Based in Las Vegas, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company. It peaked in the early-to-mid 2000s, which inspired best friends, Courtney Dubar, Eric Foss, Todd Beard, and Clifton Chason to start a passion project and create a high-quality clothing brand with a rebellious aesthetic tailored towards MMA fans.
With the growing popularity of the fight scene in 2005, the four friends decided to cash in on the new fad, hatching Affliction. They aimed to make a statement and created t-shirts adorned with gothic font, rhinestones, and graphic illustrations, such as skulls and wings. They incorporated phrases that became embedded in the brand, phrases like, “strength and honor”, “seek & destroy”, and the infamous “live fast.” Fight sports fans loved it instantly and sported the apparel at each MMA event.
Affliction instantly gained traction as popular fighters Randy Couture, George St. Pierre, and Chuck Liddell displayed the brand, giving them credibility. Come 2007-08, Affliction was sponsoring well-known names such as Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Rampage Jackson, and Andre Alowski.
They gained further celebrity endorsement as pop culture celebrities Averil Lavine, Mark Wahlberg, and Tapout founder, Charles Lewis Jr., also known as ‘Mask’, wore the brand. On top of all the celebrity endorsements, Affliction’s founders had perfect timing, as rap and streetwear were also becoming increasingly popular.
The rapid growth of Affliction strengthened the conflict UFC already had with them, especially when Affliction refused to become an official sponsor for them, leading UFC to ban the brand on all of their programs. The feud only grew when Affliction Entertainment, their own MMA organization, was created in 2008.
The new organization strived to blend MMA with rock and roll customs on top of competing with UFC. Ultimately, in 2009, Affliction Entertainment fell through when their third event, “Affliction: Trilogy”, was canceled due to Josh Barnett, who was meant to fight Fedor Emelianenko, failing his pre-screening drug test, causing a massive financial crisis for the MMA organization.
However, the clothing brand extended into pop culture as their apparel grew to include leather jackets, button-ups, and even a women’s line. It looked as though Affliction would become the next big 2000s brand as more of its stores popped up in malls.
Unfortunately, Affliction suffered from success as the brand started to feel outdated, mockable, and try-hard with the addition of more rhinestones and clutter. By the early 2010s, fashion critics mocked the clothes, and those who wore Affliction were branded as “guys trying to look tough and failing.” The steady rise of minimalism fashion stunted the company as well.
