The word ‘trilogy’ obviously refers to the number 3, but the word also has connotations a completion of a set of 3. So obviously all was a ruckus when Affliction Entertainment aptly named their 3rd MMA event “Affliction: Trilogy.” If Company VP Tom Atencio isn’t promising anything past their August 1st event, why did he tell 5thRound.com that he intends to keep Fedor Emelianenko employed for another 3 years?
Although the reigning WAMMA heavyweight champion’s impending free agency officially jumps off the very second his fight with Josh Barnett comes to its conclusion, it doesn’t keep Affliction front-man up at night one bit.
Atencio is confident that when it’s time to belly-up to the negotiating table, he and his Russian comrades will be able to come to terms.
“Well, contractually, yes, but we have a great relationship with him, so we’re really not too concerned about that,” Atencio told 5thRound.com in an exclusive interview regarding Emelianenko and his contract. “We’re gonna move forward with M1-Global, they’re our partners, we just haven’t finalized the little nuances of the contract. But yeah, we are looking to bring him on until 2012.”
Through 2012? Well why would the non-committal Atencio want to lock-in MMA’s Terminator if his organization wasn’t intending on hosting future mixed martial arts shows? Why would he want to make that kind of commitment if he lives by the “I take this one event at a time” code that he often preaches?
Fact of the matter is, Atencio would love nothing more than to do this forever, even though he has been hush-hush on a future past this August 1st show.
If, most likely when, more Affliction cards roll out, the easygoing VP knows that they can’t survive as a company if they keep riding the Emelianenko Express as Barnett will mark the soon-to-be 33-year-old’s 3rd fight in 25 months.
“…Fedor’s record is proven,” Atencio told us about his most popular fighter. “It’s unmatched. A 30-1 record, and the one was on a stoppage due to a cut. But Fedor, he needs some time off too. We can’t just keep bringing Fedor back [event after event].”
And that’s why he’s so amped about “Trilogy.” Although it’s a bit away from completion, the roster thus far is sick. With the likes of the aforementioned Barnett, former UFC champ Vetor Belfort, former DREAM middleweight king Gegard Mousasi and the ever-popular Tim Sylvia, this star-studded cast is more than qualified to carry the card without the presence of “The Last Emperor.”
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