Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski Will Headline Affliction's Second Show

by Michael Rome on Aug 4, 2008 4:00 AM EDT in News Comment 18 comments

It looks li Affliction-day-of-reckoning_medium ke the reports of Fedor being off are true:

Affliction announced over the weekend that its next show will feature a showdown of two of the best heavyweights in all of mixed martial arts as Josh Barnett will face Andrei Arlovski on Oct. 11 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The upcoming bout, labeled Day of Reckoning, is the second card for Affliction banner which made its debut at the Honda Center on July 19 in front of nearly 14,000.

In that card, Barnett dispatched Brazilian Pedro Rizzo to vindicate a loss early in his career. And that same night, Arlovski battled Ben Rothwell and earned a hard-fought knockout win.

More bouts are expected to be announced shortly for the pay-per-view event. Tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Interesting that they announced this in such quiet fashion. I don't know how well this show will draw without Fedor on top, though I suspect it will have another big name replacing him. This is a good fight for the main event though.

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Props to you, Mike, for being the first person I saw to report this.

by Brett Jones on Aug 4, 2008 8:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The original rumor, that is.

by Brett Jones on Aug 4, 2008 8:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This just reinforces what I’ve been saying: Fedor can only beat mainstream competition like Tim Sylvia if he’s had enough time to rest and drink the blood of the freaks he’s beaten. Thank goodness for the Choi fight since it gave him a couple gallons of spare go-juice.

Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones

by jemaleddin on Aug 4, 2008 9:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Before I start jumping to conclusions, why exactly is Fedor not fighting Arlovski? Is it a money issue or an injury?

by Cmad77 on Aug 4, 2008 9:25 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hand injury

they are saying

by mythbuster on Aug 4, 2008 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks mythbuster. If the man’s hurt, I have to respect the fact that he wants to be 100% before he fights again. I had a couple of other theories, but if his injury is legit, no one can fault him for pulling out.

by Cmad77 on Aug 4, 2008 10:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, they haven’t filled his hand with enough cash.

by Brett Jones on Aug 4, 2008 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed, he supposedly fought Tim with a prior injury. Fedor is saying (or his manager is saying) he has a hand injury – what is the injury?

by lovingmma25 on Aug 4, 2008 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fedor is not hurt

Fedor is not hurt…

My sources tell me this is a renegotiation tactic.

they want more money after his last performance.

I bet they sell the same amount of ppv (still dismal), probably more headlining with arlovski and without fedor.

Don’t expect very much promotion though as I’m hearing most of their funding is in for 3 shows however they used most of it on fighter contracts.

Also don’t expect belfort to be ready to fight linland by affliction 2 as he broke his hand during the martin fight.

by mmalogic on Aug 4, 2008 11:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Vitor fought with a broken hand to begin with.

by lovingmma25 on Aug 4, 2008 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Fedor is indeed just holding out for cash, I cant really say I blame him. Fedor probably knows that if he continues to fight, eventually he will lose (In spite of what you die-hard Fedor lovers may think) for him to get all he can while he can is smart. Because when he does lose, there is a possiblility that his earning potential drops along with his God-like status. However, I don’t think that Arlovski would have been the guy to bring Fedor down. Ducking Andrei Arlovski is the ABSOLUTE last thing i’m going to accuse him of.

by Cmad77 on Aug 4, 2008 11:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Arlovski has very good striking and is far more agile than Sylvia. Plus his ground game is light years ahead of Sylvia.

Fedor ducks nobody. However, he does prefer to fight people where he’s at a distinct advantage rather than fighters who could give him trouble. Good strikers have given him problems before (Cro Cop). He couldn’t sub Cro Cop, so I doubt that he could sub Arlovski. It’d be a war, and I don’t think Fedor wants another war.

Frankly, I’m tired of Fedor. He ask for too much money for not enough selling power. He’s the death kiss of any MMA promotor.

by cyph on Aug 4, 2008 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I second that!

by lovingmma25 on Aug 4, 2008 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This poster looks like it’s treating this fight as a spectacle instead of a sport.

by The Bronzeville Bully on Aug 4, 2008 1:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree.

by lovingmma25 on Aug 4, 2008 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t see this event selling many ppv’s or selling out tickets. Hopefully Affliction will have this fight at a smaller venue to increase ticket sales and hopefully their chances of turning a profit.

by lovingmma25 on Aug 4, 2008 1:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great fight, but probably won’t sell that well.

"The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'"

by BJJDenver on Aug 4, 2008 2:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

maybe look up the csac

Fedor Emelianenko (def. Tim Sylvia): Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to a right-hand injury (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor)

among others

Tim Sylvia (lost to Fedor Emelianenko): Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to a left-elbow injury (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor)

Ben Rothwell (lost to Andrei Arlovski): Suspended 60 days with no contact for 60 days due to an ear-lobe laceration (can be cleared early by a doctor); minimum suspension of 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons

Edwin Dewees (lost to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira): Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to undisclosed reasons (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor); minimum suspension of 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons

Pedro Rizzo (lost to Josh Barnett): Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons

Mike Whitehead (lost to Renato Sobral): Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to a left-hand injury (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor)

Vitor Belfort (def. Terry Martin): Suspended 180 days with no contact for 180 days due to undisclosed reasons (can be cleared early by an orthopedic doctor)

Terry Martin (lost to Vitor Belfort): Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons

Fabio Nascimento (lost to Matt Lindland): Suspended 45 days with no contact for 30 days for precautionary reasons

by dontbestupid on Aug 6, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs