AFFLICTION: BANNED RECAP

By Chad Frost for MMA Sports

The Trump backed clothing company made its MMA debut with mixed results. It was a long drawn out affair, with heavy metal rockers Megadeth also (for lack of a better word) a feature. But in the end it was an MMA show and that’s what we got, thanks mostly to some well known heavyweights who were previously employed by the UFC and PRIDE and now happily call Affliction home (at least momentarily). The Russian enigma that is Fedor Emelianenko showed why he is touted by many as the best in the world. The “Pitbull” showed his teeth again… finally. Vitor Belfort returned to a lighter weight class and Josh Barnett settled an old feud with an old foe.

Renato Sobral V Mike Whitehead
“Babalu” was triumphant in a three round tussle with ex TUF contestant Whitehead. Sobral was never really in trouble, the highlight was a couple of tight submission attempts from “Babalu” that were repelled by Mike. At the final bell the unanimous decision went to Sobral as he out worked Whitehead in every round.

Matt Lindland V Fabio Negao
Aspiring politician Lindland returned as a competitor after a long hiatus earning himself a hard fought points win over his under-rated opponent Negao. “The Law” controlled the fight well for the most part after stinging Fabio with a punch early. He then had a handy guillotine choke locked, only for the gutsy Negao to escape. Matt showed some obvious ring rust but will only get better for the run. Fabio earned himself a few lumps on the face from the Olympic silver medalist’s GNP and also some respect along the way.

Mark Hominick V Savant Young
The pace lifted greatly when these two Featherweights entered the arena. Hominick who is known for his stand up ability took advantage of his reach and out scored Young with kicks and strikes. Young got the takedown in the second stanza only to allow Hominick to gradually secure a fight ending triangle choke in the dying stages of round two.

Josh Barnett V Pedro Rizzo
Having previously faced each other in 2001 when Rizzo got the spoils, “The Baby Faced Assassin” was seeking out revenge. Barnett kept “The Rock” at bay in the first with timely front kicks, Pedro would through a jab and not follow up with anything much. Rizzo started to let go a touch with a few low kicks in the second when Josh pushed forward and caught the veteran with a clean hook, putting Rizzo to sleep mid way through the second round.

Andre Arlovski V Ben Rothwell
In what was definitely fight of the night “Big Ben” and “The Pitbull” put on a great display. Arlovski showed the form that shot him to fame and the title in the UFC. His striking was crisp and his ground game was fairly sharp, shooting for heal hooks and other submissions regularly. Rothwell labored well, throwing punches with his hefty frame behind them and although he seemed a little out of his depth, his game will only improve as a result of this outing. “The Pitbull” was relentless towards the end of round two with an awesome display of MMA combinations that included power strikes, uppercuts a beautiful flying knee, quality clinching and strength. “Big Ben hadn’t fully recovered and Andrei finished him off early in the third. When Arlovski is fighting like that he is a formidable force and is terribly hard for anyone to stop.

Fedor Emelianenko V Tim Sylvia
Like many greats in their respective fields, Fedor goes by his first name only. I for one didn’t expect him to steam roll through “The Maine-iac” as easily as he did. Thirty six seconds is all we got to see of the pride of Russia as he firstly stung Sylvia with an assault of strikes and then as Tim went to the ground he latched on to his back like an oyster on a rock, stretched out his gangly frame and submitted him with a medieval version of a guillotine choke, which was more of a brute forearm across the throat. Post fight Randy “The Natural” Couture was paraded into the ring to hype a possible future mouth watering showdown between two greats of the sport.

Apart from the blatant over use of Affliction apparel worn by all and sundry it was a creditable first foray into the MMA world. However it did lack the professionalism and slickness of the UFC and to a lesser extent ELITE XC. Next time out they should keep the fights flowing, lose the live music and the endless proclamation that they are the new face and future of MMA. It will be interesting to see a follow up event and what kind of talent they will roll out for it, or if they just re-hash the same fighters used here…. Stay tuned.