Belfort, Hieron Navigate Affliction Fallout

One of the hardest days Shawn Tompkins has ever had as a coach came Friday morning, when he assembled four of his Xtreme Couture fighters to the gym to tell them their fights were off.

Affliction Entertainment, partnered with M-1 Global, announced Friday that it had cancelled its Aug. 1 event, leaving Vitor Belfort, Jay Hieron, Chris Horodecki, and Mark Hominick without a much-needed paycheck.

“Where we are right now with all the fighters, is their managers and lawyers are looking at how (the fighters) are going to be compensated for lack of a fight,” said Tompkins.

One source told Sherdog.com Friday that the clothing purveyors-turned-promoters are offering T-shirt deals to the ousted fighters to help offset their losses.

Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio could not be reached for comment, while Tompkins said he had no knowledge of these dealings.

“I know that there’s a big difference between postponing a fight and canceling a fight when it comes to your contracts and what the fighters deserve,” said Tompkins.

Hieron, who became the International Fight League’s 170-pound titleholder, only to watch the promotion go under over the course of 30 months, said he was anxious to find out how Affliction will handle the 22-fighter roster affected by the cancellation.

“I know we all put our lives on hold, and bills stacked up for these fights,” said Hieron. “I paid my trainers, my sparring partners for this fight.”

Hieron’s manager, Ken Pavia, didn't have much time to talk about the fallout, though for a good reason. Hieron’s name has been thrown in the hat as a potential replacement For Joe Riggs, who withdrew Thursday from his Strikeforce 170-pound title fight against Nick Diaz on Aug. 15 due to a reaction to medication, and Pavia is in swift negotiations with the promotion.

Sherdog.com has learned that Strikeforce seems warm to the potential matchup, even for the newly minted welterweight title.

Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, told Sherdog.com that Hieron had not been presented to their camp yet as of Friday afternoon, though Phil Baroni, who lost to Riggs on June 6 via unanimous decision, had been mentioned. Baroni has since been ruled out, though, said numerous sources.

“We would like to fight Nick Diaz,” Tompkins said of the possibility. “It would be great timing. Jay’s medicals are passed, he’s ready to go. He’s trained for a fight. Why not put him and Nick Diaz in together? I think he’s the guy that’s going to beat Diaz. It might as well be for the title.”

Tompkins said Hieron trained Friday morning and will do so again Friday night as if he is still preparing for a fight.

The mode at Xtreme Couture has certainly taken on a free-agency feel for the quartet.

“They were all in contracts where they could fight elsewhere anyway, I believe, even Vitor (Belfort),” said Tompkins. “He can move freely. I’m not sure in which territories, but I know he can move freely.”

The 32-year-old Brazilian had the biggest rollercoaster ride of Affliction’s entire stable this week. On Tuesday night, he accepted the main event bout against Fedor Emelianenko after the Russian’s first opponent, Josh Barnett, tested positive for steroids during a pre-test.

“It sucks. It’s not right,” Belfort said of the collapse, before heading to Los Angeles to meet with his wife and management team. Belfort, who was on the last fight of his contract with Affliction, has already been publicly earmarked by UFC President Dana White as a challenger for middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s title.

“The future’s wide open for that guy,” said Tompkins. “I would expect to see Vitor Belfort in action in the next few months, probably in some big fights.”

Greg Savage contributed to the report.