According to Kevin Iole at Yahoo! Sports, Affliction has decided to throw in the promotional towel in return for a sponsorship placement with the UFC.
In addition, there’s talk of a major UFC announcement tonight on ESPN radio.
Payout Opinion:
It’s certainly a shocking turn of events – especially considering that Iole had earlier reported the UFC as turning down Affliction just last week (and earlier this year, for that matter).
If Affliction is coming back on as a sponsor, it creates a distinct conflict of interest with the Tapout brand that is currently the UFC’s official clothing sponsor and long-time loyal business partner.
I suspect that if Affliction does get back into the UFC, Zuffa will retain some sort of ownership share in the company. A good amount of historical precedence with Zuffa exists to back this up (Tapout, Xyience, etc.).
And, really, what other reason might this deal be of any interest to the UFC? The UFC doesn’t need Affliction’s sponsorship dollars, nor was it worried about the promotional competition that Affliction had presented (obviously, Affliction had done enough to sink its own ship).
More to come…things are happening quickly!
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