Fighters Lose in More Ways Than One

Jay Hieron was all set to meet British fighter Paul "Semtex" Daley at Affliction: Trilogy.

The former IFL Welterweight champion and member of Xtreme Couture had already put in the work and gotten prepared when news of Affliction's collapse came yesterday afternoon.

While the MMA world is trying to forecast who will land where, which fighters will fill current vacancies on other cards and everything else, one very salient point that is being somewhat overlooked was underscored by Hieron in an interview with 5 Ounces of Pain:

“We all put everything on hold… paid a lot of money for training… and I have a lot of bills and no paycheck.”

As much fun as a may be to speculate about a possible storm of Affliction-contracted fighters now descending upon the UFC, sometimes real life is what needs to take precedent and this is one of those times.

In addition to losing an opportunity to further showcase his skills and push his winning streak to six, Hieron also loses out on a paycheck, as does everyone else.

Though there are opportunities out there for Hieron - he stated in the interview that he was interested in taking Joe Riggs' place opposite Nick Diaz on the Strikeforce card - it still doesn't change the fact that after putting in months of work and stacks of cash to training and prepare, Hieron and everyone else on the Affliction card is left with a pocket full of lint and a hand full of bills.

Clearly, the rapid demise of Affliction could not have been foreseen.

As I said on the latest Watch Kalib Run podcast, if you had told me a week ago that in the span of seven days Josh Barnett would test positive and Affliction would not only cancel their show, but cease operations as a fight promoter, I would have called you crazy.

But that is exactly what happened.

We can't change the past, but we can certainly use it to help us improve the future and this situation offers an opportunity to once again look at how fighters are compensated.

I don't mean in the sense of "fighters need to be paid more" or stirring up conversations about a Fighters Union or things of that nature. While those big picture issues certainly need to be discussed, more immediate and smaller scale possibilities are out there.

For instance, a fighter's "show pay," the dollar amount agreed upon for the fighter turning up and taking part in their scheduled fight, is all but guaranteed. If you're in the building the night of the fight, you're getting a paycheck.

Outside of last minute injuries sustained in training, 99.9% of fighters contracted to fight are going to turn up, so would providing a portion of that "show pay" in advance be an option?

In smaller shows and fringe promotions, the answer is obviously no, as finances are just not readily available to meet that kind of monetary demand. But what about in organizations like the UFC and Strikeforce?

Even if the total amounted to a combined $100,000 for a 50% payout of a fighter's "show pay" in advance, that number isn't going to cripple either of those organizations, but having that money would make a world of difference in the fighters' lives.

Obviously, the situation is more complex than it reads; provisions would have to be made in regards to injuries and wording introduced into contracts to ensure said fighters would pay back any advanced money should they fail to meet their obligations, but the base idea has legs, does it not?

While Tom Atencio has certainly lost a slew of money in the brief time that Affliction was been in the promotions game, he also has a lucrative clothing line to help buoy his financial situation and a newly-inked deal to bring that clothing line back to the Octagon.

But for fighters like Jay Hieron, this is how they make their living.

Fighting pays the bills and when a much-needed paycheck is suddenly taken off the table, all those bills don't just disappear.

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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 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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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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