The July 19 "Affliction: Banned" event recently suffered its first card casualty, as K.O. Dynasty Management confirmed that Vernon "Tiger" White had been pulled from the event.
Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio today told MMAjunkie.com (
UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) that the organization now has its sights set on UFC veteran Edwin Dewees (35-12-0) as a possible replacement to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (13-3).
"We're interested in Edwin Dewees," Atencio said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him, but I know somebody's reaching out to him, and hopefully that will work out. But we're in talks right now."
As we reported earlier today, White was pulled from the card after testing positive for a banned diuretic after a May 31 Xtreme Fighting Association event in Las Vegas. Atencio said no sanctions have yet been levied on White, but he also said that Affliction could not wait until a decision was issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
"I haven't talked to [White], but I know that he has a hearing on the ninth of July," Atencio said. "We just can't wait that long to find out what's going to happen to him."
In his place could step Dewees, a Lions Den fighter who spent two thirds of his career with the Arizona-based Rage in the Cage organization. Recently, after winning five of six fights, the 25-year-old fell into a four-fight losing skid. However, he rebounded in April for his most recent win: a first-round submission victory over Richard Blake at a NoLimit Fighting event.
Although he was hardly the biggest name on a star-studded card, the loss of White comes on the heels of the UFC's announcement that it will hold a card featuring middleweight champion Anderson Silva on the same evening as the "Affliction: Banned" event -- and air it on Spike TV for free. Although a portion of the Affliction card also airs on basic cable via FSN, the main card comes with a $39.95 pay-per-view price tag.
However, Atencio remains confident that the drawing power of the evening's fighters will still attract MMA's hardcore fans.
"Anybody that was going to buy our pay-per-view, I think they're still going to buy it," Atencio said. "I think the people that weren't going to buy it, [the UFC event] just gives them something to do now. I don't think it really changed the hardcore fans' outlook."
The Affliction executive also hinted at a still-to-come major marketing push that the organization hopes will bring in the casual audience as well.
"Right now, we haven't even broken water (on marketing) yet," Atencio said. "We're waiting until the push because we know a lot of people, especially the casual fan, they'll forget about it if we push too soon. ... We've sold about 8,000 tickets so far, and that's with minimal advertising."
Featuring three ex-UFC champions, both Emelianenko brothers, and the greatest assembled cast of recognizable names on a card outside the UFC, Atencio believes his card will stand up to any challenges between now and July 19.
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