Results tagged “Affliction” from MMA Explosion

by Loretta Hunt of sherdog.com

Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers will face off in a heavyweight main event for Strikeforce on Nov. 7 on CBS, according to sources close to the event. A venue for the event is still to be announced.

An official announcement from CBS and Strikeforce is expected Thursday. The CBS Corporation owns premium pay channel Showtime, which has a multi-year broadcast deal with Strikeforce.

The bout will be the first of three for Emelianenko, the world's top-ranked heavyweight, with the promotion and will mark his first bout in a cage.

The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts has taken a great deal of heat since their inception in 2007. As far as I understand it, they want to be a sanctioning body for the sport. Legendary fighter/trainer Pat Miletich, one of the company's officers, apparently came up with the phrase "One Belt, One King," as the organization's motto. In other words, be the conduit between MMA federations and have the best fight the best.

Some people didn't like the way WAMMA did business, or thought they were in it just for the money. Some critics seemed to be those are just resistant to change, or to anyone who thinks "outside the box," to use an over-used phrase. I thought the idea was innovative, and was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Last year, WAMMA crowned Fedor Emeilanenko as their heavyweight champ and Shinya Aoki as their lightweight champ. Recently, photos of WAMMA's cleaned-out offices in Florida surfaced on the Internet. But according to this news release, WAMMA is still around, and with the recent alliance of Strikeforce/M-1/DREAM, who knows? They might be able to crown some more champs. My outlook is, if they do what they say, and it benefits the fans, what's not to like?

NEW YORK (August 20th, 2009) -- The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) today announces a new strategic partnership with Brand Asset Digital, the distributed technologies company. The association between the two groups will help WAMMA incorporate new sponsorships into traditional and electronic platforms.

"We believe our combined efforts will help bring new sponsors into the MMA arena," says WAMMA CEO Dave Szady. "It will also help advance WAMMA's mission of promoting the integrity, legitimacy and prosperity of MMA."

This is a great highlight with some awesome music, worthy of The Last Emperor.

Scott Coker, Strikeforce CEO, on Tapout radio recently talking the Fedor signing (thanks to Bloodyelbow.com):
- I'd like to see Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem against Fedor
- We have an alliance with DREAM.
- We are talking about having a card with the best of DREAM, K-1, M-1 and Strikeforce (Manhoef vs. Lawler or Aoki vs. Thomson).
- This will be the first time you see Fedor fight in a cage.
- We'll have an opponent named by a press conference on Thursday.

Also, Frank Shamrock had this to say on his Web site: "welcome fedor! strikeforce has the number one rated mens and womans fighters in MMA. with the upcoming 8-15 event we are once again making history and moving the sport forward.

congrats to tito for showing his true colors and getting back in the UFC; nice to see him back with his father dana white."

frank

By Loretta Hunt, sherdog.com:
Fedor Emelianenko has signed a multi-fight agreement that will see the world's No. 1-ranked heavyweight compete for Strikeforce, the promotion announced Monday.

Emelianenko, who became a free agent after Affliction Entertainment canceled its Aug. 1 event two weeks ago, will make his debut on Showtime under a co-promoted Strikeforce/M-1 Global production this fall. Emelianenko was to have faced Josh Barnett at Affliction "Trilogy" on Aug. 1, but Barnett failed a pre-fight test for an anabolic steroid and was refused licensure by the California State Athletic Commission.

"Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world," said Emelianenko in a press release. "I am prepared to fight any of them."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog.com last week that he plans to match the stoic Russian against the likes of Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and the promotion's heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem.

"I feel pretty confident that we could give him four or five opponents that would make sense for him," Coker told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview.

Emelianenko, along with his promoters and management team at M-1 Global, had negotiated with the UFC last week, but could not come to an agreement over co-promotion.

"Fedor is a f---ing joke," UFC President Dana White responded Monday after learning that Emelianenko had signed with Strikeforce. "He turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies for no money!"

White also addressed fans: "I feel sorry for the real fight fans. I wanted to make the deal, but it takes two and it is very obvious Fedor doesn't want to fight the best, and doesn't give a sh-t about the fans!"

This article was updated at 3:52 p.m. EST and 7:35 p.m. EST with quotes from Dana White that the UFC's PR Director Jennifer Wenk sent directly to Sherdog.com.

Here's a news release from Mike Afromowitz, Strikeforce's public relations:
World's No. 1 MMA Heavyweight To Fight In STRIKEFORCE / M-1 Global Co-Promoted Events

First Fight To Air This Fall, Live on SHOWTIME®

NEW YORK (August 3, 2009)--After a week of intense negotiations and speculation, the hottest topic of discussion in the professional fight world has come to a head as the world's number one heavyweight and most sought after mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko has signed a historic, multi-fight agreement that will see him headline mega-events co-promoted by world championship promotions STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global.

Emelianenko, known globally as Fedor, will make his premium television debut this Fall when his first fight under the new agreement airs live on SHOWTIME®. Up until now, Emelianenko's live fights have aired exclusively on pay-per-view in the United States.

Rashad Evans breaks down the collapse of Affliction and the impact on their fighters. Will Tito Ortiz return to the UFC? The crew discusses that idea, as well as a preview of Sengoku 9 and an interview with Miguel Torres.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our
correspondent Bob Carson. Bob is also the host of the Carson's Corner
podcast (http://carsonscorner.podomatic.com).

In a lengthy discussion, we focus on the cancellation of the August 1
Affliction mixed martial arts pay-per-view, the subsequent collapse of
the Affliction mixed martial arts promotion, the renewal of an
Affliction Clothing-UFC deal, and the implications of these
developments. As usual, we stand up for the rights of the fighters,
and take a highly critical view of the machinations of these
promotions and the direction they have taken mixed martial arts in
America.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at
http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-07-25T05_56_38-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?tohw2gjznjn.

from Kevin Iole:
After promoting two critically acclaimed but financially disastrous mixed martial arts cards, Affliction on Friday first canceled its pay-per-view card scheduled for Aug. 1 and then opted to get out of the promotional business, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

The company and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are expected to release a statement sometime on Friday in which it is announced that Affliction will cease operations as a promoter and that its clothing division will become a UFC sponsor.

Affliction had a card slated for Aug. 1 with a main event of Fedor Emelianenko, the No. 2 fighter in the Yahoo! Sports mixed martial arts rankings, against former UFC champion Josh Barnett at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

from sherdog.com:
A week of misfortune turned to disaster for Affliction Entertainment on Friday, as the promotion canceled Affliction "Trilogy," which had been scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

"Finding an opponent for the number one-ranked MMA heavyweight champion in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor, and I'm thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge," Affliction Entertainment Vice President Tom Atencio said in a news release. "But in the end, we just didn't have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards."

SI.com reported the news first Friday morning, and Sherdog.com confirmed shortly after. The cancellation -- which could spell the end of Affliction's year-long run as a mixed martial arts promotion -- comes on the heels of heavyweight Josh Barnett's failed drug test, which forced him out of the "Trilogy" main event against Fedor Emelianenko on Wednesday. Barnett, 32, tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid and was denied licensure by the California State Athletic Commission.

Promoters scrambled to find a replacement opponent for Emelianenko and reportedly considered middleweight Vitor Belfort, light heavyweight prospect Muhammed Lawal and heavyweights Brett Rogers, Paul Buentello, Jeff Monson and Bobby Lashley.

Atencio declined to comment further when reached by Sherdog.com.

Ted's Take: So, if this is Affliction's death knell as an MMA promotion, what does it mean for Fedor? Will he finally jump to the UFC? I say no. With Dana White and the Fertitta brothers on one side, and as White has called them, "Those crazy Russians" on the other side, I don't think they'll ever be able to compromise enough to ink a deal. Fedor could fight for Strikeforce, or other M-1 events in Russia, and definitely in Japan, but we'll most likely never see him inside the Octagon.

man, I'm getting' psyched for this one. Here's some ticket info.

And Kimber too, modeling some of Affliction's new threads. Don't forget Affliction Trilogy on Aug. 1.

Japanese combat fighting superstar Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi has been added to the Affliction M-1 Global's locked-and-loaded "Trilogy" card against upset-minded Rafaello "Tractor" Oliveira, completing the five-fight Pay-Per-View event, live August 1 from Honda Center in Anaheim.

The premier heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the universe, Russian icon Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko (30-1-0), defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender, Josh "The Babyfaced Assassin" Barnett (24-5-0), in the special main event.

Although he still has not been tested, I'm thinking Affliction or Strikeforce is going to sign Lashley, for possibly an event in the fall. Just a guess. And how about all those boos for Lashley? Either the fans in Biloxi simply don't like Lashley, were upset at Sapp for tapping, or aren't too familiar with the ground game.

from sherdog.com:
Bobby Lashley fought with brains and brawn, and Bob Sapp could not keep up in the featured bout at Fight Force International "Ultimate Chaos."

The unbeaten Lashley took down Sapp in the opening seconds and grinded away with ground-and-pound until the larger-than-life Pride Fighting Championships and K-1 veteran tapped out to strikes 3:17 into round one on Saturday at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss.

Lashley (4-0), who promised to fight Sapp standing in the pre-fight buildup, instead took the more intelligent route to victory.

"Going out there against somebody like Bob, you've got to be prepared," Lashley said. "I just wanted to get him down. I had to go out there take him down, cover him up, keep him flat and pound on him. That was our gameplan. You've got to wear the big man down. We've got other matches where we can test our stand-up."

from sherdog.com:
Bobby Lashley weighed 255.4 pounds Friday for his meeting with Bob Sapp, who tipped the scales at 322.2. The two meet Saturday in Biloxi, Miss., in the main event of Fight Force International's "Ultimate Chaos."

The pay-per-view kicks off at 9 p.m. ET. Other notable fights include Gilbert Yvel vs. Pedro Rizzo, the winner of which will fight Paul Buentello at Affliction's Aug. 1 event, and Din Thomas vs. Javier Vazquez.

Main Card:

Bobby Lashley (255.4) vs. Bob Sapp (322.2)
Gilbert Yvel (237) vs. Pedro Rizzo (243.6)
Din Thomas (146.6) vs. Javier Vazquez (144.8)
Chris Horodecki (155) vs. William Sriyapai (154.8)
Brett Cooper (169.2) vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf (168.4)
Tom Atencio (160.4) vs. Randy Hedderick (159)
John Harris (154.2) vs. Brandon Harder (154.2)
James Orso (173.2) vs. Danny Abbadi (174.6)

Prelims:

Eric Bradley (170.4) vs. Kelly Leo (168.4)
Colin McKee (174.2 vs. Lance Thompson (172)
Eric Graham (159) vs. Drew Wallace (159)
Greg Maher (265.2) vs. Rocky Overstreet (253.4)

from M-1global's Web site:
The M-1 film crew was in tow when Fedor Emelianenko made his way to New York for the press conference held earlier this week at the Trump Towers to kick off formal promotion for M-1 and Affliction's "Trilogy" event on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. at the Honda Center.

Hosted by M-1 Global USA Vice President Jerry Millen, the blog gives fight fans an all-access look at the start of Fedor's press tour. Watch as Fedor's oldest fan makes an encore appearance and shares her thoughts on Fedor's upcoming fight vs. Josh Barnett; Millen interviews Barnett and asks him what it will be like to fight a close friend; Renato Sobral's thoughts on sparring Barnett every day and what his feelings are about fighting M-1 Global fighter Gegard Mousasi at "Trilogy," and more.

from m-1 global:
With former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort refusing to agree to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi's challenge to meet at a catchweight, a new opponent for Mousasi has been secured for his first-ever fight on U.S. soil to take place on at Affliction: Trilogy.

Sources close to Mousasi have informed www,M-1Global.com that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and former UFC competitor Renato "Babalu" Sobral is expected to finalized as his opponent.

from mmajunkie.com
Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) has confirmed what most of already knew: He's agreed to fight former UFC champion Josh Barnett (24-5) at Affliction's upcoming third show.

Affliction hasn't officially announced the fight, though Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio and representatives for Barnett have said agreements are in place.

Affliction III takes place Aug. 1. As Atencio recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), it's expected to be held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The night's main card airs on pay-per-view, and the preliminary card is expected to air on HDNet.

Emelianenko today told M-1Global.com about the fight with Barnett.

"I am always 100 percent involved in the negotiations especially with regards to the Barnett fight," Emelianenko stated. "We discussed this fight with the whole team (trainers, coaches, management), so as a team we agreed to a fight with Barnett."