Originally Posted by MMAJunkie

Atencio: Affliction countering UFC 100 on July 11 "not even a possibility"


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Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio was among the many notable figures in attendance at Saturday's "Shamrock vs. Diaz" in San Jose, Calif.

And while highly complimentary of the first event in Strikeforce's new era, Atencio said he wasn't there in any official capacity.

"I'm a fan first and foremost," Atencio today told MMAjunkie "But I have a good relationship with (Strikeforce CEO) Scott Coker. I've always said that. I'll continue to say that any time I talk about him."

Atencio said the strength of his relationship with Coker was evidenced in Strikeforce's approval of Affliction as a sponsor of main-card winner Scott Smith.

"[Coker] could have chosen not to let me sponsor Scott Smith, but he did," Atencio said. "I think that speaks volumes about Scott. I'm a fan first and foremost, and I have a good relationship with them."

Atencio said he believes Affliction and Strikeforce will continue to work together in hopes of advancing the sport as a whole.

"I'm always looking to cross-promote," Atencio said. "We've talked about it. Aside from that, we share fighters. [Strikeforce] has (Affliction and Strikeforce veteran Renato) 'Babalu' (Sobral). We've used a couple of his fighters.

"For me and [Coker], I know it's just for the greater of the sport. It's not about anything more than that."

Atencio said he can envision a situation in which Affliction and Strikeforce can both survive in the marketplace as viable secondary competitors to the UFC, though he knows the sport's biggest organization doesn't want to see that happen.

"I hope [all three organizations can survive], but you never know," Atencio said. "The UFC likes to crush. That's what they do, and that's what they've done. They don't want competition, and that's evident by them putting on the free event on Saturday, replaying [UFC 94 on Spike TV in order to counter-program Strikeforce].

"But it is what it is. ["Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz"] was a successful show. You saw the amount of people in there. If we can all three stay in, then great. If not, then I guess the strong will survive."

Affliction is currently in the development stages of promoting its third event. Rumors of a July 11 date that would counter-program UFC 100 have been widely circulating. Atencio said while nothing is finalized, that plan would be absurd.

"That's all rumors, and that's just what people think," Atencio said. "In my eyes, it's not even a possibility. It doesn't make sense."

Atencio said he hoped to begin finalizing details for the event after a series of upcoming meetings with his business partners.

"We're still talking," Atencio said. "There's a lot of things going on.

"I leave this weekend to Russia, Japan, then Korea for some fights out there. I'll talk to my partners, sit down with my partners at M-1, and we'll all just try to figure out everything."

While Affliction's logo was on Smith's shorts at Saturday's event, Coker and Strikeforce may not have intended for Atencio's name to make the evening's Showtime broadcast.

But after Smith fought back from almost certain defeat, "Hands of Steel" worked in the executive's name for the second time in as many post-fight interviews. While Smith took a swipe at Atencio's masculinity for the second consecutive broadcast – thanking him as a "personal masseuse" – the Affliction VP said he found the humor in his friend's personalized message.

"It's cool," Atencio said. "We have a good relationship. I thought it was a hilarious.

"It was funny, I didn't even catch it. My girlfriend did. She said, 'Oh my God, he said you're his masseuse.' It's good. How he says it with a straight face is beyond me, especially after getting the [expletive] beat out of him."