Fedor Emelianenko Vs. Andrei Arlovski

[Peter H.]

It's on!

Fedor Emelianenko Vs. Andrei Arlovski at Affliction's 2nd PPV in January!

[dedwyre]

Say goodbye to your money, Affliction. This is going to be an all MMA show, so Golden Boy is likely not involved, which means the whole bill is being filled by Affliction. Tom Atencio said that they can't afford to lose the kind of money that they lost on the first show again if they want to survive, so I don't know what they're going to do as far a publicity. Unless they get some sort of major TV plugs, I don't see this doing any better than the first one, especially because it won't seem as special.

Don't get me wrong; it should be an exciting fight, and I'd like for Affliction to survive as an MMA promotion, but it just doesn't seem realistic.

And why is this show not in Chicago? That seemed like it would be a no-brainer. Arlovski lives in Chicago, and there's a huge Russian population. They'd at least get a good gate off of it.

[dedwyre]

Oh, great...now they're saying that it isn't official and that Fedor might fight either Arlovski or Barnett.

www.thefightnetwork.com/news/mma/1767/both_arlovski_barnett_possible_opponents_for_fedor

Strange, considering that Barnett has blatantly said he doesn't want to fight Fedor due to contractual issues. I think it'll still end up as Arlovski, barring injury.

[Peter H.]

I think what makes it difficult is that everybody has this mindset that they have to immediately compete with the UFC. The UFC has been the name and will always be the name in the United States when it comes to MMA. They also know how to make money. What's wrong with finding a place comfortable on the hill that isn't quite as high?

I don't want to see the UFC be the only MMA organization to watch, but I don't like EliteXC's direction and I fear Affliction will fade away. I should pay more attention to Strikeforce, as they do have quite a few recognizable names (for those who have followed Japanese MMA).

[dedwyre]

Mark!

But you're right. Actually, even if you've only followed the UFC, they have a few names you may have heard, like Joe Riggs, Bobby Southworth, Renato Sobral, etc. A lot of popular UFC and non-UFC fighters have gone through Strikeforce, like Gina Carano, Clay Guida, Alistair Overeem, Frank Shamrock, Phil Baroni, Gilbert Melendez, etc. If anyone has DVR, TiVo, or a VCR, of if you just like to stay up late, I recommend checking out Strikeforce on NBC. It's only a half an hour long, but they cram some good stuff in there. They show full shows on HDNet occasionally, too. I think there's a live one coming up in a couple weeks on a Friday.