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7:49 PM EST
Donald Trump confirmed his involvement in Affliction Mixed Martial Arts
today at a press conference on the 25th floor of Trump Tower in Midtown
Manhattan.
"I've got a lot of money," the real estate mogul stated, "That
helps, right? But also and perhaps more importantly, I seem to get a lot of
attention. For instance, if I wasn't here today, you might have maybe one
writer. And now the place is packed."
The billionaire star of "The
Apprentice" said he'd been in discussions regarding a partnership with
Affliction for six months. "It's really something that I'm doing because I
enjoy doing it," Trump exclaimed, "If we make money, that's great. I think we
will. I think it will be successful. What I do is usually successful."
When asked about his level of commitment to the project, Trump said,
"It's not a very big deal for me. When you build a billion-dollar building like
I'm doing in Dubai and lots of other places, that's a much bigger financial
commitment."
Showing that he learned something from Vince McMahon in
terms of showmanship and timing, Trump said Affliction has the best fighters in
MMA, and then all of a sudden a phone call interrupted the press
conference. It was former UFC World Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, and
Trump was trumping the competition already.
"Hello, Andrei," Trump said.
"You think this was a setup? This has got to be the worst setup I've ever seen."
At least Trump didn't try to play it off like a wrestling angle.
"We're having a very successful press conference," Trump told the
heavyweight, "A lot of people showed up. Who knows what they're going to write?
Who the hell cares? It ultimately doesn't matter as long as they write."
Arlovski confirmed his fight will be against Ben Rothwell for
Affliction's July 19 debut event in Anaheim, California.
When it comes
to Tito Ortiz, whose name has been mentioned here on www.mmanewsdesk.com in
association with The Donald, here's the answer the media was given: "We'll
probably be asking Tito to come along also," Trump said. "We have many, many
great fighters, but we'll be asking Tito to come along."
OK, so he was honest about the Arlovski phone call. Probably, by our
suspicions, not so honest about the Ortiz situation.
In regards to Tito's arch nemesis, UFC President Dana White, Trump stated
"I have great respect for Dana White. Some of the people in the room may not
like him. I like him and I think he's done a very good job."
We should look back at this story in 6 months and look at that statement.
By then, the war of words will probably have begun.
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