UFC May Hold the “Trump” Card over The Donald
By MAPro • Oct 21st, 2008 • Category: Industry Insider, Martial Arts ResoucesLas Vegas, Nevada…Donald Trump is obviously a savvy investor and negotiator, but he may have met his match in UFC President Dana White who seems to believe that Trump’s investment in Affliction Entertainment will go south because it isn’t able to deliver on its promise of a Randy Couture/Fedor Emelianenko showdown.
During an earlier 2008 press conference, Trump boasted that by joining with Affliction, it would be able to challenge the dominance of the UFC, especially once it put Couture and Emelianenko in the same ring. Emelianenko is currently under contract with Affliction.
Not so fast, says White. Following the settlement of the lawsuits and countersuits between Couture and UFC, he will reportedly fight WWE Champion Brock Lesnar on November 15th, under a UFC contract. Some MMA commentators think this is a move to eliminate Affliction as a UFC competitor because The Donald and his partner won’t be able to stage the much-heralded Couture/Emelianenko fight.
It appears White’s strategy is not to interfere with the Affliction/Emelianenko relationship because he expects Affliction to go the way of so many UFC competitors, leaving Emelianenko to sign with UFC in the near future; and then UFC can promote the fight everyone wants to see. Your move, Donnie!
You clearly lack any understanding of Affliction Entertainment or Mr. Trump’s business capabilities. While the fight between Fedor and Couture would have been fantastic, it certainly is not the end all! There are many fighters who can challenge Fedor at a level above Couture’s abilities. Dana White has nothing over Mr. Trump and the Lesnar fight will be another boring event. Just wait and see what Affliction has in store for the fans!