Affliction 'Trumps' the MMA world

There’s an old saying that ‘politics makes for strange bedfellows’. So too, apparently, does mixed martial arts. In the past year or two there’s been all sorts of names famous and infamous who’ve actually involved themselves in MMA, or else have talked about it or have been rumored to be getting involved. While not exhaustive, this list would include:

Mike Tyson, the Japanese yakuza, Oscar de la Hoya/Golden Boy Promotions, Mark Cuban, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley, Chuck Zito, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Vadim Finkelstein, Mark Ecko, the Russian government, Bill Goldberg, David Mamet, every major TV network in Japan and the US, rappers Nelly, T.I., Lil Jon, Ludacris, Jenna Jamison, Busta Rhymes, Skinlab, etc., etc., etc.

None has made for bigger news or may eventually have more significance than Donald Trump’s recently announced involvement with Affliction Clothing’s new MMA promotion. Trump has purchased a still unknown but ‘significant equity stake’ in the promotional endeavor. In fact, “The Donald�? was noticeably vague about the extent of his financial involvement at a NYC press conference announcing the deal:

"I've got a lot of money. 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."

Trump continued, making comments that downplayed the size of the Affliction investment relative to his net worth and even being dismissive about making money at it:

"It's really something that I'm doing because I enjoy doing it. If we make money, that's great. I think we will. I think it will be successful. What I do is usually successful. It's financial, but 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."

A press release issued by Trump’s organization was a little less flippant about the reasoning behind their namesake’s involvement in MMA:

“I have been a fan of professional sports since childhood, and I am particularly impressed by the athleticism, courage, and strength of these disciplined athletes,�? Donald J. Trump remarked. “This particular sport resembles my business style of being fast paced, strategic, and aggressive…remembering to never give up. I am particularly excited to partner with Affliction and become a major player in promotion of MMA; the youngest and fastest growing sport to emerge in the last century.�?

So how significant is Trump’s involvement with Affliction? From a financial standpoint its impossible to say without knowing the particulars of the deal. Like the man himself said, however, (he’s) ‘got a lot of money’ and ‘that never hurts’. Trump’s net worth is an estimated $3 billion which makes him a slightly ‘bigger billionaire’ than Mark Cuban ($2.8 billion). He’s likely worth more than both Fertitta brothers combined, though its even harder to pin down their net worth since one of their most significant holdings (UFC parent Zuffa, LLC) is privately held. They’re also in the process of taking the Station Casinos company private. In the Fall of 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated the net worth of the Fertitta’s at $1.3 billion each. In other words, Trump is now the wealthiest individual to ‘buy in’ to the MMA business.

Still, even assuming that these net worth numbers are accurate there’s no way to know the amount of money Trump has invested or his level of commitment and involvement. It might be essentially a ‘symbolic’ stake that Trump’s notoriously large ego couldn’t help making sound larger with the intensifier ‘significant’. On the other hand it could be a significant investment which would immediately make Affliction much more viable financially.

So what’s in it for Donald? While his casino holdings aren’t as extensive as they were during the Mike Tyson era when Trump Resorts would frequently host/promote/sponsor his fights, they are still significant. He still owns a 27% stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts and serves as the company’s Chairman and public face. Trump Entertainment Resorts has been in bankruptcy status for several years, though they continue to operate their well known Atlantic City casinos. This holding company is separate from the Trump Organization, through which he conducts his non-gaming business and provides the more substantial source of his wealth. But like Trump himself said on the occasion of the casino company’s bankruptcy filing its all "really just a technical thing" and it would require access to the company’s books (which we’re not getting) and a team of CPA’s to figure out what’s what.

Trump has also been trying to get a foothold in the Las Vegas gaming market for years without much success. Maybe he’s looking to use Affliction as either a thorn in the side of the Fertittas, or thinking that with the growth of MMA that being a ‘player’ in the sport will give him some more leverage. Or else he could just want some compelling fight events at his New Jersey properties, which might also be a way to ‘get back’ at the insular Las Vegas gaming community by creating an East Coast competitor to their lucrative UFC fight weekends. 

Of course it could be as simple as him seeing Affliction as a promotion and MMA as a sport as a good investment opportunity. Still, Trump seldom makes things simple and always has an angle. Clearly he’s got some compelling financial incentive to ‘buy in’ at this point.

And what about Affliction? There may or may not be a financial upside for them, but even if Donald’s investment is nominal or symbolic his imprinteur on the company and the sport of MMA alone is highly valuable. Like it or not, Donald Trump represents wealth, success and business smarts to much of middle America and his validation of MMA will resonate through this segment of the population and the mainstream media outlets that serve them.  His involvement alone can help establish Affliction as a major league promotion among those who don’t know the difference between Fedor Emelianenko and Kimbo Slice. 

 Furthermore, as he noted himself he’s a media coverage machine. Donald Trump’s involvement is a way to almost guarantee that they won’t get lost in the shuffle of big MMA promotions and the smaller groups that seek to join them. The fact that he’s also a shameless self promoter and will hawk his involvement anytime there’s a camera or microphone in his face doesn’t hurt either.

Like so many of the major stories that have broken in the past few weeks, Donald Trump’s entry into the MMA business can either have far reaching impact or none at all. Potentially, it could be huge but without knowing the details of the extent of his involvement or financial commitment we can only speculate. One thing for certain is that the MMA business just got almost as interesting as the fights themselves.