Retired Referee and MMA Legend “Big” John McCarthy
Joins Team Affliction as Color Commentator
“Affliction Banned” PPV July 19 in Anaheim
SIGNAL HILL, California (July 3, 2008) – Former MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy may have retired from working in the UFC® Octagon but he will be a color commentator for the July 19th “Affliction Banned” pay-per-view event, featuring the WAMMA heavyweight championship fight between the most lethal MMA heavyweight of all-time, Russian M1 superstar legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (27-1), and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, McCarthy refereed 535 fights during his 14 years as an MMA referee, and he operates an MMA school in Valencia, California. He started refereeing in the UFC’s second show in 1994 and retired this past December. An MMA ambassador all over the world, “Big” John developed into being as much a part of the UFC as the fighters that entered the Octagon. Now, though, he is a member of Team Affliction.
“Affliction Banned,” presented by Affliction Entertainment, is so stacked with talent that it had to be separated into two live shows produced for broadcast. The night’s activities will kick off with a one-hour, free live telecast on FSN (Fox Sports Net) in the United States and on The Fight Network in Canada starting at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM/ET), dubbed “Affliction Live.” Following that is “Affliction Banned” — five incredible fights on pay-per-view starting at 6 PM/PT (9 PM/ET) via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewers Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice in the United States and Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95.
Tickets for “Affliction Banned” range between $50.00 and $1,000.00, and are on sale at Honda Center’s Box Office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.
“Affliction Banned” on Closed Circuit TV at Gold Coast Hotel & Casino In Las Vegas July 19 in Anaheim
SIGNAL HILL, California (July 3, 2008) – Dueling MMA events will be shown within walking distance of each other July 19 for fight fans in Las Vegas as Affliction Entertainment presents “Affliction Banned” on closed circuit television at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino, directly across the street from where UFC’s Fight Night will be broadcast at the Palm Hotel and Casino.
The “Affliction Banned” pay-per-view event, featuring the WAMMA heavyweight championship fight between the most lethal MMA heavyweight of all-time, Russian M1 superstar legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (27-1), and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), will be broadcast live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Fans at the Gold Coast will watch more than four hours or world-class mixed-martial-arts action, starting at 5 PM/PT with a live one-hour telecast of “Affliction Live,” featuring Fedor’s brother, Aleksander “The Grim Reaper” Emelianenko (13-3) versus Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (23-10), followed by the exclusive presentation of “Affliction Banned.”
“Affliction Banned,” presented by Affliction Entertainment, arguably is the greatest MMA event ever, headlined by Fedor vs. Sylvia and powerfully supported by four other incredible bouts: former UFC® heavyweight title-holder Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (12-5) faces IFL® titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-5), Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett (21-5) fights stateside for the first time in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent to ever knock him out — Brazilian strongman Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-7); three-time All-American wrestler Mike Whitehead (20-5) battles Brazilian sensation Renato “Babalu” Sobral (29-7); 2000 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and Oregon House of Representative candidate, Matt “The Law” Lindland (20-5), meets Brazilian favorite Fabio “Negao” Nascimento (8-3).
The Gold Coast Sports Book will be taking wagers on the entire “Affliction Banned” card in its Sports Book starting July 12th, right up to fight time. The official Las Vegas line on the Affliction Card as set by Las Vegas Sports Consultants is:
WMMA Heavyweight Championship of the World (5 – 5 minute rounds)
Fighters
Odds
% Chance to win
Tim Sylvia
+350
20.00%
Fedor Emelianenko
-450
80.00%
Heavyweights (3 – 5 minutes rounds)
Ben Rothwell
+240
27.00%
Andrei Arlovski
-300
73.00%
Heavyweights (3 – 5 minutes rounds)
Josh Barnett
-360
76.20%
Pedro Rizzo
+280
23.80%
Light Heavyweights (3 – 5 minute rounds)
Fabio Negao
+300
22.70%
Matt Lindland
-380
77.30%
Heavyweights (3 – 5 minutes rounds)
Mike Whitehead
+210
30.30%
Renato Sobral
-250
69.70%
