Like two glistening fighters in the ring, the UFC and Affliction are trading blows. Is Affliction a real threat, or will this be another 15-second fight before the final blow comes and the UFC reigns as champion once again?

Affliction has had a fairy tale start. With deep pockets like Donald Trump backing the company, they have been able to put a lot of money into their first card, but can they keep up the frenzied spending pace and still make money off of the venture? That remains to be seen. Fedor was not able to fight on October 11. This may be a good thing for Affliction since it means that they’ll still have two fights left on his contract and they’ll be able to make money off of him for a little bit longer. But the question remains, when Fedor’s Affliction contract is up, who will get the next contract? And without Fedor, does Affliction really stand a chance?

Another long-term issue that may lead to Affliction’s doom is the question of getting more fighters that are worth watching. They have Fedor for now, but they need a bigger roster of talented fighters. There is talk that Tito will sign on with them, but at this point a lot of fans are tired of Tito’s drama. Let’s face it; the UFC has a bigger roster and more talent. By comparison Affliction is just an angry wasp trying to kill a bear.

Ultimately the fans will decide the winner of this fight. The UFC has a lot of loyal fans, as evidenced by UFC ticket sales, but there are also fans who believe that competition will only make MMA better. And then there are those fans who don’t like the UFC at all and are more than willing to pull out their cash for the competition. It’s not like Affliction is unheard of either. Affliction is well-known by MMA fans thanks to using MMA fighters to market their t-shirts, so it is not like some upstart company is trying to make its way into the MMA market. Whether the more theatrical presentation that Affliction put on in July wins out, or the sporting event presentation that the UFC puts on, remains king of the MMA realm, remains to be seen. But just maybe, Dana White and the UFC are getting worried.

Despite White’s denials, it is obvious that the card that the UFC hastily pulled together on the same night as Affliction: “Banned” was an attempt to take viewers from Affliction’s fight. It didn’t hurt that UFC’s fight was free to watch on Spike. It looks like the UFC is more than a little worried about the Affliction threat. It remains to be seen whether this is a real threat, or just another second rate league that can’t touch the legend of the UFC.

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