Donald Trump — who has forged a partnership with Affliction MMA — will tomorrow announce the acquisition of former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski at a noon press conference at Trump Tower in New York, N.Y., according to MMARated.com.

In addition, “The Pitbull” will take on Ben Rothwell (as expected) during the debut pay-per-view (PPV) event for the promotion at the at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 19.

Trump is also expected to reveal more details on his partnership with Affliction MMA, which according to the report, he owns a “significant amount” of the upstart promotion.

This is about to get real interesting … as if it isn’t already. Stay tuned. In the meantime, to get some more background on Trump’s involvement with mixed martial arts click here.

(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Rylo” for the assist.)

The Affliction: “Banned” poster in its current form looks incomplete, but perhaps not for long.

May 19 to be be exact, which is just four days from now.

Former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski could ink a deal in this time with the new promotion and take on Ben Rothwell at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 19, according to SportsIllustrated.com.

Here’s the snip:

“May 19 is the day when Andrei Arlovski could sign with Affliction, SI.com has learned. That is, assuming the UFC declines to match what is believed to be a deal that pays the former UFC champion in the low-to-mid six figures for the first of three non-exclusive bouts…. Should Arlovski and Affliction complete their deal, the Belarusian is expected to appear at next Tuesday’s press conference at the in Century City, Calif., to announce a fight against former International Fight League heavyweight champion Ben Rothwell.”

This speculation has been swirling for some time; however, now with this report it appears to give it a little more substance, and at the very least, provides us with a timeline of when we can expect an official announcement regarding the future of “The Pitbull.”

If indeed accurate, the addition of a bout between Arlovski and Rothwell will make this one hell of a fight card.

Stay tuned.

Here’s a snip:

“It’s just one thing, Dana doesn’t like him. If Dana doesn’t like you he’s like a kid, ‘it’s my playground you can’t play anymore.’ It’s not about business because he doesn’t need business. He’s got like billionaire best friends that gives him all of the money he needs, so it’s not about that it’s just about personality.”

“The Law” — who is in the midst of a heated race for the Oregon House of Representatives in District 52 as a Republican — has not competed inside the Octagon since 2005. He was released from his contract after wearing and “unapproved” t-shirt at the weigh-ins prior to that bout against Joe Doerksen at UFC 54: “Boiling Point.”

However, it is widely speculated that the promotion used it as an excuse to cut him loose. He was deemed (if you ask Lindland) too much of a threat to eventual poster boy and newly-minted 185-pound champion, Rich Franklin.

“Ace” was pretty and marketable … Lindland not so much.

Regardless, Lindland remains one of the top middleweight mixed martial artists in the world and will next take on Fabio Negao at Affliction: “Banned” from the Honda Center in Sacramento, Calif., on July 19.

“We were just talking about Arlovski. We want to sign him. It’s our intention to sign him. But I don’t know. We’re, well, I don’t know. We want to. Whether we will or not, I have no idea. We like Andrei and I know the fans like Andrei. I hope we can do something.”

– UFC President Dana White provides the latest update via Yahoo!Sports.com on the status of former heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski. “The Pitbull” is currently a free agent, but it has been reported that the UFC currently holds the first right of refusal on any offers that he receives from other promotions. That might not mean much with MMA upstarts like Affliction throwing around fight purses in excess of $1 million to big name fighters. In fact, there’s a rumor floating around that Arlovski and Ben Rothwell could mix it up on the debut show slated for July 19. That’s just a big bad rumor for now … time will tell.

Buentello, who is an accomplished mixed martial artist, has recently been mixing it up with other non-UFC heavyweights over in Strikeforce. Since losing to then UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski (10-5) at UFC 55 in 15 seconds of round one due to knockout, Buentello has been an impressive 4-1.

In fact, he’s 10-2 since 2003.

“The Headhunter” has his work cut out for him however against Emelianenko. Aside from having dangerous hands, Emelianenko has a vast array of submission moves and like his brother, has a history of success in Combat Sambo.

Emelianenko is on a four-fight winning streak, having last stopped Silvao Santos at M-1 Challenge via TKO back in April.

Affliction — one of the most recognized and popular clothing brands out right now — made its bid to become the latest mixed martial arts promoter official earlier this month during an episode of “Inside MMA” on the HDNet network.

It’s been known for some time now that Affliction would throw its hat into the MMA ring. In fact, the UFC and Elite XC recently banned their fighters from wearing Affliction gear during events because of the looming competition.

And if the proposed inaugural pay-per-view (PPV) fight card slated for the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on July 19 is any indication of things to come, then Affliction will indeed pose some stiff competition.

Here’s what we can expect thus far:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Paul Buentello vs. Aleksander Emelianenko
Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA

That’s one hell of a star-studded line up … and there’s more than likely still more to come.

Stay tuned.

It’s been known for some time now that Affliction would throw its hat into the MMA ring. In fact, the UFC and Elite XC recently banned their fighters from wearing Affliction gear during events because of the looming competition.

And if the proposed inaugural pay-per-view (PPV) fight card slated for the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on July 19 is any indication of things to come, then Affliction will indeed pose some stiff competition.

Here’s what we can expect thus far:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia
Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo
Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA

That’s one hell of a star-studded line up … and there’s more than likely still more to come.

Of course, it will be interesting to watch this all unfold — successful MMA promotions are a dime a dozen. It must also be noted that Affliction will have to clear a few regulatory hurdles, too, which the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) is mandating for the show to go on.

In particular, according to SportsIllustrated.com, the “CSAC requires a bond that covers twice the fighters’ costs.” That’s no small feat, considering some of the unconfirmed salaries that are being tossed around (Fedor is rumored to be making more than $1 million guaranteed and Sylvia is set to pocket at least $800,000).

Do the math … and that’s just the possible main event purses.

In addition, the CSAC will request urine tests from Sylvia and Barnett — both fighters have tested positive for the banned performance enhancer earlier in their careers.

Regardless, if Affliction can get all its ducks in a row — and not blow its wad straight out of the gate — this could be something special. Let’s just hope those in charge realize this is a marathon and not a sprint.

Check out a video snip of Affliction Clothing Vice President Tom Attencio on “Inside MMA” after the jump.