Where Should Affliction’s Top Fighters Go?

A lot can happen in 96 hours. It all started with the small cup of urine Josh Barnett handed over to a California State Athletic Commission representative in late June. What was thought to be a mere formality to get him licensed to fight in the Golden State for the third time in 24 months ended up sending an entire promotion into chaos and eventually spinning right out of business.

Granted, the former UFC heavyweight champion testing positive for an anabolic steroid for the second time in his career was not the reason for Affliction closing up shop; it was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Slow ticket sales and subsequent pressure from television partner Showtime to cancel the highly anticipated “Trilogy” event pushed it over the edge.

Barnett was denied a license on Wednesday and sent Affliction Entertainment Vice President Tom Atencio scrambling to find the right replacement. On Friday, “Trilogy” was scrapped altogether, as Affliction’s clothing branch mended fences with the UFC and returned to its role as a sponsor.

That left hundreds of thousands of MMA fans -- eager to see the outcome of arguably the biggest heavyweight fight in the young history of the sport -- without anything to do on Aug. 1. More importantly, it left 22 Affliction contracted fighters frustrated and out of work.

Just like when the International Fight League and Pro Elite folded in 2008, speculation has started over where Affliction’s top fighters are headed next. Sherdog.com combined common sense with inside knowledge to try and trace where superstars, journeymen and newcomers alike might go.

The Emperor's New Groove

The most important question revolves around where Fedor Emelianenko will land.

While UFC disciples are already getting their mouths wet at the prospect of having the heavy-hitting Russian square off with the promotion’s own hulking heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, they should not hold their breath. Negotiations between UFC parent company Zuffa LLC and Emelianenko’s management remain as far apart as Roosevelt and Stalin were in the 1940s.

While you can never say never in the crazy business that is mixed martial arts, a swift agreement between Zuffa and M-1 Global seems highly unlikely. Unless Strikeforce makes a surprising move for the soon-to-be 33-year-old heavyweight, he will be left with basically just one option: Japan.

Emelianenko has to hope the two major Japanese promotions, Sengoku and Dream, put their differences aside and work together one more time like they did for their co-promoted “Yarennoka!” event on New Year’s Eve in 2007. If that happens, the highly anticipated showdown between Emelianenko and Barnett might happen in the country where their rivalry started.

Looking ahead to next year, cooperation between Sengoku and Dream looks quite desirable, as that could enable fight fans around the globe to witness a remake of the Pride heavyweight grand prix in 2004, during which the best heavyweight fighters in the world collided.