In typical Dana fashion, UFC will hold a free cable event on 7/19th, the same date Affliction has their first PPV event. Main event is Anderson Silva vs James “The Closet Homosexual” Irvin.

http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=12879

I was supposed to go with a buddy to Fox and Hound to watch the Affliction card but i will be in Hawaii and i doubt I'll have the time to watch either one now...this sucks balls

it's a smart business decision. i have no problem with it.

i don't have a problem with it from a competition standpoint.

i'm commenting more on the fact its just like dana's ego to think he can throw out Silva vs. "Spare Fighter A" last minute to draw ratings.

Fedor has fought once in about 15 months and people will be anxious to see him, and the new organization.

the problem is that Fedor hasn't done a sheet in a long time. many, many new fans have been added since he basically stopped fighting. i'm wondering how many of them even realize who he is.

I think most know who he is, and most are still interested. His list of victories is suspect, but I don’t think the “aura” is gone too much.

Watch Affliction, DVR UFC

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Watch Affliction, DVR UFC

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qft

it just so happens i'll be in vegas that weekend. was originally going to try to go this weekend and get tickets to the fight, but airfare was waaayyyy too expensive. so i settled on the 19th instead. at the time, there wasn't a UFC fight scheduled for that weekend. now i'm trying to decide if i should get tix for the fight.

I'll be at the Affliction Fight then I'll DVR the UFN

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i'm commenting more on the fact its just like dana's ego to think he can throw out Silva vs. "Spare Fighter A" last minute to draw ratings.

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There's no thinking about it. He did in-fact throw out Silva the last minute to draw ratings. It's a smart move on his part. As previously mentioned, there are still a lot of people with MMA interest who have no idea who many of the old Pride fighters are. There are going to be a lot of people who tune into a free event on Spike versus paying for a PPV the same night. Personally, I think the Affliction card is deep, but they are still going to have a hard time marketing it to the mainstream American audience.

I love MMA and watch it every chance I get, but to tell you the truth, my itch will be scratched the 19th by watching Silva and Vera. I'll probably save my money especially since I just dropped $50 tonight watching Forrest beat Rampage.

turns out i'll be attending the fight in vegas on the 19th. first UFC fight for me to see in person.

Compare the cards:

Affliction

Whitehead vs. Renato "Babalu" (I choke you out even if you tap) Sobral

Lindland vs. Negao

Rothwell vs. Arlovski

Barnett vs. Rizzo

Main Event: Fedor vs. Sylvia


UFC Event:

Hart vs. Gugerty

Giboo vs. Blackburn

Farber vs. Markham

Johnson vs. Burns

Franca vs. Edgar

Vera vs. Andy

Main Event: Silva vs. Irvin

Hands down the Affliction card is the much better card. I don't know why anyone would miss it to watch a UFC card that only has three good fights on it (in my opinion) that will be televised.

For all those putting Irvin down don't be surprised if we see him "pull a Forest". The guy has some very VERY good standup with some heavy hands!

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... and the luckist/best flying knee ever thrown in a fight.

yeah, that was pretty brutal.

poor terry martin didn't have a chance.

aggierouge - the more i think about it you're right. this is a no-brainer for Dana. you'll draw a lot of casual viewers who don't care for the ground game...so put in a big name with another 3rd tier fighter who will stand and bang...and either KO or get KO'ed.

regardless, i see no chance for Irvin in this, other than a lucky punch. silva is way too fast for him and his strikes are so precise and diverse. i also think too much is made of the weight issue as anderson walks around close to 215.

and Jen, i have to admit i'm quite jealous. you're a pretty new fan and alread have the fortune of seeing it live...have fun.

the affliction card has the bigger name fighters, but i don't really think many of those matches are very compelling.

and for most fans, free > $50

affliction should have held back a few of those guys so they could have another show in a month or two. as it stands, they'll probably have to wait at least 4 months before re-using most of those guys in another event. not exactly the best way to grab attention and hold it.

The next Affliction will be in October. I'm thinking a Fedor vs Randy or Fedor vs Arlovski/Barnett headliner. They plan on signing more guys at smaller classes before then.

I'm thinking I'm gonna watch the UFN
and read about the Affliction PPV (this time anyway)

october seems awfully early to be banking on bringing back most of those fighters. if i'm not mistaken, the csac is notorious for their medical suspensions. even a 30 day suspension, which is about the minimum, would mean those guys are taking a fight on about 2 months' notice.

affliction better hope most of those heavyweights avoid any significant damage.

I can’t find it on Affliction’s website. Are they going to drug test their fighters or will it be like PFC?

since it's in california, i think they have to have drug testing. in fact, didn't tiger white already get replaced on the show because he tested positive for a banned substance?

perhaps. i just wasn't sure. i went to their site about a month ago and coulnd't really navigate around.

CB Dollaway is fighting Jesse Taylor in the UFC fight on Saturday night also. Didn't think Jesse would make it into the UFC that quick, and that's a pretty quick turnaround for CB.

look for me during the UFC fight. i'm 5 rows from the octagon, and i'll be wearing a maroon t-shirt with a giant aTm on it.

how much did you drop on those!!!!! i'm effing jealous!

i got connections

I'll be about 30 rows up for the Affliction fight.

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the affliction card has the bigger name fighters, but i don't really think many of those matches are very compelling.

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I disagreed with you going in and I am glad I did. It was a great night of fight. Seeing Tim Slvia get dismantled was awesome. Fedor put on a first round clinic on how to win in MMA. The Barnett/Rizzo fight was great. It looks like Barnett is back on his game and he looked to be in decent shape. Arlovski looked really impressive as well. He has always been a good striker, but he seemed a lot more polish than in recent bouts. Great night of fights.

Okay I lied it was only 11. That was a great night of fights. My only complaint would be they were a little on sided. The next card should be even better.

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I disagreed with you going in and I am glad I did. It was a great night of fight.

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like i said, affliction had bigger names, so i guess that could make a fight compelling. but what i meant is that all of the fights looked like mis-matches to me. and if you go down the card, they were 10 fights and 7 of them were dominating performances by one guy.

my point was simply that with a card like that, they could have chosen fights that were more evenly matched. i guess they're saving that for the 2nd event though.

overall though, i hope their numbers are good and they're able to stick around for at least a few more events. i loved seeing arlovski being so aggressive. he really needs to be back in the ufc.

so aggiejen how was it watching the fights live

it was freaking AWESOME!!! there is absolutely no comparison to watching it live versus on TV. if you EVER have the chance to go....do it. you can hear every hit/kick so much louder. not to mention i got a little starstruck. forrest griffin showed up, and i was next in line to get my pic taken with him when the usher started forcing people back to their seats. also got to see mandy moore, usher, jamie fox, tracy mcgrady, and paul pierce.

i took a bunch of pics, so i'll try posting them later.

These pics show how close to the ring I was:







Here's some pics for the guys: