Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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Tonight is a big night for mixed martial arts fans.  Affliction, the company that earned its fame by fighters wearing their t-shirts (most notably in the UFC) will be making its debut as a mma organization in Anaheim, California.  And they are now backed by Donald Trump.  They have a big pay per view card.  And to combat them, the UFC is putting a superb free card on Spike, headlined by top pound for pound fighter Anderson Silva.  The Spoon Man previews both cards for us. Saturday, July 19^th is going to be a great night for mixed martial arts and the fans of the sport. There is a certain dilemma however.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship will put on a fight card in Las Vegas. Affliction, the company that earned its fame by fighters wearing their t-shirts (most notably in the UFC) will be making its debut as a mma organization in Anaheim, California.  The Affliction group now has the backing of Donald Trump's name and money behind it, and is a much more legtimate threat to the UFC than the Elite XC series that we've seen on Showtime and CBS.

Two very solid cards with superstars in the main events taking place at the same time. What to do? Hopefully you have a DVR that will allow you to watch both.

Both events will start at 9 PM Eastern time. UFC Fight Night will be aired on basic cable and be on SpikeTV. The Affliction: Banned event will start at 9 PM also but will have to be paid for on pay per view. The cost is forty bucks.

I like both fight cards a lot and am still undecided what to do. There isn't one fight between the two events that I don't really want to miss. Let's take a look as both.

Affliction is looking to make a huge splash onto the scene and has some of the fighters in place to do so. The biggest name on their card just happens to be arguably the best heavyweight the world of mixed martial arts has even seen.

Fedor Emelianenko will finally return to action and will step in with former UFC heavyweight title holder, Tim Sylvia. This is a clash between two huge men. Fedor is expected to roll right thru Sylvia. I am looking for a very exciting fight and wouldn't rule out an upset.

Fedor has been very inactive while Sylvia has recently been in with some of the top fighters in the world. While in the PRIDE organization, Fedor beat all of the top names such as Mirko Cro Cop, Mark Coleman, Antonio Nogueira (current UFC interim champ), Heath Herring, and Kevin Randleman.

Sylvia has a huge reach advantage and that could be the difference in the fight. In the end, Fedor will be too rounded as a fighter and will wear down the taller man. I would be shocked if this one went past the second round.

Also on the Affliction card is another former UFC heavyweight title holder in Andre Arlovski.  He will be taking on Ben Rothwell in what should be a slugfest. I like Arlovski aka The Pitbull in this one.

Other former UFC guys fighting for Affliction tonight include Matt Linland, Josh Barnett, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral.

Dana White, being the savvy business man he is, didn't want Affliction to get all the buzz. He doesn't like somebody else stealing the thunder of the UFC. White decided about a month ago to put on his own fight card that night. Who could he possibly find to fight on short notice? Only the top pound for pound fighter in the world today.

Anderson "The Spider" Silva will be moving up a weight class and look to continue his dominance when he steps into the octagon with James "The Sandman" Irvin. This is a must see fight.

Silva has no weaknesses. Irvin is open about that fact that Silva has better stand up and also a better ground game. Irvin's style is to slug and come out swinging with reckless abandon. His last fight took all of nine seconds when he knocked out Houston Alexander.

If Irvin has any chance to dethrone the king of mma, and I think he does, he will need to land early and often. The longer this fight goes, the worse shape Irvin will be in. Anderson Silva picks apart his opposition with such precision it's down right scary.

I know Anderson Silva is a freak. He destroys everything that gets in his way, just ask Rich Franklin and Chris Leban. The only question I have going into this contest is how big of a factor the weight will be. Silva usually is fighting at 185 pounds. When he steps in with James Irvin, both guys will be at 205 pounds. Irvin will be fighting at his normal weight and that just might be the advantage that he needs to pull of the monster upset. I can't wait for this one.

Brandon Vera is another guy changing weight classes for UFC Fight Night. He drops down to light heavyweight and will step in with UFC newcomer Reese Andy. Brandon Vera is one of the best athletes in the sport and one of the most talented. I fully expect him to put on a great performance in a win.

Affliction card:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Tim Sylvia

Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell

Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo

Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead

Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Nascimento

Edwin Dewees vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

J.J. Ambrose vs. Mike Pyle

Ray Lazama vs. Justin Levens (swing bout)

Paul Buentello vs. Aleksander Emelianenko

Vitor Belfort vs. Terry Martin

Mark Hominick vs. Savant Young

UFC Fight Night card:

Anderson Silva vs. James Irvin

Brandon Vera vs. Reese Andy

Frankie Edgar vs. Hermes Franca

Jake O'Brien vs. Cain Velasquez

Kevin Burns vs. Anthony Johnson

C.B. Dollaway vs. Jesse Taylor

 Tim Credeur vs. Cale Yarbrough

Brodie Farber vs. Rory Markham

Brad Blackburn vs. James Giboo

Nate Loughran vs. Johnny Rees

Shannon Gugerty vs. Dale Hartt

All of those great fights in one night? It's a dream come true for mma fans all around the world. I am looking forward to about seven hours of ground and pound, submissions, and knockouts.

If you don't have a DVR or Tivo, you need to make a run to the nearest Best Buy or call your cable company and get it hooked up. 22 fights combined and I plan on watching every second of every round.