Former UFC heavyweight champions Andrei Arlovski (13-5) and Josh Barnett (23-5) will collide at Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 11.
WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko was originally expected to defend his title against the “Pitbull” in the main event; however, a hand injury sustained in his win over Tim Sylvia will apparently keep the Russian off the card.
Arlovski and Barnett were victorious in their Affliction MMA debuts at “Banned” from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on July 19. Arlovski stopped Ben Rothwell via third round technicak knockout (strikes) and Barnett exacted revenge against Pedro Rizzo with second round knockout.
Both fighters are riding impressive win streaks — Arlovski has four straight and “The Baby Face Assassin” has got three to his credit. It’s a monster showdown between arguably two of the top five heavyweight fighters in the world. And it will likely determine a number one contender to challenge for Emelianenko’s strap when he is fit to return.
In addition to the main event between Arlovski and Barnett, middleweights Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort are also expected to clash at the promotions encore event, which is slated to be available on pay-per-view (PPV).
(Thanks to MMAmania.com reader “Alberto” for the assist.)
89 Comments »
1st. i will go with arlovski tko
I wonder if Fedor is going to be healed up in time to fight on NYE…
I am REALLY mad at Timmy’s big fat hard head. It’s just another reason to hate the guy! lol
F**k this sh*t! I thought AA was battling fedor?!? Why do us fans always have to suffer from setbacks like these?!? I’d go with you VM. Just another reason to hate Sylvia!
Absolutely, but obviously this is a much easier fight for Arlovski. He should dominate. I want AA to get the title shot, but Fedor is so damned scary.
Disagree. Barnett by knockout in the 2nd. This is actually a much better matchup than Fedor vs Andre, i think Fedor may smash Andre….
This one will be a ring-ding-ding battle!!
Then surely Barnett V Fedor!?!?
of Course I wanted to see Fedor vs. Arlovski, but Arlovski/Barnett will do just fine. I have been wanting to see this match up for years now, and my early prediction is that Barnett will win.
Also:
Vitor vs. Lindland will NOT be for the WAMMA title!
Check this out. A video where Cung Le talks about his conversations with Danna white and about fighting Anderson Silva. Its good stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81ChOOhTwFA
Good Stuff John!!!!!
Chung Lee broke it down pretty damn good.
Silva’s only 4.. but I say 3 loses are to Asian fighters.
The engaging aspect was on point.
If true I wonder why Renzo didn’t want to figt Frank?
He dissed Irvin…lol
yeah, it was some good stuff!
Phil: I meant to call u this weekend to let u know a little inside news, I heard from friend living in Vegas.
Marquardt will fight Kampman at UFC 89, so it leaves an opening for UFC 88. My frined tells me that Sakara will face Jason Lambert at middleweight at UFC 88. I look forward to seeing how the punisher’s man-boobs look at 185 lbs.
I just got done watching Anderson Silva’s 2005 Boxing Debut from the Balbino stadium in Brazil. Anderson is a bad man! I would like to see him take American Boxing by storm once his mma career is over!
Maybe he should get the solar flex.. I wondr how many of those Chuck Norris sold by now?
lmao! He could also use a 7 minute abs tape!
John, why would you want Anderson to retire from MMA at a young age while still in his prime? do you want him to retire at age 33?
VM: I am not talking about anytime soon! Im saying 5-7 years down the line when he retires, I would like to see him take part in a bigtime boxing match up to prove to the boxing Haters that MMA fighers really are skillled. Just sick of the boxing idiots running their mouths.
So you want to see a 40 year old Anderson Silva start a boxing career?
REALLY?????
I just want to see him Box ONCE in America to shut up the boxing dummies that try to diminish the skill level of the UFC fighters. Just one fight, he good do it now for all I care. I just want to see him bust up a credible boxer!
I just don’t see Anderson being near as dominating a force in boxing as he is in MMA.
HE could dominate. Remeber one of The Spider’s strengths is “Pinpoint striking accuracy”. But of course, MAyweather could easily outstrike him in a boxing match!
The difference is Mayweather doesn’t have the kind of power COMBINED with accuracy that the Spider demonstrates and would do very well in boxing. But I don’t think after facing years of battles in MMA that would give the boxing world a good picture of how good this guy is if he were to enter down the road after he starts to slow due to age. JOhn, agree with you but would love to see him do it in his prime…now.
He might have a point regarding the “engaging” theory. However, James Irvin might disagree. Also, guys don’t avoid him without reason. When they do get inside they usually get eaten up. I like Cung’s attitude though, and it would be an interesting fight at least.
I think Cung Le is wrong, I dont think the fighters are scared of Anderson. Irvin pressed forward. And hes talking about doing the same thing everybody else has done, try to engage. IMO I dont think Cung Le has any big power to be a big threat to Silva. But maybe a stick and move style would be best? It would be a big seller for sure though.
hendo didnt seem to be afraid of silva and pressed the action and he still got beat. im not sure that cung could beat hendo let alone a. silva. and if he cant beat hendo, he wont beat silva.
I’ve been reporting (with video) for week John, and you said I’m dumb john. I believe you said I was unrealistic. Remember, I live 5 minutes from san jose, and give me a little credit.
what? I was saying you are unrealistic by expecting Diaz to fight Lawler!
oh, I thought about any cross promotion. email me kevjack115@yahoo with some prices, whole place, one bed etc. if the price is right, maybe I’ll take my parents too!
Now trhat I think about it, it kind of sucks that Arlovski and Barnett are fighting! it will be a good match up, but hear me out!
If arlovski would have just fought Fedor, as planned, Fedor would have crushed Andre and then Barnett could have still gotten a shot at Fedor. Now that Barnett vs. Arlovski is going to take place, we will probably only see the winner of that fight (Barnett) vs. Fedor. Barnett will put Andre on his back and Maul him!
These are all great match ups, but unfortunately, Now I dont think we will ever get to see Fedor vs. Arlovski!
EXACTLY.That’s what I was just about to say. That was the first thing that came to mind.
As far as the #1 contendership is concerned, neither a win over Ben Rothwell or Pedro Rizzo should get you a shot at the title, so that is the one really good about this. And I do think that it is very possible for the loeer of this fight to still get a shot a Fedor eventually. Many fighters have lost #1 contender fights, and then came back to get a shot a the title in about a year. Especially since the loser of this fight is’t going to drop to far in the rankings.
thats all I am worried about. If I still get to see Fedor fight both Barnett and Arlovski, then I will be very happy to see Arlovski vs. Barnett. Lucky for us, Affliction isn’t exactly overloaded with competitors to face Fedor, so like u said, hopefully the looser of this fight still gets a shot at the Russian.
What do u think about Sylvia? he has said that he will compete on the Affliction card, but who could he possibly face? My guess is that Tim fights Aleks, maybe its just wishful thinking because its a fight I have wanted to see for a very long time. Then again, I dont know if Tim really wants to face both Emelieanenko brothers in back to back fights…would you? lol
I hear that Rizzo will fight Buentello.
I hope that they sign a solid Light Heavyweight to face Nogueira.
There is a chance that Fedor might lose (gasp!) to the winner of this fight. In that case, we would get to see Fedor fight both of these guys.
If there’s a slim chance, it’s still blasphemy at this point to say that Fedor would lose to the winner of this fight. But that’s just my 2 cents…
Apparently to get a Wamma title shot you need to put up a few straight UFC losses…….*cough cough Timmy cough cough*
you guys not no faith.AA is going to beat both these cats….WAR ANDREI WARRRRRRRRR
Unfortunately, Fedor not participating in october will mark the end of Afflcition
Arlovski is a way bigger draw in American than Fedor is. Wake up.
He is a bigger name in the states but I really dont think that nowadays a main event with Arlovski vs Barnett would sell more than 100,000 ppv’s. Even though fedor doesnt have the big name recognition I’m pretty sure he’s the reason that anyone really bought the first Affliction show. Affliction really needs to pull something out their sleeve for this show or it’s really going to Bomb.
Dont under estimate the drawing power of TIto Ortiz. I hate the guy and really dont even like watching him fight, but he can sell a show like no other! Him and Babalu HATE each other and once they start talking trash back abnd forth, Tito will sell the crap out of Affliction. I hate Tito, but Tito is a guy that can do the most for an upstart organization and his departure will hurt the UFC because he will only help competitors. He is worthless to the UFC, but is very valuable to everyone else..
Arlovski and Tito on the same card, have a very good chance of selling the show. Especially now that people know Arlovski is back! Vitor is a very well known fighter in the states and once Affliction markets the re-birth of Arlovski and Vitor, people will by that show. Babalu is another fighter that has a lot of fans in the US.
A key element to the success of Affliction 2 will be the marketing campaign. THey could and have to do some much more than they did for the 1st show. I would give my right arm to be in charge of their marketing campaign, I know I could get it cracking. THeir 1st show did well considering they invested like $15 on the whole campaign and let the Internet sell the rest. Imagine what it could do if Trump unleashes the wrath of his marketing!
Babalu will knot Tito into a human pretzel!!
I hope so!
Barnett vs Arlovski
or
Bisping vs Leben
You really need to think twice what card to buy?
If I’m not mistaken, the Bisping/Leben card is free.
Correct.
Its on tape delay in the states.
Thet are not the same day.
why? Is UFC 89 taking place the same night as Affliction 2?
THe UFC event is a week later.
OH thank GOd, if not it would have crushed Affliction!
Bisping Vs Leben is the better card
will see when affliction card is done, and the ufc is free so watch them both and you won’t be disapointed.
Arlovski looked sharp against Rothwell. I think he’ll have too much for Barnett.
Well that sucks
This should actually be a better fight… with the winner gaining more confidence to give Fedor a better fight in the third Affliction card.
good point
…..assuming the 2nd show doesn’t bankrupt them and they can afford another cool mill for Fedor at the 3rd show.
they guarenteed 3 shows already!
Barnett will win this easily.
YES YES YES!!!
Thats exactly the match I wanted to see prior to a potential Arvloski-Fedor or Barnett-Fedor match. Never been happier with a “backup matchup” on a card.
Fact is you need to build challengers just as much as title holders and both Barnett and Arlovski have been out of the big picture for a while – so having them duke it out for the #1 contender spot is great.
Can’t wait for that card – Ortiz-Babalu should be entertaining too.
I hope they sign another quality LHW to fight Nogueira!
I agree, this will make for a great fight. However, anyone that thinks the Affliction management is thrilled about not having Fedor in it’s second event is lying to themselves. I know, Arlovski is a bigger draw for fans in the US, but at this point, the entire org [Affliction] is being built on the mystique of Fedor. They really needed him to help solidify thier numbers, and I think this will hurt them. I hope I’m wrong. I don’t want to see them crumble after only two events. We’ll see.
I dont think Arlovski can beat barnett. Barnett will put him on is back and Maul Andre and maybe even eventualy submit the pitbull.
If Barnett decides to keep the fight standing like he did aainst Barnett, then he could easily find himself in trouble. But I don’t think that he will since he just really wanted to KO Rizzo for KO’ing him back in the day. However, Andrei does have above average takedown defense for the HW division. All though we don’t get to see it too often, Arlovski does have a ‘decent’ guard.
Barnett is known for his submission game and Arlovski is known for his hands. Barnett, the one that will be looking for the takedowns is also going to be the larger fighter.
No doubt it will be a great fight, but of course we all want to see Fedor…. but we cant
Barnett is 6′3″ and a soft 250. Arlovski is 6′4″ and a ripped 240. I wouldn’t necessarily give Josh the size advantage.
Plus the speed advantage goes to Arlovski!
The same way he mauled Cro Cop. AA is looking sharp lately and his TD defence has always been top notch. AA seems to be much more comfortable on the ground now (he even took down O’Brian, who mauled a big guy like Herring). I’m not saying he will want to go to the ground with Barnett, just that he is FAR from a fish out of water on the ground. AA KOed Cruz sitting down and Werdum didn’t even come close to getting AA down. I think Werdum is every bit as good as Barnett and AA is more dangerous than CC. AA wins this fight,I just hope it isn’t the classic boring striker vs grappler match. What happened (3 times) when Josh last fought a fast and explosive striker (Cro Cop)? He got KTFO.
did you watch those fights?i don’t think so.the first fight josh injured his shoulder had nothing to do with anything mirko did. the 2nd fight josh fought a war with nog to decision and mirko had a ko over wandy and had to fight the same night josh was fatigued and was stopped do to strikes but not k.o.ed the third was a win by decision, so when did he get ktfo never. barnett wins but it will be a good fight.
Cro Cop, is just Barnetts Kryptonite. He has his number, doesnt beat Barnett cant beat everyone else.
He is 1-1 agaisnt Nogueira and is will be a disgrace to mma if Dana White doesnt get Josh in teh UFC so I can see a rubbermatch between him and Nogueira so I can know once and for all who the 2nd and 3rd best Heavyweights in the world are.
Arlovski needs to be on his game against Barnett, he hasn’t faced anyone of this caliber yet. I hope he’ll pull it out and fight Fedor later this year or early next.
Who does everyone think the loser of this fight will take on next? Sylvia?
sylvia was supposed to fight on this card according to him, unless his medicalsuspension holds up. it looks like affliction is really trying to scale down this event , wich is probably a good idea.
I agree. This is the best thing they can do. They should have easily made profit on the first event, but they were dumb and overdid it.
yes, I do not think they want to pay another 800K for a 45 second Timmy fight. In addition, perhaps Fedor was too much cash and have to hold off on him. I really can’t believe Timmy’s Head is that hard. Perhaps there is more bone then brain up there.
Barnett will beat him into submission
OH YEAH!! Barnett will demolish Arlovski!!
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!
I saw an interview with Randy recently, where he said ‘Fedor is basically a free agent still’.
If it’s true he got $1.5 million for the last fight could it be that Affliction have failed to agree a fee for the October date? Fedor is obviously about the money at this point, so maybe he’s staying free in order to fight Randy under UFC banner. Randy has recently been more open in interviews to fighting Fedor in UFC if they can amke it happen.
fedor’s manager has recently stated that the fedor/randy fight still could happen in the ufc, but i think for a 1 fight deal only. we’ll see. thats not dana’s usual forte, but he might just do it to end the randy ordeal and to make alot of money on a big ppv blockbuster. it seems nowadays in mma, anything is possible.
Just read an interesting piece on this at mmapayout. I think UFC will break the bank to get Fedor on a huge, long contract. They’ll do massive PPV on Randy Vs Fedor, and they’ll essentially kill Affliction/Wamma in the process. Plus, with Mir/Nog on TUF, and the fact that Lesnar is such a big PPV draw already, they could quickly change thier weakest division into one of their strongest. Not to mention Mr Valasquez…
Dont forget Lesner to. For reals though they should offer Fedor like 350K – 400K to fight and 350k – 400k to win. Sure people will say “Well afflciction paid him over a million” but how many times can Affliction afford to do that? I’m sure the UFC would fight him at least 3-4 times a year and assuming he wins all 3 or 4 (he probably will) thats at least a cool 2.1 mill not including locker room bonuses endoersements or knockout and submission bonuses he’ll probbaly receive. Just sign with the freaking UFC already. Nobody cares who holds the Wamma belt.
Just read the article. This stuff is crazy. Who knows whats ever realy going on? Love to see it though.
i just read it as well and it seems like finklestien is still wanting alot of special conditions for a long term deal. if it just comes down to letting fedor fight sambo and sign aleks, then dana should concede these conditions. it doesnt look like those sambo tournies are much of a threat to fedor and aleks is a quality fighter, but i think vadim is going to want to much as far as special conditions go. i dont think money will much of an issue after fedor demolished tim. its all just speculation right now though.
Arlovski is in trouble. Barnett is going to hurt him.
Rob Dib
http://www.break-your-face.com
Arlovski will expose barnett as an ‘old skool’ fighter. Barnett will go down in the 1st….. 2 minutes.
via KO, FTW!!
I honestly wanna see this fight more than fedor/Arlovski
should be a great fight
Barnett is a great fighter. Just plain and simple. But, Arlovski was/is supposed to be the new wave heavyweight fighter. Tall, ripped, good power, great speed, and he’s not terrible on the ground. Arlovskis sambo skills make him at least decent on the ground. His stand-up is head and shoulders abover Barnett. I see AA rockin Barnett in the 1st and finishing him off.
Team Pit Bull!
I’d say I hurt my hand too if my next fight was Arlovski. (Fedor is skeert)
Arlovski by Awsome flying Knee, Punches, Slaps, KOKOKO,,,!…War Arlovski
AA is the man
hope this doesnt hurt ppv sales for affliction
to hardcore fans this is a great match up
to casual fans probably lacks the fedor appeal although in all honesty the american audience is more likely to be buying to watch AA
even if fedor only signed the 1 fight contract with affliction it is still very unlikely well see him in the ufc
why would dana risk letting him come in on a one fight deal to beat the guy who is still classed as the champion
unless fedor signs a multifight deal which basically contracts him to ufc until he loses, then they wont want him