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Almost as soon as Affliction’s debut mixed martial arts event ended, news and rumors about the numbers and their second event started flowing. For the most part, the MMA media saw “Banned” as a success. Affliction VP Tom Atencio claimed it did over a 100,000 PPV buys, which would be a first for any non-UFC MMA event in North America. The live gate numbers for “Banned” rivaled the UFC’s shows that had visited The Honda Center before it. Affliction II news was leaked only a week after “Banned” had wrapped up. Their next show would take place in the UFC’s backyard, Las Vegas, on October 11, and Fedor Emelianenko would return to defend his shiny new WAMMA Heavyweight Championship belt.

It was guaranteed to happen. Someone would come along and refute Affliction’s claim of +100,000 pay-per-view buys. Unfortunately for Affliction, this person happens to be one of the industry’s most reliable journalists, Dave Meltzer. In Meltzer’s latest addition of The Wrestling Observer, he states that independent sources are predicting 50,000 to 85,000 buys for “Banned.”

More Affliction Banned photos at CombatLifestyle.com

If you would have asked anyone who’s knowledgeable about mixed martial arts if Affliction would do over 100,000 pay-per-view buys when they announced their first show, they would have told you not a chance in hell. Why would they say yes? No promotion besides the UFC has ever done over 100,000 pay-per-view buys in the US. Why would Affliction succeed where so many have failed?

The CSAC has released the fighter payouts for Affliction “Banned.” Keep in mind, these figures represent the base contracted pay the fighter receives from the promotion. These figures do not include any additional bonuses and/or sponsorship money, which in many cases exceeds a fighter’s base pay. These numbers also do not account for taxes, insurance, and license fees.

July 19 has come and gone, and for the most part, it was a great night of mixed martial arts. Both events delivered in their own rights. Now that its all over and I’ve had some time to digest it all, it’s time a look at what transpired, and what’s next.