When Affliction canceled their scheduled Oct.
11 show, they promised a huge announcement to come in the following
days that would change the MMA landscape. A few days later, they
announced a partnership with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions
that will eventually lead to split boxing/MMA cards.
Then,
days after that, they announced a co-promoted Affliction/EliteXC match
on the upcoming Oct. 4 CBS show that will pit Andrei Arlovski against
Roy Nelson.
Those
developments have given a shot in the arm to the upstart companies as
they attempt to usurp market share from industry leader UFC.
While such a scenario might ultimately improve
the fortunes of both companies – and their fighters along with it –
there is, for some, an immediate price to pay. While the headlines
speak of potential, it comes largely at the sacrifice of the fighters.
At least 20 athletes were preparing for an Oct. 11 matchup before the
postponement. Not everyone has been promised a slot on the January
rescheduling, and perhaps just as importantly, paydays have been lost.
Fighters
must simply hope that they are taking one step backward to take two
forward in the future, and that their faith is rewarded.
Dan
Lauzon signed with Affliction just a few weeks prior to the show date
was changed. When he was informed he wouldn’t be fighting on Oct. 11,
he immediately spoke with World Championship Fighting promoter Joe
Cavallaro and asked about participating on their Sept. 19 show.
“We
would’ve put him on, no doubt,” said Cavallaro, who has promoted three
Lauzon fights in WCF. “But I asked him, ‘Isn’t your brother [UFC’s Joe
Lauzon] fighting two days before that? Aren’t you cornering him? How
are you going to get back and make weight? How are you going to be
prepared? We both realized it wasn’t the right decision.”
While Cavallaro said it might be possible to
get Dan Lauzon on a November event and keep him active, not every
fighter will be able to find a matchup and pay to their liking.
NBCSports.com spoke with several fighters and managers, and all of them
praised Affliction’s Tom Atencio for his professional handling of the
situation, realizing that in this case, they would have to put the
company’s fate ahead of their own. However, most acknowledged the
difficulty that comes from a postponed or canceled match.
Paul
Buentello is an MMA veteran and was slated to fight Roy Nelson until
the plug was pulled. Buentello lives in Amarillo, Tex., but trains in
San Jose, Calif. When he got word of the news, he was in the midst of
training camp. He immediately packed up and went home, unsure of his
future.
“It’s a
little frustrating,” he said. “Being a fighter, it’s never easy. It’s
always a struggle financially because your money situation is tied to
your fights. It took the wind out of my sails a little. It slows the
money train.”
Still,
Buentello commends Affliction on their handling of the situation
despite the fact that they did not immediately guarantee him a place on
the January event.
“Sad to say it, but I’m used to it,” he said. “This isn’t the first time this has happened to me.”
The disappointment and financial strain of the
athletes is tempered partially due to the realization that if the
promotion can flourish, more opportunities will arise for them.
From
the beginning of the Affliction fight promotion’s existence, Atencio
has said the company will not tolerate losing money. Although details
are still being worked out, a partnership with Golden Boy will spread
the financial liability while doubling the promotional muscle. Both
sides see it as a win-win.
“What
this partnership does is mainstream the sport,” said Affliction chief
operating officer Michael Cohen. “There are many who refuse to watch it
because of ideology, because of perception. We believe that with Golden
Boy, we can mainstream MMA to dispel any mischaracterization in the
sport. This is a sport that despite its combative nature has very
strict rules that are adhered to for the benefit and protection of the
fighter.”
While
boxing and MMA are close relatives in the combat sports world, they
have often been bitter enemies. Many boxing purists have called MMA
barbaric, while many MMA fans simply see boxing as boring and outdated.
So combining the two on the same card will be an interesting
experiment, though one that has been tried before. In June, at the
Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, a free card was held with five
boxing fights, followed by four MMA bouts that drew an estimated 8,000
fans.
“I’m kind of
worried and interested to see how it goes,” said Buentello, who counts
himself as a boxing fan. “You might get an MMA match where there are
two guys going at it in an action-packed fight for seven or eight
minutes, and then you might transition to boxing and slow down the pace
of crowd. But from another angle, I think it’s good. When it comes to
sponsors, everyone knows what Golden Boy is about. That’s something I
can bring to the table with sponsors. It’s interesting.”
“Affliction
is aligning themselves with someone with experience in promoting,” said
Jeff Clark, whose NCFC Fight Management counts Affliction fighters
Chris Horodecki and Mark Hominick as clients. “It’s a sport that is
similar to MMA. [Golden Boy] has significant business experience, and
believe it’s a good mix to add boxing with a more exciting sport. The
contacts and promotion helps Affliction, while the demographic and
action of MMA help boxing and Golden Boy.”
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