The Affliction brand has long been known in mixed martial arts circles, but recently the clothier has taken its name to a new level. The company now has the moniker of fight promoter and has been in association with the likes of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, Fox Sports Net, Donald Trump, and HDnet/Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. The culmination of Affliction's work will take place Saturday, July 19th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The event, titled "Affliction Banned", is being headlined by a match-up betwee
n former UFC heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia and famed Russian fighter Fedor Emelianenko. MMA betting odds at Sportsbook.com list Emelianenko as a -450 favorite to take out Sylvia.
Emelianenko is considered by many to be the top heavyweight fighter in all of mixed martial arts. He was the long reigning PRIDE heavyweight champion until the league was bought out in 2007 by the owners of UFC. The six-foot, 235 pound Russian then took his services to BodogFight where he continued to dominate what many considered to be inferior competition.
Emelianenko recently left the fight league M-1 Global in what amounted to a contract buy out in order to participate in Affliction's first ever fight card. He brings a nasty reputation and a 28-1 mixed martial arts record into this weekend's fight.
Sylvia's name, despite being a former UFC title holder, does not illicit the same talk of greatness that Emelianenko's does. Sylvia, however, still sports a 24 win, 4 loss record and has 16 knockouts to his credit. The Iowa native will be the larger man in the cage this weekend and he also possesses a good deal of experience against some of the world's most gifted fighters.
Affliction has divided Saturday's card into two shows; the first show called "Affliction Live" can be seen on Fox Sports Net prior to the "Affliction Banned" pay-per-view event.
"Affliction Banned" betting odds at Sportsbook.com:
Fedor Emelianenko (-450) vs Tim Sylvia (+300)
Aleksander Emelianenko (-350) vs Paul Buetello (+275)
Josh Barnett (-450) vs Pedro Rizzo (+300)
Matt Lindland (-500) vs Fabio Negao (+350)
Renato Sobral (-240) vs Mike Whitehead (+190)
