This and That

1. Affliction fighters Andrei Arlovski (240.75) and Roy Nelson (262.75) both made weight for EliteXC HEAT to be broadcast tonight on CBS. Arlovski branded his Affliction t-shirt during the weigh in. Tom Atencio has indicated that the Affliction logo would be seen throughout the EliteXC broadcast.

2. According to a report by MMAJUNKIE Tito Ortiz expects to not only be paid as a fighter but also attain a percentage from the gate, ppv buys, merchandising, pretty much "everything" says Tito Ortiz. This is a primary reason that Ortiz will not sign with Affliction Entertainment.

"Affliction kind of dampered away just because they just want to pay for a fighter just to fight," Ortiz said. "I'm not that fighter to make a company as the UFC is now and just get paid just for the fights."

Tito Ortiz is expected to be at the EliteXC broadcast tonight and there are rumors that he could sign with the struggling company. However there is no way that EliteXC, a company who has lost millions already that they'd be willing to pay Ortiz a pertcentage of "everything" and for high profile fights and expect to remain in business. Nevertheless MMAJUNKIE reports that Ortiz will be going through lower back surgery and will be shelved for six months anyways.


3. Mike Chiappetta for NBCSports.com has learned that another Affliction fighter has been offered a spot on the November 8th ShowXC card to be broadcast on Showtime. The card will be headlined by Robbie Lawler vs. Joey Villasenor. This will allow Affliction to keep their brand in the public eye as they look to book a date for their Golden Boy co-promoted show for January. For EliteXC, it allows them to supplement their line-up without expending cash, which is at a premium at this point.


4. From NBCsports.com: Emelianenko will likely face Arlvoski, as long as he can defeat Nelson this weekend. No potential boxing matches have been reported, but Cohen says, “Whenever Mr. Trump is involved, you can expect to see only the top level of everything. These will be boxers of the highest level.”

There is also the question of whether boxers or mixed martial artists will have the main event spotlight. According to Cohen, the two organizations have a seven-person board in place to decide such issues, though he wouldn’t comment on the makeup of the board, citing the proprietary nature of their agreement.

Count Dallas Mavericks and HDNet owner Mark Cuban among the deal’s fans. HDNet has broadcast more live MMA than any other channel.

“I love it,” he told NBCSports.com in an email. “There are a lot of different ways to present MMA and Boxing. Golden Boy does a great job in promoting, particularly promoting PPV. Affliction has gone all-in… The combination could really get a strong foothold in the market.”

Arlovski, who has suddenly seen his profile increase with multiple promotion companies, also feels strongly about the deal.

“Golden Boy is one of the most successful promoters and currently the No. 1 in boxing,” said Arlovski, who still has an interest in boxing professionally. “Definitely them getting involved in MMA could bring a lot of value. Overall, I think it would be positive for Affliction and the sport.”


5. Affliction points to the Arlovski/EliteXC deal as evidence that the organization will do whatever deals it can to maximize exposure and bring about success. That pact came about in the last 2-3 weeks but was rooted in talks the two sides had just after the inaugural July 19 event.

It was unanimously approved by the Affliction/Golden Boy board, and will result in exposure for the Affliction brand on CBS, effectively functioning as commercial time.

“The team at Affliction made it clear that we’re not opposed to co-promoting events,” Cohen said. “It occurs in other combat sports as well. The reality is the UFC is taking a stand. They will not co-promote. That’s fine if that’s their business model, but I believe it’s a bad model to follow. I don’t think it benefits the sport and certainly doesn’t benefit the fighter or the fan.”


6. Josh Barnett and Affliction were unable to negotiate a fight against Fedor Emelianenko for January.. Said Barnett in an interview with MMAWEEKLY:

“There’s just some times it’s better to keep your mouth shut and just not really talk too much about things,” he said. “I’m not trying to make anybody look bad or talk about the details of it, but it’s just not a fight that’s going to happen in January. And I think that the feeling is actually mutual.

“There’s a lot of factors that go into this one. It’s not so simple…I live for doing this my way and I’m never going to take second best from anyone ever,” he stated.