Filed under: Affliction, Dream, EliteXC, MMA Media Watch
How awesome would it be to have Fedor Emelianenko fight on network television? How incredible a moment would that be for mixed martial arts?
I don't want to get ahead of myself here -- it's probably not going to happen -- but the news today that EliteXC (the one MMA promotion that has a live, prime time network TV deal) is co-promoting fights with Affliction (the promotion that has Fedor under contract in the U.S.) makes it at least possible that Fedor will fight on CBS.
Michael Cohen, chief operating officer of Affliction, tells Sergio Non of USA Today that Elite XC and Affliction will co-promote Affliction's next event with Golden Boy Promotions, and that it will take place on January 24 and air either on CBS or Showtime.
Affliction claims that Fedor is booked for its January show, which would mean Fedor will be on either CBS or Showtime (and if they got a big name like Fedor, I'm sure they'd put it on CBS).
The only problem is I'm not so sure I buy Affliction's claim that they've got Fedor lined up for their next show. I think it's more likely that Fedor will fight on New Year's Eve in Japan, for Dream. But I'd love for Affliction to prove me wrong, and for Fedor to get the kind of huge exposure in America that only network television can provide.
