Is Fedor Off the Second Affliction PPV?

Rumors are swirling that Fedor Emelianenko will not be fighting on the second Affliction PPV card, set to take place on October 11th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Five Ounces of Pain (link below) cited a "reliable source" when it claimed that the proposed Andrei Arlovski vs Fedor match would be scrapped, due to a "lingering hand injury" that would keep Fedor off the card. The article goes on to say that event organizers are "looking into" finalizing a bout between Josh Barnett and Arlovski instead.

The entire card is up in the air right now. Details of the card are set to be announced on August 6th, so hopefully we will have some more answers then.

Many people were speculating that Fedor vs Arlovski / Ortiz vs Sobral would co-headline the show. This would be an electrifying card, sure to draw a substantial number of buys.

However, Fedor vs Arlovski, as mentioned, is now up in the air. If Fedor's hand injury is the actual reason that he wouldn't be on the card, then that's fine. However, if money is the issue, and Affliction doesn't want to pay Fedor as much money this time around, then I have a problem with Affliction management. I understand them not wanting to lose money each time they throw a PPV - that's understandable. However, they have positive buzz after their first PPV, and they are gaining critical mass within the MMA community. If you have a chance to have BOTH Fedor and Ortiz on your card, you take it. This is the time to establish yourselves as a legitimate competitor to the UFC - cutting corners now in exchange for lower costs will only doom Affliction in the end, guaranteed.

Speaking of Ortiz, Affliction definitely needs to come to some sort of an agreement with the "Huntington Beach Bad Boy". He is a legitimate draw and gives you another headliner so that Fedor doesn't have to headline every card. I would be surprised if Affliction doesn't ink Ortiz to a deal, but it all comes down to money in the end. How much will Ortiz ask for, and how much will Affliction be willing to pay?

Another rumored match-up is Matt Lindland vs Vitor Belfort.

This upcoming Affliction card has the potential to be absolutely earth-shaking. Competition is a good thing, and I really want to see Affliction put out the best card that they possibly can. There seems to be some deep pockets backing Affliction, and I hope that they realize that Affliction will need to lose millions upon millions of dollars before they start to recoup their investment. They need to make an impression on casual MMA fans - they won't do that if they start focusing on costs too early.

Source: Exclusive: Arlovski vs Fedor likely to be scrapped

Play Poker - Receive a $600 Bonus