The debut of Affliction

July 1, 2008

While July will be a quiet month for mixed martial arts locally, there are plenty of big shows nationally to get your fill.

The big one for me is the debut of the new Affliction organization. Yes, the UFC is bringing us Forrest Griffin vs. Rampage Jackson this Saturday on PPV and a free fight card on July 19 showcasing Anderson Silva making his UFC debut at 205 pounds, but this Affliction card has the chance to be one of the best MMA events of the year.

I think it’s safe to say the reason the UFC put together this last minute card on July 19 for free on SPIKE was to turn people away from Affliction’s PPV, which features the best heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, taking on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the main event.

The Affliction event is loaded with a PPV lineup that also features Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Matt Lindland, Pedro Rizzo and Babalu. As a lead-in to the PPV, there will be a one-hour show on Fox Sports Net featuring Fedor’s brother, Aleksander, fighting Paul Buentello and Terry Martin taking on Vitor Belfort.

It’s one of the most stacked MMA cards in a long time, but how well will an unknown organization do on PPV against a free UFC card featuring who most consider to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in Silva? The UFC saw just how big this Affliction show could be and made a smart business move to put together its own show to rival it on the same night, leaving MMA fans with a tough choice.

Do you shell out money to watch Affliction or do you take it easy and watch the free UFC show? For me, Sylvia/Fedor is the biggest fight of the year, so I’ll be putting the UFC on DVR and catching Affliction live, but am I in the minority? Is Fedor a big enough name in the US to put up big PPV numbers? What are you guys planning to watch? I guess we’ll find out in 18 days.

Posted in Fights