Fedor Emelianenko has decided not to go on a PR tour to hype his January 24 fight with Andrei Arlovski, and no matter how you spin it, that's bad news for Affliction.
According to Emelianenko's promoters at M-1, Fedor just wants to put extra focus on his training, especially after he lost a combat sambo match. But if that's the real reason, that calls into question Fedor's own statements that sambo is just his hobby, and that losing in sambo isn't in any way a reflection on his MMA skills.
My own feeling is that it's more likely that the PR blitz was called off because the company is trying to cut costs on Affliction: Day of Reckoning. But I don't think PR is the right part of the budget to cut costs on, because this is a fight card that needs all the promotion it can get.
I'm looking forward to seeing Fedor vs. Arlovski -- it's a great heavyweight battle. But the way things are shaping up, I get the feeling that it's a great heavyweight battle that hardly anyone is going to see.
Fedor Emelianenko Won't Hype Andrei Arlovski Fight: Bad News for Affliction originally appeared on MMA FanHouse on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:43:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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