Donald Trump: Affliction is an Obvious Threat to the UFC

Donald Trump, a real-estate and TV mogul who's long been involved in promoting boxing events, apparently wanted to prove that his affiliation with Affliction Entertainment isn't simply a ceremonial title.

Today, Trump put on his promoter's hat and was the focus of a media conference call to promote the July 19 "Affliction: Banned" event at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.Although completely respectful of the UFC and Dana White, Trump made it very clear that he believes the world's top MMA promotion is threatened by the upstart Affliction organization -- and that they have many reasons to be.

During the call, Trump was asked about White's recent comments regarding Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio. In a recent interview, White said Atencio has "an attitude problem" and is simply a "T-shirt guy" in over his head when it comes to MMA.

Trump wasn't about to jump into the name-calling.

"Tom's done an amazing job, and so has Dana White," Trump said. "As far as I'm concerned. Dana's been very respectful of me and very nice to me, and I always will be to him. I think he's done a terrific job."

Trump prides himself on being a ruthless and cut-throat business man. However, he said he doesn't really understand the UFC's decision to counter "Affliction: Banned" with a UFC event on the same night. "UFC: Silva vs. Irvin," which offers a rare opportunity for fans to watch Anderson Silva on free basic cable, kicks off on Spike TV at the same time Affliction goes live on pay per view.

"I think it's probably not great for the sport, although a lot of people will be watching, and I have a feeling we're going to top them (the UFC) because we have the better fighters," Trump said. "I don't know if it's a good business strategy. ... I wouldn't do it. I don't think I'd go about it that way."

However, like Atencio, Trump believes the counter-programming is proof that the UFC sees Affliction is a viable threat.

"It shows that they're taking [Affliction] very seriously," Trump said. "Obviously, they consider this a threat and they take it seriously, but you know, again, [we're] a group of people with a lot of money who like this particular sport, and I can see someone wanting to [counter us]."

Trump, who admitted he's taken a more active role in Affliction than he first envisioned, said the UFC does have reason to worry. Trump lauded Affliction's upcoming event, which features Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia, and said the show has already sold out (though on Monday, Atencio said approximately 8,500 of the approximately 13,000 available tickets had been sold as of "a couple weeks ago").

Additionally, he made it clear that Affliction has already garnered the interest of the world's top fighters, which is another threat to the competition.

"We have very good fighters, and we're getting ... more and more," Trump said. "All the fighters want to sign with us, so [UFC executives] are taking it very seriously."

One such fighter is Tito Ortiz, a former UFC light heavyweight champion who's had a very rocky relationship with the UFC, and specifically, White. After a loss to Lyoto Machida in May, Ortiz had fulfilled the terms of his UFC contract, and he said he was free to begin negotiating with other companies 30 days after the fight.

Ortiz is no longer among the top 10 fighters in the world, but his name recognition and marketability remain among the highest for any MMA competitor. Fights featuring Ortiz -- even ones in just the past couple years -- remain among the organization's most lucrative. However, because of his disdain for White, Ortiz has said he's likely to leave the UFC for another organization.

Ortiz was a contestant on a recent celebrity edition of Trump's reality show, "The Apprentice," and the unlikely duo forged a friendship.

"I think Tito is terrific," Trump said. "He not only was a nice guy and very different from the way he is in the ring, he was really talented, really smart, and yes, I think he likes me a lot. And I like him a lot. That doesn't mean he signed a contract (with Affliction), but I think Tito would love to deal with us."

Trump, who repeatedly said that famed TV producer Mark Burnett raves about Affliction (future TV deal, maybe?), also confirmed that he's in the company for the long haul. With its hefty fighter payroll and optimistic pay-per-view projections, many consider Affliction flirting with financial disaster.

However, Trump said the company is in great shape.

"This first fight has been amazingly successful; I hope it's going to be a great evening of fights, and I think it will," Trump said. "We're continuing to go along, and I'd predict that [Affliction will] get bigger and bigger and better and better. Again, it's a very strong group of people in terms of the finances, so that's never going to be a problem."