(That’s the kind of youthful exuberance Affliction needs!)
Today’s Affliction press conference managed to temporarily steal some of the media spotlight away from UFC 87, as the organization announced that they had signed former IFL lightweight Chris Horodecki, and revealed a planned bout between IFL heavyweight champ Roy “Big Country” Nelson and Paul Buentello at their next in event in Vegas on October 11. That’s right, Nelson will not face Xtreme Couture’s Jay White in a pump-up squash match, as was previously rumored. Instead he’ll get something closer to a real test when he takes on the revitalized Buentello, who is fresh off a decision victory over Gary Goodridge at Affliction: Banned.
Affliction VP Tom Atencio said he was “really excited” about signing Horodecki and added that “everything is falling into place for Las Vegas.”
What Affliction didn’t announce at the press conference was the official signing of Tito Ortiz, who was said to be close to a “ground-breaking record contract” with the organization. According to Michael Cohen, Affliction’s COO (also Special Counsel to Donald Trump, see how that works?) there’s nothing to get excited about just yet:
“Donald Trump, myself and Tito engaged in a conversation,” said Cohen about the potential deal with Ortiz. “There was nothing substantive that was discussed other than that we are interested in sitting down with him, which we are planning on doing in the very near future, to discuss with him the opportunity to join the family of Affliction fighters.”
Damn lawyers. They really know how to drain all the fun out of everything. Suddenly we’ve gone from world’s greatest contract and a guaranteed 500,000 pay-per-view buys to talking about sitting down to talk. This is what happens when people who think before they speak get to talk to the media.
Here’s what Affliction: Day of Reckoning looks like at the moment:
Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett
Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jason High vs. Mike Pyle
(’You’re looking at Don King’s hair behind me, aren’t you? Man, every damn time.’)
In an interview with MMAmemories.com, Winky Wright diagnoses boxing’s problem by contrasting it with what MMA is doing right:
“When I was coming up, more top fighters fought each other. They all wanted to prove they were the best in their weight class, not in the WBA, the IBF, but the best, period. But now the promoters and the networks get in the way and we’re losing a lot of fans because of it. The promoters milk the prospects, they don’t match them against top fighters. The networks allow too many easy fights.”
“I would definitely say (boxing is) declining as the best are not fighting the best. In the NBA they don’t just cancel the playoffs and have the Lakers against some sorry team. No one would watch. That’s why the UFC is gaining so much in popularity. The best fight the best and the fans love to see it.”
Winky is spot on, here. It just makes you wonder if we shouldn’t be interpreting this as a cautionary tale.
- In other news, Sherdog.com is reporting that Chris Horodecki has been officially released from the IFL, at his request, and is entertaining a couple different offers at the moment. The cockeyed financial optimists at the AFL have supposedly made a “very generous offer” (they know he’s not a woman, right?), but Affliction has said they’ll beat it in order to get “The Polish Hammer” on their October 11 show. The clock’s ticking…
Earlier today lightweight prospect Chris Horodecki shot down the rumor that he will soon be fighting Takanori Gomi in Sengoku, though he remarked that he would certainly accept the bout if offered to him.
The internet has been abuzz with the news since MMA Weekly listed the Gomi-Horodecki bout in their rumors section regarding the August 24 Sengoku offering, though it still seems a long way from official at this point.
When reached for comment earlier today, Horodecki told Cage Potato that there have been no real discussions regarding a fight with Gomi. Horodecki said he’s still waiting for a fight, and would welcome the chance to take on a top ten lightweight like Gomi.
“Of course I’d fight him,” said Horodecki. “Why wouldn’t I?”
If the bout is eventually signed, the timing would likely work out well since Horodecki was previously preparing to fight on the IFL’s August event prior to its cancellation.
Sure, it’s a hacky concept that you’ve probably seen before on an MMA forum, but we haven’t weighed in on it yet. Plus, Fighthype recently put together a list on the same theme that really sent us over the edge. (Lyoto Machida and Evan Tanner made their list, among other jacked and crazy-looking sonsabitches.) So without further ado, here are the fighters we wouldn’t mind coming across in a dark alley. Keep in mind that placement on this list is no judgment on their abilities as fighters, just on the fact that they look better suited to customer service or fast food restaurant management than cage fighting. Happy Friday.
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9. Luke Cummo
8. Emmanuel Yarborough
7. Fedor Emelianenko and Wanderlei Silva (only when in drag)
It’s about three weeks away from the IFL’s next event - which will see the return of Chris Horodecki when he takes on the just added lightweight, Nate Lamotte. Lamotte is an IFL virgin and is not the only fighter being added to the April 4th fight card. Featherweight Rafael Dias will be fighting in his second IFL battle when he joins another IFL addition, first time IFLer Carmelo Marrero, to battle for American Top Team.
ATT will face Miletich Fighting Systems’ fighters Mike Ciesnolevicz and L.C. Davis (Davis will face Dias). The last addition is “Bad” Brad Blackburn, who has compiled a 3-6 record since 2005 with one no contest. No stranger to the IFL, “Bad” Brad is slated to face Delson Heleno, who at 13-4, will be looking to bounce back from an injury TKO to Jay Hieron in December.
When: Friday, April 4, 2008
Where: East Rutherford, N.J.
Additional Bout
155 lbs.: Chris Horodecki (11-1) vs. Nate Lamotte (6-2)
American Top Team vs. Miletich Fighting Systems
145 lbs.: Rafael Dias (10-3-1) vs. LC Davis ( 9-1)
170 lbs.: Emyr Bussade (10-5) vs. Rory Markham (12-3)
205 lbs.: Carmelo Marrero (7-2) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (13-3)
Midwest Combat vs. Renzo Gracie Academy
155 lbs.: Bart Palaszewski (29-10) vs. Deividas Taurosevicius (9-2)
170 lbs.: Brad Blackburn (11-9-1) vs. Delson Heleno (13-4)
205 lbs.: Vladimir Matyushenko (20-3) vs. Jamal Patterson (4-1)
Additional Championship Bouts
170 lbs.: Jay Hieron (14-4) vs. Mark Miller (8-2)
145 lbs.: Wagnney Fabiano (9-1) vs. Shad Lierley (2-1)
The IFL’s first-ever live telecast Saturday night on MyNetworkTV at 9 p.m. ET is a welcome relief for those sick of all the politics and the drama that’s been going on in MMA. While the league secured a two-hour window in Canada on Fox Sports World, the U.S. television audience will be limited to just one hour. However, that one hour of TV time emanating from the Sears Center in Chicago should be memorable as the IFL is offering two of the best matchups it has to offer from the field of its first-ever World Grand Prix.
The team-based league is taking a break from its usual format and will crown individual champions for the first time in the lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight divisions. The winners of all tonight’s semifinal bouts will advance to the WGP finals on Dec. 29 in Connecticut, with the lone exception being the light heavyweight bout between Vladimir Matyushenko. Due to contract issues and injury, the league decided to trim the four-man field at 205 lbs. down to two and treat the fans of Chicago to the first-ever individual championship bout in IFL history.
Here’s a brief rundown of the matches scheduled to be shown on MyNetworkTV:
Lightweight Semifinal: Bart Palaszewski vs. Chris Horodecki -
Palaszewski fights for Pat Miletich’s IFL team but doesn’t train out of MFS. It’s ironic because Palaszewski is pretty much the prototypical lighter weight MFS fighter: well-rounded, fundamentally sound, good on the ground, and tough.
It’s been a crazy week in the world of MMA and a lot of our attention has been taken off the main reason why many of us follow the sport: the fights.
Thankfully, UFC 77 will take place next Saturday but we can also look forward to the first live telecast of the IFL on MyNetworkTV on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. ET. The match many of us are looking forward to is the long-awaited rematch between Bart Palaszewski and Chris Horodecki.
The two 155 lbs. juggernauts will square off in the first round of the IFL’s first-ever World Grand Prix tournament with the winner getting a shot on Dec. 29 at becoming the league’s first lightweight champion.
Below is video of the 20-year old Horodecki talking about the upcoming bout:
If a rival MMA promotion was thinking about making a run at IFL lightweight wunderkind Chris Horodecki, it appears they’ll have to wait until 2009. The Fight Network is quoting Horodecki as saying that the IFLhas exercised its option to extend his contract for the 2008 season.
Horodecki is slated to return from a hand injury when he takes on Bart Palaszewski in the first round of the promotion’s portion of its light weight World Grand Prix on Nov. 3 in Chicago.
The IFL announced recently that they will be televising a hour of the event live on MyNetworkTV at 8 p.m. ET. Televised matches have yet to been officially announced but I’ve been assured that Palaszewski vs. Horodecki II is a virtual lock to be shown.
