Fighting Fedor TV Show

M-1 Global and Affliction have announced plans for a TV show, Fighting Fedor.

The show will work in a similar fashion to The Ultimate Fighter, with fighters training and fighting to win the opportunity to fight Fedor Emelianenko. The fighters will train at the Red Devils gym in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Here are the details that have been released so far:

The show begins filming in June 2009, and 15 episodes will be produced. The series will be taped in St. Petersburg, Russia, which is home to Emelianenko's Red Devil club.
Based on the production schedule, the earliest possible debut date for the series will be June 2009.
Emelianenko will be part of the group that screens potential contestants; their decisions will be based on the "athletic ability... character and marketability" of each fighter, according to today's press release.
The fighters will be recruited from all over the world.
In order to produce the series, Affliction and M-1 have renewed an existing partnership. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Trump, who's had success with his own reality series, "The Apprentice," will be in Russia for portions of the taping.

UPDATE: Ken And Frank Shamrock Date Announced

As MMATrivia previously reported, Ken and Frank Shamrock have signed a contract to fight each other, although no date or promoter had been announced (see original story here: http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/10/shamrock-brothers-sign-contract.html)

The brothers are looking at fighting in March or April of next year, according to Frank Shamrock. They are considering Elite XC and Affliction as promoters, under some kind of cross promotion, and want the show to be aired on Pay per View or Primetime.

Here is what Frank had to say on the matter, including some rather derogatory comments about his brother:

"We are definitely going to see it happen; it’s a done deal. I’ve just got to get his old ass into the cage now. Now he’s so old he can’t even get in the cage.

“We finally got it done and we’re looking forward to March or April for kicking it off, try to get him a wheel chair so he can get himself into that cage next time.”

UPDATE: Aleksander Emelianenko May Never Fight In USA

After mixed reports concerning Aleksander Emelianenko's licensing status in California after last month's Affliction: Banned event.

Affliction expected Aleksander to be able to fight at their coming event "Day of Reckoning" in October, but the California State Athletic Commission may have stopped these plans early. Speaking about Emelianenko, a spokesman for the Commission had this to say: "

The one thing that I can absolutely say is that he (Emelianenko) was not and will not be cleared to fight in California. He is officially denied a license and that will stand for all of the United States of America”.

I'm not sure if anything can be done to rectify the situation for Aleks, but things certainly don't look good.

New Signing For Affliction

Former IFL Star Chris Horodecki has been signed by Affliction.

This signing has been rumored for the past few days, and has now been confirmed.

Horodecki holds a professional record of 12-1, with his only loss coming from IFL Lightweight champion Ryan Schultz, in a fight for the title itself.

Horodecki has been a much desired fighter for the past few weeks, receiving offers from WEC, Affliction and Strikeforce.

UPDATE: Tito Not Yet Signed To Affliction

I reported yesterday that Tito Ortiz has signed a contract with Affliction (see the original story here http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/tito-ortiz-signs-with-affliction.html)

This has been denied by Affliction as just a rumor at the current time. Affliction Excecutives held a press conference yesterday to announce their next event (details of which can be found herehttp://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/08/affliction-announce-next-event-details.html), but Tito was not present at the event.

When reporters asked Donald Trump about the signing, he stated that nothing was yet signed, but they were interested in signing him, and were in negotiations with him. The status of Ortiz's contract may be updated in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.

Tito Ortiz Signs With Affliction

As expected, former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz has signed a deal with Affliction.

Neither Ortiz nor Affliction have announced the monetary value of his contract as yet, but Tito has gone on the record to say that it is a ground breaking figure, and he will be paid more than any other MMA fighter in history.

Affliction is holding a press conference later today, where they are expected to announce Tito's signing officially.

The question remains amongst MMA fans - Does Tito Ortiz deserve to be the highest paid fighter in MMA? And would he have earned this contract has his close friend Donald Trump not been involved with the company? Discuss your thoughts here.

UPDATE: Vitor Belfort Officially Signed For Affliction

A few weeks ago we reported that Vitor Belfort was looking to sign a deal with Affliction. (See here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/05/vitor-belfort-to-affliction_28.html)

We now have confirmation that this is true. Vitor has signed with Affliction and will amke his debut on their first card, Banned, which takes place on July 19th. Interestingly, Affliction have asked Belfort to fight at Middleweight, rather than his usual Light Heavyweight.

Belfort has also joined famed Brazilian fight camp Chute Boxe. He believes this will greatly help his training and give him the skills he need to fight top level opponents such as those offered by Affliction.

No opponent has yet been named for Belfort, although there is a rumor that he may face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, brother of UFC Heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

UPDATE: Donald Trump To Try To Sign Tito

Affliction held a press conference yesterday, outlining new additions to their company. As we reported earlier, Andre Arlovski has signed for the promotion.

Yesterday we reported that Donald Trump was going to announce an affiliation with the company (See here for original story: http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/06/donald-trump-to-announce-affliction.html) Now we have the full announcement.

Trump is acting as an equity partner to the organization. He will have a say in anything that goes on in the company, and will provide a great deal of financial support.

Trump announced that he will be looking to bring Tito Ortiz into the organization. Ortiz has left the UFC and is currently a free agent. He has a friendship with Trump after starring on the reality TV show, The Apprentice, where he competed against other celebrities to win a job with Trump.

Tito has not made any sort of announcement as to who he will be fighting for in the future, but could prove invaluable to Affliction's roster.

Andre Arlovski Leaves The UFC

According to a report on Sherdog, Andre Arlovski has now officially left the UFC.

This news has been expected for a long time now, but this is the first time it has been confirmed. Arlovski has signed a three fight deal with Affliction. His first fight will take place at Afflictions first event, Banned, on July 19th. His opponent will be Ben Rothwell, as was rumored on this site.

Arlovski has fought 8 times for the UFC, and is their former heavyweight champion. He has been in a renegotiation period with the UFC for quite some time, but they ultimately lost out to Affliction, as they have with Tim Sylvia and potentially other fighters in the future.

Donald Trump To Announce Affliction Partnership

After seeing his face pop up on more than one photo of Affliction events, we finally get to find out why.

Affliction have just released a press statement to announce a conference to be held tomorrow. This event is specially designed to announce Trump's involvement in the promotion. We will bring you updates after tomorrow's conference. Here is the official statement issued by Affliction:

WHAT: “Affliction Banned” Press Conference

WHO: DONALD J. TRUMP Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization

WHEN: Thursday, June 5 – 12 PM/ET

WHERE: Trump Tower, 25th Floor, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022

WHY: To announce a partnership between Affliction and Donald J. Trump, who will outline his involvement with Affliction and “Affliction Banned,” the star studded mixed-martial-arts show July 19th 2008 on pay-per-view television, featuring the return of Russian combat fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“Affliction Banned” will be distributed on Pay-Per-View and air live (9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT) on cable and satellite viewing in the USA and Canada via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewer’s Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice for a suggested retail price of $39.95. The telecast will be available in both standard and high definition television.

Tickets for “Affliction Banned,” ranging between $50.00 and $1,000.00, are on sale at the Honda Center box office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.

Vitor Belfort To Affliction?

Former UFC fighter Vitor Belfort has announced that he has signed with new promotion Affliction.

Whilst this information may be true, it is difficult to beleive he will be fighting for them any time soon. Vitor was found guilty of using anabolic steroids by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and was banned from fighting for a year. Under these rules, a fighter who is banned is not allowed to fight anywhere in the world. Belfort defied this ruling by fighting on a Cage Rage card in England.

So Affliction may have signed Belfort, he will have to convince California State Athletic Commission to give him a fighters license. This is highly unlikely, and may cause problems for both Belfort and Affliction.

Affliction Sign Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

New promotion Affliction have annoucned that they have signed Brazilian fighter Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Nogueira, brother of UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, has a professional record of 13-3. He last fought for the now disbanded organisation HCF, where he defeated Todd Gowenberg via TKO. Before this, he fought for Pride Fighting Championship, where he won against notable names such as Alistair Overeem and Dan Henderson.

Affliction have not revealed any further details on the signing, although we do not expect him to compete on their July 19th card in California.

RUMOR: Arlovski - Rothwell Bout May Be Official

According to a report on Sirrus Radio, the bout between Andre Arlovski and Ben Rothwell at Affliction: Banned is back on.

Arlovski is expected to confirm or deny this rumor in the next few days, as his contract clause giving the UFC exclusive rights to him should have expired yesterday. Arlovski was expected to sign with Affliction yesterday.

The bout will take place on July 21st at the Honda Center in California. The Affliction autograph signing will take place today at the Cenruty City Mall in Los Angeles from 12pm. Affliction announced last week that there would be a mystery fighter appearing at the event. Could this be the unveiling of Andre Arlovski?

We will bring you more updates as the news breaks.

Affliction Autograph Signing

If you are in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, you might want to head down the Century City Mall for Affliction's promotional autograph signing.

Fighters booked to be there include Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Fabio Negao, Ben Rothwell, Matt Lindland, Mike Whitehead, Babalu Sobral, Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo. Perhaps the most exciting news to fans is that they also list a mystery fighter to appear at the event. Based on this week's rumors, there is a distinct possibility that this fighter could be Andre Arlovski, who is thought to be joining the promotion on the 19th May, if the UFC don't come up with a suitable contract offer.

This event will definately be worth checking out. If I wasn't on a completely different continent, I'd be there along side all you lucky people! As an added incentive, the first 500 people to attend will be given a free Affliction T-shirt. If anyone makes it to this event, please pop here and leave comments to let all us unlucky ones know how it went.

RUMOR: Andre Arlovski Still Possible For Affliction

Last week we reported that Ben Rothwell had been taken off the Affliction: Banned card scheduled for July. (See here for original story http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/05/ben-rothwell-bout-scratched-from.html)

Rothwell was tentatively scheduled to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andre Arlovski, but Arlovski had not yet signed a contract with the promotion. As of today, Arlovski is still holding back on signing with them, after negotiations were started with the UFC. It is beleived that Arlovski wants the UFC to match the deal offered to him by Affliction. This deal is rumored to be in the low to mid six figure bracket, for 3 fights. The fights would be non exclusive with Affliction, but whether Arlovski has asked for this from the UFC remains to be seen, as Dana White has so far refused this right to any of his fighters.

If Arlovski signs with Affliction, it will mean good things for Rothwell, who is currently side lined waiting for the announcement.

Arlovski is expected to have signed with Affliction by May 19th, if he is going to sign, so we will bring you the news as soon as we learn.

Affliction Venue Officially Announced

As we posted last week, Affliction were rumored to be holding their first event at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

This information has now been confirmed in a press release by the company. They have also announced that their event will be co-promoted by M-1 and Roy Englebrecht Events. They will air the event on Pay Per View, at a price of $39.95.

Affliction have also stated that they will do a two state tour prior to the event, first visiting Los Angeles, California then moving on to Manhattan, New York, to promote the event.

To view the official fight card, visit this link http://mmatrivia.blogspot.com/2008/05/affliction-announce-fights-for-first.html.

HDNet Not Ruled Out Affliction Deal

Officials from HDNet have announced today that whilst no deal is in the works for a partnership deal between the two companies, the idea has not been ruled out.

However, Affliction won't be putting on their debut show at HDNet's American Airlines Center as they had hoped. Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet, had this to say “No, unless they move the date, we wouldn’t do a show on July 19 in Dallas,” he commented. “That’s too quick without the proper promotion there."

“Todd and Tom and those guys at Affliction are great guys and I wish them the best of luck,” he stated. “They have a monster card coming up. Everything you hear is just name after name. It will be a great event and from what I’m hearing it’s in Anaheim.”

Whilst this is not fully confirmed by Affliction, it is beleived that they wish to hold the event at the Honda Center in Anaheim. In closing, Simon made the following comment:

Affliction… I would say, never say never."

Fans, keep your fingers crossed for this one, and Affliction could be coming to a TV station near you!

Ben Rothwell Bout Scratched From Affliction: Banned

Affliction has announced that their first event will not feature a fight for Ben Rothwell.

His opponent was predicted to be Andre Arlovski, but this bout has since been pulled. They are still confident that the Aleksander Emelianenko versus Paul Buentello event will take its place.

This will come as a big blow to Rothwell, and also to Adrenaline, who kept Rothwell off their premiere card in June so that he could fight for Affliction. Rothwell now looks likely to sit on the bench until Adrenaline 2, which is currently scheduled for September.

Affliction Announce Fights For First Show

New promotion Affliction, run by the clothing company of the same name, has announced some of their fights for their fight card.

Headlining the event will be the now official fight between UFC Veteran Tim Sylvia, and former Pride Heavyweight Champ Fedor Emelianenko. This will be Fedor's first real test since he left Pride.

The co-main event is Josh Barnett versus Pedro Rizzo. While many think of Rizzo as an old fighter past his prime, this is not the case, and will be a tough fight for Barnett, who will be looking to avenge a previous loss to Rizzo.

The event is expected to take place in California on July 19th. The fight card to date looks like this:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
Renato Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Paul Buentello (not yet official)
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA
Mark Hominick vs. Savant Young
Justin Levens vs. Ray Lazama
Mike Pyle vs. Brett Cooper
J.J. Ambrose vs. Patrick Speight

Barnett added to Affliction First Show

Josh Barnett announced today that he will be fighting Pedro Rizzo, in a rematch of a fight that happened in 2001.

The fight has been booked for the first card put on by new promotion Affliction. This card is expected to take place in July, and features a main event of Tim Sylvia versus Fedor Emelianenko.

Barnett will be looking to avenge a loss to Rizzo, sustained at UFC 30. We await more information on this card, which has the potential to turn into one of the best fight cards to date.