Suprise, Suprise

Given it is only my second day of having this blog and I was using yesterday to vent on some outstanding MMA issues that have been around for sometime.

And today, ironically, Donald Trump throws his hat into the MMA ring by backing Affliction. He made a very vanilla statement about MMA, its athletes, and that he would like to be a "major promoter" for MMA. Other than the fact that his hair disturbs me and he once made a comment that he would date his daughter Ivanka, you cannot deny that this guy has loads of money along with better marketing skills than Cuban (not to mention Cuban can kiss HDnet airing Affliction goodbye).

Can he make Affliction a huge success? There is no doubt that he has some serious ties to NBC through the success of The Apprentice and he will more than likely broker Tito Ortiz to Affliction's roster of fighters. If anyone is immediatley threatened it has to be EliteXC. If Trump can somehow broker a deal between Affliction and NBC (this is all premature speculation of course) than the network would have benefitted from Gary Shaw's MMA experiment and more than likely have a much more legitimate fight card.

Does this cause any problems for UFC? Not in the near future. If anything it proves that the hard work of Dana White and the Fertitta brothers has made MMA grow into something that can make serious money.

Will Affliction become serious competition for the UFC down the road? My prediction would be that IF Affliction can build its brand (it's current website for the Tim Sylvia/Fedor Emelianenko fight is terrible) and create a 145 lb weight class, it may be able to muscle out WEC and then get Dana to play nice for some cross promotions. BUT, if fighters begin splitting up into all of these different organizations and become too widespread - MMA will deflate faster than it grew.

Mark Cuban - what's his deal?

Let me start by saying that I can appreciate what Mark Cuban is trying to do for Randy Couture and trying to set up the Fedor E. fight.

Here is what I don't get. This guy throws money trying to be the best at everything, but in doing so has become the best at nothing. From the Mavs not being able to grab an NBA title, to his failed "Apprentice" rip-off, and now a tiny television network (HDnet) that he will use to try to out duel the UFC in the game of MMA.

I am beginning to think this guy just has the most severe case of A.D.D. in the nation and cannot focus on any one thing for too long. Even if he lands the Couture/ Emelianenko fight, in the end he has at least one fighter that will retire sooner than later and the other has no pool of talent to fight. The funny thing is, if Sylvia can win during Affliction's first event the whole idea probably goes to hell anyway.

Fedor's biggest fight in the last couple of years was "Cro Cop" who has already lost his UFC contract after his loss to Kongo. No one is in a position to challenge UFC currently. EliteXC has the most potential to, only because they have a network TV deal with CBS, but they have a lot of work to do as proven by Saturday's fight.

Mark, if you ever read this, I would love to help you come up with some ideas for spending your cash. I am sure I can come up with some great ones. You obviously have a great business mind, get an original idea and market the hell out of it. Stop jumping onto ships that have already sailed.