The two sides have much bigger plans than the original boxing/MMA split event held at Thomas & Mack. Cohen emphatically states that Emelianenko will be on the card despite Emelianenko recently voicing a hope of fighting on the DREAM New Year’s Eve card just weeks prior to the next Affliction event. In fact, Emelianenko’s literal words to the Japanese fans were, “I will try to come back here again and possibly for New Year’s we’ll see each other again, but it’s all in God’s hands.”

Emelianenko will likely face Arlvoski, as long as he can defeat Nelson this weekend. No potential boxing matches have been reported, but Cohen says, “Whenever Mr. Trump is involved, you can expect to see only the top level of everything. These will be boxers of the highest level.”

There are other logistical issues to map out. MMA rings are usually much larger than boxing rings. Affliction held its first event in a 30’ x 30’ space. In boxing, most sanctioning bodies don’t use rings larger than 24’ x 24’. The most likely course of action will be to reduce the size to be more in line with a boxing ring, but that decision has yet to be made.

There is also the question of whether boxers or mixed martial artists will have the main event spotlight. According to Cohen, the two organizations have a seven-person board in place to decide such issues, though he wouldn’t comment on the makeup of the board, citing the proprietary nature of their agreement.

Count Dallas Mavericks and HDNet owner Mark Cuban among the deal’s fans. HDNet has broadcast more live MMA than any other channel.

“I love it,” he told NBCSports.com in an email. “There are a lot of different ways to present MMA and Boxing. Golden Boy does a great job in promoting, particularly promoting PPV. Affliction has gone all-in… The combination could really get a strong foothold in the market.”

Arlovski, who has suddenly seen his profile increase with the multiple promotion companies, also feels strongly about the deal.

“Golden Boy is one of the most successful promoters and currently the No. 1 in boxing,” said Arlovski, who still has an interest in boxing professionally. “Definitely them getting involved in MMA could bring a lot of value.  Overall, I think it would be positive for Affliction and the sport.”

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Affliction points to the Arlovski/EliteXC deal as evidence that the organization will do whatever deals it can to maximize exposure and bring about success. That pact came about in the last 2-3 weeks but was rooted in talks the two sides had just after the inaugural July 19 event.

It was unanimously approved by the Affliction/Golden Boy board, and will result in exposure for the Affliction brand on CBS, effectively functioning as commercial time.

“The team at Affliction made it clear that we’re not opposed to co-promoting events,” Cohen said. “It occurs in other combat sports as well. The reality is the UFC is taking a stand. They will not co-promote. That’s fine if that’s their business model, but I believe it’s a bad model to follow. I don’t think it benefits the sport and certainly doesn’t benefit the fighter or the fan.”

Still, the UFC’s success speaks for itself. When the organization signed the Randy Couture-Brock Lesnar title fight, the two fighters spent the next day at ESPN headquarters doing a series of interviews for all their multimedia platforms. That type of exposure is something as of now unmatched in MMA. They are the undisputed industry leader with no sign of slowing down, but for the first time, there might be an organization capable of making a real challenge.

While the UFC power pair of Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta clearly own the spotlight, the new Affliction/Golden Boy partnership won’t hesitate to use the marketing muscle of partners Donald Trump and Oscar De La Hoya. With that, the playing field isn’t exactly even, but it’s a whole new ballgame.

But in the end, the success or failure of the Affliction/Golden Boy pairing will be determined by the public and their perception of these hybrid events. Will they ignore the boxing/MMA split cards as a cheap marketing gimmick, or will the radical move capture their imaginations?

The January test case should immediately return that feedback. Until then, the fighters who sacrificed will sit patiently like the rest of us, wondering if the gamble will pay dividends that equal the hype.

“I think the biggest upside is for the fighters,” said Clark. “The UFC is not the right fit for everyone. They control the market, they put a lot of time and money into making the sport what it is today, and they deserve a lot of credit for that. But they don’t have enough time and space on their roster for every fighter. This is going to do a lot to decide how the sport moves forward.”