 |
 |
 |
|
The Affliction clothing brand announced plans Tuesday in Los Angeles for its debut MMA show July 19 in Anaheim. Affliction has signed an all-star lineup of fighters in an effort to challenge the industry-leading Ultimate Fighting Championship.
| Advertisement |
|||
| |||
In the main event of the show, former Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will return to the United States to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. It is the stiffest challenge for Emelianenko in years, and a major opportunity for Sylvia to cement his legacy as a fighter.
"It's finally going to happen," Sylvia said. "I'm excited about that. He's obviously a great fighter and I consider myself to be one of the greats as well."
Emelianenko in the past has shown a willingness to stand with dangerous strikers, but Sylvia expects Emelianenko will try to take him to the ground.
"I think he's going to try and ground and pound and go for the submission," Sylvia said. "The reach is going to be bigger than (Mirko) Cro Cop and I think I have more power in my hands. It's going to be a different game plan I would imagine."
Sylvia is enthusiastic about not only his fight, but the card in general.
"It's an awesome card," he said. "It's too bad I'm fighting last, because I won't be able to see any of them. I'm going to have to order the pay-per-view, spend 40 bucks, go home and watch it afterwards."
Sylvia's opponent is widely regarded as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. Emelianenko carries enormous respect among hardcore fight fans, and he received easily the biggest reaction at Tuesday's press conference.
"The first time I encountered so many fans in the United States was 2006 in Las Vegas and that was when I realized how many fans I have over here," Emelianenko said through a translator. "I was very surprised and rather touched that there were so many people chanting my name."
Fedor recognizes that Sylvia is a formidable challenge. "Tim is a very serious opponent and I'm going to prepare for him with all my strength and hard work," Emelianenko said.
Former IFL star Ben Rothwell will also fight on the card against an opponent to be named. Rothwell is one of the hottest rising stars in the heavyweight division, with a 13-fight winning streak. He attributes that success to his mental approach.
"They don't understand the thinking game involved and my ability to adjust in the middle of a fight," Rothwell said. "I'm able to adjust and adapt. If I don't have to show all the aspects of my game I won't but if they're there they will come out."
The rumored opponent for Rothwell is former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Rothwell is interested in that fight but open to whatever challenge might come.
"I'm a guy who will fight whoever," Rothwell said. "If I get to fight Andrei Arlovski, it will be great and I'm very excited for that fight."
The pay-per-view portion of the fight card will include three additional fights. Elite heavyweight star Josh Barnett will look to avenge an early career loss to former UFC heavyweight champion Pedro Rizzo. Renato "Babalu" Sobral will seek to end the winning streak of Mike Whitehead. Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland will battle Fabio Nascimento.
Aleksander Emelianenko will fight Paul Buentello and Savant Young will battle Mark Hominick in undercard bouts. Both of those fights will be shown live on Fox Sports Net.
In other news, Tim Ryan of the Honda Center announced that $250,000 worth of tickets were sold during the first 30 minutes of sales. Affliction also announced the signing of highly regarded light heavyweight Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.
Todd Martin has covered mixed martial arts for the Los Angeles Times, Wrestling Observer, SI.com and CBSSports.com. He can be reached at ToddMartin4L@aol.com.
