Donald Trump Joins the MMA Fray
by Brett Jones
on Jun 4, 2008 3:35 PM EDT
According to a press release from Affliction, Donald Trump will be partnering with the clothing company turned MMA promoter in a capacity to be revealed at a press conference tomorrow. The full press releases comes courtesy of Five Ounces of Pain:
WHAT: "Affliction Banned" Press Conference
WHO: DONALD J. TRUMP
Chairman and CEO of the Trump OrganizationWHEN: Thursday, June 5 – 12 PM/ET
WHERE: Trump Tower, 25th Floor, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022
WHY: To announce a partnership between Affliction and Donald J. Trump, who will outline his involvement with Affliction and "Affliction Banned," the star studded mixed-martial-arts show July 19th 2008 on pay-per-view television, featuring the return of Russian combat fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
"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 for "Affliction Banned," ranging between $50.00 and $1,000.00, are on sale at the Honda Center box office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.
That would explain why the previous Affliction press conference was held at Trump Towers.
Trumps involvement in MMA is not surprising, as his interest in sports is well chronicled. Trump was the one-time owner of the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, and is an avid fan of golf, owning seven golf courses worldwide. However, Trump's most prominent forray into sports, or in this case sports entertainment, was "The Battle of the Billionaires" at Wrestlemania 23, where he chose recent AFL signee Bobbly Lashley to represent him with Trump's hair at stake. Trump had previously hosted Wrestlemanias IV and V at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ.
A footnote to this story is that Trump is following in the footsteps of fellow billionaire Mark Cuban, who entered into the MMA business when Cuban's television network, HDNet, began broadcasting MMA programming and events in 2007. Trump and Cuban are somewhat of rivals, stemming from Cuban's reality show, The Benefactor, which some (including Trump) bore too close a resemblance to Trump's hit reality show, The Apprentice. Trump had this to say about Cuban, his show, and the Dallas Mavericks, which Cuban also owns:
“Mark Cuban was extremely embarrassed when he copied ‘The Apprentice’ and failed,” Trump raged. “They threw him off television like a dog.
“I wrote him a note and I said, ‘Mark, you have absolutely no television persona. I wish you would have spoken to me previously or before you did this. I could have told you it was gonna fail.’ And he failed.
“Same thing with the Mavericks. The Mavericks have a great team. They’ll never win with Mark Cuban as the owner because he is not a winner.”
Ironic, as Affliction was at one time rumored to be broadcast on HDNet.
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Unless I’m mistaken, isn’t Cuban a self made millionaire, while Trump inherited his money?
I think that says quite a bit more than who has a better TV persona.
by mythbuster on Jun 4, 2008 3:24 PM EDT 0 recs
My understanding is that Trump made his money through real estate, although where his initial investment capital came from is something I’m not sure about.
by Brett Jones on Jun 4, 2008 3:44 PM EDT 0 recs
Fred Trump – Donalds Father. Having a father worth $400 million is a nice way to start on on your road to “already rich”.
Mark Cuban on the other hand, his father was an automobile upholsterer.
I think Trump would have a seriously hard time convincing anyone that Cuban is the loser, and Trump the winner, at the game of business.
by mythbuster on
Jun 4, 2008 3:51 PM EDT
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That makes the whole thing all the more amusing as far as I’m concerned.
by Brett Jones on
Jun 4, 2008 4:04 PM EDT
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Yea tough words from a guy who’s dad gave him a big chunk of change after he graduated from business school. Becoming rich and powerful isn’t that hard when all your shits already payed for and you have money to play with.
by Yasnian on Jun 4, 2008 3:45 PM EDT 0 recs
All this talk about cross-promotions etc with companies outside of the UFC suddenly doesn’t sound as realistic when you have Donald Trump already bashing a “major” player right out of the gate. Gary Shaw has already spewed a litany of insults at Dana White. While an Elite/UFC co-promotion is out of the question regardless, it’s only a matter of time before he joins in bashing the other companies. I’m curious to see Mark Cuban’s response. He’s been pretty genial to this point regarding other MMA outfits. We’ll see what happens.
by Popetastic on Jun 4, 2008 7:05 PM EDT 0 recs
So were those statements made at this press conference, or were they from a previous time? I assumed they were from a time prior to this, but I could (likely am) be wrong.
One thing about Trump, and I would assume any super wealthy business person, is they are willing to set aside this type of thing for the love of money. Trump invited Rosie to be on his show, after their over publicized rift, because he knew it would draw.
Or it could even set up a HDNet Fights vs Affliction card. Just please no loser shaving their head!
"They said you was hung!!"
"And they was RIGHT!"
by BJJDenver on
Jun 4, 2008 7:13 PM EDT
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No, you’re right. The quote came shortly after Cuban’s reality show was cancelled.
by Brett Jones on
Jun 4, 2008 9:59 PM EDT
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Oh ok. Didn’t notice that. Well there still could be a little bad blood, perhaps. Either way, I wouldn’t expect the Donald to exercise any restraint in the future.
by Popetastic on
Jun 4, 2008 10:38 PM EDT
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