Mike Chiappetta • E-mail

NEW YORK - In an attempt to foster a global base for their growing company as well as the mixed martial arts industry, Affliction Entertainment, in association with Trump Enterprises and M-1 Global, announced a new reality show that would feature current world No. 1 ranked heavyweight and World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts champion Fedor Emelianenko.

The program, entitled “Fighting Fedor” would recruit 16 heavyweight fighters from throughout the world, transport them to Emelianenko’s hometown in St. Petersburg, Russia, and whittle down the contenders until one is left to fight Emelianenko in an Affliction pay-per-view main event.

The show will serve to re-introduce Emelianenko and his myth into the American consciousness, as well as hopefully discover promising heavyweights.

The question is, Will it work?

After announcing the 32-year-old Emlianenko as “the Tiger Woods, the Mike Tyson, the Michael Jordan of mixed martial arts,” it might seem preposterous to think that a superstar of that level could find competition through a reality show. Even Trump himself made light of it, joking from an executive boardroom in his namesake tower, “I don’t know who these folks are who are trying to qualify to get a fight with Fedor. I wouldn’t particularly like to do that. I can think of a lot of other things I’d rather be doing.”

But company executives believe that there are untapped riches in MMA gyms abroad that can make the show both compelling and competitive. They cited M-1’s 11 years of experience in hosting international events as a reason for their belief that heavyweight talent exists. It has been notoriously difficult to find, however. Even the UFC, which has hosted eight seasons of its popular reality show The Ultimate Fighter (and is currently casting its ninth), has only tried to recruit heavyweight talent one time. Of those fighters, most – including Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine and Seth Petruzelli – dropped a weight class to light-heavyweight after filming concluding.

But Affliction believes they can buck that trend, and labels the series as the chance of a lifetime for fighters worldwide who have yet to make their mark on audiences.

“We’re going to build a real-life Rocky story,” said Affliction chief operating officer Michael Cohen, who is also a Trump executive vice president and special counsel.

Despite the announcement, little came in the way of details. A television broadcast partner has yet to be determined (though one executive noted negotiations “are ongoing with many different networks and channels”), and no timetable was given for airing the program. It was, however, revealed that the company has already begun the recruitment process for the cast. Trump also added that he would travel to St. Petersburg but would not have a big role in the TV taping.

“There are many international fighters that the U.S. does not know about,” M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein said through an interpreter. “[This show] will be opening doors to the next great MMA fighters to U.S. fans. We anticipate the project to be a great success.”

Emelianenko himself did not attend the press conference. He is currently home in Russia and should soon begin training for his likely Jan. 24 fight. Though the matchup has yet to be officially signed, it is expected that he will defend his title against Andrei Arlovski, who on Oct. 4 defeated Roy Nelson on EliteXC’s most recent CBS card. What was not discussed was how the TV project would be affected should Emelianenko lose to Arlovski.

Still, Affliction can hang its hat on the many partnerships they have forged since their establishment. On the CBS show, not only was Arlovski showcased, but several commercials starring Emelianenko also aired.

“Another strategic alliance is announced to continue to promote the best fights and the best fighters, for the benefit of the fans,” Cohen said.

M-1 Global also gets increased exposure due to their role in the project. The company has largely operated overseas and had little U.S. presence until bringing Emelianenko here last year.

In other news, Affliction also announced that they signed Emelianenko to a contract extension. The 28-1 fighter destroyed former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in just 36 seconds in his first Affliction bout.

Affliction ran its first show in July, drawing around 15,000 fans to the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. A second event was scheduled for October in Las Vegas, but was later postponed due to various reasons.

A partnership with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions was announced last month. With that came the news the two companies would co-promote a hybrid MMA/boxing card. Recent reports have suggested that January’s card would be MMA-only, but Cohen said there is still a chance boxing would be involved.

Executives stress that Affliction is in this for the long-term, and given their plans it seems obvious that they expect to one day be a real competitor to the UFC.

“I don’t like to compare myself or my company to others,” said Affliction vice president Tom Atencio. “We’re just going to focus on what we’re doing. We believe in surrounding ourselves with strong partners, and that will make us able to expand our base of fighters and fans.”