Great expectations: Affliction press conference for ‘Trilogy’ highlights Fedor Emelianenko vs Josh Barnett
By: Brian Oswald
Earlier this afternoon, the t-shirt company turned MMA promoter, Affliction, kicked off its whirlwind media tour for Affliction: “Trilogy” from the Trump Towers in New York, New York.
It’s an appropriate name for the promotion’s third, and according to Vice President Tom Atencio, not final show. All the suits and t-shirts were in attendance for the formal announcement, from Atencio to Donald Trump to HDNet President Mark Cuban.
Naturally, several of the fighters slated to compete on the card, which is booked for the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 1, were also in the building. Main event participants Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko and Josh “The Babyfaced Assassin” Barnett, were situated near the podium. And Gegard Mousasi and Renato “Babalu” Sobral — the two men who will compete in the co-main event — were located nearby.
Overall, the event was standard fare with the photo-op providing one of the lighter moments of the afternoon. As Emelianenko and Barnett worked their poses for the camera crew, Barnett, in response to someone in the crowd, yelled, “No I am not going to kiss him (Fedor).” The Russian smiled in response as the two friends continued their less than menacing-looking stare down.
While both fighters hammed it up a little for the camera, they both spoke of the seriousness of the match. Barnett was the first to add this commentary to the historic fight:
“This is a fight that a lot of people have been expecting for a long time, the press and fans alike … fighters as well. Make no bones about it, just because we are friends doesn’t mean we aren’t taking this fight seriously. This will be a serious endeavor. Because of the nature of this bout, the mutual respect we have for each other and our status as professional fighters, this fight needs to live up to a greater expectation than any other heavyweight bout that I can think of in MMA history. “
Fedor followed, but was (typically) much briefer in his eloquence:
“I would like to thank Josh — he is a friend … a true friend. I am very happy we will be able to meet in the ring and give everyone a wonderful show.”
The questions that will now be asked by fans and pundits alike: Can the less popular American in Barnett actually mount a serious offensive to thwart the seemingly unstoppable Russian “Cyborg”? Will Affliction be able to survive past a third fight card? And if so, who can they feed to Fedor next if he can topple Barnett?
The MMA world waits for answers that will only be revealed little less than two months from today.
Thanks to Sports Action Network for the great photographs of the Affliction: “Trilogy” press conference.
103 Comments »
good fights..
Hey is that Dale Jr on Trumps right???
Barnett, hehe! but if it’s the other guy, that’s Mark Cuban, HDNet and Dallas Mavericks owner…
I was only joking Syd! I’m not that dumb…I hope.
Haha, no worries champ!
yeah great fights i am really looking forward to this one, i will be going for sure.
After watching yvel beat him up while Barnett had him mounted, this matchup doesn’t seem as historic to me. Forgetting the results, Nog-Fedor II will always have been the most anticipated and most significant HW battle ever IMO.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, but that was probably one of the more thorough beatdowns that I’ve witnessed. From what I remember, Yvel hardly mounted any offense and just took a major beating. I was surprised that he lasted so long.
Did you see barnett’s face after the fight? Yea he marks up easily but the way he gassed, and the way yvel was landing shots, i thought Yvel would KO him from the bottom Vovchanchyn style.
But….if you can’t finish Yvel on the ground…something is amiss. I to think that Barnett’s performance in that fight makes this one slightly less interesting…having said that, it’s still the best non-ufc HW fight that could be arranged, so it’s definitely something worth looking forward to.
its by far a bigger HW match up than any HW fight that the UFC could provide!
Agreed jonh. I’m looking more forward to Fedor/Barnett and Mousassi/Babalu than Lesnar/Mir or Hendo/Bisping.
Agreed, I only mean to infer if it were something in the UFc ala Brock/Mir 2, it would be bigger in the sense it would receive more attention.
In 1995, Randy and Henderson cleaned house on five bouncers in Buckhead (ATL)–it was a brutal bloodbath and took about 90 seconds, max. I was with them, and believe me when I tell you it was total carnage. It started when Randy pushed Dan into a car–just horseplay–outside a bar, and the doormen started talking shit. One of them grabbed a baseball bat and was acting like he was going to swing. So, Randy and Dan squared up.
After a few moments of banter–Hendo told the dude he was going to shove the bat up his ass–Randy suddenly lunged at the dude with the bat, who immediately tucked tail and retreated into the bar with Randy on his heels. Henderson and I remained outside and Dan literally mowed through two of the four remaining bouncers–a fourth friend and I pitched on the last two. One of the guys Dan lit up tried to run away, and Dan would let him go for a few steps, and then beat him down. This lasted for about a block–I know, because I had to track him down so we could elude the police, and was literally a trail of blood on the street. Then, when I went to get Randy out of the bar, I saw that he had destroyed the place by repeatedly picking the bouncer up and tossing him into tables and across the bar.
Dan had just picked up some chick 20 minutes earlier, and she was just horrified, but ended up running from the police with us. We tossed her over chain link fences and brick walls, and by the time we got to our car, her dress was in tatters and she was just livid. Keep in mind, this was two years before either guy fought in MMA. I should also point out that I’ve known Dan for nearly 20 years and Randy almost 15, and it’s the only time I’ve ever seen either guy in a street fight. The dude with the bat just set them off.
Best part is, Randy was interviewing to be the head coach for the U.S. Greco team, and he was out to dinner with the executives the following night. In the middle of dinner, a cop shows up at his table with the manager, and they say that Randy has to leave. When the USA Wrestling attorney asks why, they said that it was because Randy and some buddies had destroyed the place the night before and assaulted their security staff. Turns out it was the same place! Luckily, they just booted Randy and no charges were filed. 100% true.
Aaron Crecy
Clinch Gear
Barnett had a broken nose. Of course he gassed, he couldnt even breathe in the first place. Yvel got beat down hard core. There is no question about that.
John that is quite a story. Whether fact or fiction, it is quite remarkable.
I actually think its factual. Its been splattered all over different sites….still a good read regardless if its true!
More that fedor v cro-cop?
Very close second but i won’t disagree with anyone who pics that one. I just loved the climb back for nog -smashing up the tourney to take on fedor.
yeah, IMO…Fedor vs. Nog 2 was the biggest Heavyweight fight that the sport has ever seen, followed by Cro cop vs. Fedor!
I’m saying Cro-Cop/Fedor was the biggest. For me, anyway.
just to let you know cbs sportline is jumping on the story about a possible meeting with Fedor ,here is the link on bloody elbow.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/6/3/897815/fedor-ufc-rumours-again
I tried to post a link to story about Fedor and the UFC ,cbssportline has now jumped on the story here is the link for ithttp://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5815454/15361717
Thanks Scott!I hope John’s will start to believe it a little bit more!
NNR
I post an interesting 2 parts interview of Igor Vovchanchyn – Life after PRIDE a few weeks back.If you didn’t see it,i can find it again for you!
Check out the interview on fox,that jslim posted
The comments on the FOX interview were UFC positive.
Come on Dana – finish up this “big news” and tell us already!!! It’s eating me up inside!!! Even Christmas as a child wasn’t this hard!!
Nice interview…Let’s hope for it!
I think it is going to happen ,they will probably finish up the negotiating after the Barnett fight ,as long as he wins,he will be in the UFC
there is no more huge fights left in Affliction,which means they are not going to be able up his contract,he also expressed the desire to fight Mir and Brock,and he knows there is only one place he can face them,so look for the announcement the day after the Barnett fight,like I said earlier why is his Lawyer with him,I do not hang out with my lawyer,I have my lawyer look over contracts before they are finalized
think about it ,has anybody ever seen him with this guy before,I always see him with his team or the douche from M-1,and who pays a lawyer to translate
That would bring the crumble of Affliction!
1st Fedor 2nd Mousasi…
Affliction will be done w/o having to buy them!
Great,strategy business by ZUFFA!Way cheeper to buy a fighter than a cie!
I know scott,also if you look at Dana’s interview in the other thread you’ll see when he start talking about Kimbo’s and Fedor’s he almost got confuse and said that we,will see if Fedor’s the best and then he change his sentence by talking about Kimbo!
I would not be surprised to see UFC buying a share of M-1,I have feeling because of a story his managers said that they was not really wanting the stadium ,they just want MMA big in Russia,ala Lorenzo and Dana to do some heavy marketing in Russia,buy a piece of M-1 ,help them or takeover them,and push their product like they do in every other country in Europe,sounds like a good deal to me.But do not cross promote ,I do not want to see M-1 Global and UFC 106 ,that would make my stomach turn
Even if the UFC would buy a share of M-1 Global…I doubt that they would promote it That way.It probably would be more subtel!
Please post it Alpha. I may have read it but i never get sick of finding out things about that man. It’s sad that there isn’t a true MMA hall of fame to recognize how he changed the sport and ruled MMA for the better part of his dark ages.
“its dark ages” -man, my brain is scrambled from getting killed so bad in BJJ tonight.
That’s the Truth!Here it is buddy!
M-1 Exclusive:Igor Vovchanchyn-Life after PRIDE part 1
http://www.m-1global.com/en/news/detail/id/9314/m-1-exclusive-igor-vovchanchyn—life-after-pride
M-1 Exclusive: Igor Vovchanchyn Interview Part II
http://www.m-1global.com/en/news/detail/id/9348/m-1-exclusive-igor-vovchanchyn-interview-part-ii
alpha: its not that I dont believe that Fedor and Dana are going to talk….All Im saying is I doubt that its the BIG NEWS that Dana wanted to announce on MOnday. Negotiations take time. NO way Dana would have ever thought the deal would have gotten done the same day Fedor landed in Cali/
fedor interview with fox news: http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/22417966/fedor-open-to-ufc.htm
kind of funny ,he has his lawyer with him,looks like someone has been talking about contracts.Great link jslim
also fox news is headquartered in LA ,and where was Dana at yesterday,hum
Im surprised that Affliction can still afford that backdrop for the press conference with all the money they’ve lost.
…excellent
Looks like Affliction is gonna survive for at least until end of next year if they can keep up with cards like this.
Yeah I think there putting together some nice cards but, its the same big names on all there cards. Its getting a little played out for me. I mean Fedor has/will be on all 3, same with barnette, Vitor, Im sure Alovski, and more. Nice cards but they are definantly going to run out of fights if they dont start signing more talent.
I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THIS!
Fock it, I’ll fight Fedor at Affliction 4. There will be no one else left.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch with Arlovski. Not that I think Andrei would win but it could be a good fight again.
That’s the only realistic matchup i can think of. Maybe a co promoted fight with overeem or something.
Yep. Most sensible rematch since Liddell-Couture II… Well just to piss john off, I’m rooting for Barnett!! though I still think Fedor would win this hands down. Barnett is no ground-slouch so it’s gonna be a long night for Fedor if it does go down, but he’s got nothing on the feet if he decides to go toe-to-toe with Fedor.
I dont get mad at Fedor hating anymore. Everyone is right to there opinion…but Fedor being the greatest fighter alive isnt an opinion, its a FACT! Anyone that tries to say otherwise is just FOCKING DUMB!!! Simple as that! Syd, I know you were just joking so this isnt aimed at u!
What is really starting to piss me off is the lack of respect that Barnett gets around here. This site is supposed to be filled with hardcore fans, yet I have a feeling that more then half of this site hasnt actually seen Barnett fight more than 3 times. He is an amazing Heavyweight. So sick of hearing about the Yvel fight. He handed Yvel a thorough beatdown and you guys r nitpicking. Who cares if he gasses against Yvel. Does anyone think any fighters out there are that dumb to fight fedor under trained…No one will gas against Fedor…they get Knocked out!
Same people that discredit Barnett are the same ones that would hop right on his nuts after he joined the UFC and beat a top opponent. Barnett at the moment is better then any Heavyweight in the UFC!
No prob john!
Oh, by the way, I think Carwin ang Lesnar could beat Barnett[even if they're still a little green]…Just my prediction.
maybe syd! 10 years from now? perhaps? if barnett fights in ufc he will be champion in no time…carwin and lesnar are just size while barnett is an adcc champ,experience and intelligent anyone with half a brain that knows only wwe and silly standup dont stand a thread of a chance against barnett..
I agree with Syd. What credible opponent has Barnett defeated recently? His hype comes from these inaccurate rankings designed to make other organizations seem almost as credible as the UFC
Furthermore, what happened to one of the only over-hyped PRIDE HW to come into the UFC? A 1-2 record including having his head nearly kicked off. These guys need to fight in the UFC, the most legitimate MMA org. in the world or they are nothing but hype.
REddag: I ways always a die hard Mirko fan, but I had my reservations about how2 he would do in the UFc HW divisioln with all the wrestlers like Couture (at the time)…. Mirko NEVER beat Nog or Fedor who IMO are the best 2 heavyweights that have ever fought in mma.
Carwin and brock have a shot against Barnett, but I think he would still beat them TODAY, and Barnett would be the favorite in both those fights. Barnett is 1-1 against Nog in NOgs’ prime..how can anyone say he is over rated? he beat Aleks.
I also think Josh owuld beat Arlovski, who gets his cock slurped on this sitre on a regular basis.
“I would like to thank Josh — he is a friend … a true friend. I am very happy we will be able to meet in the ring and give everyone a wonderful show.”
Typical Fedor… always talking trash.
Yeah I know, what’s his problem? Fedor is a disrespectful dick. lol
It’s funny how the majority of very successful people are humble and respectful just like Fedor. If you truly are good or great at what you do then you don’t have to tell other people about it. They’ll tell you. Fedor is pure class.
Robots don’t feel emotion, and therefor don’t talk trash.
He does have a point…kinda
Fedor, GSP, Royce Gracie (other than towards Shammy), GSP, Liddell, Hughes (he gives honest humble opinion), Arlovski, Henderson, Cotoure, Wandy are all prettymuch humble, respectfull, classy fighters AND some of the ALL TIME BEST, ever!
while on the other hand Tito, BJ Penn, Mayhem, Coleman, Frank Shamrock, Diaz, Rampage, Evans, are all TOP guys but are a little more “Mouthy” lol
Needs more skull.
Kenny florini should corner fedor to show barnett whats up
lol @ Goku maybe Dr. Phil can corner Fedor
After this right there is really nobody to fight except for UFC heavyweights…Unless Affliction might try to get the winner of Rogers/AA??? No clue who else he would fight..Lashley? j/k
overeem,werdum,monson,aa theres a few more not that they are all great fights and hopefully he goes to the ufc.
Maybe overreem, andf I do stress maybe. Monson and Werdum would both get eaten alive, AA has the best shot right now, if he can put the KO at the hands of stupidity behind him.
Well if Overeem’s a good fight then so is Werdum considering Werdum beat Overeem a few years ago. And don’t talk to me about MMA math it WOULD be a decent fight.
Fedor’s sole weakness was exposed in the AA fight. If AA had continued to fight a smart fight, I think he wouldve worn Fedor down enough to possibly KO him, or at least win a decision. I think Barnett is a good matchup for Fedor. Everything Barnett does, Fedor does better. I think the only guy who will beat Fedor is a guy with alot of reach, good kickboxing, and good TD defense. AA will probably get a rematch, and as long as he doesn’t fight stupid again, he could win. Although the last time he got KO’d before Fedor did it was when he fought Sylvia the 2nd time. That KO also came after getting over-zealous. After that fight, he looked awful for several fights, until he went to Affliction.
Anyway, like I said, he’ll lose to a big, athletic kickboxer with good TD defense. Call me crazy, but I think Cheick Kongo could beat him with a few more years of training.
you forget….fedor hardly even trained for that fight with AA. his trainers were bitching at him because of how little he trained (movies, etc). he even admitted it later. stupid? yes, of course. he came into the fight ill-prepared and obviously tubby. and AA trained his ass off for the fight! but fedor still knocked AA out 3 minutes into the fight with one punch…the first punch of the fight he really landed.
just imagine if he had actually put in a full camp…
You’re looking at the end of the Fedor era, his carreer is coming to a close, I’ve heard it all over the place that in 2 more years he’s retiring. I wouldn’t bank on seeing Fedor ever fight in the UFC, imo if he’s never going to jump into the cage he should fight Barnett, then fight Overeem and retire. When he does retire he’ll be the Jordan/Ali of MMA history.
No O Damn!! he won’t be with Ali & Jordan! He’ll be the Dan Marino of MMA if he doesn’t go to the UFC.
I used to build some REALLY serious street cars that were absolutely sick and record setting. We could lay passes down the track and make stupid dyno numbers all we wanted up here. To prove it we would go to the events that brought the best together period, then we were recognized.
If Fedor retires like you say (I hope he doesn’t), I’ll personally find him 15 years from now and tell him too bad he didn’t prove himself as #1 in the world by going to the UFC. After I’d wake up, I’d watch him curl up crying knowing its too late to do anything about it.
Let me make this clear, I say the UFC because they are by far the biggest stage in the world with the absolute best fighters in the industry, not because the UFC is the best at everything.
I agree his career is winding down (though he is still at an unparalleled level) but he is no where near being an Ali or Jordan. There are far too many people who can point to the stretches of inactivity and the here and there freakshow fights. Besides, in this “era” no one will be considered an undisputed best outside the UFC. The MMA world is extremely UFC-centric (rightfully so to a degree) and without proving oneself in that organization, they will never be a consensus leading legend of the sport. I think he’s one of the best ever, but his absence from the UFC is an asterisk on that legacy of his.
No Ali and Jordan never had stretches of inactivity(jail for Ali and retirement for Jordan?). And Ali never fought any cans right? The people who know MMA know that Fedor is the best ever(just ask the fighters).
Diceman, Ali and Jordan never purposely avoided competing with the best. Sure they both were up against good and bad in their respective sports, but they didn’t hide from anyone.
To suggest that people who want to see Fedor in the UFC as not as knowledgeable is, to put it nicely, silly. Is Fedor a great fighter? ABSOLUTELY. Is he the best? We might never know for sure.
hey I have been trying to post a link on a story on cbssportsline about Fedor possibly coming to UFC
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5815454/15361717
Up untill recently, and it’s still debatable, the UFC has not had the best collection of heavyweights. So, if Fedor had been fighting in the UFC any earlier you could then make the arguement that he was purposefully avoiding competing with the best. Look at the history of MMA…The UFC has not always been the Top organization.
That is true to a point,the one thing that throws a little bit of a curve ball in that argument ,is look at what happen to Cro Cop when he finally got in the cage ,he was the #2 or #3 HW in the world ,then he got destroyed in the UFC
thank you moderation for finally posting the link
semmy schilt didn’t fare too well against fedor, neither did crocop, and crocop was beating kongo until he broke some ribs and got kicked in the balls a handful of times. fedor can get someone with GREAT takedown defene to the ground
Well he couldn’t take AA down, and he tried really hard too. Maybe a cage would helpo him with that. Kongo is a freak and I think eventually he will be a champion, although I’m not a fan of him.
you know gilbert beat kongo, no way kongo would beat fedor and aa was doing good not as good as people think though bottom line is he lost in the stand up in the first round fedor never tried to take him down i think aa would give him a great fight and last longer next time and do some damage but fedor would still win thats what he does.others have given fedor a better fight already.
Utaptout- you know nothing about either fighter. Fedor was never in danger from AA. Arlovski is too unintelligent to beat Fedor. Fedor suckered AA in for the KO and it isn’t the first time he’s been beat this way by a Russian. A young punk kid from Russia destroyed AA the same way.
Okay brent…I know nothing. Did you watch the same fight I saw? AA made a mistake and Fedor capitalized big time. Fedor didn’t “sucker” him into it. It really looked like it when AA’s body kick tossed Fedor into the corner. Listen, I’m a huge Fedor fan, and I havent liked AA ever since his 5 round dance contest with Sylvia back in the day, but I am also objective. AA was winning that fight until he got too crazy. What makeds Fedor aso great is that to beat him, you’d have to fight the perfect fight. AA was doing that for a few minutes.
so a few minutes of dancing and baby push kicking is a perfect fight? were talking about a minute here…its a five round fight tap and not a one rounder clowny kettle…if that mistake happened in the last minute mark of the 4th round..then it could be debatable by ur cause..if you really look at it the way you see it then try watching arona,randleman,fujita,and coleman what andrei did is nowhere near can be called a danger for fedor compared to these guys..
you mean to tell me you are going to talk about his very first fight,that is ridiculous,how many years has passed since then,he also beat a couple of russians too
Who’s Mark Cuban Fighting? Isn’t that him behind Barnett?
Maybe Kenyon Martin or Kenyon Martin’s Mom.
Never Mind. I read the whole article a second time and saw his name in there.
Where can I find info about when tickets go on sale?
Thanks
never mind, ticketmaster finally put up the info on their site
Onsale to General Public
Start: Mon, 06/08/09 10:00 AM PDT
INTERNET PRESALE
Start: Thu, 06/04/09 10:00 AM PDT
End: Sun, 06/07/09 11:59 PM PDT
Anyone know how to get a presale password?
Barnett is going to smash him!!
You people really underestimate Barnett!
its crazy that fedor actually looks smaller than babalu…you really cant name any other p4p fighter than pry 90% hes fighting the bigger guy…that right there is a clear definition of pound for pound
Fedor has crazy punching power…….I always figured he had huge hands because of some of his crazy powerful punches…..Look in the picture at how much bigger Babalou’s hands are than Fedor’s. All muscle and balls when Fedor punches! Josh has been inconsistant over his career so I hope he brings it this fight. Really good wrestlers control Fedor in the beginning of the fight but Fedor usually capitalizes on small mistakes. Matt Linland and mark Coleman controled Fedor in the beginning of their fights b4 they got their butts whipped! Come on Josh!!!!!!!!!!The MMA business needs Fedor to loose 1 so AFFLICTION CAN GET THE F OUT OF DODGE!
Trump looks super-uncomfortable in that pose.
This has the potential to be a great fight! I really think Barnett has the best shot at Fedor than anyone.
You cant compare ali or jordan to fedor that is crazy. Why? Let me see…. When you are talking about legend like ali and jordan they’re faces are known to people who dont even watch basketball or boxing. Thats how famous those guys are. U could go out in the streets and ask do u know who fedor is and 9 out of 10 people will still say no. Why because he is not in the ufc. Its like jordan trying to get famous competiting in the argetinian league. To a die hard mma fan he is the greatest that is it. If he wants to become the greatest mma fighter he has to go in the ufc and beat the future HW greats. Affliction may pay him good but as far as legend status it isnt helping him at all it actually hurting him because he isnt getting younger.
About time!! Fedors first fight against the number #1 ranked opponent why did it take this long?
because barnett is consistently ducking fedor..no disrespect to barnett i really think he will pose a threat to fedor and is one of the best in the heavyweight..and beaver dont even bother recalling it you were watching wwe when it happened..call me a liar? go ahead! make yourself happy and lie to yourself