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Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:35 pm EDT

Affliction card beats Ultimate Fight Night 14 by unanimous decision

By Steve Cofield

It was billed as the best MMA card ever. The Affliction "Banned" card didn't quite reach that level but it was a very good show and in the end overwhelmed UFC's attempt at counter-programming. It wasn't a complete KO but we'll give Affliction a 30-27 win.

Between the two cards, the favorites won 17-of-18 fights that were booked in Las Vegas. A few upsets may have helped the intrigue on both cards.

The Affliction card featured four really entertaining fights with the capper being the unreal destruction of Tim Sylvia laid down by Fedor Emelianenko. The Josh Barnett knockout of Pedro Rizzo was awesome. Andrei Arlovski's athleticism was jaw-dropping against a very tough Ben Rothwell. Vitor Belfort's debut at 185 over Terry Martin was very good as well. For fans who are into the nuances and technical end of the fight game, the Babalu, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Matt Lindland fights were all entertaining as well.

The UFN 14 card was really sputtering to a close before the big win by Anderson Silva. UFC was saved in some ways by the vicious knockout of James Irvin by Silva. The lead-in fight with Brandon Vera and Reese Andy was a total snoozer. Vera was clearly affected by his weight cut and Andy had nothing on the feet. The bout before that featured Frank Edgar putting on a nice exhibition of ground control and transitions against Hermes Franca but for the casual fan it was a tough fight to watch.

UPDATE: We went back and watched the UFC card one more time. We'll change our score to Affliction 29-28. The Cain Velasquez win was quick but dominant. It was impressive to see Velasquez pin both of Jake O'Brien's arms down then land 78-of-79 punches over the next 47 seconds. It was also cool watching C.B. Dollaway submit Jesse Taylor with the little known Peruvian Necktie. The Edgar-Franca fight did get UFN 14 Fight of Night by default. There weren't many candidates on the card. The fact that such a one-sided bout got Fight of the Night, says a lot about the card.

UFC's card did bring out the celebs so there was often more to watch in the stands than in the cage. The Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce (pictured with Sacramento Kings owner Gavin Maloof) was on hand as were several members of the Kings. Patrick Ewing Jr., Kevin Martin, Spencer Hawes and Brad Miller all seemed to enjoy the card from a skybox at the Pearl Theatre. Sitting ringside were Usher and Mandy Moore. UFC fighters Frank Mir, Dan Henderson, Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin all made appearances as well.

Not surprising was the absence of Quinton Jackson. UFC Dana White inferred on Friday that Jackson would be under medical care through the weekend. That wasn't the case as he was seen watching the Affliction card live in Anaheim.

Also on hand at Affliction were Donald Trump, Tito Ortiz, Jenna Jameson, James Toney, Michael Strahan, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Don Johnson, Michael Madsen, Bill Goldberg, Rob Schneider, Manny Ramirez and Randy Couture.

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20 Comments

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  1. urwrecked
    1. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    Cofield I dont believe it!!! You really went off the reservation with your headline.. Kudos for some unbiased coverage on this one. Now if you could only muster some of this 'fairness' in your boxing columns. The journalism gods are rooting for you...
  2. Someone plz KO Anderson Silva
    2. Posted by Someone plz KO Anderson Silva Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:30 pm EDT

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    Is it really fair to compare the Affliction card to a fight night card? It wan't even a real ppv by the ufc. Obviously affliction was better, but can they do it consistently? Will they PLEASE stop those freaking long-a** interviews??? Jesus.
  3. flannelb0y
    3. Posted by flannelb0y Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:00 pm EDT

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    Source on Quinton at Affliction? I don't remember them showing him during the telecast.
    I watched Affliction over UFC and while the athletes were more experienced, almost every other part of the broadcast was amateur. Bruce Buffer Michael, Goldy McCarthy and a ringpost Frank Trigg. As for the fights themselves, I'd give a slight edge to Affliction based mainly on the Arlovski and Fedor wins, but FN14 had it's share of dominating performances as well.
  4. Dubya b
    4. Posted by Dubya b Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:12 pm EDT

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    No one can intelligently doubt that Affliction's debut far exceeded UFC fight night. It was like watching a new and improved PRIDE promotion. You have the Ring, Frank Trigg, Noriega, former PRIDE fighters a freaking concert performance by Megadeth for the neo-metalheads.
    The UFC only had Anderson Silva to keep the free show above water.
    The question now is are current and former UFC and PRIDE fighters going to start looking at their options of going with UFC or to EliteXC or Affliction?
    Will UFC still be the best or will it just be one of the top promotions similar to Boxing's WBA, WBC and IBF organizations?
  5. The Citizen
    5. Posted by The Citizen Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:22 pm EDT

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    In general, they should save the ring interviews for the bigger fights -- it really is a waste of time hearing and watching a fighter talk about their knockout. Cut to the announcement team and let them show us the instant slow-mo replay. The interviews (in all promotions) are boring, tedious to sit through and provide no real entertainment. This would move the pacing of all shows along and give the fans more action -- and less talking.
  6. subtL
    6. Posted by subtL Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:46 pm EDT

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    "for fans who are into the nuances and technical end of the fight game, the babalu, antonio rogerio nogueira and matt lindland fights were all entertaining as well."...."the bout before that featured frank edgar putting on a nice exhibition of ground control and transitions against hermes franca but for the casual fan it was a tough fight to watch. "
    wow, that doesn't sound biased at all... y'know... propping fights for being there for hardcore fight fans, then downing another fight for not being there for casual fans.
    me and a bunch of friends (some who train mma) watched affliction live, and the UFc during all the butt rock and after affliction, and all of us thought UFC was much more suprising, and that affliction was much more of a let down. nogeria, alovski, and fedor delivered for the pops, but barnett/rizzo was zzzz until that one punch (which doesn't quantify as a good fight in most people's eyes) and every other match wasn't near as epic as you make it sound.
    the fight night was only marred by a fluke eye poke, and vera gassing (keep in mind, the first 1 and a half rounds, vera was entertaining as he could be), but it was more of a suprise how exciting most of the fights were. and a slick peruvian necktie was the sub of the night for both shows...
  7. Steven W
    7. Posted by Steven W Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:47 pm EDT

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    does anyone else here think lindland should never be allowed to fight on tv again? in my opinion, he used to be boring, he's boring now, and he always will be boring.
    anyone who thinks he's still a top level MW is insane
  8. just a fan
    8. Posted by just a fan Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:55 pm EDT

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    Current UFC heavyweight division is a disgrace to the widely considered best mma promotion.letting Arlovsky and Couture go was a bad decision on Dana White's part.whats the best heavyweight card they can put up today?Noguera was defeated by Fedor on several occasions in PRIDE,Verdum and Jake O'brien were beaten by Arlovsky,Lesnar is a joke, Frank Mir got destroyed by Brandon Vera.who else is out there- Gonzaga,Herring,Eillers.how many of these fights you are ready to shell out 50 bucks to see.I have been a fan of UFC for years, didnt miss any ppv over the last 4 years,but i think its time to chose what cards to pay for. its called capitalism
  9. foo
    9. Posted by foo Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:51 pm EDT

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    I don't think you could be more wrong. The production quality of Affliction was an F. The Arlovski fight was the only decent fight, and it was almost ruined by him continuously falling through the ropes.
    The Fedor fight was OK, but Syliva has lost the 3 of his past 4 now, so how good his he now?
  10. mystaryte
    10. Posted by mystaryte Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:32 pm EDT

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    For those who didn't stay to see the whole UFN14, the knockout which probably topped Silva's came from the next fight feat. Rory Marcheck(sp) making his UFC debut. He suckered Brandon Farber in & hit him w/the best kicking K.O. I've seen since Rashad Evans in that fight against Salmon.
  11. yaz
    11. Posted by yaz Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:55 pm EDT

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    ufc fn wasn't that bad for a card assembled in short time only the vera fight was boring
    Markham's head kick was amazing
    Velasquez was impressive
    upcoming ufc cards look solid
  12. jen
    12. Posted by jen Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:32 pm EDT

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    yeah.neither card was fun to watch.i was happy to see babalu fight again.but overall,both were pretty boring.but you cant expect every single fight to be the best.if affliction puts on another ill give it another shot.thats just my opinion.
  13. urwrecked
    13. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    It is hard to call but I think it was all a wash in the end. UFC was free so kudos there. Affliction did have some production glitches but I thought their card was a little more entertaining. I hope Affliction can stick around. It only forces The UFC to be on their toes and not take us, the viewing public for granted. If it were not for Affliction, we never would of had that free UFC card.. So capitalism is working in this case.
  14. fooshnickens
    14. Posted by fooshnickens Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:01 pm EDT

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    steve - nice blog, always interesting on lv radio as well. question: what was "big nog" doing fighting on the affliction card when he's the interim heavyweight champ in ufc? how did that work out??
  15. Glenn
    15. Posted by Glenn Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:10 pm EDT

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    @18 He is called Big Nog for a reason, it's because there is a Lil Nog, his twin brother is the one who fought. They have different middle names.
  16. GARY O
    16. Posted by GARY O Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:06 pm EDT

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    Who won ? ufc or affiction well i say look at fighter salaries.. $623,000 vs $3,221,000 guess who won at the bank..... ufc hands down by 2,600,000 just on salaries alone.. and the affiction fighters! won with huge paydays....they would not get at ufc ..
  17. urwrecked
    17. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    What were the ppv buys for Affliction?? That is the telling sign..
  18. urwrecked
    18. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    Kobe over Paul Pierce, via rear naked choke second round..
  19. urwrecked
    19. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    I cant believe they gave Franca a bonus for his fight with Edgar. Yeah maybe Edgar should of got a bonus, but Franca was totally dominated and didn't do anything of note the whole fight... Hard to fight without those roids......
  20. danny c
    20. Posted by danny c Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:39 pm EDT

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    'Affliction 29-28'
    Give me a break - Silva fighting Sandman vs Fedor fighter Silvia? The UFC card while entertaining was completely inconsequential meanwhile the Affliction card had huge matches throughout. The Affliction card also proved that the UFC heavyweight division is still weak.
    The UFC card wasn't even in the same league as the affliction card.

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