Affliction general partner Todd Beard’s outburst during his appearance on “The Scott Ferrall Show” on Sirius Satellite Radio earlier this month might have caused even more harm than first thought. In addition to ridiculing UFC owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White, Beard also took aim at UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture.
Couture, whose Xtreme Couture clothing label is manufactured and distributed by Affliction, is scheduled to defend his title vs. Brock Lesnar on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas.
“Randy, if you’re listening right now, I hope (expletive) Lesnar kills you,” Beard said in anticipation of the matchup.
In response Randy Couture told ESPN that he'd no longer be doing any business with Affliction. This could affect Affliction's chances on getting Gina Carano vs. Cris Santos, a fight that was supposed to be a major bout for EliteXC. Tom Atencio was quoted as having been interested in taking that fight now that EliteXC is out of business. The female fighters did the highest rating for EliteXC on CBS. Unfortunately the falling out between Randy Couture and Todd Beard may affect Gina Caronos' chances in Affliction getting that bout, Carano is affiliated with Xtreme Couture. Couture did recognize in that interview that Affliction has taken care of many of his fighters out of Xtreme Couture but Carano told Fighters Magazine:
“There’s a bit of a barrier between me and Affliction,” she revealed. “You know, with Randy and that whole thing. But if they approach me with an offer, who knows?”
Carano landing in Affliction is always a possibility, especially if Atencio opts to buyout her contract on November 17th when ProElite and its assets will be up for bidding.
"We're definitely interested (in women's MMA)," Atencio told MMAJUNKIE. "Gina Carano is a great fighter. I think Cristiane Cyborg is an unbelievable fighter. I'm definitely open to the idea of that fight."
In other news FIVEOUNCESOFPAIN reports that Tito Ortiz has recently claimed that he will either be signing with the UFC or Affliction and expects to fight by July.
Affliction was painted on the canvas for both Bernard Hopkins vs. Pavlik on October 18th and also during Roy Jones Jr. vs. Joe Calzaghe. Hopkins and Calzaghe won the main events.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (15-3) came out on top at Sengoku 6 and is expected to fight for Affliction on January 24th possibly against Vitor Beltfort. He beat Moise Rimbon. Dan Lauzon is set to face Justin “Sledge” Hammerstrom on the November 14th WCF card. Chris Horodecki will enter the Shootboxing “S-Cup 2008” same-night eight-man tournament on November 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The prospective fight between Horodecki and Lauzon at Affliction 2 is at jeopardy depending on what happens. Mike Whitehead (23-6) is back on his winning ways defeating Leo Pla on October 29th during M1-Global Challenge 8.
GracieMag is reporting that Affliction is attempting to sign Ricardo Arona. They did an interview with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who said:
“It’s not just Brazilian fans who are looking forward to a return from Arona. The folks at Affliction have already sent a message through my brother Rogerio [Minotouro]. ‘We would like to hire Arona, we want to see him fighting in our events, you may tell him that – we want to negotiate with Arona now,” the Brazilian revealed."
1 comment:
Couture is a backstabber so I see where this Beard guy is coming from. But when you criticize someone publicly, you have to weigh the risks. It sounds to me like he just shot his mouth off. Zuffa sends Couture over to espn, sends Gina to some other mma media, and who ends up looking bad? It's not like espn is going to interview Beard and get his side. At this point, ESpN follows zuffa orders.
They could sign Arona. I'd be looking to pick up Evans though. I think his contract is coming up. Also, signing Tito should be a priority. Tito is dumb enough to re-sign with zuffa so they have to play their cards carefully.
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