Who are the Biggest Losers in Affliction's Demise?
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 25, 2009 8:36 AM EDT
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A lot of fans have enjoyed Affliction folding for the simple fact that they could possibly see Fedor and other top guys compete in the UFC. That's understandable, because as a fan, I also want to see the possible dream matches that could arise from this. But let us not forget that this simply isn't just about Dana White, Tom Atencio, or Fedor, because there are others who are more affected by this situation.
Who are the biggest losers in Affliction's demise?
No it's not Tom Atencio or Affliction's management. Why? Because, they already have a deal with the UFC that would probably offset those losses that they had. The real losers in the whole situation are the fighters.
These guys sacrificed a lot and stayed away from their families to train and prepare well for months. They have invested money in order to set up good training camps, only to have their fights cancelled. The top guys are also affected, but it's the mid to lower level fighters who are feeling the full extent of the blow. These are the guys who are trying to make a name for themselves and are really relying on a payday and in order to support their family. Now they are just left without work and with even more bills to pay.
Aside from monetary issues, another reason why the fighters are the big losers in this whole situation, is because fighting in a card like Affliction: Trilogy, was a chance to showcase their skills. A win could've propelled their careers to much bigger heights which could've led them to bigger paydays and a possible shot at fighting at the big show.
Guys like Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick weren't able to compete in Affliction's second show due to injuries, were also looking to deliver a good performance to further their careers. Another perfect example is Rafaello Oliveira, who was scheduled to fight Japanese superstar, Takanori Gomi. This was already his most high-profile and probably, the highest paying fight ever. A win could've done wonders for his career, but now he's left there not knowing what could've happened had the fight pushed through.
The demise of a huge promotion like Affliction doesn't just affect the major players like Dana, and Tom. It also affects those fighters, and even the fans who were looking forward to seeing a good show.
Fighters speak about their current situation in the extended entry.
It sucks. It’s not right..
"I know we all put our lives on hold, and bills stacked up for these fights"
"There’s no words that can even describe it. It’s still fresh for me. I’ve already paid all my trainers. I trained my ass off for this fight."
"I have trained so damned hard for this fight, probably the hardest ever and I am in great shape and now this happens. I still want a fight – if they need someone to replace Riggs against Nick Diaz give me a call."
"To tell you the truth, I don’t know what’s going to happen. It took a lot of wind out of my sails."
Ben Rothwell doesn't blame Affliction, and thinks it's all on Josh Barnett:
"[Affliction] didn’t do it. They didn’t make (Barnett) do the drug test.. Bottom line is, Josh Barnett should pay everybody. He (expletive) up, bad."
Sean Tompkins of Extreme Couture:
Where we are right now with all the fighters, is their managers and lawyers are looking at how (the fighters) are going to be compensated for lack of a fight...
Extreme Couture's Jiu Jitsu coach, Neil Melanson, who were training Affliction fighters like Vitor Belfort, Chris Horodecki, Jay Heiron and Mark Hominick, also had this to say:
It’s like a funeral.. Everybody’s shown up to the gym, not all of them are training, but they’re there and they’re just… they’re all speechless.
they worked really hard and were in the gym all the time (and) they were ready to win," he said. "They wanted these fights to help them get to the next level... To have the card pulled from them like this, on this short notice… it’s tough.
I sure hope they pay these guys. They’ve got to have some kind of contract agreement to pay these guys, but it’s still not the same.
Gegard Mousasi, when asked about the cancellation hurting him financially:
Yeah, it’s a bitch... Disappointment. A lot of disappointment... I have two fights left on my DREAM contract. After that we will see. (about negotiating with the UFC and Strikeforce)
...It’s ridiculous that this has to happen. I’ve been preparing for weeks now... Well, what can I say? It’s ridiculous because one idiot we have to pay for that. F*ck it. Maybe I … I don’t know. Everytime … Maybe I’ll go to the UFC.”
"I was and I'm still in disbelief. I put a lot of effort into this camp, training and financially. It's left me [expletive]."
HT: Sherdog, MMAWeekly, MMA Fanhouse, Inside Fights and Fighters Only
The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.
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Plus what happens to gomi?
him fighting in the US was considered a major coup.. can the UFC or Strikeforce get him? or does he just go back to Japan?
He’ll head back to Japan probably, or hopefully Coker will get him. It’ll be interesting to see if the UFC goes for him though. Right now, nobody knows that contract situation.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jul 25, 2009 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Affliction picked the worst possible time to die.
Keep firing Assholes!
Thanks to Bisping's reenactment of the Battle of Cowpens, walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
What is best of all is utterly beyond your reach: not to be born, not to be, to be nothing. But the second best for you is—to die soon.
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by Eugene Schelfaut on Jul 25, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
They say you can't tell how happy a man was until you know how he dies.
Afflicition was apparently not happy at all.
It ends in an armbar or a strangle regardless.
Awesome quote, but I admittedly tend towards a nihilistic disposition.
Another quotation applicable to Affliction:
Life is a business that does not cover the costs.-Arthur Schopenhauer
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Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jul 26, 2009 6:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Honestly I’m not sad to see Affliction go for many of the reasons you mentioned but I wish they could have waited til after next Sarurday to close up shop. Even the biggest of UFC fanboys had to be excited to watch this card.
Some people might say that winning a fight makes you a better fighter but I don’t agree with that.- BlueberryMuffin
by ufc4 on Jul 25, 2009 9:54 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
That's Life
The fighters knew they took a gamble to fight for more money but less security. It’s no different from the normal folks who take a job for higher pay but less security with a startup company. They took a gamble and they have to live with it.
These guys need to know that the chance of this happening were pretty high. I mean, everyone predicted Affliction’s demise except for a few guys like MMASupremacy.
Well for some it wasn't a gamble,
It’s not like the UFC and Strikeforce were banging on the doors of all those guys in their roster right?
They were offered a contract and they signed it.. Not really their fault you know..
by Anton Tabuena on Jul 25, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I get what he’s saying, though. They knew this was a high risk start up when they signed their deals. And yes, Hominick, Hieron and some of the other guys you mentioned would have no problem landing deals, especially in Japan, or with MFC.
Their being out of jobs sucks, but that’s the reality of the fight game outside of the UFC. Zuffa is the exception, not the rule, in the history of this sport. The part that is painful if the cancellation of the card eight days out. And that hurts everyone, including Fedor and the top bill guys. He essentially had 3 million dollars taken out of his bank account, and though he’s more well off than all of the other fighters, that still counts for something. Everyone was similarly effected by the cancellation. Can’t shrug at the top of the card fighters because they’re good enough to be where they are..
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
I think the optimal thing would have been to have the card, get the fighters their fights and pay, then shut it down. A win by Belfort would truly help his stock even more. Gomi needs a win and in the US it could propel him to someplace like the UFC, who is probably interested, but not at the money he demands with his recent record.
I hate to see mma get bad press or for orgs to fold (except EXC), but I think in the long run, this may be better for the sport. You have Barnett as a scapegoat (deserved or not), so Affliction can have a slight amount of dignity (did I really say that???). SF has the opportunity to really load up (and at a very opportune time) . We may be closer than ever to seeing guys like Gomi, Fedor, etc in the UFC. And I think Dana has a great chance to show he isn’t evil, by bringing Affliction back, Tito back and who knows what else. Of course these things are in his best interest, but if he is pleasing the fans, it may be good PR for him, especially with a huge season of TUF sure to put more eyeballs than ever on “mixed ultimate fighting” (my new favorite term!).
After yesterday, the only thing I know for sure, is that Jake Shields is hot (running it into the ground!).
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
And I think it may help shows like MFC, Adrenaline, M1 and so on, put on better fight cards. There is no shortage of promotions, just ones willing to extremely overpay the fighters (props to them for getting paid).
If you're not submitting, you're just rolling around with another guy.
I’m on board with most of what you said, particularly that this is what is best for the future of our sport (now that these fighters can find a less volatile home) and that Jake Shields is hot. This promotion was a terminal case and most of us knew it. Like I said earlier, the worst of this is that the fighters were robbed of a card they trained so hard for so close to the actual date. I agree that they should have found some way to put on the card, even if it meant putting it on HDNet in its entirety. They may still end up having to pay these fighters their rate to show and will undoubtedly have to pay exhorbitant costs on production, advertising, venue and staff. I don’t imagine the losses would have been much more, if at all, and it would have saved them major face (and, perhaps saved Baby Face). But, alas, it’s possible that we may never know how this went down in the waning hours.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
I am curious as to how many fighters will now be afraid to sign with second tier promotions. I think it is safe to say of you sign with UFC or Strikeforece you will get paid. After that I am not so sure.
So the question is, do fighters now go to these two promoters and give up some of the small freedoms they have to get paid?
Giving up small freedoms to get paid is part of getting a job. When I get hired at a new company, they send me to orientation to tell me about their rules. If I don’t like the rules, I can leave the company, or just wait to get fired. So a fighter giving up small freedoms for a steady paycheck isn’t that big of a deal.
As far as fear of signing with 2nd tier promotions, I think most people here agreed that Affliction was doomed from the start. I don’t think there should be a fear of second tier promotions, but rather a fear of badly run promotions. Fortunately, those are usually easy to spot.
by Shaun32887 on Jul 25, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
This is going to cause a problem for the next Tom Attencio/Calvin Ayre though (if anyone is brave/dumb enough to try). There shouldn’t be hesitation to sign with a second tier promotion that understands that they are a second tier promotion. Anyone who signs with the next next-Pride, they need to have their head examined.
Ben Rothwell has a point, but there was n-o-t-h-i-n-g stopping Atencio from having the card anyway. They probably would’ve sold just as many PPVs and saved money by not paying Josh.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 25, 2009 2:09 PM EDT reply actions
Some people are suggesting that the PPV got pulled by Showtime, but my suggestion above was to air it on HDNet in its entirety if that was the only option. Why not? They may still have to pay these fighters their rate to show and they would have recouped some of their losses. Though, by the sound of it, their ticket sales were pretty abysmal. Seems there was no good way to save face and millions were going up in flames no matter what they did.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
That’s what I’m saying – it’s not like they made money the first two shows or that this show would’ve made money even IF Barnett had tested clean. If you’re going to lose money ANYWAY, then at least hold the damn card.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
by Derek Suboticki on Jul 25, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions
If Showtime pulls out, lots of the money required to actually run/produce the show probably went with it. I really doubt what you are saying would be an option.
Of course it was an option. Do you have any idea how much money Affliction Aparrel pulls in annually? They weren’t exactly caught pantsless in a snowstorm. It may have been more costly than they wanted. That’s why they threw up the white flag.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
by Blackout612 on Jul 26, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
You can’t exactly snap your fingers and produce an event. Coordinating with the arena, HDNet, finding and hiring all the people required to produce an event of this magnitude in 8 days is probably very, very difficult, and costly, if possible.
That was the point of the Showtime deal, so that Affliction didn’t have to deal with that crap.. If 8 days before a UFC event Goldberg, Rogan, everyone in the truck, every camera man, every sound guy, the people who build the octagon and everyone else involved in the physical production of the show disappeared, they be in trouble also.
But it takes 5 hours to relinquish control of your company? Look, you’re claiming that it was definitely not possible to move the production to another station, and I’m saying I sincerely believe there were options for still putting the show on. That same crew was going to produce the prelims on HDNet. What of that? Showtime would have had to front significantly less resources to move the entire show to HDNet rather than PPV. I don’t know man, I don’t think there’s enough information for you to think that it absolutely couldn’t have been a possibility.
"The reason a rabbit outruns a fox is because the rabbit is running for his life and the fox is running for his dinner."
by Blackout612 on Jul 26, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I just feel so bad for all these guys.
They’re just getting screwed. One of my coaches (Rodrigo Uzeda) was going down to corner Rothwell and was telling me on Wednesday how good Ben and LC Davis were looking and how much they were all looking forward to this. It’s on both Affliction and Barnett’s head, I’m sure Rothwell is just frustrated and emotional about the whole situation.
by mictlantechutli on Jul 25, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope the people of Affliction do the right thing and at least pay their gym and trainer fees. I don’t get why the promotion didn’t just fold after the card, I guess to get out of paying the fighters. I’m surprised these guys didn’t get something put in their contracts if something like this were to happen
I can't help but picture
something similar to that alley brawl involving Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Pat Miletich, Lee Murray, Tony Fryklund, etc., except this time it’s Josh Barnett vs. all of the other Affliction Trilogy fighters.
by MMAInFeRioRiTy on Jul 25, 2009 8:31 PM EDT reply actions
Neil is such a badass.
Just throwing that out there.
But yeah, it sucks that this happened.
I like Barnett, but man, was this a big fuck up or what.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
The fans are a close second.
I’m so down over this whole mess :(
"Like a ballet of violence clothed in fine Brazilian silk." ~ MMASuPreMaCy
distant second
Not even close. We lost a night of great fights. They lost food off their tables and money to support a wife and kids. On top of that they have bills to pay bc of training costs and other standard things. We lost a luxury they lost the means needed to support their way of life.
by Brian Bobby on Jul 26, 2009 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
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