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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief In what is almost certainly a devastating blow to Affliction, a report from Sherdog.com states that the t-shirt company turned promoter and M-1 Global are searching out a new opponent for Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Affliction: Trilogy, as the California State Athletic Commission will not license Josh Barnett after a positive test result.
Barnett claimed he hadn't heard anything of the sort as of Wednesday night and vowed to clear his name regardless of what comes out, but the report states the CSAC will be releasing a comprehensive statement on the matter on Wednesday.
In what is quite a shocking bit of information in the report, four fight pro Bobby Lashley is apparently one of two names that Fedor has to choose from at the moment, with Vitor Belfort being the other name to agree to the fight on short notice. However, Lashley told Sherdog later that he doesn't "know if I would want it right now. Since the last fight, I haven't really been into training again...That fight [with Fedor] is next week. That would be something I would really have to take a look at. To just jump in there probably wouldn't be the smartest thing for me right now. A lot of people would say that might be a money fight. They figure, 'If we give him enough money, will he do it?' That's what people tend to look at. I don't want to get into fighting for the money so much right now."
Affliction: Trilogy is set to air live on pay-per-view next Saturday, August 1st, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.
Penick's Analysis: Given the fact that Barnett tested positive once in the UFC and was subsequently stripped of their Heavyweight Championship, any claims of innocence he may shout may fall on deaf ears. This is a terrible blow to the Affliction event and could very well be a gigantic nail in the coffin for Affliction promoting MMA events. The rampant speculation on their demise has already reached a fever pitch as it hinges on how this event does; and now, sandwiched in between two major UFC events and an insanely packed August fight schedule, I don't know how they can possibly hope to bring anything near the buys they would have been expecting with Belfort or Lashley as the opponent. Sure, Lashley might bring about some intrigue from the pro wrestling side of things, but nothing to make up for what they'll lose with the marquee #1 vs. #2 (for some people) heavyweight title bout they had scheduled. This is going to be the death knell for Affliction and it's at the worst possible time for them. We'll keep you up to date as this story develops.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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