Gilbert Yvel Announced As Josh Barnett’s Affliction Opponent

Josh Barnett
More Affliction Banned photos at CombatLifestyle.com

Josh Barnett has an opponent now for the upcoming Affliction card, but it isn’t Brett Rogers or Aleksander Emelianenko as previously rumored. It’s Gilbert Yvel, someone who probably has an even smaller chance of getting licensed in California than Aleks does. In terms of “meaningful fights,” this one isn’t, so I’m not going to lie and say I’m not disappointed in the match-up. Either of the rumored opponents would have much better in my opinion, but I suppose they just didn’t work out for whatever reason. If you really hate this fight, check out Zach Arnold’s thoughts on it. He hates it too.

The press release also mentions that one of the Discovery Channel’s “Fight Quest’ co-hosts, Jimmy Smith, will be calling the action. Apparently, he and this other guy, Sean Wheelock have been the broadcast team for the M-1 Challenge, thus how they got the job. I’ve watched a little bit of the M-1 Challenge, but admittedly haven’t paid any attention whatsoever to the announcing, so I couldn’t tell you one way or the other if this is a good thing, although they couldn’t be any worse than Glazer and Trigg. Five Oz. has more on them if you’re interested.

Anyways, here’s the press release.

M-1 Global is pleased to announce that Gilbert Yvel, one of its top heavyweight competitors, has agreed to terms on a three-fight contract with Affliction Entertainment.

Josh Barnett Fighting Brett Rogers Or Aleksander Emelianenko? Mousasi & Kawajiri Added To K-1 Dynamite!! 2008

Josh BarnettWe’re less than two months away from Affliction’s second event and the majority of the fight card has been announced, all except a few key bouts. Josh Barnett and Vitor Belfort have both been announced as participants for the January “Day of Reckoning” event, although they’ve yet to have opponents named. There’s still no word on who Belfort may fight, but a couple names have surfaced for Barnett.

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Fabricio Werdum To Affliction? Overeem-Cro Cop Set For NYE? (Update - Overeem-CC Not Signed)

Fabrico WerdumFabricio Werdum may be out of work now, but he might not be for much longer. According to an interview on Brazilian website, Tatame.com.br, Werdum says he’s currently in negotiations with Affliction, DREAM, and Sengoku, but it sounds like he’s leaning more towards Affliction where he can “fight the best in the world.” Werdum also mentioned that the UFC wanted to cut his pay in half, thus leading to his departure.

Affliction ‘Day Of Reckoning’ Website Updated; Fedor vs Arlovski Appears Official

Affliction Day of Reckoning Poster

While an official announcement has yet to be made regarding Affliction “Day of Reckoning” (redux), the website for the event has been updated to reflect the changes in venue, date, card, etc. Am I crazy to think that the info on the site is official???

Last we heard, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arvolski was still not signed, however, the website is listing Fedor vs Arlovski as the only match-up thus far on the card. From the image, it appears that Vladimir Matyushenko, Jay Hieron, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Babalu Sobral, Josh Barnett, Matt Lindland, Chris Horodecki, and Vitor Belfort will be on the card though. Also from the images, it looks like Jan. 24 will be the date and the event will be held at The Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

One interesting item to note is in the top right “In Association With” section of the image above there is the Showtime PPV logo. Unless I totally missed it from “Banned,” Affliction hasn’t worked with Showtime before, with the minor exception of their co-promotion with EliteXC on big sister network, CBS. My understanding with Golden Boy is that their pay-per-views run through HBO, so please correct me if I’m wrong if they work with Showtime as well. Point is, perhaps that’s a sign of things to come.

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‘Unlikely’ Josh Barnett Will Fight Fedor In January; Arlovski vs Nelson Isn’t Cheap (Update)

Josh BarnettSomething definitely didn’t seem right when Gegard Mousasi said his Red Devil teammate, Fedor Emelianenko, would be fighting Josh Barnett at the Affliction event in January. Today, Sergio Non confirmed my suspicions when he spoke to Barnett’s representative, Shannon Hooper.

But no fights have been confirmed for the January show, Tom Atencio, vice president for Affliction, told me this week. And in an e-mail message, Barnett’s representative, Shannon Hooper, cast doubt on his prospects of fighting Emelianenko in the near future: “It is unlikely that Josh and Fedor will fight within the next few months.”

NBCSports.com MMA Fight Weekly: EliteXC-Affliction, Dana White Interview

Mike Chiappetta says he’s heard from a reliable source that Affliction and EliteXC are talking about putting another Affliction fighter on EliteXC’s Nov. card. He didn’t name names, but it seems like Josh Barnett would be a good fit since he apparently isn’t booked for Japan in Nov. as previously thought.

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Gegard Mousasi: Affliction Wants Me To Fight Vitor Belfort In January

Gegard Mousasi
Photo courtesy of Sherdog.com

Apparently, Affliction is trying to work with every major combat sports promotion not named the UFC. According to Gegard Mousasi, Affliction wants the newly crowned DREAM Middleweight Champion to fight Vitor Belfort on their January card. Mousasi also revealed to Fighters Only Magazine that he believes Fedor Emelianenko’s opponent will be Josh Barnett.

Speaking to Fighters Only this week, he revealed that the US organisation wants him to fight the Brazilian, while Red Devil team mate Fedor Emelianenko may face Josh Barnett.

How Josh Barnett Missed Out On CBS; Affliction Needs A Full-Time Front Man

Josh Barnett
More Affliction Banned photos at CombatLifestyle.com

Remember the whole discrepancy between Affliction and Josh Barnett that prevented Barnett from fighting Andrei Arlovski on EliteXC’s CBS card? You know, the one where Tom Atencio said they couldn’t finalize a deal with him, leading many to believe he refused to take a pay cut, and Barnett said he was never even offered the fight. Yeah, strange, huh? Well, in Ben Fowlkes latest SI.com article, it looks like Atencio has rephrased what happened to something just a tad bit different.

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EliteXC-Affliction-Golden Boy Co-Promoted Event To Air On Showtime Or CBS In January? (Update II)

Affliction Golden Boy EliteXC

If you thought today’s announcement that Affliction fighters Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson have been added to EliteXC “Heat” was pretty crazy, wait till you hear this. Sergio Non of USA Today spoke with Affliction Entertainment COO Michael Cohen about the EliteXC co-promotion earlier today, and what he said could potentially be huge.

Elite XC and Affliction will also co-promote Affliction’s next event with Golden Boy Promotions, now scheduled for Jan. 24, Cohen said. That fight will air either on CBS or Showtime, he said.

Affliction Announces ‘Day Of Reckoning’ For Oct. 11 In Las Vegas Featuring Andrei Arlovski vs. Josh Barnett

Affliction Day of Reckoning Poster

It appears Affliction quietly made an announcement over the weekend that confirms many of the rumors that have been flying around the net for the past couple weeks. Affliction will hold their second event on October 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately, it looks like the Fedor rumor was true since Josh Barnett has been announced as Andrei Arlovksi’s opponent.

From the Long Beach Press-Telegram:

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.

More bouts are expected to be announced shortly for the pay-per-view event.

There you have it. Affliction Entertainment isn’t closing up shop.

While its disappointing that Fedor won’t be fighting on Oct. 11, a match between Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett is still a great fight between two of the world’s top heavyweights. It’s believed that the match determine who will get next crack at Fedor and his WAMMA belt. Also, today is the day Affliction can begin formal negotiations with Tito Ortiz. I would expect to hear something on that front pretty soon. There may be a co-main event on this show.

A ticket presale for Affliction II “Day Of Reckoning” will begin at 10AM this Wednesday, Aug. 6.

The latest Affliction II: Day of Reckoning fight card and event info can be found in our fight cards section.

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