DREAM Middleweight Champion in talks with Affliction.

DREAM is a Japanese MMA promotion run by former executives from PrideFC and they recently crowned their very first Middleweight champion in Gegard Mousasi (24-2) who defeated Ranaldo Souza (10-2) at DREAM 6. Although they put on a very decent MMA show this past month, DREAM has continued to struggle in ratings and they've been accused of refusing to pay certain fighters ala Nick Diaz.

So what happens when an upstart MMA league begins to struggle? How about sharing fighters and copromoting with another established MMA league? That is what EliteXC is doing and it seems as if DREAM could be coming on board as well. DREAM Middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi recently told The Fighters Only Magazine that he expects to face Vitor Belfort at the upcoming Affliction PPV in January.

Additionally in that interview Mousasi indicated that Josh Barnett is being talked about as a possibile opponent to WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko, although that matchup, which has surely been brought up by Affliction executives, is unlikely given that Andrei Arlovski is fighting Roy Nelson in a contenders match and Barnett is looking to secure a fight with an unknown opponent at Sengoku 6.

It is possible however that Tom Atencio may end up negotiating the Fedor Emelianenko fight with Josh Barnett given that Barnett has been vocal about not being given the respect he deserves. He was first surpassed by Andrei Arlovski for the WAMMA title fight and Barnett complained about it. However when Fedor was forced out of the fight due to a hand injury Josh Barnett was quickly inserted as his replacement. His fight versus Arlovski was to be a contenders match only to later find out that the card was scrapped and rescheduled. He wasn't happy about that at all. Then when Atencio announced that Arlovski would be facing Roy Nelson on CBS instead of Barnett (Atencio could not get a hold of Barnett to sign the fight), well that put the number 3 ranked heavyweight in the world in a very cranky mood. It is therefore every bit possible for Josh Barnett to be granted the fight against Fedor Emelianenko if Tom Atencio can negotiate it.

So what about Andrei Arlovski? If Andrei defeats Roy Nelson and he is not granted a title shot against Fedor Emelianenko come January he may sit out the January PPV altogether whether he is injured or not. More than likely an additional Heavyweight bout between Paul Buentello and Aleksander Emelianenko would take place and Arlovski would sit out the January PPV and end up facing the winner of Josh Barnett vs. Fedor Emelianenko - that is IF Affliction grants the title fight to Josh Barnett. One thing for certain is that everything in this scenario is only speculation at this time and that numerous scenarios are being negotiated with the Affliction fighters.

This and That

1. In an interview with Fiveouncesofpain.com Tom Atencio announced that the January copromotion with Golden Boy will feature 4 MMA fights and 1 boxing match. No indication was given on whether there will be additional undercard MMA matches. No single fight has been announced officially for the card.

2. Golden Boy Promotions had attempted to feature Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett on their October 18th HBO card headlined by Kelly Pavlik vs. Bernard Hopkins. HBO turned down the offer and indicated that they were not interested in MMA.

3. Affliction Entertainment and EliteXC came to an agreement to feature Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson which will be a number one contenders match for a shot at WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko. If the winner of that CBS bout suffers an injury suspension Josh Barnett will be the first in line. According to an interview with MMARATED.com Tom Atencio was not able to get a hold of Josh Barnett to sign him to the EliteXC deal and due to time restraints IFL Heavyweight champion Roy Nelson was chosen to replace him (the card was scheduled for October 4th 10 days prior to Affliction and ProElite reaching an agreement)

4. Vitor Belfort in an interview with TATAME.com indicated that he would be returning for the January PPV but that an opponent had not yet been decided. Belfort was scheduled to face Matt Lindland in a Middleweight title fight on the October 11th card but was forced to back out due to a hand injury.

5. In an interview with MMANEWS.com Tom Atencio announced that he was negotiating a fight between Tim Sylvia and Jerome LeBanner (3-1 MMA 73-15 Kickboxing) for the third installment of Affliction Pay Per View. This was before the October 11th card was postponed. Plans for Tim Sylvia have not been indicated since that announcement.

6. IFL standouts LC Davis (10-1) and Deividas Taurosevicius (9-3) were signed by Affliction.

7. Tito Ortiz is having ongoing negotiations with the UFC, Affliction, EliteXC and the AFL. Should Ortiz sign with Affliction soon, it would be possible for him to fight on their January card.

8. Tom Atencio indicated that there would be changes to the postponed Affliction 2 Day of Reckoning Card. The following is what was originally confimed for the card.

MAIN CARD
Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski (changed)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Matt Lindland vs. Trevor Prangley (changed)
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Pedro Rizzo vs. Ben Rothwell
Jay Hieron vs. Drew Fickett (changed)

PRELIMINARY CARD
Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello (changed)
Mike Pyle vs. Jason High
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Jay White vs. Chase Gormley
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

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Aleksander Emelianenko to fight on January Affliction Card

According to an interview with Fighters Only Magazine, Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) confirmed that he will be making his MMA debut on American soil come the Affliction PPV in January.

"The Russian heavyweight revealed that he will be heading to the USA soon to film promotional videos for the event.

“I am going back to the States next week to do interviews and make some film for the January event,” he said.

CSAC never revealed a specific reason for the removal but rumours circulated that Emelianenko had been found to have Hepatitis B.

“That is not true, these rumours about medical problems are not true,” he stated. “I was removed from the card because of problems with my paperwork.”

“My visa came late for the USA, I arrived two days late and it meant that I could not complete necessary paperwork on time.

“But there will be no problem this time - everything is cool."

Aleksander Emelianenko will likely face either his original opponent from Affliction BANNED, Paul Buentello or he will face Josh Barnett who approached Aleksander backstage during the July PPV and challenged him in dramatic fashion.



Both Paul Buentello and Josh Barnett have been left without opponents after the original plans for the October 11th card that featured Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson and Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski were scrapped. Roy Nelson, who was Buetello's original opponenet, is set to face Arlovski, who was Barnett's original opponent, during EliteXC HEAT on October 4th. According to Tom Atencio the winner of that CBS Nelson vs. Arlovski fight will face Fedor Emelianenko for the WAMMA title come January. Stay tuned for any official annoucements concerning Aleksanders' opponent.

Fedor Emelianenko Update

Possible routes Affliction may be taking for the WAMMA champion start off with Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski making up 2 of possibly 4 bouts Emelianenko would take by the end of 2009. Steve Siever from MMAJUNKIE writes about the possibility of pitting the Last Emperor against Kimbo Slice in a move for exposure, and of course after Randy Coutures' 3 fight contract with the UFC is up, the dream bout just may come to fruition by years end as well.

Before Antonio Silva (11-1) lost to Eric Pele he was thought of as a possible contender to the number 1 heavyweight in the world. With his rise as the EliteXC Heavyweight champion Silva very well could be a future opponent for Fedor by 2010. Silva however is suspended for a year because he allegedly used an illegal substance but could be a prime opponent given that Emelianenko has exhausted all other options by the point of his return.

All the while Fedor Emelianenko is very much interested in returning to Japan at some point in time, possibly facing Alistair Overeem who nearly destroyed Mirko Cro Cop before the unfortunete ending of that bout at DREAM 6. Nevertheless, the options for Fedor Emelianenko who is signed to an extensive Affliction contract are endless at this point. Time will tell what is in store for the best fighter at Heavyweight in the world.

Affliction and EliteXC to copromote first fight.

Affliction and EliteXC will be announcing their first copromoted fight pinning Andrei Arlovski vs Roy Nelson set for the October 4th card on CBS. This will be the first of many future copromoted fights to come for the two upstart MMA leagues. Stay tuned to see who Affliction will get to feature on their January PPV in exchange for the Arlovski-Nelson bout.

ProElite and Affliction Merger on the Horizon?

Just days after Affliction Entertainment and Golden Boy Promotions announced a deal that will distribute 4 events in 2009 looking to commingle professional Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts, comes a rumor that is steadily becoming an inevitable: ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC may become a third promotion to join forces with the coalition.

Steve Siever of MMAJUNKIE (a Yahoo Sports affiliate) recently blogged the situation exclaiming that ProElite has lost $55 million since 2006 and has gone on record warning investors of financial instability in an SEC filing this past August. In that filing the company stated that they did not have enough resources to function into next year without securing additional financing.

"Even a successful PPV debut isn’t enough to keep ProElite standing as an independent entity. An acquisition by Showtime makes sense, given the network’s existing ownership. However, a better long-term strategy is a ProElite and Affliction merger. The combined company would boast a strong roster of fighters and leverage the best attributes of each organization. Affliction is adept at marketing and promotion, while ProElite brings with it a built-in distribution channel in Showtime, and, potentially CBS, if the network re-ups its current deal.

A Showtime acquisition of ProElite doesn’t change the state of play in MMA. A ProElite-Affliction merger does. A union could be the type of game-changing move that finally produces a formidable challenger to the UFC, though it would still take years to accomplish. A merger would create momentum for “AfflictionXC,” which is something ProElite CEO and Chairman Chuck Champion believes a young company must have." (from MMAJUNKIE writer Steve Siever)

Indications that ProElite was looking for either a merger or acquisition partner came to light in a Sept. 11 column by CBS and SHOWTIME broadcaster Mauro Ranallo on his website for The Fight Network.

“I contacted Pro Elite head honcho (CEO and Chairman) Chuck Champion and he told me that he had held preliminary talks with a variety of promotions including Affliction,” wrote Ranallo in his blog entry.

These words make it official that Affliction Entertainment and ProElite have had "preliminary talks" about the possibility of a merger. If the two companies do end up joining forces it would undoubtedly create the best MMA product possible outside of the UFC, something that both companies should consider not only for business prosperity but for the fans of this sport who deserve to see top-tier fighters consistently battle each other.

The legtimacy of WAMMA to provide us with more undisputed champions comes to a closer reality when top 10 fighters like Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler are added to an Affliction mix of top competitors such as Matt Lindland, Vitor Beltfort and Renato Sobral. This is only the beginning of possibilities. Nick Diaz, KJ Noons, Bao Quatch, Frank Shamrock, Antonio Silva, Ninja Rua, Joey Villasenor and Paul Daley are all very much legitimate MMA competition that can be added to a mix that includes Chris Horodecki, Jay Hieron, Roy Nelson, Mike Pyle, Vladamir Matyushenko, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Drew Fickett, Trevor Prangley, Tim Sylvia, Pedro Rizzo, Ben Rothwell, Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, and others. In order for top competition outside of the UFC to face legitimate opponents it seems as if this merger is a must!

Other points to condsider.

1. Fedor Emelianenko on CBS will get him the American recognition that Affliction is looking for.

2. Kimbo Slice is marketable and its probably in ProElites' best interest to pin him against Brett Rogers on PPV, given that Rogers would be the first legitimate competition that Slice would be facing and this would interest enough fans to actually buy the PPV. Affliction is already established in the PPV market and Tom Atencio wouldn't mind taking partial credit in promoting Kimbo Slice's first legit fight against a formadable opponent. Not only that, but again, boxing fans would naturally be interested in Kimbo Slice due to his celebrity status and it would continue their growth in becoming MMA fans - hence increasing sales for MMA/Boxing cards that could potentially have Kimbo Slice on any one of them.

3. If ProElite merges with Affliction, the options for Tito Ortiz will pretty much be - Affliction/ProElite or the UFC. ProElite by itself can't afford Ortiz right now anyways. If Tito Ortiz does land a contract with Affliction, yeah, he will be able to face the likes of Renato Sobral which will make for an awesome fight in of itself, but additionally, Frank Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz II - something Ortiz has often stated he is interested in - will become a possibility if ProElite merges with Affliction. Tito Ortiz signing with Affliction will also help with PPV buys, not to mention possibly catch the attention of boxing fans during a hybrid event due to his celebrity status.

4. Freddie Roach, a legendary boxing coach trains the likes of Andrei Arlovski. Arlovski is mentioned as possibly being interested in making a boxing debut somewhere down the line, which can be set up perfectly now that Golden Boy is on board. Arlovski isn't the only MMA fighter interested in doing both sports. KJ Noons who has a contract with EliteXC is 7-1 as a professional boxer and has often expressed interest in wanting to box - something EliteXC has not allowed, however with a Affliction/ProElite merger, that could become a possibility, again, given that Golden Boy is on board.

Conclusion. All signs point to ProElite and Affliction joining forces as a good thing - for the companies, for MMA, for the fighters, for fighter rankings, for WAMMA, and most importantly for the fans!

Disclaimer - this website, this domain name, and the author are in no way shape or form associated with Affliction and/or Golden Boy promotions. This is a blog site only.