| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/3/2008 6:38:33 PM | Affliction will be holding their first PPV in two weeks, and it appears as if they have themselves a pretty stacked card with guys like Emelianenko (sp?), Orlovski, Babalu, Rizzo and Sylvia as participants (as if this was to showcase all of their top talent). In competition, UFC is having a free event with Anderson Silva in the main event and Hermes Franca in the undercard.
Going on the obvious assumption that Affliction will not have a stacked card such as this with each of their PPV's (despite the fact there are rumblings they have approached Tito and Crocop), do you see them becoming a legitimate competitor to the UFC? Will Dana White prevail? | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/5/2008 6:51:41 AM | Yeah, the first Affliction event does indeed have a stacked card. I will probably order the PPV when it airs as I am a huge MMA fan. That being said, I do hope Affliction makes a go of it because there just isn't enough events happening as far as I'm concerned. Of course, they are showcasing their elite talent on this show and I doubt they could sustain shows with such star power but hey, kudos to them for trying to compete with the UFC.
That's the thing that's been bugging me about the UFC. Maybe they don't want to risk over-exposure but, with their huge roster of fighters, they should be having events once or twice a month just to keep the guys employed. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/5/2008 2:59:30 PM | They will be bankrupt shortly. great card but they will easily lose 3-4 million on their 1st show with the pay-outs . It's like a new race car show saying 'we're gonna compete with nascar' UFC is a staple in our country and around the world. Ever org. against them has folded . Even the IFL is about to go under. And they had a tv deal. Can't wait to watch the card but with a rich t-shirt guy and high contracts I don't see then lasting 2 years.
Go Ricardo tonight!!!! | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/13/2008 4:59:08 PM | I found this rather interesting article on Yahoo Sports. It looks as if they are trying to insinuate that White finds Affliction's threat to be real as they are putting Silva on Basic Cable to compete with their PPV.
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"LAS VEGAS –Dana White offered a****ure laugh borne from battles past; proof that the business of cage fighting can be as cutthroat and unforgiving as the sport itself.
“It’s about how much pain are you willing to take,” the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship said last week.
As mixed martial arts has boomed into a colossal business, no one has been smarter or tougher than White. In just seven years he turned a fledgling fight promotion into an estimated billion-dollar company.
He’s done it by building up the UFC and tearing down virtually everyone else. This month he’s at his best, attempting to inflict on Affliction plenty of pain.
Affliction, the T-shirt company that surged in popularity thanks in part to UFC fighters donning its unique, if garish, designs, is making its foray into fight promotion July 19 in Anaheim, Calif. It doled out an estimated $4 million to put together a top-notch lineup, including a headline fight featuring Fedor Emelianenko, considered the best heavyweight in the world, against two-time former UFC champion Tim Sylvia.
“It’s a dream card,” promoter Tom Atencio said.
Only if it turns a profit – or at least breaks even. Otherwise, it’s a nightmare.
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“I’m not in the business to lose money,” Atencio said.
White, however, is in the business of trying to curb, if not crush, all would-be challengers. So White took one look at that Affliction card that had fans buzzing and decided to cut its legs out.
On the same night Affliction is hoping fans will pay $39.99 to watch its show, White will air his own tremendous card on basic cable’s Spike TV. The headliner is UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and a major draw.
It’s unheard of in the fight game to put a star of that caliber in a “free” fight. It proves White believes sometimes the best offense is a great defense.
The interest in the Affliction card remains significant. However, if White can peel away just 10 or 20 percent of its would-be customers he could cause the promotion to take a financial bath and perhaps never be heard from again.
“We’re competitors, so let’s compete,” said White, smiling. “The guy sells T-shirts for a (expletive) living, and now he wants to be a promoter? A T-shirt guy doesn’t know what he doesn’t know about this business yet.
“He’s going to find out, though.”
Atencio laughs softly at White’s bravado. He says he’s been around MMA for 15 years, enough time to learn how to promote a fight.
“I think it’s flattering,” Atencio said. “He obviously views us as a threat. Do I blame him? No. He’s doing what he feels he needs to do to protect his company. I think people will buy our event and TiVo his. It’s not hurting us.”
Others think staying on top may be more difficult than White envisions.
“Remind Dana that being hungry and running a business is a whole lot different than being hunted and running a business,” said Mark Cuban, the self-made billionaire whose HDNet television channel shows MMA programming and has produced a few cards.
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With a shaved head, a blue-collar attitude and a love of profanity that could make a sailor blush, White, 38, is the pioneering force behind the growth of MMA in America.
The New England native dropped out of UMass Boston. After years as a boxing trainer and MMA agent, in 2001 he teamed up with casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta to purchase the fledgling UFC for $2 million. Today it’s worth an estimated $1 billion.
His goal now is to get the UFC as big as possible as soon as possible, taking it worldwide while turning it into a brand synonymous with the sport the way NASCAR is with stock car racing. If he can, the UFC may be unstoppable.
That’s why Affliction, and threats like it, must be attacked.
This is personal, too, White said. He soured on Atencio and Affliction last year and banned his fighters from wearing the T-shirts as they walked to the octagon. White wouldn’t say specifically why. He was direct, though.
“I don’t like him,” White said of Atencio. “If I liked him, I’d probably lay off him. The guy has an attitude problem, and I’m going to fix it for him.”
This is probably not how they teach corporate communication at Wharton. Not that White cares.
“I don’t know where that comes from,” Atencio said. “That’s fine. I don’t live with him. I don’t go home with him. What does it hurt me?”
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At this point, nothing infuriates White more than talk of competition. He sees the daily growth, solidifying strength and vast possibilities for the UFC and scoffs at almost everyone else as minor league. He has a point. Even if Affliction put on a great and financially successful card, it wouldn’t be anywhere near the UFC in terms of cash, talent or market share.
“I know where we’re at,” Atencio said. “When (you) say ‘MMA,’ the lay person has no idea what you’re talking about. If you say ‘UFC,’ 50 percent of the people say, ‘Oh, yeah.’ ”
And yet White keeps getting asked about other promotions and keeps working himself into a rant.
“Every month it’s the new thing,” White said. “ ‘Ooooh, the IFL is going to take over the UFC,’ and all this (expletive). They had $800 million, and they had a network television deal. Their stock is at two cents, and they are gone …”
(The International Fight League canceled its August promotion “in light of the company’s current financial condition.” For once, White actually oversold his competition. IFL stock is trading at one cent per share.)
” … ‘CBS is coming in! CBS is coming! Oh my God!’ You saw the CBS fight. Kimbo Slice wouldn’t win ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ And I’m not being a wise ass, that’s the truth.
“The last guy he fought (James Thompson), they got him from the (expletive) morgue. That’s where they got that guy. He’s been knocked out his last five fights. And he was beating Kimbo’s ass before his ear exploded. Which is insane too. How could that fight even happen with his ear looking like that? Nobody knows how to drain an ear? … “
(CBS will broadcast its second EliteXC card on July 26, which is expected to be a more professional production than the heavily panned first show. Industry rumors, though, speak to a shakeup in EliteXC management. And for the record, Thompson actually was knocked out in only three of his previous four fights prior to taking on Slice.)
” … ‘Oh my God, Mark Cuban is coming.’ Where did Mark Cuban go? Where’s Mark Cuban? You know where he is, he’s smart; he stuck his big toe in this thing and said, ‘Oh, you are going to lose a lot of money in this. I’m out.’ ”
(“Just let him know that HDNet Fights is far from out and HDNet is more committed to MMA than ever before,” Cuban said. “In fact, we continue to expand our lineup of fights and shows, with ‘Inside MMA’ continuing to be the best show in the business. In fact, Dana must be concerned with HDNet; he’s still afraid to provide clips to ‘Inside MMA.’ We know exactly what we are doing. … “)
And now it’s Affliction, headed by what White divisively refers to as “T-shirt guy.”
“It’s so (expletive) annoying,” White said.
“Our card speaks for itself,” Atencio said. “It’s stacked from top to bottom. I’m real confident if we put on a good event we can (move forward).”
White scoffs at that, of course. He predicts Affliction won’t make enough money to survive, just like so many others. He predicts this will all go away soon and the media will annoy him with another pretender to the UFC power.
Like most things in the business of MMA, Dana White may be correct and no one can stop the UFC at this point.
Just in case, Anderson Silva is headed to basic cable. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/19/2008 9:24:39 PM | NOT A CHANCE!!!! Some t-shirt guy decides he want an MMA league with a bunch of guys who cant make it in UFC or that Dana doesnt care to sign??? Oh and Donald Trump... whats with that guy? hes like a 5 year old he has to get his hands into EVERYTHING then puy his name on it!! MINE...MINE...MINE   | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/20/2008 3:09:41 AM | I sure as hell like the idea of someone running the UFC into the ground...there comes a time when you've got your head so far up your ass looking for the next dollar that you forget what you're doing in the first place.....
Some t-shirt guy decides he want an MMA league with a bunch of guys who cant make it in UFC or that Dana doesnt care to sign???
Fedor didn't want to sign with the UFC...Arlovski actually won his last UFC fight...I'm pretty sure he woulda been up for renewal....OH and don't forget the UFC doesn't actually have a heavyweight champ right now because Coture walked out....you gotta wonder what's wrong with an organization when one of their champs breaches his f*ckin' contract to get the hell out......
Axe your stupid TV show...and axe controversial decisions to promote your TV show...and quit grooming your goddamn TUF winners...."ultra popular" Forrest Griffin's gonna get his ass handed to him by Silva or Machida and he's gonna fall right back down that ladder cuz he wasn't ready to be there in the first place.....everyone knows this....it's all about making money....
The UFC could do a LOT better if they actaully let their fighters fight....I'm sure they make scads of cash off their show...but double the events in a year...start scouting for talent the old fashioned way....and suddenly you've got a much happier fan base that are willing to shell out just as much money as they make on their show.....
MMA fans should just boycott the reality show....they'd have to shut it down and compensate by setting up more events.... | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/21/2008 7:34:31 PM | Oh lord....so much wrong with this...I'll try not to be TOO critical..
NOT A CHANCE!!!!
I do agree with you that I don't, and didn't before the fights, think that Affliction's show would outsell UFC, after watching both of them, it's obvious to me that Affliction put on a better card with better fighters.
Some t-shirt guy decides he want an MMA league with a bunch of guys who cant make it in UFC or that Dana doesnt care to sign???
Now, this is the part that really gets me..."can't make it in the UFC or Dana doesn't want to sign". I'm going to guess by this statement, Chuck Liddell is one of your favorite fighters, and you had him as the best fighter in the world before Rampage came in, right? That's cool, just means the UFC is doing their job, but you need to expand your mind on MMA a little bit more instead of just taking down everything that Zuffa tells you. There are good fighters outside of the UFC.
Yes, MOST of the best are with them, but to say Fedor, Sylvia, Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Babalu, Lindland, etc, etc, etc couldn't make it in the UFC or Dana doesn't want to sign them is ridiculous. 3 of the guys on that list were UFC heavyweight champions at one point...Babalu was a number one contender for the LHW championship, and Dana White and his buddies were willing to throw 2 million dollars a fight at Fedor to get him.
Oh and Donald Trump... whats with that guy? hes like a 5 year old he has to get his hands into EVERYTHING then puy his name on it!! MINE...MINE...MINE
It's smart business. MMA is hot right now. Why would he NOT get involved? Questioning the business tactics of one of the most successful businessmen in the world looks a bit goofy, if you ask me. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/21/2008 9:54:19 PM | Don't know if it will give them a run for their money, the UFC is the only MMA orgaization that is makeing a profit, Elite XC, IFL, etc are all losing money.
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They have the ability with guys like Fedor, Barnett, Arlofski, Babalud, so on, it depends how they marked their fights | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/21/2008 10:02:19 PM | they will be like WCW was to the WWE/F they WILL have their run but just like WCW, ECW, NWA and every other wrestling promotion that has EVER taken on WWE they will fail and they will fold
and this post is the only trime I will mention WWE or wrestling at all in a topic regarding UFC | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/21/2008 10:21:44 PM | | They have a chance to profit. But all the bros and meatheads already love the UFC and don't understand that 2/3rds of the MMA talent in the world isn't in the UFC. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/22/2008 12:30:50 AM | I see it this way:
Yes Affliction had a great fight card set up. However, can they keep that same level throughout all of their events.
At least with UFC you'll see big names on every card.
My question is will affliction be able to get ahold of enough names and fighters to keep the matchups interesting? If they can pull something like this off then it might do alright.
I doubt affliction will ever be able to take over ufc though | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/23/2008 6:20:17 PM | | One thing I realized hasn't been brought up, Affliction's PPVs won't just be guys that they signed to contracts. M-1, Strikeforce, World Victory Road, and more organizations will have fighters on these cards. That's the good thing with those organizations, they let their fighters fight around. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/24/2008 10:04:33 PM | All I know is for now they are putting on cards that are way better than the UFC, I hope they are able to stick around long enough to make a dent.
They've said they are committed to 4 shows and then see where it goes from there, hopefully it just keeps going.
I think the UFC is having way too many shows a year and are forced to water down their product...they will have a fight or two that people want to see and then just shove a bunch of TUFtards in there to fill in the rest. No way will I pay for that shit... | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/26/2008 10:35:48 AM | One thing that UFC is doing that is rasing my ire a bit is replaying PPV's from earlier in the year for free on Spike (as they are with Sherk/Penn). I personally dropped $45 for this PPV when it aired live.
I realize their is an attained vested interest in a show when it is live, however you are eliminating some incentive to purchase PPV's if it is known that is going to eventually be shown for free at a later time. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/26/2008 11:52:40 AM | MaxToledo your rebuttals are EXACTLY what I was thinking!!
I went and watched the Affliction show live (Arlovski was def. fight of the night!) and came right home and watched the Fight Night I'd dvr'd. The point that so many fans are missing is that COMPETITION IS GOOD! We the fans are benefiting from UFC feeling threatened and that there are other organizations. Last weekend we had two huge events, tonight is the Elite XC event and in two weeks I get to enjoy a card I'm looking forward to (GSP&Huerta!).
The people complaining or talking shit about Affliction, Elite XC, etc need to understand that these other organizations allow us to enjoy fighters that the UFC may no longer do business with (Arlovski comes to mind again) AND it motivates the UFC to air more fight nights on Spike AND put together more exciting cards. Sounds like a win/win situation.
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 7/26/2008 12:09:21 PM | | Non-exclusive contracts are why these organizations have a chance to overtake the UFC, or at least seriously compete. You'll be able to see Gomi/Hansen, Gomi/Aoki, Sakuraba/Vitor. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 8/14/2008 9:39:13 PM | | Not only is Affliction putting up a better card ,they have the cream of the crop when it comes to the heavyweights . They are nothing but class , they actually pay there fighters unike that bald prick Dana White . Don't be suprised to see more of the best fighters in the world join them . Plus affliction is working withother promotions like dream,m1 global , and others to bring the best fighters in the world together . And while all these other promotions work together UFC stays away for fear that one of there prized bums will get dealt with infront of the world . Affliction is definitely here to stay and me personally i think will eventually outshine UFC and force them to unify with WAMMA like all the others . | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 8/15/2008 7:46:54 PM | its true they pay there fighters, but some have to take a pay cut for this PPV,
Dana White may be a prick, but he knows that his organization makes money, unlike the others who over pay there fighters, and they don't have enough revenue. If some guys leave they will always be people to take there place. | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 9/6/2008 2:04:37 AM | I don't why any promotion should be trying to give the UFC a "run for their money", at least not to begin with.
Like it's already stated on this thread - it took Dana White seven years to build the UFC up to the point it's at now. A case in point being Bodog, they came in and put on a whole load of matches (male and female) in a number of countries / continents and then packed it all in when they made a loss in the first financial year.
Also lol @ Dana White accusing others of having attitude problems, I can practically see the Pot calling the Kettle black... | |
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| Will Affliction give UFC a run for their money?
Posted: 9/12/2008 7:17:21 PM | | You make a good point its just that im tired of seeing the same recycled crap from the ufc . Hopefully the next card with Lesnar vs. Cotoure and Rampage vs. Wanderlai will be a sign of things to come . | |
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