Affliction’s long awaited debut into MMA has now come and gone, and with mixed results. The fights were not half bad but the production was terrible. Starting with the pre-show, featuring the band Megadeth, (I wasn’t aware they were still a band, could they not have found a more current group). If that wasn’t bad enough the sound was awful (I’m not just talking about the music) it was as though the fans were non-existent and you could barely hear the announcer’s (Frank Trigg, Jay Glazer) at times. This may have been a great event if you were there (I was not) but it didn’t translate to pay-per-view. It was like I was watching a bad version of Pride.
On to the fights. Josh Barnett was able to avenge a loss against Pedro Rizzo with a devastating KO in the second round. If Barnett fought more often he could still be a top-ten heavyweight. Andrei Arlovski and Ben Rothwell put on a spirited fight. Rothwell sure can take a beating, a lesser man would have packed it in long before the third round, which is when Arlovski was finally able to KO him. It appears Arlovski is back to being a force in the heavyweight division.
In the Main Event Fedor Emelianenko simply overwhelmed former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. This fight wasn’t even close as Emelianenko came out throwing bombs until Sylvia hit the canvas and quickly gave up his back before tapping out to a rear-naked choke. Emelianenko is now the WAMMA heavyweight champion and unquestionably the best heavyweight in MMA.
This sets up all kinds of great match-ups in the future. The obvious, which is Randy Couture-Fedor, as soon as Couture’s contract is up with the UFC in October. How about a Fedor-Arlovski match to follow.
Having watched how dominant Emelianenko and Arlovski were, don’t be surprised if you see Dana White make a big pitch to bring both of these guy’s to the UFC as well as resign Couture. It would make the UFC’s heavyweight division by far the best in MMA, which can’t be said right now. Hasn’t Dana been saying all along he only wants the best fighters in the UFC; he could make that happen if he’s willing to spend the money. White needs to do this and he needs to stop insulting the fans by saying “Fedor is not the best heavyweight” he just ran through the former UFC champ in 36 seconds.
As far as Affliction is concerned, don’t waste your money on cheesy gimmicks like bringing in bands like Megadeth. Worry more about production value, bringing in and keeping the best fighters you can and get a cage.
