Following in their footsteps is the small time promotion, the American Fight League. In an apparent gesture of good will they loaned three fighters to a promotion with a much cooler name, Ironheart Crown, for their November 8th show in Chicago. Good for them, but all they’re really doing is watering down their own titles. This may provide exciting fights in the short run, but in the long run it’s a bad strategy. What good is it to be the Ring of Combat welterweight champion if another promotion can bring in their best guy and strip the title away at will? Phil Baroni jumps around from show to show like a bad case of VD on a Navy ship, so what value is it to say he’s the middleweight champion of Furious Fury Fighting Championships if Joey Villasenor can come in and knock him out? None. I’m all for great matchups, but if anyone can fight anyone, then belts mean nothing. The UFC’s titles will be the only ones with value because fighters have to actually work their way up through a division to earn them (unless your last name rhymes with Mesnar and you look like a white Hulk). If your goal is to make a quick buck then bringing in outsiders on loan from another organization is a good move. But if you want to stay out of the MMA graveyard, take a lesson from the banking industry and avoid overextending yourself on loans.

Cooperate and Graduate

Even though they’ve only staged one show, Affliction has the potential to challenge the UFC as long as they play their t-shirt making cards right. Although they experienced a dip in public confidence after postponing their second show, they have major financial backing in Donald Trump, big name fighters who are disgruntled with the UFC, and a relatively savvy businessman at the helm who seems to have a few aces up his sleeve. Tom Atencio has proven he knows how to insure himself against the “sophomore slump” that is killing EliteXC by siding with Golden Boy Boxing and chasing a new idea that will either end up as a cash cow or an albatross around his neck.

This sport is littered with the detritus of good ideas-the Yamma Pit, BodogFight, and the IFL to name a few-that left many men crying in a fetal position. But a crossover promotion of boxing and MMA has the potential to be very successful because boxing fans are potential MMA fans who just need a taste of the action to get addicted. Affliction is betting they can steal boxing fans right out of their seats and put them into the MMA pay-per-view demographic by showing them how two-dimensional their sport is. It could work, and if it does, they’ll establish a small foothold on the UFCs Normandy beach.