The third time was most definitely not the charm. Affliction: Trilogy went from looking for a new main event opponent, to looking for a new date for the event, to looking like a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks they can compete with the UFC. In a classic case of "if you can't beat 'em . . . " Affliction has agreed to shut down its MMA promotional venture and in turn will be allowed to again sponsor UFC fighters. (FightLine.com has a full timeline on the death of Affliction here.)
A little more than a year ago, Affliction had tons of publicity for its first event and even had the backing of Donald Trump. Today, if you visit Affliction's website, it's hard to find evidence that the T-Shirt company ever promoted an MMA event.
The cancellation of its third show might not have been bad news for Affliction as it reportedly lost money on its previous events and (even before the Barnett steroids scandal) may have been looking for the UFC to take over Trilogy and promote it. It was, however, definitely bad news for all of the fighters who were scheduled to participate in the August 1st contest.
Many casual MMA fans don't realize that while some fighters make significant sums for appearing on televised cards, they have to pay all of their own expenses. The athlete (not the promoter for the event) pays for his trainers, his gym time, his equipment, and everything else that goes into getting ready for a match. A lot of these funds are "sunk costs" that have to be paid even if the event gets canceled. Its no wonder that one prominent gym was "like a funeral" after Friday's announcement.
One fighter's manager told Sherdog.com that nothing in the Affliction contract gives the fighter any recourse at this point. That may be the case (I've not seen the contract), but I suspect that litigation will still be forthcoming. Unless the contract specifically addresses the shuttering of the organization, an argument could be made that Affliction violated the "good faith and fair dealing" obligation that most states' courts read into contacts. And, if Affliction was really looking to get out of the promotional business as early as October, someone may allege that the company got fighters to sign up for Trilogy under false pretenses. In short, while Affliction may have had its last fight on pay-per-view, its fights in court may be just beginning.
