Fronted by Luke Thomas.

The story is available at MMAWeekly, and cites several sources in the world of MMA. Allegedly, Affliction and the UFC were discussing a scenario in which Affliction would partner with the UFC for exclusive apparel. The UFC would then buy out the contracts they desire and cut the extra fat. Affliction is also reported to have been the one to reject the deal, which I can imagine may not have been as generous as they expected, given that this appears as a giant white flag to Dana White and Zuffa.

A meeting took place between UFC and Affliction executives on Sept. 26, where the idea was first openly discussed. Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio was present, in addition to UFC president Dana White. According to a source, Randy Couture and his lawyers may have attended the meeting as well. Talks were cordial, and Affliction executives agreed to come up with a proposal of their own. All agreed the group would reconvene in a short time period to sort through the issues of a potential deal.

Communication began to deteriorate, though, with Affliction’s ad campaign for EliteXC’s “Heat,” on Oct. 4. The airing of several ads trumpeting Fedor Emelianenko’s return reportedly made UFC executives wary the deal was not being taken seriously.

The scoop at MMA Weekly.