Affliction vs. UFC: Round One

• By MATT RAMSAY
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Jul 18, 2008 - UPDATED: 5:35 p.m.

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The question for Mixed Martial Arts fans this weekend is, “Do I watch the arguably best fighter in the world with Anderson “The Spider” Silva for free, or do I spend $39.95 to watch the other arguably best fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko?”

The overwhelming opinion appears to be to buy the Affliction Banned promotion and record the free Ultimate Fighter Championship fight on cable.

The major difference, other than the money, is that the Affliction Banned Promotion is just much better than the UFC card. For instance, Fedor is fighting former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia, and the undercard looks like this: Two former UFC heavyweight champions, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, and four of the potentially best MMA fighters to never hold a major title belt, including Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Matt Lindland, Ben Rothwell and Pedro Rizzo.

This not only looks like the best card for the money but maybe one of the best MMA fight cards ever.

The UFC is planning on putting a dent in the Pay Per View buys in the Affliction Promotion this weekend, but by the looks of every poll on MMA Web sites it might only be very little. Affliction better hope that this plan doesn’t succeed with the hefty payroll they are carrying for this fight.

Affliction Banned

Main Event

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia:

This bout alone could pull the PPV buys that would cover the expenses that Affliction and part owner Donald Trump have dished out. The veteran MMA fans are sure not to miss Fedor against Tim Sylvia, a top-tier heavyweight. Veteran MMA fans will be watching in record numbers while the event will also capture the attention of rookie MMA fans to see if Fedor is just an urban legend or if this guy is truly “The Last Emperor.”

Sylvia has been working relentlessly on his submission defense, but he still will fall prey to the best Mixed Martial Artist in the world.

Fedor by Submission (Armbar) – Round 2

Main Card

Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell: