Josh Barnett Out, Monson, Rogers, Belfort, Werdum, Lashley possible replacements.

Josh Barnett failed a random drug test and is officially out of Affliction Trilogy on August 1st. This is the second drug test he has failed for steroids. He was stripped of the UFC heavyweight title and consequentially dropped by the UFC in 2002 for a similar incident.

Now the question is, who will replace Barnett to headline the PPV? Most polls demand that a suitable Heavyweight such as Brett Rogers, Bobby Lashley, Jeff Monson or Fabricio Werdum be the official replacement. Rumors are indicating though that Vitor Belfort, a 185 lbs Middleweight may get the call. Dana White and critics of Fedor Emelianenko have complained that Emelianenko has not faced top-tier Heavyweight talent since his 2004 fight against Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic. Many were especially critical against his bout versus Matt Lindland, who like Belfort, was a Middleweight moving up to fight Fedor.

Most polls suggest that Jeff Monson is the best available opponent to face Fedor. Strikeforce apparently is unwilling to lend Rogers or Werdum, while Bobby Lashley who has prowrestling commitments doesn't seem to be interested in the fight at the time.

Affliction Trilogy

Affliction Trilogy, Fedor vs. Barnett, is scheduled for August 1st. The fight that has been talked about since their days at PrideFC is finally a reality. Josh Barnett (20-5) vs. defending WAMMA champion Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) will headline the Showtime PPV event.

• Champ Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett (for WAMMA heavyweight title)
• Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral
• Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago
• Paul Buentello vs. Gilbert Yvel
  
• Takanori Gomi vs. Rafaello Oliveira
  

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
• Paul Daley vs. Jay Hieron
• Ben Rothwell vs. Chase Gormley
• Deividas Taurosevicius vs. Mark Hominick
  
• Lucio Linhares vs. Mikhail Zayats (will not be aired)
• Rob Broughton vs. Jessie Gibbs (will not be aired)

Originally Tim Sylvia was scheduled to face Buentello before Sylvia was brutally knocked out by boxing legend Ray Mercer in an MMA contest on June 13th.

In other news if Vitor Belfort can beat Jorge Santiago at Affliction Trilogy, he will then be picked up by the UFC to face Anderson Silva for the UFC Middleweight title, as announced by UFC promoter Dana White.

Also a possibility for the Affliction card, pending any injuries is Bobby Lashley if he can defeat Bob Sapp at Ultimate Choas on June 27th. Japanese icon and welterweight fighter Takanori Gomi has also been negotiating a possible bout on the card, although a suitable opponent has not yet been found.


Affliction has been advertising all over the place. They had huge presence during the Showtime Strikeforce Lawler vs. Shields fight. They've also held a press conference in New York with Donald Trump and Mark Cuban present, advertising with billboards located in Times Square and making a strong presence at a weaker PPV with Ultimate Choas, all of which set up Affliction pretty well.

Prize Fight Promotions MMA

The event entitled, "Ultimate Chaos" will be co-promoted by Prize Fight MMA and Fight Force International. It will take place at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum on June 27. Prize Fight Promotions is the boxing promotion that once promoted mega boxing bouts such as Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis. The event garnered a $17 million dollar live gate and $108 million in PPV buys. They have also promoted fights with Vitali Klitschko, Roy Jones Jr., Antonio Tarver, Glen Johnson, Jermaine Taylor, Winky Wright and others.

In their first MMA endeavor, they've elected to feature Bob Sapp vs. Bobby Lashley as their main event. Lashley (2-0) was last seen defeating Jason Guida by unanimous decision at March Badness. The PPV was also promoted by a boxing promoter, namely Roy Jones Jr's Square Ring Promotions. Both Lashley and Sapp have fights scheduled prior to the June 27th event. Lashley squares off against Mike Cook (7-3) at an MFC event on May 15th while Bob Sapp will head to Japan to fight veteren Ikuhisa Minowa (41-30) at DREAM 9 on May 26th. In an interesting note about Dream 9, they've announced that the Sapp vs. Minowa fight is a part of a Superman Championship tournament that will also feature MLB star Jose Conseco vs. Hong Man Choi. Conseco recently has had amateur boxing experience and claims to have trained in various martial arts including Muay Thai.

Getting back to the June 27th event, Affliction seems to be making a presence at this event as well. The co-main event will feature Affliction fighters Gilbert Yvel vs. Pedro Rizzo, both who were last seen losing to top ranked heavyweight Josh Barnett at Affliction 1 and 2. Also on the card will be Affliction VP and on camera personality Tom Atencio (1-0) who at the age of 42 will be fighting his second pro MMA fight in nearly 4 years. Affliction fighters Brett Cooper, Din Thomas and Chris Hordecki are all also featured on this card.

CO-MAIN EVENTS
Bob Sapp VS Bobby Lashley
Pedro Rizzo VS Gilbert Yvel
FEATURE BOUTS
Din Thomas VS Javier Vazquez
Chris Horodecki VS William Sriyapai
Brett Cooper VS Waachiim Spiritwolf
Tom Atencio VS Randy Hedderick
Danny Abbadi VS Lance Thompson
Colby McMahan VS James Orso
Eric Bradley VS Colin Mckee

Affliction on CBS July 11th vs. UFC 100 PPV?

Let's say Affliction got a Primetime deal on CBS, ABC, or NBC, so beyond Showtime, HBO and SpikeTV, Affliction MMA live on CBS featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett and Tito Ortiz vs Renato Sobral going against UFC 100 on PPV? The familiar faces in Oscar De La Hoya and Donald Trump on scene and on CBS. Does it do any damage?

I am getting this storyline somewhat from a rumor that LINK: Fiveouncesofpain.com started.

UPDATE: While Affliction MMA COO Michael Cohen had indicated July 11 as a possibility and Tom Atencio was quoted by FIVEOUNCESOFPAIN saying "it could work", the latest is that Affliction has moved against the idea and will probably shoot for an event in August. No fights have been confirmed.

Additionally, rumors have been flying that Affliction may promote their 3rd event alongside the Japanese promotion DREAM, who would be launching their 10th MMA event. The rumor comes from a Mirko Cro Cop interview by jutarnji.hr and insists that Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jeff Monson, Cro Cop vs. Alistair Overeem 2 and Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski as bouts that are being negotiated.

March Badness

Roy Jones Jr. vs. Omar Sheika
Jeff Monson vs. Roy Nelson
Bobby Lashley vs. Jason Guida

March Badness happens this weekend in Pensacola, Florida featuring a single boxing main event and a 2 fight MMA undercard. Originally scheduled fight Seth Petruzelli vs. Doug Marshall was canceled after Seth called out with an injury. Likewise the original opponent for Lashley who was Ken Shamrock was suspended for one year after testing positive for three different steroids. Hasim Rahman and Don Frye negotiated with Square Ring Promotions as possible replacements but to no avail. Jason Guida (17-19), brother of Clay Guida will instead replace Shamrock to face Lashley.

UPDATE/RESULTS:

MMA Results:
Dennis Hallman beat Danny Ruiz by first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Din Thomas beat GabeLemley by first round KO (knee)
Bobby Lashley beat Jason Guida by unanimous decision
Jeff Monson beat Roy Nelson by unanimous deicision


Boxing Results:
B.J. Flores beat Jose Luis Herrera by unanimous decision
Kieyon Bussey beat Robert DaLuz by majority decision
Roy Jones Jr. beat Omar Sheika by fifth round TKO

What Affliction should do.

UFC has Brock Lesnar, EliteXC had Kimbo Slice, Japan has Bob Sapp; the idea here isn't necessarily freakshow; all three are great athletes who have dedicated serious time to training and have succeeded to a decent extent, despite whether they faced top tier talent or not. Most importantly they've been faces who get a ton of attention and a ton of attention means viewers and buyers. Even if you don't put them on your next card - casual fans will probably tune in to your next show simply because it was the stage that they saw the popular fighter on. One seriously needs to think business here for a moment and put their conservative, hardcore passion for the discipline of the sport aside for a moment - though never compromising it of course.

Hasim Rahman will be the most accomplished boxer at his age to make the transition to MMA. Rumors have it that Dave Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli have both flirted with the idea as well. On the other end of the spectrum, Freddie Roach's Andrei Arlovski, Anderson Silva, KJ Noons, Vitor Belfort, Kimbo Slice, Frank Shamrock and Tim Sylvia have or are going to switch the 5 five oz gloves for some boxing gloves. I really think the cross over has been initiated; but this is not so much about the cross over rather an opportunity to get some attention. It would be smart business for Affliction to get a big name on their card like UFC and EliteXC had done to put more people in the seats, get more viewers, more PPV buys. For example, let us use Hasim Rahman as potentially being that guy. I think Affliction can put him on the undercard somewhere and can def guide his career better then anyone else.

The other two opportunities Affliction can take advantage of from this situation is cross promoting Rahman - an Affliction fighter, with Strikeforce and eventually put him against the guy he wants to face and probably will beat in Kimbo Slice. Affliction walks away with the winner and a guy who is more legit then the street brawler. If Rahman becomes successful enough, one can flirt with having him face Fedor, if not, you got a lot of attention building Rahman anyways. Its a win win situation.

Affliction seems to be in good terms with Monte Cox and Adrenaline, and Cox's boy Sylvia is going to face Ray Mercer in a boxing match in their main event. If Sylvia wins, Sylvia can box Rahman, and if Mercer wins the boxing match, Mercer could be a fair MMA opponent for Rahman's debut.

Here is a pitch at an imaginary card:


PPV

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett
Fabricio Werdum vs. Jeff Monson - Number 1 Contender.
Vitor Belfort vs. Gegard Mousasi
Renato Sobral vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Chris Hordecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Paulo Filho vs. Matt Lindland

HDNET

Tim Sylvia vs. Paul Buentello
Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
LC Davis vs. Din Thomas
Bao Quach vs. Mark Hominick
Hasim Rahman vs. Ray Mercer (MMA fight)
Bobby Lashley vs. Roy Nelson

Paulo Filho, Fabricio Werdum and Bobby Lashley would be great pickups for Affliction. I think the number one contender to Fedor Emelianenko after Barnett would be Werdum who has defeated his brother Aleksander Emelianenko, he's beaten Alistair Overeem twice, he's beaten Gabe Gonzaga ... he would be a solid pickup for Affliction.

Paulo Filho who is 16-1 was a vicious fighter that reminded people of Ricardo Arona. I think Filho would be an awesome addition and perfect opponent for Vitor Belfort or Matt Lindland.

Lashley is very popular and a good attraction. He has a fight on the March 21st Roy Jones Jr. card. He is a HW who Affliction could def use. I think he is a top prospect who can get PPV buys because of his popularity from the WWE - like Brock Lesnar was.

Din Thomas signs with Affliction; More

Strikeforce recently bought out the assets from ProElite hence getting a number of fighter contracts and the TV deals with Showtime and CBS. The deal looks promising however it is obvious that their level of talent does not reach anywhere close to that of the UFC or Affliction. Realistically Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz would easily be on the undercard for any show that the UFC or Affliction would put on. There hasn't been any talk on Strikeforce doing a cross-promote with Affliction however Strikeforce President Scott Coker has indicated that they are interested in Affliction fighter Jay Hieron and that he will probably end up on one of their cards. Strikeforce has lent Paul Buentello and offered to lend Travis Prangley to Affliction.

In other news Affliction has signed former UFC standout Din Thomas (23-8). The American Top Team fighter has notable victories over Clay Guida, Jens Pulver and Matt Serra. Possible fights with LC Davis, Bao Quach and Mark Hominick look promising. Din Thomas was rumored to have been negotiating with Square Ring Promotions to fight on their March 21st card but nothing was ever signed.

Adrenaline MMA has announced that Tim Sylvia will be making his boxing debut against aged veteren Ray Mercer. Mercer (36-7), an Olympic Gold Medalist from the 88 games and former WBO champion is also known for his famous MMA loss to Kimbo Slice.

Hasim "The Rock" Rahman (45-7 boxing) the former undisputed boxing heavyweight champion best known for knocking out Lennox Lewis will be making his MMA debut this year. According to an interview with SHERDOG, Rahman has called out street brawler Kimbo Slice but is open to bouts with James Thompson, Tank Abbot, Butterbean among others. He is currently in negotiations with numerous MMA promotions.

WAMMA has named Josh Barnett the number 1 contender to Fedor Emelianenko's title. According to sources the fight is under consideration as we speak.

Alistair Overeem (3-2 kickboxing) who recently knocked out K-1 standout Badr Hari has officially signed on to fight K-1 champion and veteran Remy Bonjasky on their 3/28 card.

Roy Jones Jr. to put on Hybrid card.

A lot of hardcore fans (of either sport - boxing or MMA) will dismiss the notion of any such hybrid card - always failing to realize the necessity of good business that fighters and promoters require to make good or even decent money. Hardcore fans are always a bitter minority (usually they're bitter when it comes to things like this) whose satisfaction usually comes second BECAUSE any smart businessman knows that most of the hardcore fans will buy the product anyways - and its up to them as a business to attract new and casual fans by being innovative, adventurous and attractive in some way or another.

UFC President Dana White and Matchmaker Joe Silva know more than anybody else that former WWE celebrity Brock Lesnar (2-1 at the time) was good for business and forcefully shoved him into a main event title fight - Frank Mir and many other hardcore fans baffled at the idea - and THEN, their next 'big PPV' pinned GSP vs. BJ Penn II - a match that not only had nothing to do with weight class rankings, but put number one contenders Kenny Florian and Thiago Alves on the shelf! Why? For good business. Lyoto Machida, an undefeated mastermind has been waiting for a title shot for months but has been put off because he is considered 'boring' ... even after beating Thiago Silva he has to wait to see if Rampage beats Keith Jardine or not because the UFC wants to do a mega bout between Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans at UFC 100; again because its better for business. Is it really always about the best fights oh UFC nuthuggers? Nay, the answer is nay!

Come EliteXC. They get a huge TV deal and a chance to show the world the beauty and discipline and training of awesome athletes who practice a wide range of martial arts and instead put Kimbo Slice, a street brawler from YouTube in the main event against cans like James Thompson (2-8) and Ken Shamrock (a 45 year old man who needs to retire). Kimbo loses to Ken's replacement, a UFC reject - oh wait, a The Ultimate Fighter reality series reject, Seth Petruzelli (who likes to color his hair pink and dress like women for fun) and it becomes the cherry on top to a load of other problems and its over for them.

These decisions, as horrible as they may seem to the hardcore fan, were SMART business decisions by professionals who have degrees, experience and knowledge in the market of smart business. Looking back, even though they seem to be 'bad business' decisions, in reality they were not. Every business that wants to make it big HAS to take risks! Pro-Elite put on MMA events for years before they got the CBS deal - but for ratings, they knew they had to push the guy that could get them the ratings that such a massive deal required. If EliteXC put on low ratings CBS would have thrown MMA to the side and never looked back - but ProElite did something that got them ratings they needed and in turn impressed CBS so much that they've always wanted MMA back on their network ever since.

As a hardcore fan of MMA for years now - I see where Affliction has been failing. They promoted super great fights and in my opinion, the best possible fights outside of the UFC. The problem was that they couldn't really get new and casual fans interested because the guys on their card were only known to hardcore fans. Instead they get guys like Oscar De La Hoya and Donald Trump for attention. Cool.

All I am saying is that fans need to chill out .... people are trying to do business, they're trying to get attention, they're trying new and innovative things to get fans interested in their product.

NORMALLY, not a lot of boxing fans would be interested in Roy Jones Jr. vs. Omar Sheika ... why because Jones Jr. got his butt kicked by Calzaghe in a fight that should have been both of their last - according to hardcore fans. Calzaghe officially announced his retirement, and Roy instead announces a bout against a well-known veteran of the sport who has had some pretty big fights (all of which he lost - he had 4 title fights, including one against Calzaghe, and lost them all) currently holding a record of 27-8.

So how to possibly promote this fight? It's not going to anywhere near what Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao did - or even Evander Holyfield vs. Nikolai Valuev or Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik (the last couple of boxing events that I can recall)... its not going to make revenue anywhere close to those cards ... YET, Roy Jones Jr. - who is 40 years old, was once one of the biggest draws in boxing, he was considered p4p one of the best fighters in the world, and one will wonder if he has anything left in him. It's not as bad as Mark Coleman or Randy Couture or Ken Shamrock still wanting to fight - but it's not the fight of the year by far.

In come Bobby Lashley and Seth Petruzelli. Lashley was not as popular as Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle were in the pro-wrestling world, but he was in the midst of being pushed as the next big thing for sure. Having been tested as the "United States" and "ECW" "champion", Lashley was put in two major main events that garnered huge PPV buys ... one against WWE "champion" John Cena for the "title" and the other at Wrestlemania with Donald Trump in his corner against Vince McMahon's chosen "wrestler" ... anyways, Lashley is seriously one of the biggest prospects at heavyweight in MMA today. He is a great athlete with amateur wrestling credentials and a 1-0 MMA record from when he beat a guy in an underground promotion at 41 seconds in the first round via ground and pound. But the point is, he has eyes watching him.

Likewise Seth Petruzelli was considered the savior of MMA by hardcore fans for beating the overpaid, overrated street brawler from the internet Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson. He has a 10-4 record and is a legit contender against former WEC champion Doug Marshall (9-3). He brings in eyes for being the guy that beat the undefeated Kimbo in front of 7 million fans on CBS + 14,000 fans at the arena + the millions around the world that have seen it on YouTube ever since. His popularity exceeds Sean Gannon's - the one controversial street fight Kimbo lost.

And finally, the hardcore MMA fan that knows the potential of a great MMA fight between Roy Nelson and Jeff Monson. Monson just beat Ricco Rodriguez in December and is on a 3 fight win streak, Nelson, the former IFL HW champ lost in front of millions on CBS against Andrei Arlovski but showed awesome ground control during the fight and went on record saying that he thinks he could beat AA if they fought again. It should be a great fight, and is probably one of the better fights that could be made outside of the UFC.

In the end - all of the MMA websites, Boxing websites and WWE / Pro-Wrestling News websites will be updating their fans about the event and it should garner a revenue far better then expected. Good business folks!

In conclusion, I'd hope that Affliction would reach out to Roy Jones Jr. and co-promote this event with him. I think it would be good for business and it would give more momentum to Affliction. Affliction can help promote and produce the show and maybe even put together an additional bout on the card.

Quick Results, More

1. Fedor Emelianenko defeats Andrei Arlovski via KO in round one
2. Josh Barnett defeats Gilbert Yvel via submission in round three
3. Vitor Belfort defeats Matt Lindland via knockout in round one
4. Renato Sobral defeats Sokoudjou via submission in round two
5. Dan Lauzon defeats Bobby Green via submission in round one
6. Paul Buentello defeats Kiril Sidelnikov via TKO in round three
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira defeats Vladimir Matyushenko via technical knockout in round two
8. LC Davis defeats Bao Quach via unanimous decision
9. Albert Rios defeats Antonio Duarte via unanimous decision
10. Brett Cooper defeats Patrick Speight via technical knockout in round two

Additionally on the same night Golden Boy boxer Sugar Shane Mosley knocked out Antonio Margarito via TKO in the ninth round winning the WBA title.

Attendance figures for Affliction were announced by Tom Atencio as being 13,288, PPV buys have yet to be announced

Oscar De La Hoya chose to attend Affliction DOR instead of the Mosley Margarito boxing event and was critisized live on HBO immediatly prior to the main event by boxing icon Larry Merchant. Merchant claimed that the Golden Boy was paid 5 million by the fledging MMA promotion to attend their event however according to relevent sources this is a complete fabrication.

A total of 4.6 million was given in salaries according to MMAWEEKLY to all fighting participants from Affliction DOR.

Gegard Mousasi and Fabricio Werdum are pretty much locked to be a part of the next Affliction card; Tom Atencio confirmed to FIVEOUNCSOFPAIN.com that there will infact be a third installment of Affliction MMA some time in May or June.

Showtime Promos and More.

Showtime has previews up for the numerous Affliction bouts taking place January 24th, 2009. They are very well produced.

Additionally Affliction has announced that additional seating has been opened up for the event. Tom Atencio denied poor ticket sales emphasizing that that he is very pleased with sales thus far and that they are at par with BANNED at this stage.

Former EliteXC star Bao Quach (15-8) replaces Mark Hominick. Quach will fight former IFL standout LC Davis (12-1).

Currently the Affliction event is being advertised on GoldenBoyPromotions.com, AfflictionClothing.com, Sherdog.com, GoWAMMA.com, HDNetfights.com and Sports.Sho.com

Affliction News Update

Gegard Mousasi who recently won his kickboxing debut against K-1 veteren Musashi at K-1 Fields Dynamite told 'Inside MMA' that he will be in attendance at Affliction Day of Reckoning and will be scoping out his next MMA opponent. He expects to fight at the next Affliction PPV. He additionally expressed his interest in boxing for Golden Boy thus joining the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Thierry Sokoudjou and Vitor Belfort from Affliction who are interested in the crossover.

Also making his appearance at the Affliction DOR PPV will be former UFC HW contender and top 10 ranked Fabricio Werdum. According to his interview with GRACIEMAG Werdum has been sporting Affliction gear and will be sitting front row January 24th.

Alistair Overeem told DreamFighters.com that his management team is currently negotiating with Affliction and the UFC.

Mark Hominick has been forced to withdraw from his fight at Affliction "Day of Reckoning" due to pneumonia. Hominick, the final TKO featherweight champ, was scheduled to face LC Davis on the undercard of the Jan. 24th event. Affliction will find a new opponent for Davis.

MMA-Boxing Hybrid PPV Update

Tom Atencio announced in an interview with FightHype.com that the possibility of a future boxing-MMA hybrid PPV is still a long-term possibility and hinted that if it does take place there is a good chance that MMA faces Andrei Arlovski and Vitor Belfort might be among the ones boxing (in different weight class bouts) on those cards. Also the winner of Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel will face the winner of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski.

Tito Ortiz announced that he will be commentating for Affliction "Day of Reckoning" on January 24th. Here is the press conference with Tito Ortiz:

Affliction Card Announced

PPV Card:
Fedor Emelianenko vs Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs Gilbert Yvel
Vitor Belfort vs Matt Lindland
Renato Sobral vs Rameau Sokoudjou
Chris Horodecki vs Dan Lauzon

HDNet Undercard:
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Vladimir Matyushenko
Kiril Sidelnikov vs. Paul Buentello
Jay Hieron vs Jason High
Mark Hominick vs. LC Davis
Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

Golden Boy vs. Affliction, More ...

On December 6th Manny Pacquiao defeated Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya in a 8 round one-sided destruction that forced the 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist to throw in the towel and call it a night. After the horrible performance it is expected for the 35 year old to likewise throw in the towel on his boxing career.

Speaking of Golden Boy, the boxing promotion will be promoting two events on the same night in the same city. A world welterweight boxing title bout between champion Antonio Margarito and Golden Boy boxer Shane Mosley, previously announced for Jan. 24, will now be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Afflicition's second-ever MMA event, "Day of Reckoning," is scheduled for the same night at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Affliction recently announced that they signed controversial Heavyweight Gilbert Yvel and set him up to fight Josh Barnett on the 24th. Additionally according to an interview with DREAMFIGHTERS.com, Affliction COO Michael Cohen confirmed that Aleksander Emelianenko will not be fighting at the event. Aleks was however victorious in November defeating Sang Soo Lee. Also, Affliction fighter Dan Lauzon was successful is defeating Justin Hammertrum at a WCF event, and Renato Babalu Sobral became the Strikeforce Light-Heavyweight champion defeating Bobby Southworth this past month as well.

Speaking of Sobral, while he is still scheduled to be fighting on the 24th for Affliction, he is no longer the opponent for Matt Lindland, instead Vitor Belfort will face Lindland. Belfort vs. Lindland was the original plan when the event was scheduled for October 11th.

Andrei Arlovski is looking to make his boxing debut soon after his fight with Fedor Emelianenko, the headline event for "Day of Reckoning". Arlovski is training with legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach who in a video intervew confirmed that Arlovski was twice supposed make his pro-boxing debut, first on the undercard for Juan Marquez vs. Joel Casamayer in September and then on the undercard for Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, however due to the rescheduling of Affliction's MMA events, both opportunities were lost. Recently UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva dropped by the Wildcard Boxing Club gym and sparred with Arlovski. Silva still has a dream to box Roy Jones Jr. and Freddie Roach has confirmed that Silva too has been dropping by on occasion for boxing lessons.

Lots of News

Showtime will distribute and produce the upcoming "Day of Reckoning" PPV in conjunction with Golden Boy Promotions.

Todd Beard has officially resigned from Affliction Inc. after an outpour of criticism, a restraining order, and the exploitation of his criminal record accross the internet. Beard further apologized to the Coutures. Affliction went on to clarify that the Affliction Entertainment division is not controlled by Affliction Inc., in an attempt to distance Beard from Affliction's MMA operations.

"Mr. Beard to its knowledge, is nether an officer, director, or a shareholder of Affliction Entertainment Group LLC. as stated in several periodicals," the release stated.

Anyhow, Todd Beard is no longer with Affliction and was seen cleaning out his office on Thursday.

Tom Atencio recently confirmed a couple more fights for January 24th:

PPV Card:
Fedor Emelianenko vs Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs TBA
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs Matt Lindland
Vitor Belfort vs TBA (Rumored Mousasi)
Chris Horodecki vs Dan Lauzon

HDNet Undercard:
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Vladimir Matyushenko
Kiril Sidelnikov vs. Paul Buentello
Jay Hieron vs Jason High

Affliction/CBS/Tito Ortiz

Tito Ortiz claimed in the following interview that its either the UFC or "if I sign with Affliciton, you'll see me on CBS" ... Does Tito Ortiz know something that we don't know? Does Affliction have a deal set with CBS? Nothing has been confirmed, but things should be revealed by the time Affliction 2 happens:

Fabricio Werdum is Affliction Bound?

Fabricio Werdum and UFC may be parting ways making the 11-4 Heavyweight a free-agent and an easy target for Affliction Entertainment to sign. Werdum would join a Heavyweight class that includes an elite list of fighters featuring the number 1 ranked Fedor Emelianenko. It won't take much time for us to see Werdum signed with Affliction and he could even be ready to fight by January 24th.

Werdum lost his last fight in the UFC against up and comer Junior Dos Santos (7-1). Prior to the devastating loss, Werdum was in line for a title shot against the winner of the current UFC Heavyweight tournament that hopes to crown an undisputed champion.

The question on whether Werdum can officially be named as a free-agent will depend on whether the UFC decides to honor the remainder of his contract, which as of now has seen failed negotiations. They do not want to pay him as much as he'd be earning after losing to Dos Santos nor offer him a guaranteed title shot which was a stipulation of his current contract.

Affliction News

Affliction general partner Todd Beard’s outburst during his appearance on “The Scott Ferrall Show” on Sirius Satellite Radio earlier this month might have caused even more harm than first thought.

In addition to ridiculing UFC owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White, Beard also took aim at UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture.

Couture, whose Xtreme Couture clothing label is manufactured and distributed by Affliction, is scheduled to defend his title vs. Brock Lesnar on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas.

“Randy, if you’re listening right now, I hope (expletive) Lesnar kills you,” Beard said in anticipation of the matchup.

In response Randy Couture told ESPN that he'd no longer be doing any business with Affliction. This could affect Affliction's chances on getting Gina Carano vs. Cris Santos, a fight that was supposed to be a major bout for EliteXC. Tom Atencio was quoted as having been interested in taking that fight now that EliteXC is out of business. The female fighters did the highest rating for EliteXC on CBS. Unfortunately the falling out between Randy Couture and Todd Beard may affect Gina Caronos' chances in Affliction getting that bout, Carano is affiliated with Xtreme Couture. Couture did recognize in that interview that Affliction has taken care of many of his fighters out of Xtreme Couture but Carano told Fighters Magazine:

“There’s a bit of a barrier between me and Affliction,” she revealed. “You know, with Randy and that whole thing. But if they approach me with an offer, who knows?”

Carano landing in Affliction is always a possibility, especially if Atencio opts to buyout her contract on November 17th when ProElite and its assets will be up for bidding.

"We're definitely interested (in women's MMA)," Atencio told MMAJUNKIE. "Gina Carano is a great fighter. I think Cristiane Cyborg is an unbelievable fighter. I'm definitely open to the idea of that fight."

In other news FIVEOUNCESOFPAIN reports that Tito Ortiz has recently claimed that he will either be signing with the UFC or Affliction and expects to fight by July.

Affliction was painted on the canvas for both Bernard Hopkins vs. Pavlik on October 18th and also during Roy Jones Jr. vs. Joe Calzaghe. Hopkins and Calzaghe won the main events.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (15-3) came out on top at Sengoku 6 and is expected to fight for Affliction on January 24th possibly against Vitor Beltfort. He beat Moise Rimbon. Dan Lauzon is set to face Justin “Sledge” Hammerstrom on the November 14th WCF card. Chris Horodecki will enter the Shootboxing “S-Cup 2008” same-night eight-man tournament on November 24 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The prospective fight between Horodecki and Lauzon at Affliction 2 is at jeopardy depending on what happens. Mike Whitehead (23-6) is back on his winning ways defeating Leo Pla on October 29th during M1-Global Challenge 8.

GracieMag is reporting that Affliction is attempting to sign Ricardo Arona. They did an interview with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who said:

“It’s not just Brazilian fans who are looking forward to a return from Arona. The folks at Affliction have already sent a message through my brother Rogerio [Minotouro]. ‘We would like to hire Arona, we want to see him fighting in our events, you may tell him that – we want to negotiate with Arona now,” the Brazilian revealed."

Affliction Golden Boy deal is very Golden!

Recently some people began suggesting that Golden Boy and Affliction would no longer copromote after coming across a blog by MMAMANIA that suggested the partnership is not so "golden" because the two companies decided not to feature both MMA and Boxing matches on the same card. The blog itself never indicates that the two companies will not copromote, instead it only verifies that Affliction and Golden Boy plan on copromoting MMA-only events at this time. Golden Boy Promotions will indeed help with the production and the promoting of Affliction MMA which was the initial plan.

What fans don't realize is one major reason Affliction and Golden Boy are partnering up in the first place is because Dana White and the UFC threatened Las Vegas venues in a business move to keep them from advertising, promoting and/or broadcasting Affliction MMA or for that matter any other competitor to the UFC. Hence Affliction had to back out of their Las Vegas event on October 11th due to these dirty tactics by UFC executives. But the tables turned when Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions jumped on board. Golden Boy has had far deeper influence on what goes on in Las Vegas then Dana White ever has. De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao sold out approximately 16,000 tickets for the event set to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (HBO PPV) and did so for a gate of almost $17 million! Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture at best has done a $6 million gate for the UFC. In this business move with Golden Boy Promotions, Affliction is relieved of Dana White's tactics to remove any mentioning of them from Las Vegas venues. Let's just say Donald Trump and Tom Atencio did a very smart move by bringing Golden Boy on board.

Showtime PPV listed as partner on AfflictionClothing.com

The official website AfflictionClothing.com lists Golden Boy Promotions, M-1 Global, Trump, and Showtime PPV as partners. It looks like Affliction Entertainment is moving into what was once EliteXC territory. Additionally the website confirms a January 24th date and a main event featuring Andrei Arlovski vs. Fedor Emelianenko.

The site also includes images of the following fighters in order at the bottom from left to right: Matyushenko, Hieron, Nogueira, Babalu, Barnett, Horodecki, Lindland, Belfort.