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Tom Atencio’s no-good, very-horrible week
By Zach Arnold | July 23, 2009
If you missed yesterday’s Affliction conference call (the promotion didn’t provide audio but it’s available on a couple of web sites), you should listen to it. You could just hear the frustration in Tom Atencio’s voice. A mixture of chaos, frustration, sadness, and overall miserableness. And that was just yesterday.
I have a new article going over what Atencio has been dealing with since the news broke from the California State Athletic Commission that Josh Barnett failed a drug test and that he allegedly tested positive for drostanolone.
Here’s a snippet from the article, but I encourage you to read it in full.
Right after you find out that you lost Barnett, you realize, “Oh crap, I have two conference calls over two days with the press.” You know what kind of media onslaught is coming towards you. Questions about the failed drug test by Josh. Questions about whether or not you will remain friendly with him. Questions about who you are replacing Barnett with on the card. Questions about Affliction’s future. Being on that conference call is the last place in the world you want to be, but you know that you need the media on your side more than ever so you have to suck it up, you have to be polite and yet careful in how you answer anything so you don’t make false promises.
After you read my new article, here are comments from Fedor & M-1 on the Barnett situation. They all but admit that Vitor Belfort is who Fedor will fight on 8/1, but that they really want Brett Rogers.
As for what happens to Josh next… Sengoku has a big show on 11/5 in Tokyo at Ryogoku Kokugikan and that is when Satoshi Ishii is supposed to make his debut. If the situation in California turns out as bad as it looks for Barnett, then he can fight on that show. Remember, Antonio Silva fought in Japan during his CSAC suspension and it doesn’t look like he paid a price for it. Outside of the November 5th Sengoku date? IGF has a major show on 8/9 in Tokyo at Ariake Colosseum. Given that he’s off the Affliction show now, that no doubt becomes a big booking date for him.
Topics: Affliction, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 101 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fedor v Vitor is a lose-lose for Emelianenko. It doesnt make sense to bring Tito in because they won’t have enough time to hype it, Strikeforce isn’t going to let Rogers go, I don’t understand why they won’t let Werdum go though, although certainly nobody cares to see Werdum fight. I bet they would get a lot of buzz if they signed Kimo to fight Fedor, given that Kimo is all in the news because he isn’t dead. I can see the headlines now “Back from the dead fighter to take on heavyweight champion!” Atencio is caught between a rock and a hard place..
Strikeforce would be insane to let Rogers fight. Rogers is a money machine waiting to happen. Also Fedor’s people say he wants to fight Rogers That’s great news if you are Strikeforce since they control Rogers. Why help Affliction. Book Fedor v Rogers on CBS with Tito on the undercard and set up Tito v Fedor.
I doubt Tito will sign with strikeforce. No elbows on the ground and he making up with Dana will ensure that.
This is actually a worse fight for Fedor. He is really a pudgy Light Heavyweight who uses his speed to beat up Heavyweights. While Vitor is known to crumble, he at least has a shot in the first round.
As for Atencio, the guy has probably lost millions on being a promoter. He brought a pocket knife to a war that included tanks and an air force. And he bashed the people holding those weapons. He brought it on himself. Don’t feel bad for a guy. Next time, if he wants to be a promoter, do the Scott Coker thing and build from the ground up. And don’t mess with the UFC…
A post where 45 argues that promoters who aren’t the UFC being involved in high level MMA is a bad thing? Nooooooo. Say it ain’t so.
Anyways, I hear they’re talking Loiseau as a replacement for Belfort against Santiago? Jesus, what’s next? I’m half expecting Mousasi to announce his retirement due to AIDS anyday now and his replacement to be Mike Patt.
Whatever you say 45 “My mouth is currently on Dana White’s Genitalia” Huddle.
Youre right. Every promoter should put on low-quality cards for 5+ years before putting on halfway-decent cards if they want to get into the MMA business.
And if anyone mistakenly thought your opinion mattered, you finished off with “and dont mess with the UFC.” So the 13-year-old fanboy in you comes out as usual. Pathetic. Get a life.
IGF announced last week that Josh will be on the Aug. 9 show.
You can bash me all you want, but the IFL, EliteXC, WFA, Bodog, and soon Affliction all show that I’m right.
Every single company that has tried to compete with the UFC, has failed miserably.
All I know is, in the UFC, we wouldn’t be having a Heavyweight Champion fighting a Middleweight, even if it was on short notice. There is something to be said for having depth and building from the bottom up in order to make it a strong fighting organization.
I’m sorry that another of your Pride replacements has failed. Who will it be next?
“Every single company that has tried to compete with the UFC, has failed miserably.”
Really? Because I think there’s a specific Northern California MMA company on a specific premium pay channel that would disagree with this statement. And another specific Japanese promotion that died because of its own shady dealings and a magazine reporting said shady dealings that brought its own downfall, and NOT because of competing with UFC.
“All I know is, in the UFC, we wouldn’t be having a Heavyweight Champion fighting a Middleweight, even if it was on short notice”
Naw, instead we would have a light heavyweight vs. a punch-drunk middleweight fight on a card in Germany. And a middleweight vs. a 200 pounder even though said 200 pounder was supposed to be a middleweight but the fight happened anyway. At least the first fight I mentioned was an agreed-upon catchweight fight, but it still happened.
Chuck,
Strikeforce has never tried to compete with the UFC. If you really think they have, then you are just not following what they are doing….
And if you noticed, I never mentioned Pride in my list of companies. They died for their own reasons.
As for my statement about a Heavyweight CHAMPION vs. a Middleweight…. You gave me two examples… One was an agreed upon catchweight…. And the other one I have no clue what you are talking about.
Either way, the closest thing the UFC has done to Fedor/Befort this year is GSP/Penn 2. And last time I checked, Penn was a former Welterweight Champion who almost beat GSP in their first fight. Vitor failed at Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight….. And now is at Middleweight for that very reason. And a month ago wouldn’t even take a fight with a guy not even ranked in the Top 10 at Light Heavyweight (Babalu) because of the weight difference.
I’m sick of these garbage MMA organizations popping up, being clueless and not adding anything to the sport…
IFL – Their first MyNetwork TV Show could have set the sport back 5 years if anybody was actually watching it.
EliteXC – Kimbo as a Main Event on CBS over legit fighters. And can you say Standgate?
Now Affliction…. Tried to over inflate the salaries of fighters, have not developed one real star of their own, and are now in the process of messing up 2 of their 4 events.
You Pride fanboys need to hold onto something. You so call love the sport, but can’t stand the UFC. So every single time a new company comes up, people latch onto it like a baby to his mom’s n#pple. Only after about 6 to 12 months, it obvious that the milk ($$$) isn’t coming in anymore. And everytime I bash that company, I get called a UFC fanboy. Yet each time, I blatantly point out the companies flaws, and those flaws are typically why they close down shop. It would be one thing if I was just wrong, but I’m not.
All these organizations do is keep the fans from seeing better matchups. They don’t progress the sport. If anything they disrupt it more. Imagine if Arlovski, Sylvia, & Barnett were all in the UFC right now…. It would strengthen their division even more, making for better matchups. I don’t see the advantage of having fighters spread across multiple promotions. If the UFC wasn’t paying out 6 and 7 figure contracts to many fighters, then I could understand. But they do, so these organizations either need to become feeder systems or get out of the way.
The desperate attempts people will go to bash the UFC always amaze me, it’s like they are so obssessed with their hatred that they can’t even think straight it’s sad really.
45 Huddle;
The other fight I was talking about was Thiago Alves vs. Matt Hughes. Alves weighed in sigificantly over the middleweight weight limit if I remember correctly. I said middleweight, but it was actually welterweight, so that is my bad there. And I over exaggerated there, and mixed up Alves’ alleged walk-around weight and what he weighed in at (174 lbs.) and again, my bad. But come fight time, he probably ballooned up to more than 174, but I am not too sure of that.
And 45 Huddle, I have NEVER called you a UFC fanboy, so why are you getting on my as about being a PRIDE fanboy? I watch UFC too, and yes I did like PRIDE more than UFC back in the day, but I was hardly a fanboy for any specific company. But I criticize UFC because the way the do business, as I have other companies. I’m not the type to turn a blind eye.
And at this point I do consider Strikeforce a competitor to UFC, even though Scott Coker did the RIGHT thing and built his little empire up from the ground up instead of just getting right in there. I know he’s not trying to take viewers or money away from UFC, but since he is now on national cable, he is a competitor. He should be smart, considering that he has been a fight promoter since the 1980’s, and he’s the type that would sell his promotion in a heart beat for the right amount (Paul Heyman officially confirmed a while back that he tried to buy out Strikeforce, but for reasons he couldn’t really get into, he couldn’t).
Another correction. I said significantly over middleweight, but again I meant welterweight. Again, my bad.
45 makes a solid point. Honestly, the UFC would not have run Lesnar/Henderson if Mir got hurt at UFC 100. They would have pushed it back again. And that would be preferable to running Belfort/Fedor now.
There isn’t a thread on the internet about this that doesn’t devolve into kookdom at some point, whether its bizarre attacks on PRIDE, unabashed UFC luvin’, conspiracy theories, unabashed UFC hatin’, or whatever. Focus, people. Well, except the two or three slightly insane people who think that Belfort is a better opponent than Rogers, Monson, or Barnett. You guys just ought to find a new hobby.
I should have included other people’s names on it too…. Not just yours. I just went off on a tangent concerning Alan’s and samscoff’s comments. Most of that wasn’t directed at you.
Alves came in 7 pounds over weight. That is a weight cutting issue. Not a natural Middleweight fighting the Heavyweight Champion of the world. It is two completely different issues.
also, regarding Strikeforce – I’ll say it again: I have no idea why people splooge all over them. Either Affliction show was miles ahead of any Strikeforce or Strikeforce co-promoted show in history. The majority of them, in actuality, sucked horrifically. I get that there is some relationship with Meltzer and Frank Shamrock that gives him emotional stake in the company, but for the rest of the internet? Is it because they’re really easy to get press passes from?
“also, regarding Strikeforce – I’ll say it again: I have no idea why people splooge all over them”
I think it’s because Scott Coker is a smart promoter/businessman and knows what he is doing, and people respect that. But also because of his great business acumen it seems like he is the only American promoter than can effectively compete with the UFC. And people want to cling onto that. It seems like he is doing a decent job at it, but we will see down the line.
“There isn’t a thread on the internet about this that doesn’t devolve into kookdom at some point, whether its bizarre attacks on PRIDE, unabashed UFC luvin’, conspiracy theories, unabashed UFC hatin’, or whatever. Focus, people. Well, except the two or three slightly insane people who think that Belfort is a better opponent than Rogers, Monson, or Barnett. You guys just ought to find a new hobby.”
Coming from the guy who just bashes all day what the biggest organization in the sport does. It’s like me being a football fan and just attacking the NFL all the time. Why be a fan then?
The only reason why Pride was mentioned was because it’s the same fanbase. This isn’t a UFC vs. Pride debate, and I didn’t turn it into one.
These are the old Pride fans who think they are somehow entitled to the sport and are absolutely pissed off that the UFC now controls it. So everytime an organization tries to compete with the UFC, they act like it is the greatest thing ever. Even though each company has the business model that would make a middle school kid laugh at it.
I think it’s because Scott Coker is a smart promoter/businessman and knows what he is doing, and people respect that.
That’s fine and dandy. You watch some of the Strikeforce shows last year, and they stink. I don’t care if he was able to fill up his bathtub with hundreds after the show. I know I sat through the Michael Jordan of YAMMAboxing get slowwwwwwly dismantled by a journeyman. Its like preferring Mcdonald’s over Joel Robuchon’s because it sold a few billion burgers and the frenchy hasn’t.
I get the gimmick, 45. Its okay.
Alan can’t match brains in a conversation and resorts to this stuff. Typical. Hey, whatever makes you feel better. Continue bashing the sport you follow. Makes a lot of sense.
I love how Strikeforce gets a pass from UFC fanboys because Dana said they’re okay. If any other org put on a Bob Sapp vs Jan Norte main event, they would be fucking roasted.
I don’t care if Affliction makes a dime. I’m just stoked we got to see Fedor fight two top 5 guys on American soil, both in events that I was able to attend. I’ve been to 10+ UFCs, including some that people consider as some of the best ones (84, 52.) The atmosphere of those Fedor fights topped pretty much everything I’ve seen live outside of maybe UFC 57, or for me personally, Sakuraba’s entrance at the K-1 LA show.
Fedor had been knocked for not fighting competition, then here comes this long time fan (and a guy who actually competeted and promoted in the past) of MMA, who recently made millions of dollars. Fuck, if I had money to burn I’d put on a card to watch Fedor fight top 5 guys too. If he thought hey’d make money and compete with the UFC in the long term, that’s his bad. Doesn’t matter to me in the least. I got to see Fedor fight two top 5 guys, and they got my money. That’s where my worries about their financials ends.
Should have titled this story “Atencio and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”
45, I love that you want to engage me in a prolongued flame war, but for today? No time for love, Dr. Jones. Maybe when you want to hype up how important the newest 4th tier TV deal is for the UFC, we can return to being a comedy duo.
I love how Strikeforce gets a pass from UFC fanboys because Dana said they’re okay. If any other org put on a Bob Sapp vs Jan Norte main event, they would be fucking roasted.
Bingo! Heck, the Sapp/Lashley card was even better than that one.
Doesn’t matter to me in the least. I got to see Fedor fight two top 5 guys, and they got my money. That’s where my worries about their financials ends.
I guess you and I are in the minority of “dudes who want to watch good fights”. Oh well. I’ll say this though: Belfort being pulled off the Jorge Santiago fight and in with Fedor basically removes the fight I was looking forward to second most and gives me two crappy squashes. I think I’ll save my money with the official line of I’ll Wait For HDNet To Televise It (TM).
Alan,
I typically just let you be your miserable self, but today I’m in the mood to make a comment back….
It’s not a flamewar. It’s the same old story with you. You cherry pick people’s comments and attack them. You bash everything UFC as if you are somehow above it all. Even when people make valid points with you, you avoid the majority of what they say and just try and find your way to throw insults back over towards them.
People can bash me all they want, but I at least add some value here. People might disagree with my view points, but I show I back it up. With you, it’s just a constant negative storm.
Go find some other sport to bash…. I think you have worn out your welcome in this one.
45 huddle, every time I come here you are cheer leading the UFC or Dana White’s latest move, and attacking other organizations.
It’s pretty amusing seeing you decry someone for only being negative toward the UFC when you’re nothing but positive about it.
Any chance to portray Fedor Emelianenko as a coward… he’ll take it! http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Belfort-has-accepted-fight-what-is-Emelianenko-?urn=mma%2C178345
So I am praising an ultra successfulcompany for how much they have advanced the sport in 5 short years. An bashing companies who have done things that can hurt the sport…
And that is looked upon negatively?? Now that is funny. I am vocal about the UFC’s negatives when they are true negatives. But if you can’t praise what Zuffa has done and want to root for the little bad for the sport competition… Well that is the online MMA Fans way these days!!
Fedor will get bashed by some no matter what. If he fights Vitor, he is fighting a smaller guy. Afflictions fault not his. If he fights Rogers, he is fighting a guy who isn’t in shape at all right now and who people can say is nit worthy of the challenger. If he fought Werdum or Monson, people would be bored.
Fedor has no real good options.
To be fair, when IFL first started they had a decent image and tried to show off MMA as a sport, and I generally liked watching IFL, even though the team concept was unique (not quite innovative considering Chuck Norris’ WCL does the team thing as well) if not goofy. But then the MyTV specials happened (I didn’t get the channel then so I didn’t see them) and then how Jay Larkin started running the fed, and Ben Rothwell complaining about getting stiffed on pay from IFL, they started to look very shitty and bush league.
And from where I sat, it seemed like IFL tried to force Pat Militech and Maurice Smith to come out of retirement to fight.
I’m not sure what the best part is: bringing up my “negativity” towards the UFC in a thread where I’m talking about how crappy the Affliction card looks like its gonna become, or speaking on behalf of the sport of MMA from a position of assumed authority.
So this is unrelated, but according to the new Kevin Iole column, UFC 100 did more than 1.5 million buys, holy fuck. He quotes Lorenzo Fertitta as saying, re: Dana’s vow to jump off the Mandalay Bay if it broke 1.5 million sales, “I think Dana is going to be doing a base jump at Mandalay Bay.”
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=Aq.Kko3ymbAR2tIfiPX2kFQ9Eo14?slug=ki-fertitta072309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Alan, don’t you know that if you even criticize the UFC’s business model, that alone makes you “anti-UFC”? That’s what 45 Huddle said about Josh Gross. It must pain 45 Huddle to have to choose between Pepsi and Coke. Why can’t there be one soda brand to rule them all? And cars! So many damn brands of cars! Why can’t there just be one brand of car? If only there were less competition, everyone would be better off… (sarcasm intended)
Cofields a tool.
Him and 45 huddle should go to Canada and get married.
I think Cofield is on the money. I called it a few threads back. I bet Fedor is afraid of Vitor.
Anyone who doesn\’t think a well trained and conditioned Vito. Poses more problems than Rogers and Werdum. Should stop pretending they know anything.
Fedor has relied most of his career on being the quicker more agile man. He is angling to fight a big, slow brawler who is not in training camp.
The only fights Fedor has had real trouble or any trouble aside from Fujita rockng him have been against CroCop, Arlovski and Arona. All guys who move well. Add to that Vitor is a southpaw.
So the Vitor who lost to Chuck, Tito and Randy scares Fedor? No doubt he has a punchers chance, but thats it.
Gross has been anti-UFC since his days at Sherdog. He believes it should be a promoter system more like boxing. With this line of thinking, this makes him anti-UFC.
And I don’t drink Coke or Pepsi. Try water and fruit juice. I ain’t no Sherwood.
Ivan, you should know better then to compare everyday consumer products to sports. The UFC is trying to do (in a slightly different fashion) what MLB, NFL, and the NBA have done with their respecive sports. Which is be the only place for the top athletes to compete in.
Oh, and take a look at the article I linked up on the ESPN post. Once again, the Haters who are bashing White have little real clue as to what is going on. White had an ESPN executive at UFC 100.
If you were to look back at the last two years of posts on most websites, they are mostly bashing the UFC. And during that time, they have weeded out the competition, increased fighter pay, and become much larger in so many ways.
I’m not saying there isn’t a time to be critical about the UFC. But it’s so slanted in the wrong direction. So many great things are happening, and people like me who point that out are bashed for it.
For what it’s worth, I thought Vitor was robbed against Tito and there is certainly no shame in losing to Randy Couture or Chuck Liddell in their respective primes…On my scorecard Vitor may have even been winning the Chuck fight until he got knocked down near the end…He took Chuck down several times–Vitor is a great wrestler, a great athlete, and has super-fast hands, his only problem is that he is a mental midget. Vitor with his head screwed on right = most dangerous 185er in the world, bar none.
Except for Anderson.
Vitor Belfort has always been a fast dangerous KO artist. That’s why all this talk about the Old Vitor Belfort isn’t true. The difference is that competition in MMA has upped considerably in the last 10+ years. And with some athletes, when they face a step up in competition, they lose confidence and mentally fold.
“Ivan, you should know better then to compare everyday consumer products to sports. The UFC is trying to do (in a slightly different fashion) what MLB, NFL, and the NBA have done with their respecive sports. Which is be the only place for the top athletes to compete in.”
I expected you to say something to that effect. You usually do whenever the topic comes up. Of course, the difference between the UFC being the top organization for MMA and the NFL being the top organization for football, and the thing that makes it an invalid comparison, is that in an NFL-only system, NFL players have the benefit of 32 different NFL teams bidding for their services. In a UFC-only system, there is no such bidding, and fighters are just happy for whatever scraps their billionaire owners give them.
Those kinds of comparisons to team sports are further invalidated by the fact that you’ll never hear about the Chicago Bears threatening NFL players with the line, “Sign over to us the lifetime exclusive rights to your own likenesses for free, or you’re fired!”
Nor will you ever hear about the Bears threatening those same players with the line, “If you accept the Vikings’ offer to play for them for one season, you’ll never play for the Bears again!”
Also, it was Dave Meltzer who reported that the UFC banned E:60 from getting credentialed. He didn’t report that the UFC banned all of ESPN from getting credentialed. And if you’re going to argue that Meltzer is a “UFC hater,” then you would just be showing how little you know. Of course, just by saying this, I could be violating the rule that you established (“Don’t mess with the UFC!”).
Vitor took the Chuckfight on two weeks notice. I too had him winning until the knockdown. These days he may have actually won as the judging has gotten better. He clearly beat Tito. I think Steve is lookin at fight finder and not the actual fights. There’s been a lot of that around here lately. Funny that those people seem to always make claims about who watches more MMA. Always from people that have been on this site less time than me. Steve I’m not pointing to you on the fights thing. Just musing.
Also if this fight happens it will be in a ring. Nocage to pin Vitor against. Fedor may not need any help keeping Vitor down. When he takes someone down they generally stay down. But Randy and Tito both usd the fence to neutralize Vitor’s sweeps. Since he has been with Tompkins Vitor is a new man. He didn’t have regular training camps or a routi e for the past several years. For all the weight talks if Vitor doesn’t cit to 185. There will only be a 20-25 lb wieht advantage. Not much of a swing for heavyweights.
“Vitor took the Chuckfight on two weeks notice. I too had him winning until the knockdown.”
You had them one round a piece going into the 3rd?
I think Fedor should fight a top 10 heavy weight ideally…Werdum or Rogers would be the only options. If they can’t pull that off, a top 25 guy would be fine. Either get Monson, or move up Buentello, and move Rothwell to fight Yvel.
The Vitor vs Santiago fight is great and relevant to the 185 division. Fedor vs Vitor while kind of intriguing, especially for old Vitor fans really means nothing.
I think Vitor beat Tito as well..haha.
Vitor is always Vitor, he’ll look like a world beater in one fight but and ordinary in the next. Despite his abilities I think he only has a punchers chance against Fedor.
However, I’d like to see him in the UFC middleweight division.
I understand what you’re saying Zack. But here is the thing no one seems to mention. All the heavyweights that keep being talked about are fat right now. Heavyweights all get out of shape right after a fight. Generally it takes heavyweights most of camp to get their cardio up. Brett Rogers just won the biggest fight of his life last month. He’s probably been eating everything he likes and double deserts since. Werdum should be in shape or close to it because he’s training.
Vitor probably weighs 200-205 right now has killer cardio and his timing is on. Any heavywieght that hasn’t been in cp for at least five weeks is a total freebie for Fedor. Vitor has a puncher chance plus poses a tough style matchup. Fedor has been preparing for 8 weeks to fight a big, lumbering oaf with lousy standup. Vitor has spent 8 weeks preparing for an extremely dynamic and quick opponent
Steve, 100% agree on UFC MW division.
Imagine that division if you get rid of Anderson Silva (by moving him to 205 or having him fight Lesnar).
Henderson
Bisping
Franklin (drops down when Anderson goes up)
Wanderlei
Marquard
Meia
Leites
Goran Reljic (if he drops from 205)
You can make great fight after fight with those guys. That’s just off the top of my head. I know I’m forgetting a few guys.
If you’re worried about people training or being in shape, then moving up Buentello or Rothwell makes the most sense (I don’t think Fedor would fight Yvel since they’re both M-1.) I’d lean towards Buentello cuz you at least have a bit of a storyline…he beat Baby Fedor, and was a little disrespectful during the fight with the humping into the corner. Rothwell could be okay too. At least they’re both coming off wins and were training to fight the same date.
Plus either is a banger and would be fun to see vs. Yvel. Either scenario doesn’t kill the Yvel fight. You move Vitor and you’ve killed the most intriguing fight left on the card.
Plus Vitor is an extremely mental fighter, and it’s awesome that he’s on a roll now at 185. He’s finally got some momentum going again. Him getting smashed @ HW doesn’t do much for his standing at 185. It doesn’t hurt him theoretically, but it’s a mental setback and makes him not as desirable in the UFC MW matchups you were referring to.