Ok, so many of us have spent the last couple of days pointing out the faults and downside to the first Affliction show. I think we may have taken the easy route, so I have decided to note a few things they did correctly or could correct easily for the next card.

-THE RING. I personally liked it. I enjoy having the opportunity to watch fights in a ring, as well as a cage. While it may be to their benefit to switch to a cage for fans that believe it is the only surface for mma, I hope they stick with the ring. The large surface greatly kept fights off the ropes and reduced the amount of clinching against the sides, a huge problem in the UFC, imo.

-BIG FIGHTERS. They did have some of the top guys in the world and hopefully spread the awareness of how good guys like Arlovski, Fedor and Barnett, actually are. Many newer fans of mma have little knowledge of these guys and how exciting they can be. Plus, they have Aleks, one of the most entertaining fighters around.

-BIG FIGHTS. So they weren't on this card, but they are there for the future and may now be even more appealing. If they can get Couture in action and add Fedor/Barnett, Fedor/AA and so on, they can be home to some of the most historic matches in mma history.

-NOT A BUNCH OF FLUFF. One thing I dislike about UFC cards, is the amount of filler between fights. For the most part, Affliction moved quickly from fight to fight. And there was no preview for crap like Never Back Down.

So it wasn't ALL bad, but some certainly was, and here is where they can improve quickly.

-ANNOUNCERS. Trigg, Glazer and Big John, have potential. That said,
they are missing a personality along the lines of Bas Rutten or Mauro Ranallo.

-MUSIC. Yeah, the live crap, lol. Megadeth was pretty bad and I think this is just something that needs to be eliminated. There really is no reason for it, and it seemed to distract from the show. Props to them for trying it, but learn and change. Eliminate bands and DJs from mma shows.

-PRODUCTION. I know it was their first show, but it was very generic. I would like to see some medium ground between UFCs slick, straightforward production and Pride's theatrical, over the top shows. Give it some character, but not so much it takes away from the fights.

-BIG FIGHTS. I know that most of us expected Sylvia to put up more of a fight, but the main events need to be a little better from here on out. Fedor/Randy, Fedor/Barnett or Fedor/AA for example.

-LIGHTER WEIGHTS. America loves heavyweights, but the most entertaining fights are usually at lower weights. Plus the talent pool seems to be much deeper as you drop in weight classes. They need to start building their roster and soon, so they avoid running out of big fights to soon.

These are just a few thoughts about Banned and where they can go from here. I have bashed them pretty hard, but in this market, my expectations are fairly high. I spend a lot of money on training and as an mma fan, so I expect a lot in return. I am hardly condemning them and expect them to improve in their next outing, which I most likely will purchase again.

One last note. To those of you comparing Affliction: Banned to UFN:Silva/Irvin...don't. You are comparing a long planned ppv card to a hastily produced free card. If you want to compare, then use any recent or upcoming UFC ppv. And if you want to see great production from a "new" promotion, check out Dream 5. Alvarez/Kawajiri was awesome! Unfortunately, this also showed why one night Grand Prix tournaments are little more than a fun time.