Maybe "war" is a bit strong, but "conflict" might be precisely what the company needs to gain any traction, make any impact or have any noteworthy fingerprint. What is becoming painfully obvious is that rival MMA organizations to the UFC cannot seem to generate publicity and interest among the media, corporate sponsors and fans on their own. They need the UFC to hate them and them explicitly. Zach Arnold explains:
For Affliction’s sake, the promotion must hope that their October 11th event in Las Vegas draws the ire of UFC for basically running on Zuffa’s home turf. If Zuffa ignores Affliction and does not give into the temptation of giving them free media coverage, then Affliction will have a very hard time generating media interest and significant cash flow for the second show. Without someone like Tito Ortiz headlining the card, it is going to be hard to fathom how Affliction will garner major attention from fight fans, insiders, corporate sponsors, and players in the fight game for the second show. Perception is reality and right now, Affliction is a t-shirt company that is simply viewed as a glorified ATM to fighters and nothing else. Unless the company can show a track record of consistency in promoting high-quality shows and turning a profit on said shows, then it is going to be very hard for this upstart organization to gain any sort of momentum unless they can draw the ire of Dana White and stir up a hornet’s nest in the press.
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