Hieron signs with Affliction; Lindland/Belfort may be scrapped

[jlruthven84]

Reigning International Fight League welterweight champion Jay Hieron (15-4) has been approached by Affliction executives and is expected to compete at the organization's "Day of Reckoning" event in October.

On Tuesday a representative from Hieron's Xtreme Couture camp told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) of the upcoming bout.

No opponent has been determined.

"Affliction: Day of Reckoning" takes place Oct. 11 at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The event -- the second one for the rookie Affliction Entertainment promotion -- features a headline match of Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett.

Hieron, a 32-year-old UFC and WEC veteran, hooked up with the IFL soon after its formation in 2006. He's 7-2 in the organization and defeated Delson Heleno for the IFL welterweight title back in December. He made one title defense -- a first-round TKO of Mark Miller in April -- before the organization's financial troubles forced the IFL to cease operations earlier this summer.

Although Affliction is best known for a stocked heavyweight division, executive Tom Atencio has promised the organization would begin signing additional talent for the lighter weight classes. Hieron brings instant credibility to a welterweight division that's still under construction.

The former stand-out high school and collegiate wrestler will now go for his fourth consecutive victory -- and his sixth win in his past seven fights. His only career losses have come to UFC veteran Georges St. Pierre, Jonathan Goulet, Chris Wilson and Brad Blackburn.

For the latest on "Affliction: Day of Reckoning," stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.


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MMAjunkie.com has also learned that a rumored Oct. 11 Affliction bout between Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort -- both of whom were winners at Affliction's first show back in July -- could be scratched.

A source close to Belfort said that the middleweight fighter has been slowed by a lingering hand injury.

As we previously reported, the California State Athletic Commission suspended Belfort 180 days after his July victory over Terry Martin for undisclosed medical reasons (though a hand injury is believed to be the reason why).

Belfort can be cleared early by a doctor, but any signs of a hand injury would make an October return unlikely.

MMAjunkie.com coudln't immediately reach Belfort or Lindland for comment, but we'll have more on this story later in the week.

Good to see Jay find a home, he's certainly a legit talent. Sucks about Belfort/Lindland...anyone think they'll scrap Lindland from the card completely, or try and give him a showcase fight?

Source: Jay Hieron tapped for Oct. 11 Affliction; Lindland vs. Belfort in jeopardy? | MMAjunkie.com

[smoogy]

Hieron vs. Pyle would be a decent matchup

[Bullock]

Don't they both train w/ Xtreme Couture?

[The Sundance Kid]

I hope that Vitor is cleared so he can fight Lindland.

I think it would be a great fight.

[Nasty]

Originally Posted by Bullock

Don't they both train w/ Xtreme Couture?

Yup. Just like a Rothwell/Sylvia fight, it'd be highly unlikely that they'd face each other.

It is nice to see Affliction trying to stock the rest of the weight classes. Hieron is a good pickup (one I think the UFC/WEC should've gotten).

[jhell]

Is the second card cursed or what? These fights keep falling through.

[Bones McGee]

Hieron is kind of a double edged sword for Affliction though how are they gonna promote him when he got thoroughly dominated by a still developing GSP?

[Parpa]

I just see Affliction blowing their wad early. They have to be way down on revenue. i don't believe those live gate or inflated PPV buy numbers. They have some of the best fighters however if they don't see a return on their investment I see another IFL in the works. Yes they have way bigger names,but who is paying to see them besides hardcore fans.

[Nasty]

Originally Posted by Bones McGee

Hieron is kind of a double edged sword for Affliction though how are they gonna promote him when he got thoroughly dominated by a still developing GSP?

Still...it's GSP. It's not like he lost to a still developing Brad Imes or something. 2004 GSP was still a pretty tough dude.

I don't get the bashing of Affliction over signing all this new talent. What are they supposed to do? Just keep the same 12 guys from the last show and reshuffle them until they've exhausted every possible matchup? That might work great for the HWs because there's a good 4-5 shows worth of headliners there, but they have to build their other weight classes up too. Obviously, they're in the hole, but it's a necessary evil in this business. Tito brings in the buyrates and is a short term solution. Guys like Nelson, Hieron, Horodecki, etc are guys they can keep around for the long haul and use to build or add depth to their other divisions. At least they're not going out and signing guys like Tank Abbott or Mark Kerr just to make matchups.

It's kinda like a pro football team. One year, they may make a big splash and sign a bunch of quality free agents (Barnett, Fedor, Sylvia, etc). The next, they sign one or two big ones (Ortiz) and a handful of lower-level guys who add good depth (Matyushenko, Nelson) and youth (Hieron, Horodecki). A problem only arrises if you don't see the dividends you expect from your big guys or you overpay for everyone. Those are two things that remain to be seen from Affliction's roster. So far, I think they're getting an OK return on their initial investment, save for Tim getting choked out in 36 seconds (then again, look who it was against ). I'm interested to see what their numbers are on guys like Hieron or Nelson who were champs in their former organization.

OK, that's my Thursday morning ramble...carry on.