Former UFC heavyweight Paul Buentello (22–10) is rumored to be fighting Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3), former PRIDE heavyweight and little brother of Aflliction headliner Fedor Emelianenko, according to MMAWeekly.
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.
91 Comments »
honestly, i’d be amazed if the U.S. lets Aleksander into the county given his criminal background.
I’ll believe it when I see it, there is no way he is getting a visa. I hope he does, but i dought it.
would you guys put to rest this visa crap! U think Dana White wasnt more aware of this situation then we are, when he offered aleks a contract this past september?
We can hate Dana all we want, but 1 things for sure is he has all the bases covered in his business. He would have not offered aleks a contract if this visa crap was a problem…
Get over it already…He will fight in the USA!!
I think you’re right John they wouldn’t hype the fight if they couldn’t get him. that said, I’m very surprised they’d let him into the country!
It wouldn’t be the first time they promoted a fight but the fighter wasn’t let into the country due to Visa problems.
The great Dana White has NO pull with US Border Patrol….Trust me.
you can dismiss his background if you want, but a criminal background can and will cause visa issues, especially if you are a russian trying to enter the U.S. Just a drunk driving conviction can stop you from getting one, and his armed robbery is far worse. if the U.S. thinks he has ties to teh russian mob there is no way in hell they will let him enter the country. it will depend on who files his paperwork and what kind of mood they are in.
i’m not saying i dont’ want to see him fight in the U.S., because i’d love to! but at teh same time i’m trying to be realistic in my expectations and like others have said it wouldn’t be the first time a fight didn’t happen, due to visa issues. if they let him in and give him a Visa, AWESOME, but if they don’t, i won’t be all that surprised.
I would be amazed if Ben Rothwells TBD’d was not Andre Arlovski.
already been confirmed mike! yesterday I posted it!
here’s the quote mike
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Rothwell
just remember back at the post “lets get the rumor right its not about who”
ya well i was trying to clear up that i was not fighting AA in Sept on another org. as the original rumor stated. I tried to never say if i was/was not fighting AA but most all the forum took it that way, sorry i guess.
anyway I’m excited to fight a top10 HW, so thanks for the support, peace
Where does that “officially” say that Ben Rothwell is fighting Andre Arlovski at Afflictions first ever event on July 19th???
You can’t always trust My Space…
Good Find though Kev!!!!!!!!!
but if its on the interenet its gotta be true!!! lol.
but if its on the interenet its gotta be true!!! lol.
Please who cares about his criminal backround in America. We have some of the most dangerous criminals living here already and it’s not like he’s comming to stay. He’s comming to weigh in and then fight the next day and boom gone the day after that woop de do.
can someone please school me in Aleksander’s criminal background? I’m a little slow.
Adam: I think he did 3-5 in a russian prison for armed robbery
yup, that’s it john. sentenced to 5 did like 3. tied to russian mob. would be very surprised (especially post 9/11) if he gets a visa. so what, it will just let affliction put on a show somewhere he can fight!
he shouldn’t have a problem as i watched him fight in Calgary, Alberta, Canada several months ago on a HCF card.
didn’t realize canada was now part of the U.S.
Yeah it’s also known as America’s little step brother or America’s hat!
u r right, I forgot all about that fight….that was the fight Werdum made jquick work of Aleks….I was shocked at how that fight played out! Aleks looked bored and uninspired and he lost…..I dunno what his problem was that night…I expect him to destroy Werdum 8/10 times
i was just thinking of the same thing how is he going to get a Visa!?!
How does Affliction have so much money to conduct and event and pay off these fights, i think UFC may have some competition, there clothing is great but wayyy to expensive, what else does Affliction do?
My feeling is they have backers… probably Cuban or someone similar with enough disposable income. I’m sure Couture has some dough in there as well. No risk, no reward.
Affliction is partners with DelaHoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
GoldenBoy has since dissolved the partnership. Affliction stands alone on this endeavor.
Oh! didn’t hear that news. The only thing I think will be stupid is that there is supposed to be alot of entertainment like a live band. Forgot his name but the main guy said they were a clothing line and had other things going on, so they were going to put them on the show.
IF they can pull this card off & continue to have cards like this Affliction could be real competition to UFC.
Very much doubt if they can afford to do it without branching into some other line than clothing.
what other fights could they have after this? YES i agree this card looks nice! I plan on watching but do people really care if they give UFC competition, why not jsut be a fan of MMA! everyone is so into seeing the UFC fail and I hope this Org gived them competition and takes their fighters. I think that thinking is so stupid!
Im not looking for anyone to fail, im an MMA fan that includes UFC, Cage Rage, IFL, Dream and any other promotion. What I would like to see is an organisation other than Zuffa owned companies having a bigger slice of the action. Domination of a product or service only favours the owner not the consumer.
This card is amazing.
Half of me wants Arlovski to leave the UFC and fight Rothwell. This card is stacked! Simply amazing.
me too. if the ufc’s not gonna give him a title shot and keep dicking him around, then let him go and fight rothwell and have a chance to maybee fight 1 of the emeleinenkos or barnett. monte cox has stated that affliction was gonna put on at least 3 shows this year, no matter how the 1rst show does. i guess affliction has some pretty deep pockets after all. they still need to get their shit together for the csac to get this card sanctioned. i heard the payout for this event is gonna be 6 mil and they have to put up double that for some kind of security bond. i am gonna keep my fingers and toes crossed cuz if they add arlovski as well (wich seems likely) this will be the best show of the year. my gut instinct is telling me that they are finally gonna pull this off!
B.W: At this point I feel that it is a done deal also! It will be the best card of the year and they no better then all of us that it will take some seriously deep pockets to pull this event off! I do not think this thing wouuld have gotten this far, if they werent sure that they could put up the 12 million.
I did not know that they said that they would definetly do 3 shows this year regardless of how much revenue the 1st show brings in…This leads me to believe that they understand that its a long term investment and not just a quick money making venture. If I were a top level executive, I would go into this venture assuming that I will loose some money on the 1st event….No matter how fans react to the 1st event, once the web gets a hold of what took place, the next event can not fail…if they put out another card like this…
All I know is that this organization has a great idea of what the die hard fans want to see, and they seem to be delivering. If this company picks up steam, it will only mean better cards out oft he UFC because they will have to start stacking the cards to put out an equal event….. Regardless what happens in the future, I am grateful that they are trying to give us fans what we want to see….Not watered down, marketable title fights like Rampage vs. Forrest!
I would be happy to pay $100 to purchase this card on pay per view, if that would gaurentee Affliction putting out more cards like this.
Hopefully the next event will provide match ups between:
Winner of Fedor/Sylvia vs. Winner of Barnett/Rizzo
and
winner of Arlovski/Rothwell vs. winner of Aleks/Buentello
Can July get any better then this?
We got rasmpage finally defending his title again, in a fight where we get to see Forrest put in his place and show to the world why this fight was such a mismatch
The week after, we get this super card put on by affliction
and then we get a DREAM event that will feature the finals of the lightweight grand prix, as well as a super title fight between Mach vs. Diaz
Bring on July!!!!!!!
cox said it either on cage potato or wrestling observer, i cant remember wich one, but he sounded for real and the things he said made since like they would play it by ear in the future match-ups. like no one wants to see a.a./sylvia 4 if they both win and so on.
Makes sense!
i know that it sgonna be in the ring, but do you know or anyone else know if there will bw elbows allowed, time limits(is it gonna be a 10min 1rst and 2 5 min rnds or five 5 min rnds.) knees to a downed opponent’s head. pretty much is it gona be ufc or prides old rules.
B.W: I assuming that it will be the UFC rules, since PRIDe rules are illegal in America…Too many top fighter involved to not see any elbows, also th csac decides and since the event is taking place in Cali, I am almost positive that elbows will be allowed.
As for Aleks criminal background, I am pretty sure that we arent the only ones who know about aleks’s criminal background… I dont think it will keep him from getting a VISA because i dont think Dana or affliction would have even offered him a contract with out making sure he could get a VISA in the USA. One thing we can count on Dana is that he knows the business side of the game and I am sure he would have never offered aleks a contract with out knowing he could get a Visa to work in this country.
I’d like to see Buentello knock him the f*ck out. Don’t think it will happen, but I hate thugs no matter where they’re from.
Babalu is going to embarrass Whitehead!!!
watch out Dana, looks like you have some competition. When was the last time the UFC put on a card with so many big names on one bill? didn’t Dana always say that he wanted the best to fight the best? Looks like Affliction are gonna be the ones to do that not him. I love a lot of the UFC fighters but i can’t stand the way that the UFC operates. Holding up titles, paying low money, showing obvious favortism to certain fighters, and a president that doesn’t act anything like a president. Maybe with this card being a huge success other fighters may take notice. Plus if Fedor smokes Tim it’ll make Dana eat crow. “Fedor is over rated.” blah blah blah.
SpiderStyle: I am with you. The big bad UFC does whatever they want. There is no structure and they dont care about the loyal fans…all they are concerned about is getting new fans, and the diehards are put on the backburner.
Affliction, Obviously understands what we want to see, and it looks like they will deliver. Keep in mind half of these fighters on the affliction card are not signed to affliction, they are being lent out my Adrenaline. I really hope that this event is a success because Affliction seems to understand what we want to see. THis card is stacked for real!
Honestly I would easily pay $100 justt o watch this event on pay per view, and if they keep putting out cards of this magnitude, I would happy to pay $100 per event if thats what it will take to keep Affliction afloat!
and as i stated above, monte cox has stated that there will be at least 3 shows this year, regardless of how well the 1rst does. so i think $45-$50 will be doable w/ all these great super-fights.
That’s good to know b.w. I stated earlier that even if they only put on 4 cards a year, if they are all stacked like this…who cares, it’s worth the wait!!
Thats the way the UFC used to do it. Every 3 months or so.
sweet lord this card is insaaaane.
its a must-see.
Buentello is underrated and good god i hope they can keep this org going.
dont forget that AA is also rumored for this card!!! watch out UFC and Elite XC!!!
“How to bug the UFC with a Fightcard”
Just Awesome! Maybe it will get that Bald friend of us to do the same thing. Make fights that fans want to see. dont get me wrong the ufc is offering (me) great fightcards but sometimes u just want to see ur Oldschool Hero back.. SO thnx Affliction! Nice one! got my support.
Btw awesome place i say for Tito to go to after his UFC drama.. he might get another fight with shamrock out of it and win once again ^^ (just a little joke wont harm anyone)
I guarantee it sells less than 50,000 PPVs.
Take that negativity elsewhere!! This organization being succesfull is the best thing that can happen to american mma, and if they keep putting out cards like this, Dana will have to counter it by putting out better cards.
For the fans its a win/win….so, dont be hatin! lol
Buentello is one of my favourites and I too think he is underrated. Arlovski and him threw punches at excactly the same time, he missed fight over. I do not think Andre would beat again especially the way Arlovski fights now, he is getting to be as cautious as Tim Sylvia when he fights. The Arlovski that fought Cabbage is long gone. I would like to know what all those MMA fans or should I say UFC fans who think that the UFC should be the only organazation to put MMA fights have to say about all these great matchups that are non UFC. This is great for MMA fans and fighters, not so great for the UFC, Dana and UFC fans. I love MMA but not the total control the UFC and Dana try to have on it, and his petty reasons for not having Barnett and Lindland fight. What a wanker.
I was at the Arlovski/Buentello fight live, and I was watching it like, “HUH?”
Great card! There’s a lot of talent in other organizations. If they all commit to cross promotion, you suddently have a very competitive league.
This is a ssssick card, BUT if this card is to be successful, FEDOR has to destroy TIM, if he doesnt and loses to TIM then its going to be the card that Proved Dana White right Fedor is only as good as his competion.
Barnett will steam roll Rizzo
Lindland’s fight will be boring (as usual)
Renato will sub Whitehead in under a minute ahah
Im still unsure whether Ales will be able to fight Paul so really its going to be a STAR STRUCK CARD not a COMPETITIVE card, not like UFC 84, or UFC 85 were the fights are toss ups. They better have a alot of undercard fights, cause the main card will be done in an hour, and alot of people would have been better off getting Maywether vs Delahoya 2 (the battle of Duck and Dance for twelve fucking rounds)
This is a ssssick card, BUT if this card is to be successful, FEDOR has to destroy TIM, if he doesnt and loses to TIM then its going to be the card that Proved Dana White right Fedor is only as good as his competion.
Barnett will steam roll Rizzo
Lindland’s fight will be boring (as usual)
Renato will sub Whitehead in under a minute ahah
Im still unsure whether Ales will be able to fight Paul so really its going to be a STAR STRUCK CARD not a COMPETITIVE card, not like UFC 84, or UFC 85 were the fights are toss ups. They better have a alot of undercard fights, cause the main card will be done in an hour, and alot of people would have been better off getting Maywether vs Delahoya 2 (the battle of Duck and Dance for twelve rounds)
I kinda agree about the competitiveness of the card Josh. and imo, if Tim can keep it standing, I think he can and will work Fedor over.
Bringing up the competitiveness is a very good point. I love watching all of the MMA I can catch, but with the exception of the UFC and maybe the IFL, most of the other promotions do seem to have lopsided fights, with a clear indication of who they want to win and be/become their title belt holder. Hopefully, Affliction will have the more competitive fights in Affliction II.
Going to be a good card for sure. I know I’m probably totally in the dark about this but could someone please tell me that this is a cage venue right? no ring bs? This card is made great because of some great HW bouts and thats where UFC’s competition will lie. I must say though that they have a cold chance in hell of competing with UFC’s talent pools in LW, WW, and LHW.
sorry to tell ya bud, but it’s a ring, gives Fedor advantage!
ring
how many of you will buy ufc 86 and this in one month??
I will. And I’ll bet cash on just about every fight too!!!!!!
I am betting my life on FEDOR!!! He will not loose. he has been catching slack from american fans and Dana White, I expect a dominant performance out of him that will shut up all the american Haters!
No way tat Fedor looses this fight, especially not in a ring!
I will bet on all the fights on this main card!
I say we resume our “Night before the Fight” phone call to go over our bets. But then again, you convinced me that Kongo would beat Herring and I kept saying that fat boy would just lay on top of him for 1.7 rounds and win decision… Leben/Sakara?? How couln’t I??? That was probably both of our worst events of the year so far as far as earnings go.
Talk to you Later Bud!!!
Pretty sure most of the people that on are this site every day will for sure. I personally don’t pay, so it doesn’t matter either way to me. lol
Does anyone know if this is going to be in a ring or in a cage?
Its going to be in a ring that way Tim cant stall the fight by dry humping against the cage….Then again Tim wouldnt be able to dry hump Fedor anyway because that would require closing the distance, and once that happens, Fedor will twist his world class hips, take tim down, ground n pound the crap out of him, until his fists start hurting and then Fedor will arm bar or Kimura big Tim for the win.
I am assuming elbows will be allowed?
Fedor + Elbows = a busted up Tim Sylvia!
3.50 and your pride dvd’s john? lol just kidding man, couldn’t resist
They will held this fight in the ring…not in cage.
wow! this card is sooooo stacked! and you can almost be sure that all ufc fighters are whos contracts are going to be ending soon (i.e tito) and those who have been tossed. we’ll be watching those guys soon enough under the Affliction name.
Aleks by murderation.
By the way, why would Aleks have Visa problems? He used to be in the Russian mafia, not the Taliban.
The Russian Mafia isn’t exactly the boyscouts my friend.
check out that stacked ass Heavyweight fights on this card. Woah!
Holy Shit. Affliction is getting it done! This card kicks any UFC card as of late’s ass!
July 19th is my birthday! And this b-day present keeps getting better and better! Now to top it off Arlovski needs to sign to fight Rothwell!
wow awesome
there is only one fight on this card that doesn’t interest me. IMO the Law Matt Lindland is one of the most overrated fighters. i don’t know why people think he can pose a threat to Anderson Silva.he is a poor man’s Hendo.
but all the other fights are gonna be awesome. i can’t wait to see fedor finally fight somebody good.i got $100 & 4 months bragging rights on the Maineiac.the only other fighter i would put money on is Bablu.the rest i just wanna see. i would like to see the PITBULL vs. the HeadHunter a 2nd time as long as they are both win or both lose.Rizzo vs. Barnett 2 should be aweswome, no matter who wins. it looks like an awesome fight card but i wouldn’t pay $100 like some other people said they would.
I have to disagree with you about Lindland. The UFC and Dana new that Lindland had the potential and ability to take out anyone out in that division and that is why they came up wth that lame t-shirt excuse and got rid of him. They new that they would have had difficulty marketing him once he had the belt. You have had fighters do drugs and steroids and they are back in a few months, Lindland wears an un sanctioned t-shirt and is never seen again. If Lindland was that overrated they could have waited for him to lose a few fights and then got rid of him, but they knew that was not going to happen any time soon. He may not be that exciting to watch, but there is no doubting his ability and his determination to win.
Aleks by RAPE
Rothwell vs AA . Confirmed
where? mmaHQ has put it back down to rumored, i heard rumors that rothwell confirmed it on sherdog,but who knows? im not sure its 100%, but i think the writing is on the wall.
Lets get a little perspective here. Whilst this is a good card;
1) lets compare it to a UFC card when Affliction deliver a similar number of high quality cards. Love or hate them, the UFC provides us regular, decent quality cards. Affliction have put most of the available talent onto one card, it will be difficult to repeat.
2)This card is decent, but we are all getting carried away because a)we haven’t seen a decent heavyweight card for a long time and b) because we havent seen a card outside of the UFC look this good for a long time. I mean, aside from Fedor who is particularly relevant? Arguably Barnett…..Timmy makes most people on this forum groan with frustration everytime he fights, Arlovski was apologizing and being booed out of the cage not so long ago and we have been living off memories of his great performances, Pedro Rizzo had a torid time in Pride and has been adrift for ages, Alexander is mostly famous for being Fedors brother, Babalu is no world beater.. Don’t get me wrong, it is a good card but we are all in danger of overhyping it.
This card is so sweet it’s making my teeth rot!
Aleks by cannibalism!!!
This Affliction card looks amazing. I’m really hoping to see a lot of co-promoting. I like what Elite XC, Strikeforce and Cage Rage are doing. Hopefully DREAM, Affliction and Adrenaline also let their guys fight wherever if it makes sense. If they all team up it would put pressure on the UFC to either put on amazing cards and/or co promote.
ROTHWELL IS FIGHT ANDRE ALOVSKI
Do it. IMO-
Fedor Emelianenko by KO 2nd rd.
Josh Barnett by decision
Aleksander Emelianenko by Leglock Sub.
Matt Lindland decision
Renato “Babalu” Sobral by Sub.
Ben Rothwell vs. TBA
Affliction is looking like a real company… hope visa’s arent an issue, and the presentation and commentating is good, because these great matchups should take care of any excitment issue themselves.
The only interesting fight on this card is Silvia vs. Fedor.
I can’t wait to see Babau in action again. This is a great card. I’m tired of watching UFC fighters from TUF be hand fed crap oponents and not paying their good fighters what their worth. I hope this promotion knocks Dana White OUT!!!! and takes over the MMA fans.
if the Pitbull isn’t on this card, then it just took a 20% drop in entertainment value.
Here’s how it is.
Paul is bomb, a really good, comes to fight kind of guy, like him a lot, but it’s A Emelianenko were talking about here should end in a bomb knock out though.
Don’t like Barnett very much at all, but he is a bomb fighter cant deny that, although unlikly, I think it is totally possible for Rizzo to KO him again, tahts what Rizzo does best.
Hope Tim does beat Fedor.
God I am so agaisnt the grain in this one.