UFC AND AFFLICTION ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT

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UFC AND AFFLICTION ISSUE JOINT STATEMENT
Saturday, July 25, 2009 - by MMAWeekly.com Staff
The talk of the day on Friday centered on Affliction. Friday morning, MMAWeekly.com reported that the promotion was calling managers and fighters to notify them that its Aug. 1 “Trilogy” event had been cancelled.

Shortly thereafter, Yahoo! Sports writer Kevin Iole reported, and MMAWeekly.com subsequently confirmed with the UFC, that not only was Affliction cancelling “Trilogy,” it also was shuttering its mixed martial arts promotion business and returning as an official sponsor of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Below is the full press statement released late Friday by Affliction and the UFC:

Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship “UFC” organization and Affliction Holdings, LLC announced today they have agreed to a collaboration that will benefit the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and ultimately the sport’s growing fan base.

The collaboration ensures commitments by UFC and Affliction for Mixed Martial Arts to continue to be recognized as a mainstream sport.

“We are excited about the return of Affliction to the UFC and look forward to seeing our fighters once again walk into the Octagon wearing the Affliction brands. Affliction is an innovator of mixing fashion with this sport and we are looking forward to working together to promote the sport.” Dana White, President of UFC.

“Our brand is synonymous with the ‘Live Fast’ approach to life and UFC is the perfect venue for us to market our brand. We have come to an agreement with the UFC which we feel will be the best for the sport and will help the UFC continue delivering the highest caliber of fights,” Eric Foss, Co-Founder of Affliction.