Donald Trump To Announce Partnership With Affliction
Affliction will pull out its Trump card Thursday when the company officially announces its partnership with Donald J. Trump at a press conference to be held in Trump Tower at 12:00PM. Trump will take the podium to address the press and outline his involvement with Affliction and their entry into the world of professional mixed-martial-arts (MMA) with their first event named, “Affliction Banned,†slated for July 19th 2008 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
“We are very excited to be partnering with the most recognized and accomplished business mogul in the world, “ said Tom Atencio, vice president of Affliction. “Trump is a true visionary who shares our belief in the future of MMA.â€
“I have been a fan of professional sports since childhood, and I am particularly impressed by the athleticism, courage, and strength of these disciplined athletes.†said Donald J. Trump. “This particular sport resembles my business style of being fast paced, strategic, and aggressive…remembering to never give up. I am particularly excited to partner with Affliction and become a major player in promotion of MMA; the youngest and fastest growing sport to emerge in the last century.â€
“Affliction Banned†features a star-studded fight card with Fedor “The Last Emperor†Emelianko (27-1), the former undisputed PRIDE champion and Russian M-1 legend, taking on former 2-time UFC heavyweight title-holder Tim “The Maine-iac†Sylvia (24-4), in the main event.
The exciting four-fight undercard is loaded with Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin†Barnett (22-5), of Seattle, facing-off stateside for the first time in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent to ever knock him out, Brazilian strongman Pedro “The Rock†Rizzo (16-7).
Three-time All-America wrestler Mike Whitehead (20-5), of Salt Lake City, will battle Brazilian sensation Renato “Babalu†Sobral (29-7), of Costa Mesa, California. 2000 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt “The Law†Lindland (20-5), of Oregon City, faces Brazilian favorite Fabio “Negao†Nascimento (8-3). “Big†Ben Rothwell (29-5), of Kenosha, Wisconsin, is scheduled to fight an opponent to be determined in this groundbreaking event.
“Affliction Banned†will be distributed on Pay-Per-View and air live (9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT) on cable and satellite viewing in the USA and Canada via iN Demand, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewer’s Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice for a suggested retail price of $39.95. The telecast will be available in both standard and high definition television.
Tickets are on sale at the Honda Center box office and through Ticketmaster.com.
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omg HOPE his money can give the UFC a run for their money.. I so want to see another MMA show do well besides UFC…
This could also influence where Tito Ortiz ultimately signs. After his appearance on The Apprentice there were rumors he was going to team with Trump to launch a promotion but now that Trump is going to partner with Affliction one has to wonder if Ortiz might not be far behind.
Good point Kris but Tito is still out of his prime. On the other hand he is a big name that can easily draw. Trump has proven to be a big sports fan especially with his friendly appearences in WWE along side his buddy Vince Macmahon who was also rumoured to be interested in starting an MMA promotion. I think this is huge for MMA. I do not remember The Donald ever appearing at any MMA events though. Trump loves business and controversey with Rosie O’Donnel so I am not sure how serious to take him. I find it hard to believe he will not do all he can to challenge the UFC to make his promotion the biggest. Then again maybe he’s lookin’ to make a quick buck in the fastest rising sport in America. Earlier today I read somewhere that Dana White said, “I don’t know how much more I can take.” That was in regards to the fighters pay controversey. I don’t see Dana going anywhere but if he does resign, Trump could set the stage for the BIG pay days fighters want. Trump will probably do it anyway but the UFC still has the majority of talent under contract making it a bad investment. I believe some guy named Randy gave a valuable lesson in why fighters should not breach contracts so even if the money is there tempting fighters to switch promotions, they’re trapped.
its funny how Affliction is fast becoming number 2 in mma when it still has yet to show the world its first fight. i cant wait till this fight going down Fador is going to destroy tim
Trump is in to mma lol that’s great stuff would have never thought. but now dana white must star paying his real talent pool. that good news
Ya Tito’s definitely gonna head to Affliction now.
I wonder what Dana and the UFC are thinking about these other organizations like Affliction, Elite XC …etc
Should the UFC feel threatened ? Are they going to have no choice but to co-promote fights with these other organizations ?
Dirty,
The UFC still has the vast majority of talent under contract. Like I said before, the fighters in the UFC learned from Randy Cotoure why not to breach their contracts. The fighters in the UFC will stay put for the length of their contract if they’re smart and know what’s good for them. Dana White said before in regards to other promotions, “we need these other promotions for fighters to get experience and build a name for themselves.” Right now if you’re an MMA fighter and want to fight the best to be the best, the UFC is the big show….the place to be. Sure, fighters could jump ship to another promotion for money but the talent won’t be there to fight and continue to make the individual greedy fighter the best. Besides, everyone gives the UFC a bunch of crap based on fighters pay and the pay has continuously gone up. Last UFC fight of the night, sub of the night and KO of the night bonuses were $75,000. The biggest bonus I got from any job ever was $100. WOW! In any case, the UFC is fine for now. If this fighter’s pay thing becomes an issue, if Dana White decides steps down and promotions are left to spend like crazy, it will be a sad day in MMA for fans like us. I do not believe the UFC will co promote based on their business model. This is MMA not the corrupt crooked sport of boxing. Everyone has got to take a step back on this fighter salary BS for a minute. The big pay days will come but let the sport grow and breath.
I can’t wait for Affliction to change the MMA game. The addition of Donald Trump’s business savvy, financial resources, and marketability undoubtedly increase the chances that Affliction succeeds. And the challenge they will pose to other organizations will be huge: firstly by helping fighters across the board get paid higher salaries(which they deserve), and secondly by helping get rid of inferior organizations like EliteXC that poison the minds of new fans with circus-like shows featuring significantly sub-par talent. It’s about time an organization with real names, real talent, and real money steps up to pose a real threat to the monopoly that is the UFC. So thank you Affliction. For real.
my first thought is that Dana must be throwing fits about having someone with unlimited funds in a competing promotion. but then at second thought I realized he probably isn’t as concerned as he is/was with Mark Cuban’s HDNet Fights. At least he was developing new talent. What’s Affliction going to do — they’ve already got most of the unsigned talent — switch up opponents for the next card.
This is why i hate boxin there are a thousand different origanztion all claiming to being the champions. There need to be one uniformed origanzation so it doesnt doom itself in the begining…
there’s probably no threat to the ufc in the near future. as dana mentioned in some previous interviews, money isn’t the only thing you need to run a MMA league. They’re the brand name but it took alot to get there and they lost alot of money doing so. Trump has the funds to sustain a few years of financial loss, but at the end of the day if they can’t get off the ground and pull in some profits, I don’t see trump hangin around as long as the fertidas did.
Everyone wants a piece of the pie I see. First it was Mark Cuban and now Donald Trump of all people. One thing’s for sure, he definitely has the money to throw in to attract the best fighters in the world. Right now, that’s the biggest advantage UFC has, they have the best overall talent from top to bottem roster wise. That will quickly change with big money guys like Cuban and Trump joining the MMA party. This will entice the big name fighters to possibly jump ship. If you don’t believe, just look at what just happened Sylvia and Arlovski has both just left for Affliction…Fedor shuned the UFC again to sign with Affliction….Tito may be on the way as well as Couture. And don’t think for a minute the UFC didn’t wont Tito (regardless to what Dana White says), or else they would not have offered him a new contract!
Trump must need a loss for taxes because he won’t stay long term.