Recently in Affliction Trilogy Category

Rashad Evans breaks down the collapse of Affliction and the impact on their fighters. Will Tito Ortiz return to the UFC? The crew discusses that idea, as well as a preview of Sengoku 9 and an interview with Miguel Torres.

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our
correspondent Bob Carson. Bob is also the host of the Carson's Corner
podcast (http://carsonscorner.podomatic.com).

In a lengthy discussion, we focus on the cancellation of the August 1
Affliction mixed martial arts pay-per-view, the subsequent collapse of
the Affliction mixed martial arts promotion, the renewal of an
Affliction Clothing-UFC deal, and the implications of these
developments. As usual, we stand up for the rights of the fighters,
and take a highly critical view of the machinations of these
promotions and the direction they have taken mixed martial arts in
America.

You can play or download No Holds Barred at
http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/2009-07-25T05_56_38-07_00.

You can also download No Holds Barred at http://www.mediafire.com/?tohw2gjznjn.

from Kevin Iole:
After promoting two critically acclaimed but financially disastrous mixed martial arts cards, Affliction on Friday first canceled its pay-per-view card scheduled for Aug. 1 and then opted to get out of the promotional business, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

The company and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are expected to release a statement sometime on Friday in which it is announced that Affliction will cease operations as a promoter and that its clothing division will become a UFC sponsor.

Affliction had a card slated for Aug. 1 with a main event of Fedor Emelianenko, the No. 2 fighter in the Yahoo! Sports mixed martial arts rankings, against former UFC champion Josh Barnett at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

from sherdog.com:
A week of misfortune turned to disaster for Affliction Entertainment on Friday, as the promotion canceled Affliction "Trilogy," which had been scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

"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," Affliction Entertainment Vice President Tom Atencio said in a news release. "But in the end, we just didn't have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards."

SI.com reported the news first Friday morning, and Sherdog.com confirmed shortly after. The cancellation -- which could spell the end of Affliction's year-long run as a mixed martial arts promotion -- comes on the heels of heavyweight Josh Barnett's failed drug test, which forced him out of the "Trilogy" main event against Fedor Emelianenko on Wednesday. Barnett, 32, tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid and was denied licensure by the California State Athletic Commission.

Promoters scrambled to find a replacement opponent for Emelianenko and reportedly considered middleweight Vitor Belfort, light heavyweight prospect Muhammed Lawal and heavyweights Brett Rogers, Paul Buentello, Jeff Monson and Bobby Lashley.

Atencio declined to comment further when reached by Sherdog.com.

Ted's Take: So, if this is Affliction's death knell as an MMA promotion, what does it mean for Fedor? Will he finally jump to the UFC? I say no. With Dana White and the Fertitta brothers on one side, and as White has called them, "Those crazy Russians" on the other side, I don't think they'll ever be able to compromise enough to ink a deal. Fedor could fight for Strikeforce, or other M-1 events in Russia, and definitely in Japan, but we'll most likely never see him inside the Octagon.

man, I'm getting' psyched for this one. Here's some ticket info.

And Kimber too, modeling some of Affliction's new threads. Don't forget Affliction Trilogy on Aug. 1.

Japanese combat fighting superstar Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi has been added to the Affliction M-1 Global's locked-and-loaded "Trilogy" card against upset-minded Rafaello "Tractor" Oliveira, completing the five-fight Pay-Per-View event, live August 1 from Honda Center in Anaheim.

The premier heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the universe, Russian icon Fedor "The Last Emperor" Emelianenko (30-1-0), defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender, Josh "The Babyfaced Assassin" Barnett (24-5-0), in the special main event.

Gilbert Yvel, who was tooled on by Josh Barnett at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, gets the KO on Pedro Rizzo and the right to fight Paul Buentello at Affliction: Trilogy on Aug. 1.

from sherdog.com:
Bobby Lashley weighed 255.4 pounds Friday for his meeting with Bob Sapp, who tipped the scales at 322.2. The two meet Saturday in Biloxi, Miss., in the main event of Fight Force International's "Ultimate Chaos."

The pay-per-view kicks off at 9 p.m. ET. Other notable fights include Gilbert Yvel vs. Pedro Rizzo, the winner of which will fight Paul Buentello at Affliction's Aug. 1 event, and Din Thomas vs. Javier Vazquez.

Main Card:

Bobby Lashley (255.4) vs. Bob Sapp (322.2)
Gilbert Yvel (237) vs. Pedro Rizzo (243.6)
Din Thomas (146.6) vs. Javier Vazquez (144.8)
Chris Horodecki (155) vs. William Sriyapai (154.8)
Brett Cooper (169.2) vs. Waachiim Spiritwolf (168.4)
Tom Atencio (160.4) vs. Randy Hedderick (159)
John Harris (154.2) vs. Brandon Harder (154.2)
James Orso (173.2) vs. Danny Abbadi (174.6)

Prelims:

Eric Bradley (170.4) vs. Kelly Leo (168.4)
Colin McKee (174.2 vs. Lance Thompson (172)
Eric Graham (159) vs. Drew Wallace (159)
Greg Maher (265.2) vs. Rocky Overstreet (253.4)

from M-1global's Web site:
The M-1 film crew was in tow when Fedor Emelianenko made his way to New York for the press conference held earlier this week at the Trump Towers to kick off formal promotion for M-1 and Affliction's "Trilogy" event on Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif. at the Honda Center.

Hosted by M-1 Global USA Vice President Jerry Millen, the blog gives fight fans an all-access look at the start of Fedor's press tour. Watch as Fedor's oldest fan makes an encore appearance and shares her thoughts on Fedor's upcoming fight vs. Josh Barnett; Millen interviews Barnett and asks him what it will be like to fight a close friend; Renato Sobral's thoughts on sparring Barnett every day and what his feelings are about fighting M-1 Global fighter Gegard Mousasi at "Trilogy," and more.

from m-1 global:
With former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort refusing to agree to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi's challenge to meet at a catchweight, a new opponent for Mousasi has been secured for his first-ever fight on U.S. soil to take place on at Affliction: Trilogy.

Sources close to Mousasi have informed www,M-1Global.com that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion and former UFC competitor Renato "Babalu" Sobral is expected to finalized as his opponent.