Affliction Has the Right Mix to be a Player

Watching Affliction - Day of Reckoning illustrates how they are making the right moves to survive in the cutthroat MMA promotion world. People have to remember that this is only their second show and they have improved on some of the hiccups they experienced in their inaugural showing. Improvements such as the overall production (thanks largely to Golden Boy’s wealth of experience and expertise), broadcasting, lack of a gimmick band and the overall promotion of the show made DoR a success compared to “Banned”. All these improvements coupled with the already fantastic roster and matchmaking, business partners with mainstream credibility, and a vibe that is associated with the brand verifies that Affliction MMA should be taken seriously.

The show as a whole had a different feel watching it from a fans perspective. It had a rock star, celebrity feel that you knew you were watching something special, but still different than the UFC. That is very important when trying to compete with the UFC because you need to offer something different. Not different just for the sake of being different; ie IFL, but truly bringing a product that can stand alone and that the fans want to see. Affliction has that.

Thankfully they still have the number one heavyweight in the world. Although Fedor got tested, he still has this mystique and interest about him that people want to watch him, try to figure out what he does different and get a glimpse of the Russian destroyer.

As long as Affliction keeps putting together top notch cards that the fans want to see, keep the interest in Fedor, align themselves with names in the business world like Trump and Golden Boy, I believe that they will be a major long lasting player in the MMA world. Competition is a good thing since it will create a better product for the fans as well as create more opportunities for fighters.