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By: Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist Affliction (8.0)
I thought this was a very good show. You have to keep in mind that I'm being lenient with some of the production aspects seeing as how this was their first show. Any dead air issues have to be blamed on Jay Glazer as he's the play-by-play guy, and he's supposed to keep the show flowing. Frank Trigg was Frank Trigg, which isn't a bad thing, but its not something I get too excited about. I thought "Big" John did a very good job for his first time in the booth. He obviously has room to improve, but he's knowledgeable, and I wouldn't mind him teaming up with Gus Johnson on future EliteXC cards if they can get him. As for the fights themselves, they ranged from fine to very good, with no bads. The best fight (and best of either show by far) was Arlovski-Rothwell. Just a great technical brawl from two top heavyweights, and the return of the Arlovski of old. I know everyone wants to see the fight with Randy Couture, but I think Andrei Arlovski would be a much more exciting and dangerous next opponent for Fedor. Speaking of which, while the main event itself certainly didn't live up to the hype, Fedor himself did. And, personally, I prefer it that way. Seriously, did anyone really want Tim Sylvia to be the man to crush the legend of Fedor? Fedor's aura remains intact, and this sets up two absolute MEGA-fights with Couture and Arlovski on Affliction's next two shows. All in all, a solid thumbs up for the first show, and I look forward to the next two they have planned before they declare for bankruptcy.
UFC (7.0)
First off, big thumbs up for all the new graphics and whatnot. I wish I had an HDTV because I'm guessing they would've looked extra sweet in high-def. The score also gets bumped up due to the show being free. I don't care if it was a dirty business tactic to hurt Affliction's buyrate, I like free fights! Kudos to Anderson Silva for keeping up his end of the "who's the best fighter on the planet" debate. I really, truly thought this was a bad match-up for him. I don't think wrestlers are a problem for him because he ground defense is fantastic, and he'll eventually get stood back up if the fight hits the ground. I really thought another muay-thai striker (who is considerably bigger and stronger) might catch him and really put his chin to the test. We'll never know because he's just TOO GOOD. That's all there is to it. I know the debate won't end until the fight actually happens, but rest assured Chuck Liddell has absolutely NOTHING in his arsenal that will threaten Silva. As for the other fights, Franca-Edgar was good, but not great, and most of the rest were just kinda there. There were two other pretty sweet highlights from this show though. We got a Peruvian Necktie from CB Dalloway and Ultimate Knockouts 6 got it's crown jewel when Rory Markham "Sean Salmon-ed" Brodie Farber. Those two finishes bumped up the score another point. All in all, a good night of fights from UFC, a great night of fights overall, and a slight nod to Affliction in the first (of hopefully many) night of head to head competition between the two companies.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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