Mr. metaphor himself Mauro Ranallo and veteran UFC referee Big John McCarthy have been chosen as the broadcast team for Affliction’s upcoming debut event "Banned" on July 19th.

Affliction "Banned" takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, and features one of the most talent packed cards of 2008 with a total of 5 top ten ranked heavyweights.

The event also marks the first time in history that an undisputed heavyweight champion of the world is crowned.

The battle for the WAMMA Championship Belt will be between number one ranked Fedor Emelianenko and number four ranked Tim Sylvia.

Mauro Ranallo is a member of WAMMA (World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts) and serves on the rankings committee. The 38 year old Canadian announcer has called some of Pride FC’s most memorable fights including Kevin Randleman’s infamous knockout victory over Mirko Crocop at Pride Total Elimination 2004. Ranallo is no stranger to spectacular cards and should feel right at home come July 19th.

Mauro has called many events in addition to Pride FC including EliteXC and ShoXC events on Showtime. His unique approach and overly dramatic style as a commentator even landed him a spot at EliteXC’s Primetime debut on CBS. The May 31st event was the first MMA event to ever air on a major network television channel. Ranallo is currently the host of Fight Network Radio, which is broadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio.

While Ranallo is definitely the more colorful of the two, Big John McCarthy was obviously brought in to handle the technical side of Affliction’s debut show. With 535 fights under his belt as a referee, the Los Angeles police officer knows the fight game in and out. At 6′4" and 240lbs, "Big" John was an integral part of the world famous octagon and officiated almost every fight from UFC 2 until UFC 31.

McCarthy is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and currently runs his own training center "Big John McCarthy’s Ultimate Training Academy". Like Mauro, he also works for the Fight Network, doing commentary for their coverage of UFC events.

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