Josh Barnett

Barnett Breaks Silence on Positive Test

Josh Barnett and his management team, Excel Sports Management, have released an official statement to the media regarding Barnett’s recent positive test for steroids under the watch of the California State Athletic Commission.

It marks the first time that Barnett has addressed the media since the test results forced the abrupt cancellation of Affliction’s “Trilogy” show and the subsequent folding of the promotion last week. The complete unedited statement is available after the jump.

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Affliction Trilogy Cancelled

Seal Beach, CA - The highly anticipated fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett at the Affliction Trilogy MMA show has been cancelled. The mega fight was scheduled to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim on August 1st.  The unforeseen license denial of Josh Barnett gave Affliction limited time to find a replacement and adequately promote the new main event.

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Atencio Confirms Fedor-Barnett is Off

Tom Atencio, president of Affliction MMA, has confirmed reports that Josh Barnett has been forced to withdraw from his Aug. 1st bout with Fedor Emelianenko.

Atencio spoke with AOL’s MMA FanHouse where he said, “He tested positive for a banned substance. The athletic commission will not reinstate his license. Him and Fedor is off.”

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Fedor-Barnett in Jeopardy; Belfort to Step In?

It looks like the epic heavyweight showdown between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett may be in serious jeopardy. According to reports, Barnett’s pre-fight drug test, administered by the California State Athletic Commission, may have come back with positive results.

Sherdog.com spoke with Barnett, who said, “I took my test three weeks ago. I would have thought I would have heard something by now. No matter what happens with this. I can assure you I will clear my name. This will not be something that I am defined by.”

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Facing Fedor

Seal Beach, CA - Watching Fedor Emelianenko “made me nervous tonight,” said Josh Barnett about Fedor’s bout with Andrei Arlovski at Afflictions “Day of Reckoning”. Barnett will face Fedor on August 1st at Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy.” He is probably wondering, like all fight fans and fighters on earth: can Fedor be beaten or is he invincible? The single loss on Fedor’s record is often disregarded as evidence of his vulnerability, since it was due to a cut resulting from an accidental (and illegal) elbow by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. Even with this one debatable blemish on his record (he went on to later beat Kohsaka in a follow-up match), Fedor is the most revered heavyweight in the world by fighters and fans alike.

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Affliction Announces “Trilogy” Event for August

Affliction Entertainment today officially announced their third-ever event, “Trilogy”, which will take place on Saturday, August 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. As expected, the show will be headlined by a much-anticipated heavyweight clash between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett.

The poster for the event can be seen at Affliction’s official website.

While no other fights on the card have been confirmed, some heavily rumored matchups include former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia facing Paul Buentello, Jay Hieron going up against Paul Daley and a previously scheduled bout between Chris Horodecki and Dan Lauzon.

 

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Fedor Confirms Barnett Bout for August

Perennial heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko has confirmed that he has agreed to face close friend and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett at Affliction’s third show on August 1 in Anaheim, California.

In a recent interview with M-1Global.com, Emelianenko stated that he worked closely with all sides to make the fight happen and that even though that Barnett is a friend of his, he is still more than willing to take him on.

“I am always 100% involved in the negotiations especially with regards to the Barnett fight,” Emelianenko said. “We discussed this fight with the whole team (trainers, coaches, management), so as a team we agreed to a fight with Barnett. Besides Josh’s qualities as a fighter, he is also one of the best representatives for MMA in the U.S.A. We often had drinks after our fights in PRIDE and Affliction so I do consider him a friend.”

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Fedor vs. Barnett Not Official for Affliction III

A report from M-1 Global’s Russian language website stated earlier today that perennial heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko would be facing top contender and former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett at Affliction’s third show this summer.

It’s a matchup years in the making as Barnett remains one of the only top heavyweights that Emelianenko has yet to face. However Affliction VP Tom Atencio says that the fight hasn’t been finalized as of yet:

The Russian version of the M-1 Global website announced today that Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett will finally meet at Affliction 3 in early August. However, when FanHouse contacted Affliction Entertainment VP, Tom Atencio, on Monday, he said that the organization’s third event is not a done deal.

“I haven’t finalized it yet,” Atencio said. “You know me, I like to get everything finalized before making an announcement.”

If the fight were to happen, rumor has it that it would take place in Japan as part of Affliction’s first foray overseas. Atencio was a guest at the latest edition of the M-1 Challenge last week and was said to be working on details regarding the show, which would reportedly be a co-promoted event involving a number of organizations. Affliction, M-1, DREAM, and Strikeforce are among the possible participants.

Fedor KO’s Arlovski at “Day of Reckoning”

Quick results for Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” show last night are below. Fedor Emelianenko scored a first-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski to retain his WAMMA heavyweight belt in the main event. More coverage to come.

Brett Cooper def. Patrick Speight - TKO (Strikes)
Albert Rios def. Antonio Duarte - Unanimous Decision
L.C. Davis def. Bao Quach - Unanimous Decision
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Vladimir Matyushenko - KO (Knee)
Dan Lauzon def. Bobby Green - Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Paul Buentello def. Kirill Sidelnikov - TKO (Doctor Stoppage)
Renato Sobral def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - Submission
Vitor Belfort def. Matt Lindland - KO (Punches)
Josh Barnett def. Gilbert Yvel - Submission (Strikes)
Fedor Emelianenko def. Andrei Arlovski - KO (Punch)

Previewing Affliction: Can Arlovski Defeat the King of Heavyweights?

Now that perennial heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko has returned to fighting viable competition, he will face his biggest test in over three years in the form of a newly-confident and conditioned Andrei Arlovski at Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” event this Saturday night.

Critics continually slammed Emelianenko for his choice of opponents after his hard-fought decision win over Mirko Filipovic in August 2005, but the Russian silenced them with a 36-second destruction of Tim Sylvia, a man that has twice beaten Arlovski, this past July. However in a rare instance, it’s Arlovski’s own trainers that are questioning the fan-favorite in the weeks leading up to his toughest challenge to date.

Arlovski has been spending the majority of his training camp learning how to box under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, who has trained champion boxers such as Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, and Oscar De La Hoya among others, and his usual coaches, such as jiu-jitsu specialist Dino Costeas, have been left with a limited amount of time to work with their client.

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