Wednesday, July 16, 2008 - Los Angeles, California
Written by: Rebecca Lee


Recap of the Affliction Banned Pre-Fight Press Conference

Raise your hand if the first rumor of Affliction Clothing putting on its own mixed martial arts show made you chuckle …or say “Are you kidding?” Relax. You were not alone. But standing in a ballroom at the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles, California, seventeen (17) of the show’s 22 scheduled fighters stepped up, ready to fight, leaving little doubt that Affliction Banned will leave its mark on the history of MMA.

Affliction Entertainment’s VP Tom Atencio, in association with M-1, took on the role of matchmaker for all eleven (11) bouts, seven (7) of which will broadcast live. Those matchups include veteran legends in the sport as well as young, talented fighters well-acquainted with the spotlight. No rookies, no amateurs…only world class fighters on a global stage.

Just 2 months ago, I sat at the first Affliction Banned press conference, wondering about the potential success of the show. As it turns out, commercial time for the Fox Sports Net presentation of the card is completely sold out. In addition, over 280 international media outlets submitted requests to cover the event, and the Honda Center (which is nearly sold out) has cleared $2 million in ticket sales. Not bad for a first time organization on the rise. The PPV buys, both commercially and residentially, cannot be accurately counted until after the event on Saturday, but the interest is worldwide and could bring in bigger numbers than expected. According to M-1’s Joost Raimond, interest extends to Russia and Asia, especially Korea and Japan.

Here at home in the states, Fox Sports Net has scheduled one full hour of Affliction Live beginning at 5pm Pacific (8pm Eastern) featuring Aleksander Emelianenko vs Paul Buentello and Terry Martin vs. Vitor Belfort. The live cable broadcast will be immediately followed by the PPV event Affliction Banned beginning at 6pm Pacific (9pm Eastern).

Conference sound bytes:

Terry Martin: “…I guarantee you guys that you will see a fight that you will be talking about years on down the line.”

Vitor Belfort: “…It’s a pleasure to be fighting in my hometown – LA…it’s phenomenal to be fighting on a card like that and to have an opportunity, too… and a new challenge of fighting at 185…I’m looking forward and really excited to do it.”

Aleksander Emelianenko (via translator): “…I’d like to thank my opponent and wish him the best of luck. I know together that we’ll show everyone a great technical and beautiful fight.”

Paul Buentello: “…I can guarantee, you know, I’m not going for a takedown. It’ll be a war. It’ll be a great fight. Don’t blink, guys.”

Matt Lindland: “…Last time I fought was April of last year and I’m giddy right now I’m so excited to get in there and fight.” and with a little humor he continued, “I know a lot of you don’t know about Fabio here, but I know he’s really tough because he grew up with that name. He probably got picked on a lot at school. He’s fought his whole life. And so I really appreciate him stepping up and taking this fight. I’ll put on a good show and suplex him on his head Saturday night.”

Edwin Dewees: “…I think this is a historic card and I’m really pleased to be a part of it. Actually I think I’m the youngest guy here but I have more fights than anybody. So I’ve been all around the world and this is a really great show and I just happy to be part of it. So thank you, guys, very much.”

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: “I want to say thank you for the guys from Affliction to give me the opportunity to be here to show all my friends from America finally I’m gonna fight here…”

Renato Sobral: “…like with your brother, you hope that he’s doing good, but you gonna see us probably beat each other. That’s pretty fun…”

Mike Whitehead: “…I know you guys see me two months ago, 60 pounds bigger. It just comes down to I may not be the best stand-up guy or may not be the best Greco guy or grappling guy, but I do know one thing…and that’s how to work hard. This fight between me and Babalu that we are getting ready for is definitely gonna be a big pile of smoke and we'll see who’s still standing…”

Josh Barnett (the class clown): “…I gotta thank Affliction, they should be happy to have me…The thing is though they put us a little too low, unfortunately, on the card so, the rest of you guys – we are stealing the show. I hope you guys stay for the rest of it, ‘cause there’s a great amount of fights. But I don’t blame you, after we’ve been on, it’s gonna be hard to compare…”

Ben Rothwell: “…as far as Josh thinking that he’s gonna steal (the show) and no one’s interested in our fights, we all know, it’s the last two fights you come to see and Arlovski and I aren’t gonna disappoint…”

Tim Sylvia: “…the WAMMA belt on the line, that obviously is a big thing. It’s the first time we unify a true champion; you know, it’s gonna recognize a true champion…all the other belts, all these other organizations are looking at this belt as being the #1 guy.”

And Tim poking fun back at Josh: “…after you get your popcorn, your beers, your drinks with Pedro and Josh fighting,…come back for the main event, alright?”



Visit my blog for more on AFFLICTION BANNED:

http://angelfitness.proelite.com/blog

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/8211076/Trump-signs-Arlovski,-buys-share-of-Affliction

Written by: Rebecca Lee

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - Los Angeles, California
Written by: Rebecca Lee

In the wake of Affliction's unprecedented success and subsequent banning by some of mixed martial arts leading organizations, the high-end clothing manufacturer has taken their involvement in the sport to a whole new level. With help from Fox Sports and Roy Englebrecht Events, Affliction Banned will make its MMA debut on Saturday, July 19, 2008, inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Tickets went on sale to the public on Tuesday morning before the press conference and according to the Honda Center President, Tim Ryan, sales topped $250,000 in the first 30 minutes. No surprise considering the level of talent already associated with this event. With one of the most heavily stacked cards to hit Southern California, Affliction Banned is almost certain to sell out. And when it does, MMA fans will still be able to catch the action live on Pay-Per-View in both standard and high-definition beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT. In addition to the PPV broadcast, Fox Sports Executive VP, George Greenberg, announced Tuesday that Fox Sports Net will carry the first hour live on basic cable featuring a bout between Aleksander Emelianenko and Paul Buentello.

Here's a look at the fight card to be featured on PPV:

Fedor Emelianenko (27-1-0) vs. Tim Sylvia (24-4-0)

Ben Rothwell (12-5-0) vs TBA

Josh Barnett (20-5-0) vs. Pedro Rizzo (16-7-0)

Matt Lindland (20-5-0) vs. Fabio Nascimento (8-3-0)

Renato Sobral (29-7-0) vs. Mike Whitehead (20-5-0)

Affliction's press conference, staged in the Westfield Shoppingtown in Century City, brought together fighters featured on the PPV card (minus Matt Lindland) and major partners involved in putting the show together. Jay Glazer, Fox Sports Broadcaster, led the way by openly expressing his excitement to see what he referred to as the "Pro Bowl" of mixed martial arts. Glazer, along with Frank Trigg, hosted the recaps of PRIDE Fighting Championships on Fox Sports Net until the company was purchased and, ultimately, dismantled.

Vice President of Affliction, Tom Atencio, admittedly new to the press conference thing, described the company's roots, its vision, and his support for the fighters and the sport.

Roy Englebrecht will serve as the Affliction Banned promoter of record and cited the company's integrity, passion, great business sense, and branding as his reasons for coming on board.

As the featured fighters approached the podium one by one, each expressed their enthusiasm in being part of such a monumental event. Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Mike Whitehead, Tim Sylvia, and Fabio Nascimento (with help from his translator), each in their own way, thanked Affliction and its partners for the opportunity to fight other well-respected and legendary opponents. Renato "Babalu" Sobral even dressed in a suit for the occasion. Ben Rothwell promised that no matter who his "TBA" opponent turns out to be, he would "...give you guys what you came to see and I'm gonna show you guys why you love the sport as much as you do."

As Fedor approached the microphone, fans expressed their excitement to have him back in the United States, and with the assistance of a translator, he thanked Tim Sylvia for taking the fight.

At the end of the day, Affliction gave out over 2,000 free t-shirts along with posters of the event and some fans had the rare opportunity to meet some of the world's greatest fighters.

Saturday, July 19, 2008, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Affliction WILL make MMA history. I'll be watching...will you?

My Official Press Conference photos: www.afightgallery.com