As Affliction Crumbles, White Wins Again

Like it or not, it's time to give it up to Dana White.

His detractors will say that he enjoys the failure of his competitors too much and while it may certainly be true, you have to give the guy credit for what he has managed to accomplish with the UFC.

The current buzz around the MMA world is Josh Barnett's removal from the Main Event at Affliction: Trilogy on August 1st and who his possible replacement might be. Regardless of who fills in to fight Fedor, there is a good chance this will be Affliction's last show. Another one bites the dust.

Meanwhile, Dana White and the UFC are standing stronger than ever.

On the heels of the second-largest gate revenue in the company's history, White has the UFC positioned to break into the mainstream media and garner the kind of coverage not yet afforded to Mixed Martial Arts in North America.

Despite his polarizing personality and heavy reliance on The F Bomb, White has succeed where so many others have failed and that is worthy of recognition in my books.

Affliction's pending demise only further underscores how impressive the success of the UFC as a brand and company truly is. Despite an impressive roster and bi-annual cards stacked to the rafters with talent, Affliction couldn't make a dent in the UFC's stranglehold on the PPV market.

While Affliction certainly succeeded where the UFC failed in landing Fedor, the end result may actually be more beneficial for the UFC when all is said and done.

Paying opposition to get obliterated by "The Last Emperor" cost Affliction a ton of money; Tim Sylvia earned $900,000 for 37 seconds of work, while Andrei Arlovski pocketed approximately $2.2 million for his brief Affliction career.

Meanwhile, Emelianenko's name has slowly began to gain recognition in North America among the casual fan, and just in time for a potential move to the UFC. Funny how that worked out ...

From the moment I heard of Affliction's foray into the promotion business, it sounded like a bad idea to me. Honestly, it sounded like Tom Atencio wanted to get into a pissing contest with Dana White.

Since then, he's called out White and challenged his image as a tough guy, stepping into the cage himself, as if to prove how tough and committed to the sport he is. Now he's on the brink of being out of the promotions game altogether.

Then there is White.

Love him or hate him, his shrewd business tactics and decade of work to build the UFC is paying off in spades, with the future looking brighter than ever before.

New markets continue to open. PPV numbers continue to soar. Life has been pumped back into The Ultimate Fighter series. Toys and video games and trading cards are hitting the shelves and flying off of them just as quickly.

Eleven days from now, Tom Atencio will be back mass-producing ugly t-shirts.

Dana White will be busy continuing to build the UFC Empire.

Your winner, by knockout, and still champion of the world ...



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The Best Month in MMA History

UFC 100 and the post-fight antics of Brock Lesnar have the Mainstream Media paying attention.

Pardon the Interruption has discussed MMA each day since returning to the airwaves following the centennial show in Las Vegas. That may not sound like much, but considering they spent Five Good Minutes with Jay Glazer yesterday, it's clearly headway and the timing couldn't be better.

While Lesnar's post-fight spectacle certainly wasn't intended to draw the curious eye of the casual fan and mainstream media outlets, now that they're paying attention, an outstanding month with no fewer than five top level events will showcase some of the brightest stars in the sport and possibly cement Mixed Martial Arts' standing as the sport of the future.

Without question, August 2009 is the single greatest month to be an MMA fan in the history of the world.

Instead of longingly waiting for that usual one event fix, all but one weekend in August offers a major showcase of some of the best fighters in the sport, beginning with arguably the best of all on August 1st.

Affliction: Trilogy takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with Fedor Emelianenko taking on long-time friend Josh Barnett for the WAMMA Heavyweight title.

Though not necessarily the household name that Lesnar has quickly become thanks to his WWE past and UFC present, "The Last Emperor" is the unquestioned top heavyweight in the sport today and the Pound for Pound best in the eyes of many.

Emelianenko isn't the only top name competing on the Affliction card either; while they might only put on an event every six months, there is no denying the impressive lineups that Affliciton's Tom Atencio rolls out each time.

Former UFC veteran and Strikeforce champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral faces a stiff test from Gegard Mousasi, a 23-year-old riding a twelve fight win streak across several weight classes who is quickly becoming a favorite among MMA fans.

Additionally, Vitor Belfort takes on Jorge Santiago, Paul Buentello faces dangerous striker Gilbert Yvel and Japanese legend "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi returns to North America for the first time in nearly three years to take on Rafaello Oliveira.

Even the preliminary card is impressive, and the best part is that we're just getting started.

One week later, UFC 101 invades Philadelphia with a long-awaited Lightweight title tilt between champion B.J. Penn and challenger Kenny Florian.

Penn is a polarizing figure in the Mixed Martial Arts community; his legions of fans love him with fierce passion, while his detractors are just as numerous and just as vocal. One thing that is not up for debate is the immense skill and domination "The Prodigy" has displayed in the 155 pound weight class over the last two years.

While Penn and Florian garner top billing on the marquee, the co-Main Event could be even better, as Anderson "The Spider" Silva returns to Light Heavyweight to face The Original Ultimate Fighter, fan favorite Forrest Griffin.

Like Emelianenko, Silva is considered one of the very best in the world, though his last two performances have left many fans longing for the destructive Silva that ran through the UFC Middleweight division upon his arrival three years ago.

If anyone is capable of bringing it out of him, it's Griffin, a man who is known for rising to the level of his competition and pushing the action from the opening bell to the final seconds of the fight. Fireworks are a very real possibility.

As if that wasn't enough to fill your weekend, WEC 42 takes place just one night later, headlined by bantamweight title holder Miguel Torres defending against undefeated Brian Bowles.

Though potentially overshadowed by the UFC's event in Philadelphia the night before, this year's WEC shows have been a hotbed for highlight and outstanding fights and the Main Event could easily continue that trend.

Originally slated to face either other back in April, Bowles was injured during training, eventually being replaced by Takeya Mizugaki. In his place, the Japanese fighter, who faces veteran Jeff Curran on this card, teamed with Torres to put on one of the early candidates for Fight of the Year.

Now we get the original battle between the 37-1 champion and the 7-0 Bowles who represents Athens, Georgia's Hardcore Gym, the original home of the aforementioned Forrest Griffin, as well as three other solid main card match-ups.

Believe it or not, there is still more, including what could be a landmark event for the sport.

On August 15, Strikeforce hits San Jose and features Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos and Gina "Conviction" Carano battling for the Womens 145 pound Championship as the Main Event.

Carano, known to many from her time as "Crush" on American Gladiators, has emerged in the last year as the face of female MMA, her unquestionable good looks landing her at #16 in Maxim's yearly Hot 100 countdown.

Don't be fooled by those looks either; Carano is as talented inside the ring as she is beautiful outside of it, and Santos might actually be better. This fight will mark the first time that two women have headlined a major promotion and some believe it will serve as a watershed moment for the continued advancement of female fighters everywhere.

As if a potentially historic fight wasn't enough, the other three fights announced for the Main Card are each title fights as well.

International star and heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem taking on UFC and Pride veteran Fabricio Werdum, a rematch for the Lightweight title between champion Josh Thomson and the man he won the belt from, interim champ Gilbert Melendez, as well as Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs squaring off for the Welterweight title.

After four shows in three weeks, fans get a break over, but just for one weekend, as UFC 102 rounds out an awesome August from Portland at the end of the month, with two icons in the sport meeting for the first time in the night's Main Event.

Randy "The Natural" Couture and Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira are two of the most successful and most respected fighters in the history of Mixed Martial Arts. Couture is an inspiration to many, earning his first UFC title at age 34 and continuing to dominate now, well into his 40's.

Nogueira, a long-time staple in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships, fights for the 39th time in his professional career, one that has seen him faces a veritable pantheon of MMA legends, with Couture joining a list that includes Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Josh Barnett and Dan Henderson.

Over the span of 28 days in August, the world has a chance to witness some of the greatest athletes the sport of Mixed Martial Arts has to offer.

There will be no WWE-esque theatrics or post-fight ranting.

There will only be the truly impressive displays of athleticism, talent, respect and sportsmanship the sport has been founded upon.

Hopefully, the mainstream media and the challengers to the sport will still be watching.

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The Fireball Kid is Coming... Maybe

During the media circuit following his win at Ultimate Chaos on the weekend, Affliction head honcho Tom Atencio discussed the inclusion of Japanese star Takanori Gomi on the upcoming Affliction: Trilogy card with MMA Weekly:

MMAWeekly: Any word about Gomi? Any progress with him coming to Affliction?

Atencio: Yeah, we’re still working on it, we’re finalizing everything, but it looks like it’s gonna go through. I’m not 100-percent yet, but we’re still working on it for sure.

Though not yet concrete, the inclusion of "The Fireball Kid" on the Trilogy card is an interesting development, as it comes at a time when Gomi is trying to work his way back to the top of the lightweight ranks that he dominated for so long.

At one point not all that long ago, Gomi was considered the best 155 pound fighter on the planet. He dominated Shooto, emassing a 14-0 record before suffering defeats to Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen and B.J. Penn.

Following the Rumble on the Rock loss to Penn, Gomi moved to Pride, starring in the Bushido series that showcased lower weight class, and resumed his winning ways. In his nearly four years fighting under the Pride banner, Gomi lost just twice, including a submission defeat to Nick Diaz that was later ruled a no contest when Diaz tested positive for THC.

Since then, two wins with World Victory Road at Sengoku 1 and Sengoku 4 are paired with two losses, though one, a split decision loss to Sergey Golyaev, was a controversial judgment.

Which brings us to the possibility of joining the Affliction card and the back and forth taking place in my head about the relative excitement of this announcement.

Had this been two or three years ago, when Gomi was using his ambidextrous striking ability to level opponents left, right and center, I would have been jumping up and down and ordering my first Affliction pay-per-view. But his recent performances have been somewhat uneven and while the decision loss to Golyaev may have been suspect, sometimes that is what happens when you leave it up to the judges.

That is the fan side of me. The overall MMA enthusiast and advocate thinks this is terrific for the sport as a whole. Anytime that you can bring an international star into a new market and further expose the sport and the incredible talents that operate outside of North America, you're doing something positive in my books.

My final judgment will be reserved for a later date, once the signing is official and an opponent has been named.

But as it stands now, I'm excited and you should be too.

The Fireball Kid is coming... maybe.






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The Inevitable Bobby Lashley Post

Get ready for a tidal wave of Bobby Lashley discussions, ranging from Brock Lesnar comparisons (also as inevitable as this post) to critiques of the former WWE superstar's still growing skill set.

Saturday night in Biloxi, Mississippi, Lashley headlined the Ultimate Chaos fight card and earned a first round submission win over former Pride and K-1 star Bob "The Beast" Sapp, improving his record to 4-0, not to mention my thoughts on his future in this sport.

Let's get the automatic Brock Lesnar comparison part out of the way up front.

In truth, there is no real comparison, as Kid Nate from Bloody Elbow accurate points out here. Outside of their time in the WWE, which was also quite different, they are actually quite different. Honestly, read Nate's piece; he covers it all.

But while I - like Kid Nate - give the edge to Lesnar in the physical specimen and collegiate pedigree categories, Lashley earns top marks from me for how he is approaching his transition into the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.

Not to take anything away from Brock Lesnar, his freakish athleticism and jet-propelled climb to the top of the UFC Heavyweight mountain, but to me, the way Lashley is going about his business earns much more respect in my books.

While I am certainly a fan of Lesnar's - as I declared here earlier in the week - his natural talents and abilities, combined with his immense following from the WWE gave him a greater opportunity than any fighter I can remember and he has made the most of it. He certainly has nothing to be ashamed of and the detractors can bitch about him all they want. I'm sure Brock Lesnar sleeps well at night.

That being said, seeing Bobby Lashley align himself with an outstanding camp at American Top Team and work his way up the ladder, taking the fights he is given and not simply looking to quickly cash in on his name recognition deserves praise.

It's shows a commitment to the sport and learning the craft as opposed to making money and using the natural talents he has been blessed with. He's like an anti-B.J. Penn, training his ass off and constantly looking to improve, instead of resting on his abilities and relying on being "The Prodigy." As great as Penn is now, he would reach the iconic status he feels he deserves if he just worked that much harder. Lashley looks like he is the opposite.

Chances are someone (read: Dana White, Tom Atencio, Scott Coker) have place a call or two to Bobby Lashley about taking the next step and moving to one of the larger organizations, but as of yet, that hasn't happened. In interviews, he acknowledges that he still has a great deal to learn and is interested in getting more fights under his belt before making the jump and that is why I'm confident that he will be a legitimate title contender by this time next year.

I was totally down on Lashley following his uneven performance against Jason Guida, as many were. Since that time, he wasted no time choking out Mike Cook up here in Edmonton and ran through the ridiculously large Sapp in just over three minutes last night. The improvement shows, as does the intelligence of abandoning the pre-fight hype declaration of looking to stand and trade with "The Beast" and utilizing his strength as a wrestler to take the fight to the floor and dominate.

Undoubtedly, a great deal of that gameplanning comes from ATT, who are either #1 or #1A as far as training teams go in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts depending on your feelings about Greg Jackson's squad in Albuquerque. Again, while he could certainly coast through these initial fights on the natural talents he possesses, training every day with a list of guys that includes Jeff Monson, Thiago Silva, Carmelo Marrero and Todd Duffee (just to name the guys around the same weight) is only going to help you improve and become a better fighter.

And that is what we're seeing in Bobby Lashley; the continued evolution and growth of a fairly household name as he transitions into the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

Here's to watching the evolution continue and Lashley continuing to go about things this same way.

The money and spotlight will always be there if you keep winning.

In the meantime, keep becoming a more complete fighter and earning victories and respect along the way.



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Stop Crying for Tim Sylvia

In light of his 10 second knockout loss to former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer on the weekend, a lot of people around the MMA world are shedding a tear for poor Tim Sylvia.

Don't count me among them.

While I've never been a Tim Sylvia fan, this isn't about my lack of enjoyment of watching him fight, so much as it's about setting the record straight on a guy who gets way too much credit for a mediocre run in Mixed Martial Arts.


I know - he's a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion ...

Matt Serra was the UFC Welterweight champion at one point and earned the belt by knocking out one of the best fighters on the planet.

The point here: having a big, shiny belt holding up your pants doesn't make you a superstar. Sometimes, you just get in a lucky punch or - as in Sylvia's case - you come around at the right time and get some lucky breaks.

Sylvia defeated Ricco Rodriguez for the heavyweight belt at a crossroads for the heavyweight division. Up and comers hadn't quite reached title contention and veterans like Rodriguez and Gan McGee, whom Sylvia beat in his first defense, were no longer in their prime.

Secondly, how come Sean Sherk gets dogged about steroids but no one seems to mention it in regards to Sylvia? After all, that is why he dropped the belt in the first place, as a result of a positive test and six month suspension.

Had Frank Mir not gotten into his motorcycle accident, Tim Sylvia wouldn't have been a two-time champion. Andrei Arlovski wouldn't have held the belt either. I know it's revisionist history and awful convenient for me to use this line in making a case against Sylvia, but Mir was that damn good prior to getting injured.

Sure, he regained the belt by knocking out Andrei Arlovski, but we've come to learn that that might be easier than we once thought. The unanimous decision over Jeff Monson is still surprising to me, especially considering Sylvia held his own on the ground and even attempted a triangle at one point.

Then the losses started piling up.

He dropped the belt to Randy Couture and while a win over Brandon Vera followed, another hand-raising ceremony has yet to take place.

He's been in the ring for 46 seconds in his last two fights.

Does it suck that his manager told him to leave the UFC? Absolutely, but he didn't have to leave the UFC. I mean really, who takes that advice?

"Hey, leave the biggest organization in your field where you've been champion twice. No one else has any real money or staying power, but we'll be big stars." Yeah, sure Monte ...

Ultimately though, I think we're just seeing the truest version of Tim Sylvia imaginable. He likes to fight but isn't well-rounded enough to compete on the highest level. Additionally, boxing is a bad decision, at least when it involves former heavyweight champions.

Outside of Arlovski, who'd he beat? When the chips were down, Sylvia lost to the better opponent time and time again, whether it's Mir, Couture, Nogueira or Fedor and just happened to catch a run of lesser competition when he had a belt around his waist.

We need to stop lamenting the bad hand Tim Sylvia has been dealt and call it like it is: a guy who took some bad advice and is now an MMA Mercinary, taking whatever fight will pay him the most.

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Undecided About Affliction

I am 100% torn on Affliction.

On one hand, Tom Atencio annoys the shit out of me wanting to fight Dana White and thinking getting in the ring later this month in Florida somehow makes him more committed to the sport than the guy who made it what it is in North America.

I hate that I have to wait six months between shows. Seriously, with the financial backers that are in place for this organization, you're telling me you can't run a show more than once every six months?


But at the same time, the six month gap means every Affliction card is loaded. I mean LOADED. Take the poorly named Affliction: Trilogy card set for August 1st at the Honda Center in Anaheim:

Fedor vs. Josh Barnett.
Sylvia vs. Buentello - admittedly not that awesome...
Babalu vs. Gegard Mousasi (pictured)
Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago
Jay Hieron vs. Paul Daley
Dan Lauzon vs. Chris Horodecki

Other than the Sylvia vs. Buentello bout, I'd pay to see the rest of the card.

And you have to give Affliction credit for bringing in a guy like Mousasi and finding a quality opponent for him.

The reigning DREAM middleweight champ is riding a 12 fight winning streak and has done it over top tier competition in various weight classes. After earning the win in the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix, Mousasi stepped up to fight in the same Super Hulk tournament as Jose Canseco and came away with a first round submission of Mark Hunt.

Now, he comes to North America to spread his name and keep notching wins, something I believe he will do against the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Sobral. Nothing against Babalu, but Mousasi is on the cusp of making the Keyboard Kimura Pound for Pound Rankings.

While I love the UFC having competition - because competition makes everyone better - I can't help but wish deep down that the Trilogy card is exactly what the name implies: the third and final chapter of Affliction MMA.

Why?

No matter how stack the cards are, six months is a long time to wait and you have to know that the UFC would snap up a bunch of the Affliction talent - as well as make a monster push to sign Fedor - and having all the best talent in the world under one roof is far better than anything having a twice a year competitor could bring.
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Oh Tom Atencio

Even the most novice MMA fan knows that the guy being choked is Dana White, head honcho and foul-mouthed leader of the UFC.

The guy doing the choking is Tom Atencio, founder and chief big shot with Affliction, the clothing company turned MMA promoter.

Goofy mugging for the camera aside, these two guys don't really like each other all that much.

In late June, Atencio will step into the ring and fight Randy Hedderick on the undercard of the Ultimate Chaos Pay-Per-View being headlined by former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley taking on Bob "The Beast" Sapp.

Since the fight announcement, Atencio has talked about stepping into the cage against White, someone he says often talks like a tough guy, but doesn't back it up through action, citing the hyped boxing exhibition between White and Tito Ortiz that never materialized as evidence.

Here's the thing, Tom:

The whole "prove how tough you are" angle stopped working in Elementary School and while your stepping into the ring also serves to promote your organization that enjoys six month breaks between shows, there is absolutely no benefit of doing such a thing for Dana White and the UFC.

They don't need the added promotion and coverage.

They don't have to remind everyone about their existence.

This isn't the Old West where if you sully the name of another man you meet in the street, count out ten paces and see who is the faster draw.

I'm pretty sure that Dana White sleeps real easy despite the fact that Tom Atencio more or less thinks he's all talk and no action.

While I commend Atencio for getting into the cage, it should be about wanting to test himself and his skills, not proving how tough he is or to "one-up" Dana White.

Instead of trying to goad the UFC President into a fight, why not focus on your training so that you don't get your ass handed to you six weeks from now?

Or, why not put a little time and effort into your promotion, novel ideas as that may be? You've got all those big money backers in Trump and De La Hoya, so why do we need to wait six months between shows?

The answer, of course, is that Affliction doesn't have anywhere near the support and interest that the UFC does and needs events like this fight to help promote the organization.

So Atencio will go on challenging Dana White, we'll go on covering most every word he says and in the end, nothing will come of it.

But if this fight ever were to happen, my money would be on Dana.

Good luck T-Shirt Guy...

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