Fedor vs Barnett Set for Later in 2009

First off, I have to say right up front that I was very impressed with this show. I'm really hoping that Affliction does a strong PPV buy number with this show, and eventually becomes a strong and viable threat to the UFC. Competition is a very good thing in this industry, benefiting everyone from fans to the fighters themselves.

There were a number of entertaining fights on this card - Green vs Lauzon, Babalu vs Sokoudjou, Barnett vs Yvel and Fedor vs Arlovski were all entertaining fights in their own ways.

Arlovski was looking good for the first few minutes of the fight, but once again Fedor makes an opponent pay for making a mistake. This is what Fedor does best, and this is why he is practically unbeatable - you would have to fight a mistake-free fight in order to beat him. Arlovski made a mistake and the next thing you know, the fight is over and he is lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Is there any doubt that Fedor is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world now? Until he loses or comes close to losing, this issue is not up for debate. It's Fedor and then everybody else, regardless of who wins the BJ Penn / St. Pierre II fight. He has beaten two former UFC heavyweight champions in his last two fights, in a combined time of less than four minutes.

Does Arlovski deserve a rematch? Probably not, although I am sure that it would be an entertaining fight. He looked impressive in the first two minutes of the bout, and looked like he might be the first fighter to ever stop Emelianenko - but at the end of the day, he didn't make it through the first round. Josh Barnett definitely deserves the next shot at Fedor.

Speaking of Josh Barnett - very solid effort, and I thought that he looked very good.

Does he have a chance against Fedor though? No way.

Vitor Belfort - wow.

I'm not sure where Sokoudjou goes from here. This is a previously much-hyped fighter who has now lost 3 of his last 4 fights.

The payroll for the main event is looking to be over three million dollars. According to multiple reports, Fedor received $300,000 in base salary plus a bonus of "at least" $1.3 million dollars, while Arlovski received $1.5 million dollars. That's an awful lot of money to be dishing out for one fight on a PPV that will be very hard-pressed to top 150,000 buys.

Josh Barnett received $500,000, while Antonio Rogerio Nogueira received $150,000 for appearing on the undercard.

Note: Thanks to MMA Weekly and Bloody Elbow for this information

All in all, this was a thoroughly entertaining event. I really hope that Affliction is able to build on the momentum of this event and remain in business throughout the rest of 2009 and beyond, as MMA fans deserve a viable second option.

PS - I really hope to see Fedor and the UFC come to a deal one day. Fedor vs Lesnar would be an absolutely epic fight that would receive an unbelievable amount of mainstream coverage. Probably won't happen though. Fedor vs Couture, Fedor vs Mir, Fedor vs Carwin - these are all fights that I want to see.

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