2008-06-14 00:01:58 - What is The Donald's involvement in the world of Mixed Martial Arts? Extreme Sports Entertainment icon Paul Heyman takes a look at the controversial Trump

Paul Heyman has taken a look at Donald Trump's involvement in UFC competitor "Affliction Mixed Martial Arts" in a new blog posted exclusively at www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/article1287649.ece

The former sports entertainment visionary who pioneered professional wrestling's "Extreme" movement examined Trump's investment and involvement in the MMA upstart company. Heyman is now host/producer of The Heyman Hustle, the flagship program on NewsCorp's new global broadband television network.

Key excerpt:

Does Trump have the time to battle Dana White, who lives, eats, drinks, sleeps, and breathes UFC?
Does Trump have the time to get on the phone and persuade fighters, networks, or video game companies that doing business with Affliction means doing business with the Trump brand name?

Is Trump going to take the time

to demonstrate "the art of the deal" with DVD distributors, magazine publishers, pay per view and satellite companies with whom Affliction needs to conduct business on a daily basis?

Come to think of it, what IS Trump's involvement in the Affliction promotion? Is he a consultant? Is he handling negotiations with production companies and possibly assisting in the pitches to television networks? Is he simply lending his name, like he has done in the past with other projects, but is really "hands-off" on any or all day-to-day decisions and operations?

Does Trump have any veto power? What happens if he doesn't agree with the direction the promotion wants to take? Does Trump have the ability to get involved in matchmaking?

How much of the budget does Trump actually have leverage control over? Is there a way to mediate a disagreement without it all breaking down into lawyers and lawsuits that first time everyone's not on the same page?

I am not suggesting Trump is only in the MMA game for the short run. Some people asked similar questions when shipping magnate George Steinbrenner bought into the New York Yankees. Maybe The Donald is so enamored with MMA, or at least Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson, that he's really going to "make a go" of it.

Maybe Trump wants, needs, or craves the excitement that an exploding industry can provide.

Maybe Trump wants to create a new style MMA television program and put Ivanka in charge, the same way Vince McMahon made his daughter Stephanie in charge of creative and talent in WWE? Hey, you have to admit, there are more than a few similarities between Stephanie and Ivanka, and that's not an insult to either.