Kudos Affliction - DoR Surpasses Expectations

So what if it started with a wild swinging Bobby Green booting Dan Lauzon three times in the crotch in the first round - after that it was an impressive card actually living up to its pre-card hype.

MMATraining.com made the trek to Disney to cover the second Affliction installment and came away hoping a trilogy was in the works.

Here are some of our observations from ringside:

• While not a sell-out, there was a strong crowd from the start and it didn’t feel like you were alone at the Honda Centre at any time. Good on you Donald Trump for arriving early and staying for almost the entire event. That is the support Affliction fans needed to see - the deep pocket financiers inhaling our sport
• Tito Ortiz is not a polished ring commentator. That being said, why was the crowd booing him right from the start, weren’t we all Tito Ortiz fans at one point? The major change is that he left the UFC to join Affliction - isn’t that what we had all paid to watch that night?
• Fewer celebrities and over the top gimmicks (ahem, Megadeth reference not required) were present. Chuck Zito, De la Hoya and Trump aside there wasn’t a celebrity section to be seen. The focus was on good fights, long term that’s what will make for a viable UFC alternative so a good choice
• “Baby Fedor” needs a lot of work if he is going to make any reference to Fedor in his name.
• Josh Barnett is one big tree trunk of a human that can smother an opponent on the ground
• Fedor had a really horrible existence in his previous life. He was beat up by everyone. The deal was that he could come back in his next try as the most ridiculously talented and nearly unstoppable fighter on the planet.

• Arlovski is better than history will show when looking at another first round knockout by Fedor. He was pressuring Fedor, landing his punches and just simply got caught. Then again, that’s what Fedor does so well. We’d love to see Arlovski again, let’s hope he stays with us in MMA.
• Vitor Belfort is serious about fighting again.
• Probably best not to have a fight after the main event of the evening. There were some people leaving the stands after Fedor won…

We came in sceptical and left in agreement – good card, good performance.

A pat on the back for you Affliction, you’ve got a fighting chance in the growing world of MMA.