Affliction cancelled

Time to make new plans for next Saturday night. The Affliction: Trilogy fight card scheduled for August 1 has been scrapped.

Josh Gross over at SI.com first reported the news this morning and Affliction VP Tom Atencio made a brief statement in a press release: “Finding an opponent for the number one ranked MMA heavyweight champion in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor and I’m thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge. But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards.”

The first nail in Affliction: Trilogy’s coffin was hammered in earlier this weak when Josh Barnett tested positive for anabolic steroids and was denied licensure by the California State Athletic Commission. He was to have faced WAMMA heavyweight world champ and the most dangerous fighter on the planet Fedor Emelianenko in the heavily hyped main event.

Atencio has spent the last couple of days scrambling to find a suitable replacement but apparently came up short despite the number of fighters lining up to take a crack at Fedor. And really, it makes sense. I wasn’t excited about seeing the most-likely substitute, middleweight Vitor Belfort, pack on a few extra pounds to take up the challenge. Ditto Strikeforce up-and-coming heavyweight Brett Rogers and Sengoku prospect Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, who went on MMAWeekly Radio on Thursday to publicly throw his hat in the ring: “History has shown Fedor’s had problems with smaller athletic guys that he fights. Bigger guys, he just rolls right through ’em. The smaller guys, or the guys that can move real well, give him problems. I want that fight because I think I can win. I can beat this dude. Granted, he’s got heavy hands. Everybody has flaws. Styles make fights. I can see my style causing him a lot of problems.”

Hell, even the deadliest mustache in MMA, Don Frye, and bobbleheaded bruiser Jeff Monson were offering up their Fedor-slaying services.

“If Tom [Atencio] was smart, he’d have me fighting Fedor instead of whoever he’s hiring on a one-week notice, Frye is quoted as saying in several sources. “My phone works if he wants a real fight with someone who’ll sell a fight in four days, somebody who will beat that bald-headed commie too. [Fedor] ain’t seen anything I have to offer. He built his whole reputation as a waffle house chef. They’ve been serving him up ham and eggs with a side of canned tomatoes. I’ll bring it. And if he can bring it, you’ll have the best fight you’ve ever seen on the planet.”

Frye, who will face fellow wannabe-Fedor-killer King Mo in the main event of M-1 Breakthrough event on August 28, may be a bit past his prime for Fedor but he sure knows how to give good quote.

As for Monson, he told Five Ounces Of Pain, “I’d definitely love to see me fight Fedor. It’s a perfect match-up. He’s the guy I’m destined to fight. I want to be the guy to beat him. I’d definitely love to be carried off afterward… after I submit him. My goal is to be the best in the world, even if it’s for one fight.”

And who can blame them for wanting a shot at Fedor when, according to Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports, Affliction was dangling a $500,000 carrot in front of potential opponents until Atencio pulled the plug?

Incidentally, the one fighter not in the UFC who might have interested me was behemoth Bobby Lashley, who actually expressed no interest in taking on the Russian juggernaut.

Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White must be giggling his face off.