Co-sponsored by the now President of the United States Donald Trump, the Affliction brand of MMA hosted their sophomore event, Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning, on January 24, 2009. The card was headlined by king of kings, Fedor Emelianenko, knocking out Andrei Arlovski in midair no less, causing the former UFC heavyweight champion to do an unconscious faceplant on the canvas. Josh Barnett’s renowned grappling game was front and center in the co-main event, as he ground and pounded Gilbert Yvel from start to finish, forcing his foe to tap to strikes in the final frame.
Affliction’s second go in the fight game produced quite a few one-punch knockouts, besides Fedor’s nuking of Arlovski. Jay Hieron blasted Jason High in just 1:04 of round 1, and Brett Cooper slumped Patrick Speight in the 2nd round of their fight. Perhaps the most devastating knockout of the evening happened when Vitor Belfort melted Matt Lindland with a left hand, and then followed up with some serious ground strikes to seal the deal in just 37 seconds. Lindland instantly began convulsing from the trauma dished out by Belfort, and in a rather scary sight, the Olympic silver medalist took a really long time to return to his feet.
The Affliction promotion was slated for their third event, Affliction Trilogy, which was to be headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett, but Barnett subsequently failed a drug test, and the promotion failed along with it. All in all, the short-lived fight league put on two hardcore events with major production value, top heavyweight fighters being paid top dollar, and spectacular knockouts to boot. For one year and four days, Affliction briefly filled a gaping void that was left behind when PRIDE FC fell by the wayside, and although their run was rather short, they managed to cement their spot in MMA history.
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Main Card:
Fedor Emelianenko def. Andrei Arlovski by KO at 3:14 of round 1: WAMMA Heavyweight Title
Josh Barnett def. Gilbert Yvel by Submission (Strikes) at 3:05 of round 3: Heavyweight
Vitor Belfort def. Matt Lindland by KO at :37 of round 1: Middleweight
Renato Sobral def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou by Submission (D’arce) at 2:36 of round 2: Light Heavyweight
Paul Buentello def. Kirill Sidelnikov by TKO (Doc Stoppage) at 4:18 of round 3: Heavyweight
Dan Lauzon def. Bobby Green by Submission (RNC) at 4:55 of round 1: Lightweight
Prelims:
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Vladimir Matyushenko by KO (Knee) at 4:26 of round 2: Light Heavyweight
L.C. Davis def. Bao Quach by Unanimous Decision: Featherweight
Albert Rios def. Antonio Duarte by Unanimous Decision: Featherweight
Brett Cooper def. Patrick Speight by KO at 4:10 of round 2: Welterweight
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