5 Oz. Exclusive: Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell not expected to fight at second Affliction show
August 7, 2008 by Sam Caplan
Despite public comments that he would return for Affliction’s second-ever MMA event on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia currently has not been scheduled for the show and is unlikely to be added, his manager Monte Cox relayed to FiveOuncesOfPain.com on Wednesday.
And in spite of a report in the Aug. 4 print edition of the Wrestling Observer that indicated Ben Rothwell (also managed by Cox) was looking for a possible fight against Paul Buentello, Cox also stated that Rothwell is not scheduled for the card and is unlikely to be added as well.
Cox did indicate that the two Miletich Fighting Systems heavyweights could be involved with the promotion’s third-ever MMA event.
I smell something foul afoot here. Affliction appears to be on very shaky ground right now. I would not bet money on the longevity of that company in the MMA fight game. Wonder if Tim and Ben are going to fight in the next Adreneline show?
Could this be some cost cutting on the part of Affliction?
[...] sheets (if they keep one of those … I recommend Excel, it’s numerically fantastic) by not booking Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell. And now after several months of it’s existance I can finally say [...]
Why they hell would they pay another $800,000 for Sylvia?
This decision makes complete sense.
Tim and Ben sounds like an incredibly boring fight.
#2,
i totally agree. i think they plan on having only 2-3 big fights and the rest filled with guys that casual fan will have no interest in seeing. leaving fedor off the card could be bad too. i dont see them lasting too long
On one side they save a million dollars on fighter pay by having neither on the card. On the other, this card won’t sell itself with just Barnett/Arlovski.
i could’ve sworn, that during the last event, they said that Rothwell said him and Syvlia would never fight again..
so, next thing you know they’re scheduled to fight each other???
i’m confused..
Rich S., I think you’re reading it incorrectly. “Neither Sylvia nor Rothwell are expected to fight…” would be a clearer, if not more verbose, headline.
I think they both have prior commitments to Adrenaline.
ohhhhh, thanks serg, you cleared that up..
i thought it meant, they’re fighting each other, just not at next event..
clearly it means neither of them will fight at next event.
thanks..
Someone said Affliction is in it’s infancy. If this trend keeps up we’re looking at a stillbirth. Besides all of that Ben and Tim aren’t compelling fighters anyway. Affliction should have started from the ground up instead of going for the big splash. Maybe that is where they will be ultimately head. Square One