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25/06/08 - MMA News: Fight Network signs Affliction deal
Canadian broadcaster The Fight Network has announced that it will be screening an hour of Affliction’s debut mixed martial arts show for free on July 19th.
Fight Network president George Burger announced earlier this week that his company had secured exclusive rights to air the live one-hour undercard of the event.
"This is a stellar card, arguably the best collection of heavyweights under one roof in the history of MMA,” he said.
He added that The Fight Network is “excited” to be “taking the launch of this promotion worldwide".
"Not only are we showing the undercard live and exclusively on our network, we are also distributing the Pay-Per-View in Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom," he revealed.
Affliction vice-president Tom Atencio commented that the card for the debut show – which features some of the world’s top heavyweights – places the company “into the front ranks of what is the fastest growing sport in the world".
Russian Sambo stylist Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia are among the big names scheduled to appear on the night.
Another former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski, was also recently added to the July 19th card.
But Affliction have been hit by the news that the UFC has, at the last minute, arranged a free-to-air Fight Night special for the same night.
With the UFC having an established fan base, the free broadcast on the Spike network could well harm Affliction’s pay-per-view sales.
John O'Regan
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