Tom Atencio

As Vice President of Affliction, a clothing company founded in August 2005, Tom Atencio helped made it popular. Affliction seized an opportunity after observing the growth of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) made possible by UFC, sponsoring some of its fighters. A self-described longtime fan of MMA, Atencio made his professional MMA debut in 2005, fighting in Total Combat. He defeated David Martinez by unanimous decision. Affliction made an apparel deal with UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture, who was embroiled in a contract dispute with UFC. This lead to Dana White ending Affliction's sponsorship of UFC fighters. A similar ban was enacted by Gary Shaw, the President Of Live Events for the Elite XC (2007) promotion. Shaw predicted that Affliction would leave the fight promoting business after two events. Affliction created Affliction Entertainment in 2008 to promote MMA events, and in May 2008 announced its first MMA event with Tim Sylvia and Fedor Emelianenko in the the main event. In re