This upcoming weekend, two more fighters will have that same chance. Read more…
One of the most feared and successful heavyweights of the last decade has only known defeat once in his professional career. Fedor Emelianenko currently owns a 27-1 professional record with his only loss coming way back in the year 2000. On July 19th, he’ll try to extend his 24 fight win streak as he squares off against former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.
Fedor will immediately give up an eight inch height advantage when steps into the cage as part of the main of event of Affliction’s debut card. Sylvia is also no pushover by any stretch of the imagination. Sylvia will take a 24-4 record into the fight and while that record is quite impressive, it still seems as though Sylvia has something to prove.
Sylvia dropped two of his last three fights although those defeats were at the hands of some top notch opponents in Randy Couture and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. In order to get back on top, Sylvia will have to top the best heavyweight in the sport. 411mania.com goes into greater detail about the possibility of a Fedor loss.
Fedor Emelianenko’s date with Tim Sylvia at Affliction’s upcoming Banned is almost here. That bout just might dictate the success or lack thereof of Affliction’s debut event. Sylvia was once the UFC Heavyweight champion, although he will now have to contend with one of mma’s most esteemed heavyweights. Fedor has a 27-1 professional record and hasn’t lost a bout in nearly eight years.
In this compilation, Fedor disposes of quite a few of his past opponents. Sylvia, who could soon find himself on such a tape, will have to be at his best if he hopes to dethrone “The Last Emperor”. In addition, much of Affliction’s hope for the future will be riding on at least a competitive bout from Sylvia.
The next six months should be a busy time for heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. In addition to fighting Tim Sylvia this July 19th as part of Affliction’s debut event, Fedor has also agreed to two more bouts in 2008.
The next fight is likely to be featured in Affliction’s follow-up event that will be done in conjunction with M-1 Global. The last of the three fights figures to be another M-1 Global event that will take place on New Year’s Eve in Japan.
Fedor’s opponent for that end of the year bash will probably be the winner of “Fighting Fedor”, a reality shows featuring 16 contestants who will all be competing for the chance to face Fedor. Considering Fedor’s lack of activity over the past seven months, the coming months will be a busy time for one of the most feared heavyweights in the world. Fightline.com has more on Fedor’s busy schedule.
With Affliction’s July 19th pay-per-view event entitled ‘Banned’ inching ever so closer, the organization is trying to boost tickets sales by promoting its main event between heavyweights Fedor Emelianenko and Tim Sylvia. Fedor is giving away eight inches and 30 pounds to Sylvia. However, with a record of 27-1, Fedor is still considered the favorite.
Sylvia is no slouch, boasting a professional record of 24-4. Sylvia also has the distinction of being a former UFC heavyweight champion. At 6″8 260 pounds, there isn’t a heavyweight who can take Sylvia lightly. Nevertheless, Fedor is one of the most feared heavyweights in the world of mixed martial arts with his only loss coming because of a stoppage due to a cut.
In an attempt to draw more spectators both ringside and nationwide via pay-per-view, Affliction is trying to sell the fight as a clash of the Super Powers. The Russia vs. America feud has resurfaced during the promotion while the gargantuan size of each fighter also plays into the super power marketing mix. The promotional strategies are likely to increase over the next few weeks if Affliction has hopes of competing with the live UFC event that will take place on the same night.
In a further attempt to generate interest, Fox Sports Net will televise a free one hour special at 8pm EST leading up to the pay-per-view event that will begin at 9pm EST. Affliction has also booked Megadeth to perform live at the event which will take place in Anaheim, California.
It has been leaked that Affliction’s sophomore fight card will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event’s feature bout will showcase Fedor Emelianenko defending his World Association of Mixed Martial Arts heavyweight championship belt against Andrei Arlovski. But despite having the event right in the middle of the UFC’s stomping grounds, the venue will not be quite the same. The Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus will play host to the event.
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