World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) currently dominate the wrestling industry. They are, however, only kinds of entertainment, and the battles are staged.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Affliction are the places to go if you want to see actual wrestling. Both are on mixed martial arts and its tactics, and the audience gets to see some real fighting.ย
Zuffa, LLC (founded by Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta) owns and manages the UFC, while Golden Boy Promotions, Business Mogul Donald Trump, and M-1 Global handle Affliction.ย
Key Takeaways
- UFC is a leading MMA promotion organization, while Affliction is primarily a clothing brand that sponsored a few MMA events.
- UFC has a larger roster of fighters and hosts numerous events annually, whereas Affliction organized only two events before ceasing operations.
- Affliction events focus on high-profile matchups, while UFC showcases a wide range of talent and weight classes.
UFC vs Afflictionย
The difference betweenย UFC and Affliction isย that UFC was founded byย Zuffaย in 1993 and has 7ย different categories,ย whereasย Affliction was founded by Golden Boy Promotions and Donald Trump in 2008 and has 2 categories. UFC employs the use of a cage structure for the matches, and Affliction uses the conventional ring structure.ย

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was founded in November 1993 byย Zuffa, LLC, an American sports promotion corporation.
It has been staging Mixed Martial Arts events for many years, in which some of the best MMA fighters compete.
It is the most-watched fighting event in the world, and it has grown in popularity due to the genuine battles that take place.ย
Afflictionย was established byย Afflictionย Clothingย in 2008. Tom Atencio, Donald Trump, and Golden Boy Promotions were among those who founded the group.
So far, Affliction has managed to host two Mixed Martial Arts events. Affliction: Banned was the first, and Affliction: Day of Reckoning was the second. Both fights were held in Anaheim, California, and drew large crowds.ย
Comparison Tableย
Parameters of Comparisonย | UFCย | Afflictionย |
---|---|---|
Ownersย | Zuffaย | Donald Trump and Golden Boy Promotions.ย |
Founded inย | 1993ย | 2008ย |
Categoriesย | 7 categoriesย | 2 categoriesย |
Structureย | Cage structureย | Ring structureย |
Announcerย | Bruceย Bufferย | Michael Bufferย |
What isย UFC?ย
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has hosted numerous global events featuring the worldโs top-ranked mixed martial artists.
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, there are more than 30 fouls in a UFC battle, including the most common violations such as head-butting and groin attacks.
The match is decided by submission, knockout, technical knockout, and a judgeโs decision.ย
UFC includes seven categories: Flyweight, Strawweight, Bantamweight, Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight.ย
The Ultimate Fightingย Championshipย (UFC) isย known asย the worldโs largest mixed martial arts (MMA)ย organization.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship features the greatest international combatants from a variety of martial arts techniques and disciplines.ย
The first event was hosted in Denver, Colorado in the same year as its founding year, I.e., 1993. In the UFC, headbutts and blows below the crotch are considered fouls.ย
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is one of those promotional businesses that has managed to capture a sizable portion of the global MMA market.
In reality, itย may be the corporation that can boast of having obtained a monopoly in thisย particular market. It has been involved in the MMA industry for many years.
As a result, when compared to Affliction, it isย theย older and larger promotional company.ย

What isย Affliction?ย
Affliction was created in 2008 by an autonomous branch of Affliction Clothing. Affliction advertised two pay-per-view eventsย as well as a canceled event (Affliction: Trilogy).ย ย
Initially, UFCโs main sponsor was Affliction Clothing Inc. They split away in 2008 to form their own MMA league. As a result,ย Afflictionโsย headquarters are located atop Signal Hill.
They have two paid events: Affliction: Banned and Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Another subcategory is Affliction: Trilogy.
The bout between Josh Bernett and Fedorย Emelianenkoย was called off at the last minute due to Bernett failing a drug test.ย
The Trilogy bout was meant to be between Josh Bernett and Fedorย Emelianenko, but it was canceled 11 days before the scheduled date owing to the California State Athletic Commission refused to issue aย licenseย to Josh Bernett after he tested positive for anabolic steroids.ย
By sponsoring a highly regarded bout between two of the top names in the MMA heavyweight division, Fedorย Emelianenkoย and Tim Sylvia, Affliction demonstrated that itย couldย compete with UFC (former UFC champion).
Theย aforementioned matchย was dubbed โBanned,โ and it was part of a pay-per-view spectacular held at Anaheim Honda Center in 2008.ย ย
Affliction even requested support from business titan Donald Trump to become a big company shareholder toย raise more funds.
As a result, Affliction was able to secure one of the UFCโs previous top referees, John McCarthy.ย
Main Differences Betweenย UFC and Afflictionย
- UFC was founded byย Zuffa,ย which is a subsidiary ofย Endeavour Group Holdings,ย and Affliction was founded by Donald Trump and Golden Boy Promotions.ย
- UFC was founded in 1993, and Affliction was founded in 2008, which makes UFCย an olderย and more experienced establishment.ย
- UFC has 7 categories: Flyweight, Strawweight, Bantamweight, Featherweight, Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight. On the other hand,ย Affliction has 2 categories that are banned and day of reckoning.ย
- UFC has a cage structure for their fights, whereas Affliction has a ring structure.ย
- Theย announcerย for UFC is Bruce Banner, and the announcer of Affliction is Michael Buffer.ย
Referencesย
- https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJSMM.2013.060627ย
- https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/wvb112§ion=11ย

Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.