It looks like Mark Cuban won't be the only loquacious billionaire to throw his hat into the MMA ring. Affliction issued a press release yesterday to drum up interest in a press conference that they will hold at noon on Thursday. Interest should be sufficiently drummed up when you catch that the presser will be held at Trump Tower and by this quote from Donald Trump, via MMAFrenzy.
"I am particularly excited to partner with Affliction and become a major player in promotion of MMA; the youngest and fastest growing sport to emerge in the last century."
No specific information is given about what The Donald's involvement might be with the promotion or the July 19th event. It does give Affliction a major publicity shot in the arm to go along with the highly anticipated Tim Sylvia-Fedor Emelianenko main event. If he's truly thowing his hat in the ring it will have a huge impact on the sport.
One thought is that it may impact Tito Ortiz's future in the sport. He's a free agent and is friendly with Trump after appearing on The Celebrtity Apprentice. If Trump is looking to invest in MMA, he'd probably want someone he knows as part of the effort and Ortiz would bring Affliction mainstream star power.
One thing is for sure. If Trump is making a serious play into the world of mixed martial arts, his feud with Cuban will continue and a feud with Dana White will surely erupt down the line.
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