Trump?s Affliction-M1 Entertainment Opens up the MMA
January, 9, 2009 — New York, New York — Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is the world’s fastest growing sport, and Trump’s Affliction-M1 Entertainment Company is the fastest growing organization in MMA. Since June 2008, when Donald J. Trump became involved with Affliction Entertainment, the company has been able to attract the sport’s best heavyweight fighters away from the UFC, the longstanding MMA premier league, retaining die-hard MMA fans and reaching a new, broader audience.
In July 2008, “Affliction Banned”, Trump’s Affliction-M1 Entertainment Company’s first promoted ‘card’ featured the world’s top 10 heavyweight MMA fighters, including Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (considered the #1 MMA heavyweight for the past 5 years) vs. Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia, turning Trump’s Affliction into the UFC’s main competition in just one fight. The event sold out the 16,000 seat Honda Center arena, reached more than 500,000 people on pay-per- view and was attended by celebrities including N.Y. Giant Michael Strahan, L.A. Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny, heavy metal band Megadeth, TV and film actor Michael Madsen, and wrestling legends Bill Goldberg, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “The Undertaker”.
Affliction-M1 Entertainment’s second co-promoted fight in 2008 was broadcast as part of CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, garnered over 4.3 million viewers, and attracted television’s most sought after demographic – male viewers ages 18-34.
This month, on January 24“Day of Reckoning”, promoted by Trump’s Affliction Entertainment, M1 Global, and Oscar de La Hoya’s Golden Boy Entertainment will feature the top two heavyweights in the sport – Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko and Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski in what fans are calling the “#1 main event” in MMA.
“MMA is fantastic. I am excited to be a part of this incredibly fast growing sport, and my involvement with Affliction will surely bring it to the widest audience possible,” says Donald J. Trump, President and Chairman of The Trump Organization. “ ‘Day of Reckoning’ will be the best fight card in MMA history and I am looking forward to its great success.”
Seeing the buzz that Trump’s involvement brought to Affliction Entertainment, celebrity boxing champion Oscar de La Hoya has decided to join in promoting the organization’s upcoming “Day of Reckoning” with his Golden Boy Entertainment company, a move that along with Trump, will help to further expand MMA to a wider, more mainstream audience.
“In the world of MMA, ‘Day of Reckoning’ is comparable to watching an Ali, a Tyson, or a de La Hoya fight,” says Donald Trump, Jr., Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization. “We pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge, and are thrilled to be one of the pioneers in bringing this sport to the mainstream, this time with M1 Global and Oscar de La Hoya.”
In addition to the main event of Fedor vs. Arlovski, 8 of MMA’s other top heavyweights, including Josh Barnett, Matt Lindland, Renato Babalu Sobral, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and Vitor Belfort, will compete in 4 matches followed by the feature match.
“By bringing the top fighters in the sport together for ‘Day of Reckoning,’ Trump’s Affliction-M1 Entertainment Company will be creating an unparalleled experience, which will attract the hardcore and casual fans - making MMA even bigger than it already is,” says Michael Cohen, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization and C.O.O. of Affliction Entertainment Company.
Trump’s Affliction-M1 Entertainment “Day of Reckoning” will be held on January 24, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Tickets are currently available, and the event will be initially broadcast on pay-per-view.
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