Dana White and the UFC's decision to counter program Affliction's Banned fight card may have some unintended consequences. In creating a rival telecast the UFC has instantly legitimized Affliction as their rival; think Voldemort and Harry Potter, yes I am that big of a dork. Affliction hasn't even put on a single event and the UFC is trying to stop them before they get out of the gate. Clearly the UFC feels, at the very least, that there is a potential threat with Affliction.

The problem is compounded by media attention. The storyline of competition between these two organizations has filled MMA media outlets, for instance sherdog.com has a story entitled Affliction vs. UFC, Round 1. It's shocking to think that Affliction can truly rival the mass marketing, for MMA anyways, the UFC enjoys. What happened when Fedor was last on PPV 30,000 buys, nowhere near the UFC. You can't blame the media though. Here is a great story of direct competition with all of Dana White's colorful vernacular being tossed around in the process.

While the UFC has legitimized Affliction it doesn't mean that Affliction has won or even will compete. Mixed martial arts is still a niche sport and many of the fighters are not known to the recent MMA U.S. market.

Still the UFC's actions gives insight into their perceptions: a popular clothing company, top tier talent and wealthy investor in Donald Trump, clearly this is something to feel threatened about.