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Seal
Beach, California (July 24, 2009) – The highly anticipated fight
between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett at the Affliction Trilogy MMA
show has been cancelled. The mega fight was scheduled to take place at
the Honda Center in Anaheim on August 1st. The
unforeseen license denial of Josh Barnett gave Affliction limited time
to find a replacement and adequately promote the new main event. “Finding
an opponent for the number one ranked MMA heavy weight champion in such
a short period of time was a huge endeavor and I’m thrilled at the
amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge,” said Tom
Atencio, vice president of Affliction Entertainment. “But in the end,
we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our
standards.” Affliction
is deeply disappointed that the under card is also cancelled through no
fault of its own. Affliction stands behind the company’s brands and
delivers premium products to the most passionate and loyal customers.
Affliction’s first priority is to ensure that all future events live
up to the company’s high standards. Ticket
holders for the canceled event should contact Ticketmaster or
ticketmaster.com for a refund. Knucklepit visitors, please be sure to check Paul Buentello’s response to cancellation at www.knucklepit.com
AFFLICTION
M-1 GLOBAL’S “TRILOGY” PRESS
CONFERENCE QUOTES Courtesy
of Bob Trieger (Wednesday,
June 3, 2009 – Trump Tower, New York, NY)
“This
is going to be another amazing fight show. The last one was even greater
than the first. I love working with Mark Cuban. HDNet is showing great
fights. “Many
people said the last show was one of the greatest sporting events they
had ever seen. If this one can come close it will go down as a great
event. It’s going to be a really exciting show. “The
first two fights were an amazing couple of evenings. This one is going
to be a great event if it can even match the last two. Regardless it is
going to be a really exciting evening in sports.” MARK
CUBAN
(Owner of the Dallas Mavericks & Chairman of HDNet): “It’s
an honor for HDNet and me to be working with Affliction and Donald
Trump. “It’s
an amazing opportunity for HDNet and it’s our goal to dominate mixed
martial arts. Anything internationally dealing with mixed martial arts
is going to be on HDNet. “We’re
excited to be showing an undercard that’s good enough to be on
pay-per-view. It’s going to be an amazing event to see Fedor and Josh. “This
is getting bigger and bigger. The ground swell from people all over the
world is great. That’s why you see UFC trying to get out to the rest
of the world because M-1 Global is already there. They’re (UFC) losing
that talent. “What
we’ve done is phenomenal and the best is yet to come. Josh and Fedor
are fighting on a great card.”
FEDOR
EMELIANENKO: “I’d
like to thank the organizers of the event – Mr. Trump, Affliction, Mr.
Cuban and Vadim. I want to thank Josh, a true friend, who I’ll meet in
the ring. This won’t be the last show we are all involved in. Thanks
for the support. “Every
day I fight with my friend in training. It’s a sport. We’re athletes
in the ring to compete. I’m confident our friendship (Barnett) will
continue after the fight.”
JOSH
BARNETT: “This
is a fight a lot of people were expecting for a long time – press and
fans, and even fighters. Make no bones about it; this is going to be a
very serious endeavor. I think because of the nature of this bout
between the two of us, it heightens our status as professionals. “Just
because we’re friends doesn’t take away from us being fighters.
Because of our status, mutual respect and visions in mixed martial arts,
this fight needs to live up to expectations greater than any other
heavyweight championship. I’ll do my part to make it historical. “Friendship
has nothing to do with the result of this fight. We’re just competing
against each other. Being a good friend, I should bring my best into the
ring, out of respect (for Fedor). We don’t need personal grudges to
fight. We want to be the best and show our best. “Fedor
can take Brock; I’ll take Mir, either way. We do what we do and the
rest will drop like flies. “If
I am in shape, I can beat anybody in the world. “I
haven’t been in a street fight in a very long time, but I was born a
fighter. I love to hit and get hit. There is no other way to describe
it. “If
I was born in another time, I might be a Viking. That is just the way I
am built. “Fedor
is a great thinker in the ring. And he always keeps control of the other
fighter. It is all within his control. If he wants to take a break he
can. If he wants to push the pace he can. He is in complete control.” TOM
ATENCIO
(Vice President of Affliction Entertainment): “We
are back and stronger than ever. This card is stacked from top to bottom
and I truly believe this is the biggest card, even for is. I’m up here
with ‘The Baddest Man in the World,’ Fedor, and the No. 1 contender,
Josh. I believe this will be the Fight of the Century. “We’ve
built a great base there (Anaheim). It’s in our backyard and
California is definitely the Mecca of mixed martial arts. It makes sense
for us. “First
and foremost, myself and our partners are fans. It’s the fastest
growing sport in the world. We want to help move the sport along and it
should be legal (in New York). “Like
Mr. Raimond said, we want the best fighters fighting each other. We work
with M-1 Global, Strikeforce and Manny Fox from Adrenalin to get cards
stacked from top to bottom like this. If people are spending money on a
pay-per-event they should buy this and get their money’s worth. “We’re
building more talent. This is only our third event. The public acts like
it’s our tenth or fifteenth show. Everyone else knows it’s only our
third. It’s been a natural progression. After this show we’ll
announce our next show. “M-1
and Affliction have sat down with them (UFC). We want to let their top
fighters like Mir and Lesnar fight our fighters. We won’t get in the
way, but they aren’t willing. I don’t know if it’s out of fear or
what. As a fan I want to see it.”
DONALD
TRUMP JR. (Executive Vice President of the Trump Organization): “It’s
great to see the progressive build-up of media here covering this sport.
Some people thought we’d never be back after Affliction 1. Affliction
2 was amazing and we’re back again. I agree with Mark that the
undercard could be a pay-per-view event. “We
love the California crowd and I’m looking forward to seeing you
there.” GEGARD
“YOUNG VAGABON” MOUSASI: “This
will be my first time fighting in America. I’m looking forward to it. “I
was supposed to fight ‘Feijao’ (Rafael Cavalcante) but I’m
fighting ‘Babalu.’ I will give my best.”
RENATO
“BABALU” SOBRAL: “Once
more I’m part of this show. I am happy to be part of this family. “I’m
looking forward to my fight and Barnett and Fedor’s. I welcome Mr.
Mousasi, and I look forward to seeing all of us together at the same
time.” VADIM
FINKELSTEIN (President, M-1 Global):
“We’re
here for the third time in Trump Tower. I hope this tradition continues
a very long time. “This
fight between Fedor and Josh will entertain people all over the world. I
believe it will be the most memorable fights in the history of
sports.”
JOOST
RAIMOND (CEO, M-1 Global): “You’re
looking at a tremendously exciting event with the best fighters in the
world. With our partnership with Affliction and The Trump Organization,
we have a truly global set-up as promoters. “You
may not be aware, but together with HDNet we have been running shows –
M-1 Affliction Challenge – all over the world. It’s been exciting
and HDNet is doing a wonderful job broadcasting in the United States.
It’s being shown in 100 countries around the world. “We
have had numerous discussions with UFC about the Randy Couture deal last
year. We want to choose the best fighters to fight. They (UFC) choose to
keep their fighters among themselves. We’re calling them out --
Affliction, Global M-1 and our partners. If UFC thinks it has the best
fighters, bring ‘em on. “UFC
has had 15 (heavyweights) champions. Fedor, in seven fights, has beaten
five of those champions. With the exception of Mr. Nogueira, Fedor
didn’t spend more than 50 minutes total in the ring. I’d like to
invite Dana White, Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar to the show so they can
see real champions fight, Josh Barnett and Fedor.” For
more on Affliction Trilogy see http://www.knucklepit.com/mixed-martial-arts-news.htm.
AFFLICTION:
TRILOGY
Tom Atencio Has Done it Again!
©
Marc Wickert On
June 3, 2009, Affliction Entertainment will be holding a press
conference to announce the highly anticipated Affliction M-1 Global
‘Trilogy’ Emelianenko vs. Barnett. To
find out more about the upcoming announcement, Knucklepit.com spoke
to Trump Executive and Chief Operating Officer for Affliction
Entertainment, Mr. Michael Cohen, for a pre-conference chat. “It’s
called Affliction Trilogy and it’s going to feature Fedor
Emelianenko against Josh Barnett. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump is going
to announce the undercard at a press conference to be held at Trump
Tower,” says Michael. Following
the HUGE success of both Affliction Banned and Affliction Day
of Reckoning, MMA fans have been eagerly awaiting details of a third
Affliction card and for the return of the world’s most successful
fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. “Affliction
Trilogy will be on August 1 and it’s going to take place in
Anaheim again at the Honda Center (16,000 capacity). It’s being
called ‘Trilogy’ because it’s the third fight being promoted by
Affliction Entertainment and it’s the third fight at that location. “In
attendance at the press conference will be Mr. Trump, Don Trump Jr., Tom
Atencio, Mark Cuban, Vadim Finkelstein, and of course Fedor Emelianenko
and Josh Barnett.” When
Knucklepit.com first spoke with Michael Cohen, prior to
Affliction Banned, Michael boldly stated, “Affliction will
continue to sign the best fighters and pit them against one another.
This will present the best possible card to MMA fans, nationally and
internationally.” In
the same interview, Mr. Cohen added, “The match-ups are really what
make the fights. There are certain fighters who match up well
against one another. Our goal is to match the best fighter to the
best competitor and put on the best show for the fans.” It
appears little has changed with Affliction’s strategy, but why fiddle
with the formula when the chemistry is working so well? “Affliction
has always promoted fights that were exciting and matched opponents very
evenly. Tom (Atencio) has done it again!” Donald
Trump, Don Trump Jr., Vadim Finkelstein, Mark Cuban and Tom Atencio are
all committed to making Affliction events grow positively for the
fighters and the fans, and so Knucklepit.com asked Michael Cohen
to elaborate on some of these changes and advancements. “At
the very first event we had Megadeth there, and while they are an
extremely exciting group of performers and hard-rock stars, it was
decided that it did not blend to the occasion. So, for the second
event we removed the music, and what we found to be very entertaining
was bringing all the fighters out at the beginning and having them stand
in a line together to preview the upcoming explosive card. The
resulting response from the fans was unbelievable, so we will of course
do that again. “Let’s
also not forget that we brought on the talents of Golden Boy to assist
in the promotion and production of the event. One of the things we
understood was that the production for Affliction Banned was not
perfect, and we felt we did much better for Affliction Day of
Reckoning as far as production was concerned. And now for Trilogy,
we’re expecting even better production. “Mark
Cuban has also taken a very keen interest in Affliction Entertainment
and the undercard will be featured free-to-air on HDNet. Mark’s
attendance at the Press Conference is another indication of his level of
interest in the promotion of Affliction Trilogy.”
**MEDIA
ALERT** DONALD
TRUMP TO HOST NEW YORK CITY PRESS CONFERENCE OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCING AFFLICTION
M-1 GLOBAL’S “TRILOGY” FEDOR
EMELIANENKO VS. JOSH BARNETT ON
AUGUST 1 AT HONDA CENTER IN ANAHEIM, CA; LIVE
ON PAY-PER-VIEW THIS
WEDNESDAY! JUNE 3 AT 11:00am Trump
Tower Atrium - 25th Floor WHO:
DONALD J. TRUMP,
Chairman and CEO of The Trump Organization
MARK CUBAN, Owner of the Dallas Mavericks & Chairman of HDNet
FEDOR EMELIANENKO,
Current WAMMA Heavyweight Champion of the World
JOSH BARNETT,
Former UFC® Heavyweight Champion
TOM ATENCIO, Vice President of Affliction Entertainment
VADIM FINKELSTEIN, President, M-1 Global WHAT:
New York City press conference to officially announce Affliction
M-1 Global “Trilogy”Emelianenko vs. Barnett. *To
attend press conference, please RSVP via email to lmilner@swansonpr.com WHEN:
Wednesday, June 3
10:30am ET—Press Sign-In 11:00am
ET—Press Conference Start WHERE:
TRUMP TOWER ATRIUM 725
Fifth Avenue (btwn: 56th and 57th; Fifth Avenue Entrance;
Media members should proceed to Sign-In Table by Escalators for
Check-In)
New York, NY 10022 FACTS: Brought to you by Affliction M-1 Global in association with Donald J. Trump. Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy” is scheduled for August 1 at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA and live on Pay-Per-View. The highly anticipated main event will feature Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett.
**MEDIA
ALERT #2** AFFLICTION
M-1 GLOBAL TO HOLD LOS ANGELES PRESS CONFERENCE TO ANNOUNCE:
“TRILOGY” FEDOR
EMELIANENKO VS. JOSH BARNETT ON
AUGUST 1 AT HONDA CENTER IN ANAHEIM, CA; LIVE
ON PAY-PER-VIEW THIS
THURSDAY! JUNE 4 AT 11:00am WHO:
FEDOR EMELIANENKO
Current WAMMA Heavyweight Champion of the World
JOSH BARNETT
Former UFC® Heavyweight Champ
TOM ATENCIO
Vice President of Affliction Entertainment
VADIM
FINKELSTEIN President,
M-1 Global WHAT:
Los Angeles press conference to officially announce Affliction
M-1 Global’s “Trilogy” featuring Emelianenko vs. Barnett. *To
attend press conference, please RSVP via email to Pamela Rogers, pr@afflictionclothing.com
WHEN:
Thursday, June 4
10:30am PT—Press Sign In 11:00am
PT—Press Conference Starts WHERE:
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel—Cinegrill Room
7000
Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 466-7000 FACTS: Brought to you by Affliction M-1 Global in association with Donald J. Trump and Golden Boy. Affliction M1 “Trilogy” is scheduled for August 1 at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA and live on Pay-Per-View. The highly anticipated main event will feature Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett.
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