Affliction Cancels August 1st Event
by Robert Sargent
In the wake of the loss of main event participant Josh Barnett following a steroid scandal, Affliction Entertainment has made the difficult decision to cancel their upcoming August 1st "Trilogy" event due to inadequate time for promotion.
The cancellation of the card more than likely spells the end of Affliction's involvement in promoting MMA events, and also leaves nearly two dozen fighters without paycheques.
Despite the fact that one-time UFC champion Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort had agreed to fill in for Barnett against #1-ranked heavyweight and WAMMA Heavyweight Champion "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko, it has been reported that Showtime, the distributor of the pay-per-view event, decided that there was insufficient time to promote the altered card.
This stems from the news earlier this week that Barnett had failed a pre-fight drug test and had been denied a fighter licence as a result. Barnett and his camp are currently in the process of trying to determine why and how he tested positive for a metabolite found in the anabolic steroid Drostanolone, but that is really an afterthought at this point.
The demise of the August 1st event not only spells the effective end for Affliction as an MMA promoter, but also leaves close to two dozen fighters without expected paycheques for the event. Among those who were set to compete on the card are Belfort, Sengoku Middleweight Champion Jorge Santiago, Paul "Semtex" Daley and final IFL Welterweight Champion "The Thoroughbred" Jay Hieron.
Though it is difficult to find positives in a situation like this, it is rumoured that some of the fighters who were scheduled to be a part of "Trilogy" may be offered fights on the upcoming M-1 Global event on August 28th in Los Angeles, California. It will mark the promotion's North American debut.
Also, in the case of Hieron, there is a chance that he will now be able to compete for Strikeforce instead. Now free of his Affliction commitments, Hieron could serve as a solid replacement for Joe "Diesel" Riggs, who was forced to withdraw from his scheduled Strikeforce Welterweight Championship bout with Nick Diaz on August 15th. Strikeforce is currently seeking a replacement for Riggs, who suffered an adverse reaction to an undetermined pharmaceutical drug and is currently in hospital. Hieron is considered to be one of the frontrunners to fill in against Diaz.
Though not yet confirmed, it has been reported that Affliction has agreed to cease operations as an MMA promoter and will return to the UFC as an official event and fighter sponsor. UFC President Dana White did not confirm this, but seemed open to working with Affliction again, as long as they were not promoting competing events.
While Affliction's fate had been a point of contention for many months, it is sad to see yet another North American mixed martial arts promotion close its doors, and especially so because Affliction showcased many great fights in its short life. Only time will tell as to how significant the impact of this development will be for MMA in North America.
