AFFLICTION: TRILOGY CANCELED IN WAKE OF BARNETT WITHDRAWAL

After two days of scrambling to find a replacement opponent for WAMMA World Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, Affliction Entertainment has cancelled their August 1st ‘Affliction: Trilogy’ event altogether.  Emelianenko was originally scheduled to face #2 contender Josh Barnett in the main event.  After a positive drug test, Barnett was refused licensing by the California State Athletic Commission setting off a frenzied search for a replacement opponent by the promotion.

In his initial response to the media on the situation, Affliction VP Tom Atencio sounded remarkably calm and indicated that there were no plans to cancel or postpone the event.  He suggested that their search for a replacement had narrowed down to three fighters.  He declined to provide specific names, and shot down the rampant speculation saying that ‘until the word comes from me it’s purely speculation’.  Originally, Affliction wanted to have Vitor Belfort face Emelianenko but went to a ‘plan B’ after the Russian’s management balked.  Strikeforce contender Brett Rogers was also given consideration, and was favored by Fedor’s people.  Rogers wanted to take the fight, but Strikeforce President Scott Coker was hesitant.

Eventually, Affliction took what may be the most prudent course of action and pulled the plug on the event.  In a press release issued by the company, VP Tom Atencio explained their reasoning:

“Finding an opponent for the number one ranked MMA heavy weight champion in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor and I’m thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge. But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards.”

The entire crisis began when Barnett’s pre-licensing test indicated the presence of the anabolic steroid Drostanolone. Drostanolone is more frequently referred to by the brand name of Masteron.  Barnett supplied a ‘B’ sample during testing, and the CSAC is currently analyzing that sample before making a final ruling.  Barnett is maintaining his innocence and will appeal the ruling.  This is a particularly touchy issue for Barnett, as he’d largely resurrected his career after being stripped of the UFC heavyweight title in 2002 after a positive steroid test.

The Affliction press release didn’t immediately address their future plans in MMA promotion.  Known for their t-shirts favored by MMA fighters and heavy metal musicians, Affliction got into the promotional game last year. They quickly signed some of the biggest names in the sport, including Fedor, Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral and Matt Lindland.  They’ve since partnered with Donald Trump and more recently with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.  Golden Boy has made no secret of their desire to get into the MMA promotion business, and this fact alone makes Affliction’s future in MMA promotion much more viable.