Fedor Emelianenko out of a title bout with Andrei Arlovski at the Affliction show in October due to a hand injury. Josh Barnett face Arlovski at the show in Vegas.
Source: MVN
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Tom Atencio has helped build Affliction Clothing literally on the back of some of the best-known names in sports and entertainment. Now the Affliction vice-president is looking to use all his connections in building the California-based company’s fledgling fight promotion business.
The Affliction celebrity crew includes the likes of musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Korn and Cradle of Filth, baseball’s Brad Penny and Ryan Braun, surfers Sunny Garcia and Charlie Carroll, basketball’s Shawn Marion, football’s Junior Seau and hockey’s Ray Emery and Derek Boogaard. Among others.
In the fight world, the company can count on boxers Sugar Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Ricardo Mayorga, Zab Judah and Kelly Pavlik.
And in mixed martial arts, Canadian Georges St. Pierre, Randy Couture, Quinton Jackson, Keith Jardine, Matt Serra, Josh Barnett, Sean Sherk and Fedor Emelianenko all favour Affliction.
You can’t beat a walking marquee billboard, after all.
Atencio and colleagues have used such ties to move into the world of MMA promotion, with their first card “Affliction Banned” set for July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Atencio’s ties to the sport go back a ways. He has worked as a fight photographer, put on jiu-jitsu competitions and even competed. Ask him about it and he will list his bona-fides.
Now he works those ties as he looks to grow Affliction Entertainment, a fledgling sister company.
His journey in signing Emelianenko and his younger brother Aleksander is a lesson in how contacts - and little things - can pay off.
The initial connection was through Barnett, who fought Aleksander in Pride in May 2006.
“The funny thing is when Josh beat Aleksander Emelianenko, he handed him a shirt in one of the Pride fights and it was one of our shirts,” Atencio recalled in an interview. “Vaya Con Dios was the shirt, Go With God (in English) and the reason he did that is because of the big tattoo on Aleksander’s back. It was very similar to the design of the shirt, so that was how we first got to them, and then he introduced me to Fedor. And it just kind of grew from there.”
Fedor Emelianenko is headlining the Affliction show, taking on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. Aleksander faces off against Paul Buentello.
Securing Emelianenko is a coup for Affliction. The Russian, often simply referred to as Fedor in MMA circles, is an iconic figure in the sport with the lone blemish on a 27-1 record due to a cut.
After the UFC bought Pride, UFC president Dana White was dogged with questions for months about when Emelianenko would sign on. “I’m trying,” White would say.
Then negotiations broke down and White, blaming Emelianenko’s advisers for the failure, started dumping on the Russian - questioning who he has fought recently.
“I think it’s just another way to make himself think he’s got the best fighters out there,” Atencio offered by way of explanation for White’s attitude. “Unless he opens his doors and says ‘Yeah we’ll let your fighters fight ours, you can’t say.’ …In my eyes, he (Fedor) is the No. 1 fighter in the world.”
Others on the July 19 card include Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Matt Lindland, Ben Rothwell, Renato (Babalu) Sobral, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Pedro Rizzo, Vitor Belfort, Terry Martin, Mike Pyle and Canadian Mark Hominick.
It’s an impressive lineup - filled with former UFC names - and one that clearly comes with a hefty price tag. Atencio isn’t saying just how hefty.
“Obviously eventually that will come out, once the athletic commission gets it but as far as right now what we’re paying out, that’s between us and the fighters.”
Affliction is already planning two more fight cards, one in October and the other in February. A Couture versus Emelianenko fight could be on one of them if Couture wins his court battle to free himself from his UFC contract.
Losing money on fight promotion is not in the Affliction business plan.
“I think if you go in there thinking that - and some people do that, they prepare for a five-year to whatever being in the red - they don’t last that long,” said Atencio, one of five partners in the clothing company. “I’m in business to make money. We’re a three-year-old company as far as Affliction goes and we’ve been profitable since after the first year so I’m in business to make money, I’m not in business to lose.”
While winning over celebs is familiar ground for Affliction, putting on a show is not.
“More of the challenge has been on the production side of it and the things that we don’t know,” Atencio said. “As far as the fighters go, I’ve had relationships with all these fighters for quite some time now so signing them, getting everything done, (was) not too difficult because I’ve been working with them.
“We’ve been in a good situation, we take care of people, we do what we say we’re going to do so it hasn’t been difficult. But absolutely as far as putting the event on, it’s been a challenge.”
The UFC has upped that challenge but putting on a show the same night in a bid to take some of the attention off Affliction. And it has looked to one of its stars to help the cause, opting to move middleweight champion Anderson Silva to light-heavyweight for the night to take on hard-hitting James (The Sandman) Irvin.
While the Affliction show will cost $40 on pay per view, the UFC show July 19 is free on Spike TV.
“It really doesn’t matter. I guess in a sense it’s flattery,” said Atencio. “They obviously view us as competition, so they wouldn’t be doing it if they didn’t view us as competition. There’s a lot of other smaller events that are being put on throughout the country and they obviously aren’t going out of their way to do what they can to hurt them.”
Once Affliction announced it was getting in the fight promotion business, the UFC banned its fighters from wearing Affliction gear at its events (Affliction thumbed its nose at the move by naming its card “Affliction Banned”). But Atencio is trying to take the high road towards the industry leader.
“They’re the Q-tip of the industry, they’re the first one out there and they’ve done a great job, don’t get me wrong. They’ve done a wonderful job. But I think there’s time for competition now.”
To help its cause, Affliction brought in Donald Trump as an equity partner in Affliction Entertainment.
“He definitely brings a lot to the table when it comes to press and he’s good in front of the camera. He’s a great guy,” said Atencio.
Affliction is bringing its own ideas to the MMA table. The undercard, usually denied to the pay-per-view audience, will be shown in a one-hour show airing live on Fox Sports Net in the U.S. and The Fight Network in Canada (8 p.m. ET).
Atencio is even mixing music into the main event, with Megadeth slated to play three songs (Osbourne was supposed to play but had to withdraw because of scheduling issues).
While the UFC doesn’t want to play ball, Atencio is looking to other fight organizations for talent. Some promoters and fighters are happy to share, he reports.
“I’m building relationships and these guys trust me and I trust me. As long as we can work together and I do what I say I’m going to do, then they’re going to be happy and they do what they say they’re going to do, I’m going to be happy.”
“I can’t say it enough, it’s about relationships,” he added. “We’re working with Scott Coker from Strikeforce, we’re working with Monte Cox from Adrenaline. I know I have one fighter from EliteXC. So if I can build relationships and we can all come together, I think it’s a win-win for everybody … I’m looking for the best fighters in the world, I’m not looking just to be one-sided or myopic, I want to look at the world as a whole and see if we can work with as many of the best fighters out there.”
Hominick, from Thamesford, Ont., is already part of the Affliction family, kicking off a three-fight deal against 40-plus Savant Young in Anaheim.
Atencio would like to add more Canadians and take the show north of the border.
“Absolutely, I’d love to go to Canada. There’s a lot of great fighters (there).”
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From Tatame:
“I am training everything with a team that since a long time I don’t have it. I have 12, 13 heavyweights , good wrestlers, good on the ground, good at stand up…I am well in all the three skills. Josh is also complete, so I don’t know. I am going to try to take advantage from the stand up and, if we go to the ground that I already had putted some good blows. Josh is versatile, He improves a lot his stand up and he is very well. At Wrestling he has good take downs and his ground everybody knows, he tries the leg-lock, so I am working on that. “
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THE FIGHT NETWORK LANDS EXCLUSIVE DEAL IN CANADA WITH HISTORIC AFFLICTION BANNED EVENT
TORONTO, ON – June 21, 2008… The Fight Network’s President and CEO George Burger announced today that it has secured the exclusive rights to air the live star-studded, one-hour undercard for July 19th’s Affliction Banned Pay-Per-View event on its Network.
Mr. Burger made the announcement at a packed news conference at Toronto’s MMA Expo, alongside Tom Atencio, Affliction’s Vice President; Fight Network Senior Vice President, Strategy and founder Mike Garrow; and two MMA superstars: Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovksi and “Big” Ben Rothwell who will face each other on Pay-Per-View.
“This is a stellar card, arguably the best collection of heavyweights under one roof in the history of MMA. The Fight Network is excited to be working side by side with Affliction in taking the launch of this promotion worldwide,” said Mr. Burger. “Not only are we showing the undercard live and exclusively on our Network, a great lead-in to the Pay-Per-View event, but we are also distributing the Pay-Per-View in Canada , Australia , the United States and the United Kingdom .”
The 60-minute broadcast on the Fight Network will air in Canada at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT, and is expected to feature at least two of the five scheduled preliminary bouts, including a heavyweight clash between former UFC heavyweight title challenger Paul Buentello and Aleksander Emelianenko. The pay-per-view broadcast will follow starting at 9 pm ET.
“With this card, Affliction vaults into the front ranks of what is the fastest growing sport in the world,” said Mr. Atencio. “We have a long relationship with The Fight Network and are pleased to share this momentous event with them.”
Affliction Banned is the monster mixed-martial-arts promotion presented by Affliction, the premier fashion label for men who love hard rock and fast living, in association with Roy Englebrecht Events. Earlier this month, Donald Trump announced his involvement and partnership with the promotion. The main event features the return of Russian combat fighting icon Fedor ”The Last Emperor” Emelianenko against former two-time UFC® heavyweight title-holder Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Mr. Burger also announced that The Fight Network’s on-air MMA experts Mauro Ranallo and legendary MMA pioneer and Fight Network analyst “Big” John McCarthy will be calling the action for this worldwide event.
Along with the Emelianenko-Sylvia match-up, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett will take on Pedro Rizzo in a rematch of their February 2001 bout, Team Quest founder Matt Lindland will return to action against Fabio “Negao” Nascimento, and UFC veterans Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Mike Whitehead will collide as well.
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In 2001 Pedro Rizzo and Josh Barnett tangled in the UFC, on July 19th the two battle it out again. Clothing giant turned MMA promotion, Affliction, will be setting up the bout. Rizzo took the first fight via knockout in a fight that took place solely on the feet. Barnett never shot on on the well decorated striker. Whether or not he chooses a different strategy 7 and a half years later remains to be seen.
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On May 2, 2003 Josh Barnett defeated Jimmy Ambriz by TKO in Tokyo.
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On March 14, 1998 Josh Barnett defeated Bob Gilstrap via disqualification.
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While being a top 10 heavyweight, Josh Barnett is not a fighter UFC president Dana White is at all interested in signing. White has had some harsh words for Barnett, who recently commented that he was the real UFC heavyweight champion as nobody defeated him in the organization to take the belt.
Previous problems White had with Barnett have not been forgotten by the UFC president, and Barnett is paying some karmic debts as a result in not being able to fight for the biggest MMA promotion out there right now. “He’s just a punk. You know what? The thing is I don’t want to even talk about Josh Barnett”, noted White to CBS Sportsline. “Nobody even cares about Josh Barnett. I got Mirko Cro Cop, the guy that just beat the s— out of him. I’m not interested in Josh Barnett at all as far as who he is as a person or as a fighter or how he represents the sport. I don’t like anything about him”, added White during the interview. Fighters whom have had problems with White in the past such as Tito Ortiz, B.J Penn and Jens Pulver, suffered a period of exile from the UFC. However, eventually they were welcomed back into the fold when there was potential for them to provide a valuable service to the organization. Barnett realizes this and made note about the fact that if he is able to bring in massive revenue to the UFC, White will take him back. Indeed a rematch between Couture and Barnett could make for a great fight with a strong storyline behind it. But for now, Barnett is nowhere near being on the short-list of fighters on White’s agenda to sign.
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On August 31, 2003, Josh Barnett defeated Yuki Kondo via rear naked choke at the 10th Anniversary Show of Pancrase in Tokyo, Japan. Also of note on the card:
Ricardo Almeida defeated Kazuo Misaki
Akihiro Gono defeated Nilson de Castro
Sanae Kikuta defeated Elvis Sinosic
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