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Tom Atencio, Affliction VP Interview:
Exclusive Interview: Tom Atencio -- Affliction VP

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Hey, Tom. Thanks for taking the time to talk. Dana White has counter programmed on July 19th, offering a free Spike show that will feature Anderson Silva. What are your thoughts on that?



I think it's flattering. I mean, come on, that means we're obviously a threat to him. It means we're obviously in competition with him because he wouldn't be doing it if we weren't. So my guess from the polls and from what everybody's saying, they're gonna buy my pay per view or come to the fight and they're gonna Tivo or tape this fight because it's free.



That's what I'm doing.



Yeah, exactly. That's all I had to do is ask you. Just think about it. It just gives the people who were not going to buy my pay per view something to do now.



There does seem to be a lot of brand loyalty with some UFC fans, so they're glad they're getting something to watch that night other than your event.



Exactly. I think the guys that weren't going to buy my pay per view, they're still not going to buy it, so that's okay. Like I said, obviously we're some kind of a threat, because if we weren't he wouldn't even be thinking twice about us.



I noticed a little bit of guerrilla marketing on the Affliction side as well. You guys have taken old quotes from Dana about your fighters and are using them on advertisements. Whose idea was that?



(Laughs) We have a great team here and we're doing everything we can to make sure that everybody knows about our show.





I'm sure Dana won't be happy reading those quotes.



I'm sure he probably won't. But all's fair in love and war, right?



Business is war, that's what they say.



Exactly.



I see you hired Big John McCarthy. That's a great acquisition. Big John is trying to get the unified MMA rules changed. Will Affliction be on board for those changes? Do you like the changes?



You know, unfortunately I am so busy right now, I haven't been even able to really look into that. But, you know, John's a good friend and John's been in the industry since day one. So I pretty much would stand behind John in whatever he does. He's a smart enough guy and I think he's so knowledgeable of this whole industry that if he feels some changes need to be made then yeah. When I have time I'll look into it, but I would say yeah, I stand behind John in whatever he does.



There's been some speculation as to whether Affliction will be allowing elbows on the ground.



I think in what I'm trying do in trying to bring--if I can--bring everybody together including the UFC, I think that it makes sense to unify the rules. Why would we want to be much different than the UFC? No matter what anybody thinks of the UFC, what Dana White's tactics are, he is the Q-tip of the industry. He's been there since day one. And, you know, love him or hate him, they're the 200 pound gorilla. It doesn't make sense to be completely different from them, does it?



Well, like you say they are the biggest name in MMA and their business model is certainly a success.



Exactly. I think people are fools if they think that they're gonna come in and be completely different. I think you have to conform to what works.



One difference between Affliction and the UFC is that Affliction is using a ring instead of a cage.



Uh-huh.



I assume the ring you're going to use is not a standard boxing ring, which has caused problems when used in MMA fights.



It's an MMA ring. It's going to be towards Pride. It's a 30 by 30. The actual ring itself, the fighting area, the ropes are 24 by 24.



How many ropes?



There's going to be five.



When I spoke to Josh Barnett about the ring, he said Affliction asked the fighters their opinions. I guess more fighters preferred the ring?



Yeah, actually even Tim Sylvia was completely happy with the ring. I actually almost expected him to want the cage, but he was totally fine with the ring. And once again I think I would be foolish to not speak with the fighters and get their input. Because those are the guys that are in there doing it. Anybody who doesn't fight, anybody who practices but has never been in a ring, can speculate and you can think of everything that you want but unless you do it you don't know.



I think Fedor's style works better in a ring. Did Fedor have input?



Oh, of course. I speak with everybody before I make any decisions. I try to make an educated guess, but I think an educated guess means you talk to people who are completely knowledgeable.



Did you happen to catch UFC 86?



Absolutely.



What did you think about the Lytle fight where he was bleeding really bad. Some people felt that they should have stopped the fight for appearance sake, what do you think?



He was defending himself intelligently. He was cut pretty darn bad, but unfortunately that's what refs are in there for and if you can't trust the referee's decision then why have the ref in there? I mean, if it's a referee who constantly makes bad decisions, then maybe the athletic commission should consider getting rid of that referee. But you know, I guess it's just like anything else. It's just like boxing. When there's been a fight where the consensus is the ref should have stopped it but he let it go...you can't please everybody.



I saw an MMA fight stopped due to a broken nose in the first round, and then I've seen fights, like the Kim Couture fight, where they let it continue even though Kim had a broken jaw. So I guess it's the ref's discretion.



I think it is. I think the great thing about MMA is if somebody feels like they've had enough they can tap out. In boxing, look what happened with Diaz the other day. He took a beating, man. And finally he got knocked out and he face planted and it was a little scary looking. You're gonna always have the die hard boxing fans who look at MMA and they think it's a little bit more brutal, and you're going to have the MMA fans who think they maybe they should have stopped it. Like you and I both said, you can't please everybody. You're always going to have critics no matter what you do in life.



You make a really good point about tapping out. In boxing, I remember one Oscar De La Hoya fight where he totally shattered his opponent's nose, I mean it was all over his face. When the opponent quit, the announcers were in effect calling him a coward, which I felt was totally unfair.



Exactly. My favorite thing is, people criticize somebody in the ring and they're actually doing it. You don't know how they feel, how much pain they're in. So to criticize somebody for stopping, it's ridiculous.



Matt Lindland, an Affliction fighter and elected politician, says that the UFC contracts are illegal because the UFC is acting as both promoter and manager to the fighters. What's your take?



Yeah, you know, Matt's a smart guy. And it's my understanding, because I was there when Matt said that, and I would assume he read the law and that's his interpretation of the law. Matt's been in the fight game a long time--with all the contracts. So yeah, I would assume that he definitely knows what he's talking about. I'm not a lawyer. I have my contracts and I think there's a lot of disputes with the UFC and what they're doing and how they're trying to control everything. I think my understanding, whether I'm right or wrong it's my understanding, that Dana White has tried to work the same way that Vince McMahon does with the WWE. And once again it's my understanding that he definitely controls a lot of what goes on, and there's not much you can do without his blessing. And, you know, right or wrong he's a business man and when you're in business you tend to put things towards yourself. So I hope that answered your question, I know it was a long way around.



Well, Matt Lindland is the Law, so I guess we'll just have to take his word on that.



(Laughs) Exactly. It's in his name, right.



How are advance ticket sales and other indicators of how the turn out is going to be?



Tickets are going really well. I'm getting a huge interest from celebrities. I've got a lot of boxers showing up, which I'm real happy about. Because that means that boxers and the boxing community are taking notice as well. Which I want. I want people, the die hard fans and the boxing fans, to start getting interested in MMA too. So everything is going really well. Tickets are selling continuously. I think we're definitely going to make ourselves noticed.


Michael Bisping told a newspaper that Fedor might be injured but will fight anyway. What does Affliction say about that?



I have no idea where he came up with that, if he said that. I just spoke with [Fedor's] people right now and they're coming over. They'll be here next week.



You have several events planned. Do you have any dates?



We're looking at end of October, early November for the second one and then February for the third.



Any new venues or will they all take place in California?



No, you know what? We're looking at a couple of different places. Once I get the venue contract finished and everything, then I'll definitely let everybody know.



If my vote counts for anything, I'm voting for New Jersey.



(Laughs) Of course.



Dana White likes to call you the T-shirt guy. Do you have any pet names for Dana White?



No, you know what, I'm not even into that. I like whatever you want to call it, the high road, whatever. I just do what I do. Just like some fighters say, let's do the talking in the ring. I prefer being that guy. I don't need to sling mud. He's the man, I'll give him that. He's the one who has been there from day one, I'm the new guy on the block, how's that?



Fair enough. I will say that you when you do your talking in the ring, it's quite a statement because this is a phenomenal card. I'm really excited about it. I think competition is good for MMA and you're bringing it.



Well, I appreciate that. That's what I'm here for, to give fans and fighters [a great event]. I build relationships, I don't burn bridges. And I'm here to build relationships and hopefully they're long lasting. And obviously, yeah, I'm a t-shirt guy, but these relationships started somewhere and they're continuing. So I appreciate what you said and I think it's a huge card. I'm looking forward to it.



Great stuff, Tom. As always, it's a pleasure talking to you. Good luck with the show on the 19th.



Thanks, Garv.