We head to MMA Weekly for the official announcement of the broadcast. M-1 Challenge 25 is currently scheduled for April 28, 2010 and will stream live and free at MMAWeekly.com. The broadcast is set to begin at 11:00 AM ET and 8:00 AM PT.

The current lineup for the show is as follows: Shamil Zavurov vs. Rashid Magomedov, Viktor Nemkov vs. Vinny Magalhaes, Mikhail Zayats vs. Malik Merad, Dmitri Samoylov vs. Murad Magomedov, Andrei Semenov vs. Luigi Fioravanti, Ramzan Algeriev vs. Mike Geurin, Juan Manuel Suarez vs. Arsen Temirkhanov, and Alexander Volkov vs. Denis Goltsov.

It should also be noted that two championships will be on the line at M-1 Challenge 25. Zavurov vs. Magomedov is for M-1’s Welterweight Championship, while Nemkov vs. Magalhaes is for M-1’s Light Heavyweight Championship.

I’m still a very new fan to M-1 Global, their Showtime debut at M-1 Global 24 was the first full-length M-1 Global show I ever watched. So I’m still very unfamiliar with a vast number of the fighters competing on this card. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy this event, though, and if I’m up at that hour (I’m a pretty notorious insomniac) I’ll definitely try to watch this show.

I always like it when an MMA show streams live on an MMA website. I think it both helps the promotion and strengthens the popularity of MMA news sites. I’m very proud of what I do and I’m glad that so many MMA journalists, including those that write on the biggest MMA sites on the internet, seem to feel the same way. So I’m all for spreading the word and furthering the cause.

Also, I really do think it’s strange how laid back the month of April has been. Every event in March may not have been one of the best events ever, but there was definitely a lot of MMA in March. Now we’re in April and we’ve only been given a handful of shows from the big hitters like Strikeforce and the UFC. I think smaller shows like M-1 Global fill that gap quite nicely.

Plus, the card does feature Vinny Magalhaes, who I definitely remember from M-1 Challenge 24. Vinny had one of the best performances of the night during that show, and it doesn’t surprise me that he’s been given an immediate shot at the title. I look forward to seeing what should be an entertaining scrap and I wish Magalhaes all the best.

And what about you, fans and friends? Anybody out there planning to catch this event?

The card features 15 bouts fights between Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko‘s (30-1) Red Devil Sport Club and Sochi Star and Dagestan’s Gorec gym will fight against athletes from Legion.

M-1 Selection is M-1 Global’s qualifying event for Russian fighters to make their M-1 Challenge team competition.

So called “Baby Fedor” Kiril Sidelnikov (6-3) will compete on the card.

If you’re not North American or you’re one of the 50,000 or so North Americans who plunked down $34.95 for PRIDE 32, your poster depicts Emelianenko within a golden aureole striding a mound of pummeled flesh bags that includes fourth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1), tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7), and former UFC heavyweight champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-6).

If you’re North American and cut your MMA teeth on The Ultimate Fighter circa 2007 or anxiously anticipating the first F5 stoppage in MMA history, your poster depicts Emelianenko cowering within the block-headed shadow of the man-mountain that is second-ranked UFC champ Brock Lesnar (4-1).

Both posters are idealized. It’s time we get real.

Emelianenko told a post-Strikeforce signing press conference, “I’d like to develop MMA and also make some money at the same time. If Strikeforce is able to offer more than the UFC, why should we sign with the UFC?”

For Emelianenko, MMA is strictly business. It’s quite literally all about the Benjamins.

“If the numbers published on the Internet were the real numbers, we would’ve signed with the UFC,” Emelianenko added, referencing the $5 million per fight reportedly offered by the UFC.

Emelianenko even directly addressed UFC President Dana White’s criticism, “This guy doesn’t want to fight the best in the world,” by admitting, “I don’t think that I need really good fighters because the last two fights I’ve had were really good opponents.”

For the former group of fans to understand Emelianenko, they have to take the halo off of his head. For the latter group, they have to recognize that there was MMA before The Ultimate Fighter and Lesnar, and even before Dana White.

The reality is that Emelianenko is a great fighter in the second half of his career. Today Emelianenko is the best heavyweight in the world, but he turns 33-years old on the 28th of this month and is starting consider how best to taking care of himself and his family when he’s no longer the world’s greatest heavyweight.

“I feel very sorry for my fans,” Emelianenko admitted after declining the last, best opportunity for him to fight in the UFC. “But, I also think I deserve some respect to look out for my best interest.”

His best interest is establishing M-1 Global, the promotion he co-owns with Vadim Finkelchtein, as a lasting, stable international MMA promotion. That’s why Emelianenko flew from Stary Oskol to New York City for an open workout promoting his Strikeforce/M-1 Global fight versus fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-0) in the autumn, then flew the next day from New York City to Kansas City to spar the same night around 4:00 AM Stary Oskol time with Strikeforce light heavyweight champion “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1) in front of approximately 1500 Midwestern fans, and the following day flew back home to his family in Russia.

And, headlining that M-1 Global card in Kansas City was forty-year old former UFC champion “Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr (14-11), who replaced forty-three year old former UFC champion “Predator” Don Frye (20-7-1), both still fighting past their prime because they weren’t lucky enough to be dominant in MMA during a period when you could turn the sport into a comfortable retirement. That’s what Emelianenko is trying to avoid.

Emelianenko has drawn a legit opponent this autumn in Rogers, who is ranked higher than Lesnar’s next opponent at UFC 106 in Las Vegas 21 November, sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0). So, at least in the short-term, no one should have any complaints about either matchup.

At UFC 102 in Portland last Saturday, fourth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1) notched up a spot after a UD over ninth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-10), who dropped a notch this month. Nog’ has publicly called for the winner between Lesnar and Carwin for a UFC title fight, but White hasn’t committed to the matchup.

As reported by Fighters.com, third-ranked Frank Mir (12-4) will fight Cheick Kongo (14-5-1) at UFC 107 in Memphis 12 December. Mir will have to remaine focused as he forays outside of the top ten.

Seventh-ranked “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (8-1) will try to legitimize his spot in the top ten versus former top tenner “Cro Cop” Mirko Filipoic (25-7-2) at UFC 103 in Dallas 19 September.

After testing positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and causing the cancellation of Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy, eighth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) will probably return to Sengoku in Japan. Barnett was never enthusiastic about fighting Emelianenko, whom he considers a friend, at Trilogy; and, Fighters.com wonders if testing positive isn’t some kind of subconcious self-fulfilled will of Barnett’s. For the record, Barnett denies using steroids, the the California State Athletic Commission confirmed Barnett’s B sample also tested positive.

Finally, tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7) is a man without a promotion since Affliction cut him and UFC President Dana White recently remarked that he has no interest in signing Arlovski. Arlovski has stated he plans to make his professional boxing debut at the end of September or early October, but Fighters.com couldn’t get a firm answer from Arlovski’s manager concerning his first boxing bout.

Fighters.com’s September 2009 Heavyweight Rankings

1. “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (30-1)

After two years fighting freak shows, Emelianenko has stopped consecutive top tenners: Arlovski and then-ranked Tim Sylvia to establish legitimacy as Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champ. He’ll keep it elite when he faces Rogers in the autumn.

2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)

Lesnar’s dominance over Mir in their rematch demonstrated how far the UFC champ has come since his Octagon debut, earning him the top contender slot. He’ll fight a game opponent very similar to himself in Carwin in November.

3. Frank Mir (12-4)

Mir’s second wind after a career-threatening motorcycle crash has earned him two distinctons: the only man to beat UFC champ Lesnar and the only man to knockout former PRIDE champ Nogueira. He’ll try to maintain focus versus Cheick Kongo in December.

4. “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1)

Though unable to stop Couture, Nog’ clearly whooped the legend to add his name with Barnett and then-ranked Tim Sylvia as former UFC champs he has slain in the last two years.

5. “Grim” Brett Rogers (10-0)

Rogers’s 22 second knockout of Arlovski welcomed him into the top ten, but no one could imagine then that it’d also be a ticket to a matchup versus Emelianenko. We’ll see what Rogers is really made of this autumn.

6. Shane Carwin (10-0)

Carwin has never been out of the first round, but the 1:09 knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga has earned him a five-round title fight versus Lesnar in November. Can Carwin neutralize the force of nature that is Lesnar?

7. “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (8-1)

Nog’s pupil came out of nowhere, like his uppercut that KO’d Fabricio Werdum. Not much is known about “Cigano” and his record reveals a 2007 tap out to another Brazilian unknown, but he’ll be tested versus Mirko Cro Cop in September.

8. “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5)

“Babyface Assassin” is on a tear with a KO of Pedro Rizzo, UD over Jeff Monson, and submission of Hidehiko Yoshida, but no recent work at the top of the division. Unfortunately he flubbed the biggest fight at heavyweight: Emelianenko.

9. “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-10)

Is Fighters.com going to have to be the first to say Couture is starting to look his age? There’s no shame in being overpowered by Lesnar, nor coming up short versus Nog’, but it might be time for the final retirement.

10. “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7)

“Pitbull” got his bite back versus Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson, but was a chew toy for Emelianenko and Rogers. The free agent is going to throw his hat into the boxing ring in late September.

Both UFC title contenders will compete in the -87.9kg division, along with “Toquinho” Rousimar Palhares (11-3). Sengoku judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura (13-9) and DREAM welterweight Andre Galvao (3-0).

UFC welterweight champ “Rush” Georges St. Pierre (19-2) will compete in the -76.9kg division, along with the UFC’s “Zenko” Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-3), Japanese free agent “K-Taro” Keita Nakamura (15-4-2), and Brazilian free agent “Uirapuru” Marcelo Azevedo (3-5).

In the -98.9kg division, Strikeforce light heavyweight “Babalu” Renato Sobral (32-9), free agent “Brazilian Tiger” Ricardo Arona (13-5), The Ultimate Fighter 8 contestant “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhães (3-5), former UFC and PRIDE fighter “Boogey Man” Dean Lister (11-6), The Pit’s “Brazilian Pit Bull” Glover Teixeira (7-2), Brazilian heavyweight free agent “Pe De Pano” Marcio Cruz (6-2), and Aussie light heavyweight “Hippo” Anthony Perosh (6-4).

Strikeforce heavyweight contender “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (12-4-1) and American free agent “Snowman” Jeff Monson (27-8) highlight the +99kg division. Former IFL heavyweight title challenger Antoine Jaoude (8-3) and M-1 Global heavyweight Rogent Lloret (6-1) will also compete in the highest weight divsion.

In the lowest weight division, -65.9kg, WEC featherweight contender “Big Frog” Jeff Curran (31-12-1) and WEC bantamweight contender Rani Yahya (14-3) will compete with SHOOTO vets “Iron” Hiroshi Nakamura (4-3-4) and “Finisher” Baret Yoshida (5-6-1).

Every division will also include grapplers who don’t compete in MMA.

Every other year, the ADCC creates the most interesting moments and exciting matchups in submission grappling. Always a highlight, the absolute division pits grapplers of all weight classes against each other to crown an absolute champ. Past absolute division matchups include DREAM welterweight “Mach” Hayato Sakurai (35-10) versus former UFC heavyweight champion “Suave” Ricco Rodriguez (32-8-3) and DREAM lightweight “Tobikan Judan” Shinya Aoki (17-4) versus Sengoku heavyweight Roger Gracie (2-0).

Emirati Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his BJJ instructor Nelson Monteiro created the event that has become the gold standard in submission grappling in 1998 and in 2003 the tournament began touring to locations outside the UAE.

The grapplers will compete at Pavello Olimpic de Badalona in Barcelona beginning at 11:00 AM on 26 September. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.

Glowing in a fresh sweat, Emelianenko remarked afterwards, “I had a great time. Thank you so much, Gegard. He’s a great partner, a great friend.”

Mousasi entered the arena first rocking a white uwagi, red belt, and black board shorts and flanked by Polish heavyweight Michal Kita (6-2). He grinned and shadowboxed playfully in his corner awaiting the “Emperor’s” entrance.

The crowd rushed the ring flashing cameras and mobiles as Emelianenko entered the ring also with a grin on his cherubic mug and in a blue gi with a blue belt. M-1 Global executive Apy Echteld and a trio of ChokeOutPoker.net promo chicks in logo muscle Ts manned his corner. Emelianenko drifted his right hand in the air in his typical pre-fight salute.

The exhibition opened with a bell, the entire crowd on its feet. The vibe was of a main event.

Emelianenko struck first, throwing a punch followed into the clinch with Mousasi. Emelianenko rattled the arena with a hard hip toss.

“Ah!” The crowd delighted.

Mousasi played a good uke, getting tossed like a rag doll by Emelianenko in convincing throws that left the crowd in awe. But, it was apparent no outcome but an Emelianenko finish would be tolerated by the crowd gathered mostly to see the enigma, Emelianenko, nor by M-1 Global. Mousasi willingly took one for the team.

In a neutral corner, Mousasi lifted Emelianenko in a single-leg, but deposited his training partner gingerly on the mat, not with the force with which Emelianenko was tossing Mousasi.

“I have too much respect, I guess. But, he deserves it,” Mousasi told Fighters.com when I ribbed him a little about not trying to put Emelianenko through the bottom of the ring like the force with which Emelianenko was slamming Mousasi.

Mousasi followed-up the takedown with a half-hearted omoplata attempt.

Mousasi’s highlight came when he scrambled into an armbar after an Emelianenko takedown, but the heavyweight rolled free.

The sparring concluded when Emelianenko tripped Mousasi to the mat and immediately into an armbar, causing Mousasi to tapout. The crowd praised the two martial artists for their effort.

Lawal had crouched low out of his corner; and, Kerr threw a low kick. Lawal caught Kerr’s low kick and dumped Kerr on his stomach, beginning the onslaught of punches that ended the fight.

For Lawal, the “W” is Pyrrhic as the talented light heavyweight wastes time versus opponents, like Kerr, who don’t develop his talent.

French middleweight “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (12-2-1) dominated late replacement for “Goat” Nick Thompson (38-11-1), American wrestler John Doyle (7-8), tapping Doyle in a rear naked choke at 3:15 of round one. Amassou tripped Doyle to the ground with a hard leg kick to start the fight; but, Doyle hugged Amoussou’s leg and crawled into the Frenchman’s full guard. Amoussou swept into full mount and tagged Doyle’s head with punches as Doyle went into the desperation roll, back-to-stomach, back-to-stomach. One roll too many and Doyle found himself wrapped in Amoussou’s rear naked choke.

Middleweight “Spartan” Lucio Linhares (12-3) avenged his loss to Mikhail Zayats (8-4) when he tapped him in a rear naked choke at 1:00 of round one. Linhares staggered Zayats with a right hook to the ear. Zayats crumbled; and, Linhares pounced into the choke hold to end the fight.

Lightweight Daisuke Nakamura (18-9) defeated Frenchman “Hurricane” Ferrid Kheder (11-3) by three-round unanimous decision. Nakamura popped Kheder’s proboscis with a rising left jab and lunging straight right rounds one through three, first etching a crease in the bridge of Kheder’s nose, then leaving him snorting blood from both nostrils. In round three, the referee paused the fight unnecessarily to have the doctor look at the bloody mess. In round two, however, “Hurricane” spun a three-four combo over the straight shots from Nakamura, tagging the Japanese veteran in the head. But, Kheder longed for a brawl that Nakamura danced around. When Kheder closed in to exchange, Nakamura either landed a knee to the short rib or pulled guard, which Kheder pulled out of. At the end of round three, Nakamura pulled guard and Kheder finally played along, falling into an arm triangle as the final bell rang. Too little, too late.

Heavyweights Alexey Oleinik (6-4-1) and Rogent Lloret (6-1-1) fought to a draw. Llorent consummated the contest with a left high kick that opened a slit on Oleinik’s right eye brow early in round one. But, Oleinik answered with a slam, swept near the end of the round by Llorent. Oleinik consistently put Llorent on his back hard throughout the fight, but Llorent fed Oleinik uppercuts and knees during the in-coming and had a sweep to answer most of Oleinik’s slams. Whether Oleinik or Lloret was in top position on the mat, they played paddy-cake, neither doing damage to the other. A draw is about right.

Dutchman Jessie Gibbs (5-0) won a unanimous decision over heavyweight Brit Rob Broughton (9-4-1) in a snoozer that drew the boo-birds for both fighters. Gibbs had a nifty telegraphed-right-kick-into-straight-right technique that caught Broughton flush twice in the second round and again in the third, but Broughton walked through the punches. Gibbs also landed a hard right elbow to Broughton’s liver while in half mount in the first round. If much else landed, it must’ve been while I was dosing off; but, Gibbs earned the decision.

Polish heavyweight Michal Kita (6-2) won a first-round submission by G’n’P at 1:50 when American Lloyd Marshbanks (12-8) tapped out with a dislocated right shoulder with Kita on his back wailing right hooks into Marshbanks’s noggin. Marshbanks had shot and ate a left. Kita sprawled and tagged Marshbanks again, then swiveled to his back and punished Marshbanks until Marshbanks called it quits.

Media and fans will have an opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with Fedor in an open workout and meet-and-greet.

Emelianenko is scheduled in an exhibition sparring match with Strikeforce light heavyweight champ “Dreamcatcher” Gegard Mousasi (22-2-1) at Friday’s M-1 Global Breakthrough in Kansas City.

Fighters.com asked Mousasi to explain the exhibition sparring format last Thursday. “It’s just like a light sparring,” he said, and added that the exhibition won’t turn competitive in front of thousands in Kansas City. “We are not animals. We can control ourselves.”

Also attending the open workout will be Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein.

Emelianenko is scheduled to make his Strikeforce debut versus an opponent yet-to-be-named.

Breakthrough gets started at 7:30 PM local time at Memorial Hall in KC and the meat of the of the card will be broadcast on HDNet at 10:00 PM EST. Outside of the United States, the entire card will be streamed via the Internet. Details are available at M-1 Global’s website. Tickets starting at $25 can be purchased at Ticketmaster and there’s a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

Breakthrough gets started at 7:30 PM local time at Memorial Hall in KC and the meat of the of the card will be broadcast on HDNet at 10:00 PM EST. Outside of the United States, the entire card will be streamed via the Internet. Details are available at M-1 Global’s website. Tickets starting at $25 can be purchased at Ticketmaster and there’s a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

Fighters.com asked Mousasi to explain the exhibition sparring format last Thursday. “It’s just like a light sparring,” he said, and added that the exhibition won’t turn competitive in front of thousands in Kansas City. “We are not animals. We can control ourselves.”

Coming off a unanimous decision over Pancrase veteran Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2) at Sengoku Seventh Battle in Tokyo last March, Lawal will fight late replacement forty-year old “Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr (14-10).

Kerr replaced Lawal’s original opponent, forty-three year old former UFC champion “Predator” Don Frye (20-7-1).

Frye told MMA Junkie Sunday, “I didn’t drop out; I walked away. Here’s the deal: [The event] didn’t just move from LA. It went from the Staples Center to the LA Convention Center. From the LA convention center to the Hilton in Las Vegas. From the Hilton in Las Vegas to an Indian casino on the Oklahoma-Texas border. From the Indian casino on the Oklahoma-Texas border to an Indian casino up in Tulsa, which is North Oklahoma. And from there up to Kansas City.

“So you know, after four or five times changing the venue, and then we asked [M-1 Global Chief Operating Officer Joost Raimond] ‘Hey, what are you doing for advertising? Are you sending a photographer out to Don’s house?’ He says, ‘No, we’re just going to use stock photos off the Internet.’”

“So at that point we said, ‘You know what? You just ain’t got your shit together. We’re walking away.’”

Raimond had released a statement saying, “Don Frye had a signed contract with M-1 and part of that signed commitment allowed us to change the venue if needed. From our perspective, Don should still be in this fight. However, for reasons that we aren’t exactly sure of, he has backed out. Don still has not provided us with a clear reason as to why he is refusing to fight. It just doesn’t make sense because the old Don Frye was willing to fight anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Perhaps the fire is gone and he underestimated the challenge that ‘King Mo’ presents?”

Kerr will bring his four-fight losing streak into the ring in Kansas City. He was tapped out in a rear naked choke by “Snowman” Jeff Monson (28-8) at Vengeance Fighting Championship in Concord, North Carolina last September. He’s 2-9 in the last nine years.

Linhares will rematch Red Devil Sport Club’s Mikhail Zayats (8-3). Zayats won the original two-round contest by UD in St. Petersburg at M-1 Challenge 4 in June 2008.

Linhares comes off a 1:25 KO of countryman “BBMonstro” Valdir Araujo (1-1) at M-1 Challenge 16 in Kansas City last June.

Zayats lost a unanimous decision to Alexander Machado (3-1) at M-1 Challenge 15 in Sau Paulo last May.

Mousasi first revealed his plans to join Emelianenko and his Red Devil camp in St. Petersburg exclusively to Fighters.com in September 2008. Ever since, the Dutch fighter of Armenian descent has been tied to Emelianenko and M-1 Global, Emelianenko’s MMA promotion. But, Mousasi is his own man, his own fighter.

When Fighters.com quizzed whether Emelianenko is Mousasi’s mentor, Mousasi answered emphatically, “No. We have trained together,” then added, “but, I do look up to him.”

The two champions will engage in an exhibition on the undercard of Breakthrough, which is marqueed by a fight between über-prospect “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (3-0) and should-be-out-to-pasture “Smashing Machine” Mark Kerr (14-10).

Mousasi explained to Fighters.com, “It’s just like a light sparring.”

Fighters.com wondered if it could turn into more when thousands of jacked-up fans are urging on the action.

“No, we are not animals. We can control ourselves,” Mousasi responded.

After his exhibition sparring match with Emelianenko, Mousasi will rejoin the DREAM Super Hulk tournament this autumn, or commonly know across the MMA diaspora as “Freak Show”.

But, Mousasi reprimanded, “People have to see this differently. If this kind of tournament helps to make MMA big in Japan again, then its a good thing. They had very good TV ratings last time and, beside the tournament, they have very good, competitive fights on their cards. And, also in the tournament there are some very good fighters. Defeating Hong Man Choi is a difficult fight for anyone!”

Mousasi is optimistic that the three promotions he’s committed to, Strikeforce, M-1 Global, and DREAM, will be able to keep him fighting quality competition over the next year.

“Strikeforce works with DREAM and M-1 Global now. There are some names in Strikeforce that can fight for the title. It’s all about who wins a fight or two, but these things are the organisations’ jobs; and, I believe in Scott [Coker, Strikeforce CEO] and Vadim [Finkelchtein, President of M-1 Global]. They know what they are doing. Give M-1/Strikeforce some time and I really believe that they have everything to be a big great organisation.”

Fighters.com asked Mousasi about a sensitive topic that has spawned astonisment among his fan base: his reported $2000 payout for defeating Sobral last Saturday.

Mousasi said, “I am sorry, I can’t say anything about that. I ain’t a rich man, but [my fans] don’t need to worry.”

Perhaps Frye is to blame? M-1 Global Chief Operating Officer Joost Raimond thinks so, saying Monday, “Don Frye had a signed contract with M-1 and part of that signed commitment allowed us to change the venue if needed. From our perspective, Don should still be in this fight. However, for reasons that we aren’t exactly sure of, he has backed out. Don still has not provided us with a clear reason as to why he is refusing to fight. It just doesn’t make sense because the old Don Frye was willing to fight anyone, anywhere, and at anytime. Perhaps the fire is gone and he underestimated the challenge that ‘King Mo’ presents?”

Ostentatious former NCAA wrestling champion “King Mo” won a unanimous decision over Pancrase veteran Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2) at Sengoku Seventh Battle in Tokyo last March. He’ll fight for the first time in his home nation at Breakthrough.

Kerr was tapped out in a rear naked choke by “Snowman” Jeff Monson (28-8) at Vengeance Fighting Championship in Concord, North Carolina last September. He’s 2-9 in the last nine years.

Lawal has the tools and charisma to fight to the top of the middleweight or light heavyweight divisions, but must seek fights versus other contemporary contenders even if it means smaller paydays now.

He stepped inside the ring during an intermission and addressed the crowd: “I’d like to fight next time I enter the Pancrase ring.”

Barnett is the reigning Openweight King of Pancrase, but hasn’t fought for the promotion since tapping Yuki Kondo (49-23-6) in a rear naked choke at the 10th Anniversary Show in 2003.

Barnett caused the cancellation of Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy scheduled for 1 August in Anaheim when he tested positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1).

Barnett denies using steroids despite his B sample testing positive as well.

Affliction collapsed, leaving Barnett searching for a new home and opportunity to restore his honor, and the self-describe otaku has also described himself as an icon in Japan. And, it’s true!

Sengoku Director Takahiro Kokuho recently indicated Barnett could return, saying, “As for Josh Barnett, we still have to continue negotiations with him, but we are planning to have him on our November 7 card. We didn’t have [Barnett] in contract, but we had a conversation with him about his return in November.”

Barnett is 2-0 in Sengoku, tapping judoka Hidehiko Yoshida (8-7-1) in a heel hook in Tokyo in March 2008 and taking a UD over grappler “Snowman” Jeff Monson (27-8) in Tokyo two months later.

Friday UFC President Dana White doubted publicly the former UFC heavyweight champion would ever return to the Octagon. When asked if he could reconcile with Barnett, who failed a drug test and left the Octagon after TKOing “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) at UFC 36 in 2002, White replied, “That’s a tough one…”

“M-1 has apparently told the media the M-1 Breakthrough at our event was cancelled due to our IMMAE event cancelling, or as I have also heard, rescheduling to Oct 24 next to the UFC at Staples Center. Both these statements floating in the media are false. IMMAE is moving forward with full steam and better off as it is now not assuming excessive costs of the M-1 fight,” Jaus told Fighters.com.

A Fighters.com source had made that claim last week when Fighters.com inquired about the relocation of Breakthrough. IMMAE had ignored Fighters.com’s request for confirmation until Thursday.

Jaus explained, “A development phase relationship was underway with M-1 to have a Breakthrough show at our event, actually in the middle of our floor plan during our August 29 and 30 expo. This relationship was never consummated and was in the final phases when the Affliction collapse occurred. With this event reshaping the political landscape of the industry in a single swoop, final negotiations between M-1 and IMMAE ended under what was described by both parties as amicable terms. As a result of this, and the subsequent loss of [Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1)] even for an appearance for fans, we have had to scrape our final marketing, posters, web graphics, and other ancillary marketing items and retool at the last second. We have also had to completely retool our floor plan and seek new approval from the fire department. This has caused delays in our marketing and web updates which we have rapidly rectified and will be releasing in the next 48 hours.”

“First time I was 16, second time I was 30,” said the thirty-year old former UFC heavyweight champion. “It’s when you don’t care about anything.”

Keith Gelman, spokesman for Arlovski, contacted Fighters.com to emphasize Arlovski has never contemplated taking his own life.

Arlovski was knocked out in 22 seconds by fourth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0) at Strikeforce in St. Louis 6 June after meeting the same end in the first round by Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) at Affliction M-1 Global in Anaheim 24 January.

When quizzed about the perception of a “glass jaw”, Arlovski responded, “In the heavyweight division, it’s no joke. I wasn’t knocked out [by Rogers]. He just punch me and the referee stopped the fight. I was completely conscious. I think “Big” John McCarthy did a good job. Who knows. Who knows, maybe I come back. Perhaps he could punch me a couple more times and give me some injury.”

After his devastating second knockout loss, Arlovski returned to his native Belarus. “I talked to some priest. He read me a poem,” Arlovski related. He also spent couch time with a sports psychologist to the Russian Olympic wrestling team and communed with his family.

“I cried a lot after my fights, you know. When I lost to Fedor, I cried. When I lost to Rogers, I cried. You might be surprised, but I had tears a lot in my last relationship,” Arlovski told, referencing his relationship with Playboy model Patricia Mikula.

“I want to box!” Arlovski announced his return to combat will be as a professional boxer at the end of September or beginning of October. “I definitely will continue to train with Freddie Roach.”

However, Arlovski indicated there was friction between his MMA trainers and Roach, a living legend in boxing.

“No more experiments,” Arlovski described his time with Roach training for MMA. “I have to come back to my old routines.” He announced that Roach will train him exclusively for boxing matches going forward.

Though he proclaimed, “I am an MMA fighter,” Arlovski’s MMA future is hazy. “I don’t want to make any predictions. I have a manager,” he said, noting that fighting in Japan, “would be real interesting for me, of course.”

Originally scheduled to coincide with the International Mixed Martial Arts Expo in Los Angeles 27-29 August, Fighters.com’s sources have inidcated the IMMAE is considering rescheduling for the weekend of UFC 104 in Los Angeles 23-25 October.

“[Breakthrough] may move to northern California or Nevada [because of the IMMAE rescheduling],” said Fighters.com’s source.

The IMMAE has not replied to Fighters.com’s request for comment.

Sports Illustrated reported Wednesday that M-1 Global had not yet approached the California State Athletic Commission for a license to stage the fight card.

Days after UFC President Dana White mocked M-1 Global for suggesting the promotions co-promote in exchange for sealed deal with Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko’s (29-1), M-1 Global’s lack of attention to detail seems amateurish, especially for an international promotion.

Emelianenko will debut in Strikeforce this autumn and the event will be aired on SHOWTIME.

“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. “Fedor has been the reigning king of MMA’s heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class.”

Though Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion is “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10), he hasn’t defended his belt since winning it when “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (27-9) took too many knees to the body and quit at Four Men Enter, One Man Survives in San Jose in November 2007. Overeem bailed on a title defense versus “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) in San Jose this month.

More likely is that Emelianenko will fight fourth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0) whom Emelianenko called out by name when searching for a replacement for ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) on the since cancelled Affliction M-1 Global Trilogy card.

Rogers’s manager, Mike Reilly, told Fighters.com Friday when asked about a potential fight with Emelianenko, “We have really heard nothing of the sort. We are planning on fighting in October. No idea who. Doesn’t even matter at this point.”

M-1 Global isn’t asking for 50 percent of the UFC in exchange for Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko‘s (29-1) viscerally craved debut inside the Octagon.

Fighters.com isn’t sure whether that’s UFC spin strategized to pressure Emelianenko to surrender his co-promotion demand by persuading fans he’s unreasonable or a genuine misunderstanding by White about what Emelianenko is demanding.

M-1 Global isn’t demanding any ownership stake in the UFC at all. To present their demands in such a way is either disingenuous or ignorant of White and Iole. Their demands are only on revenues derived from particular events and merchandise featuring Emelianenko.

Iole wrote, “The demand was kind of like an owner in the Continental Basketball Association demanding 50 percent ownership in an NBA team before allowing his player to sign.”

That’s a dishonest analogy. A better analogy is an actor who earns enough fame to carry movies on name recognition alone. Said actor creates a production company to increase their share of revenues from films they perform in. They have slim functional role in the film’s production and promotion, but are given an honorary “Executive Producer” credit and their production company’s logo appears on the film’s marketing.

Fighters.com isn’t arguing that Emelianenko’s demands are reasonable or deserved, just explaining what M-1 Global is actually demanding as opposed to what the UFC is claiming they’re demanding.

Fighters.com has confirmed that Emelianenko has three offers he’s seriously considering, among them the UFC’s and Strikeforce’s. But, Emelianenko’s most likely adversary in Strikeforce, “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0), who notched up a spot to fourth this month, isn’t banking on a showdown with the world’s best heavyweight.

Rogers’s manager, Mike Reilly, told Fighters.com about a potential fight with Emelianenko, “We have really heard nothing of the sort. We are planning on fighting in October. No idea who. Doesn’t even matter at this point.”

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (4-1), who rose to the second slot this month after pummeling now third-ranked Frank Mir (12-4) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas 11 July, probably isn’t banking on a fight versus Emelianenko either. He told Jim Rome last month that he’d like several more fights before challenging Emelianenko. If Emelianenko doesn’t sign with the UFC, Lesnar will fight the winner of sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0) versus Cain Velasquez (6-0) to take place at UFC 104 in Los Angeles 24 October.

Mir will take on Velasquez’s seconds against Cheick Kongo (14-5-1) at UFC 107 in December, Kongo confirmed to Fighters.com.

This month in Portland at UFC 102, battle-hardened vets fourth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1) and eighth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) will battle to determine who becomes a threshold for rising prospects and who has a glimmer of hope for another title run, though Couture has hinted at returning to light heavyweight win or lose.

Next on the top ten heavyweight agenda, seventh-ranked “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (8-1) will fight one-time feared heavyweight “Crop Cop” Mirko Filipovic (25-7-2) at UFC 103 in Dallas 19 September.

After testing positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and causing the cancellation of Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy, ninth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) will probably return to Sengoku in Japan. Barnett was never enthusiastic about fighting Emelianenko, whom he considers a friend, at Trilogy; and, Fighters.com wonders if testing positive isn’t some kind of subconcious self-fulfilled will of Barnett’s. For the record, Barnett denies using steroids, the the California State Athletic Commission confirmed Barnett’s B sample also tested positive.

Finally, tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7) is a man without a promotion since Affliction cut him and UFC President Dana White recently remarked that he has no interest in signing Arlovski.

“There have been recent reports stating that talk between M-1 Global and the UFC regarding Fedor fighting in the UFC have ended. Like some of the other reports that have surfaced, this is incorrect,” claimed M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchtein.

Finkelchtein also denied reports in less reputable publications that Fighters.com that the UFC offered Emelianenko a six-fight, $30 million dollar deal.

“It is unfortunate that so much incorrect information has been leaked to the public. It is M-1′s preference not to negotiate in public and we are unsure why people claim that Fedor and M-1 turned down a six fight, $30 million contract to fight in the UFC when no such offer was ever made,” retorted the Russian millionaire.

He implied the UFC was leaking false reports to pressure M-1 Global. “It’s unfortunate because these type of tactics will not help ensure that M-1′s talks with the UFC are fruitful.” But, Finkelchtein added, “It is our hope that the UFC will remain in active dialogue with us as we try to find ways for us to work together.”

Barnett denies using steroids.

In an interview published at MMA Weekly, Coker said, “That was already in the works. How they got out…[if] they became a sponsor for Strikeforce, [were] the conversations we were having. This was their last fight, so there would be no more fighters. The dialogue was that they were getting out of the business a month ago.”

Hours after cancelling Trilogy, Affliction and the UFC announced a collaboration promoting Affliction’s apparel line in the Octagon with the agreement that Affliction would cease promoting fights.

Coker said he was in negotiations with Affliction to make a simliar arrangement, but that negotiations broke down after Barnett’s positive steroid test.

Evidently Affliction was having similar negotiations with the UFC and UFC President Dana White knew Trilogy was Affliction’s final event.

White had identified Affliction middleweight “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) as the top contender to UFC middleweight champion “Spyder” Anderson Silva (24-4) during The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in Las Vegas 20 June. Then, White guaranteed a showdown between Lesnar and Emelianenko in the Octagon at the post-fight press conference after UFC 100 in Las Vegas 11 July. Both declarations were odd because White is known for soundbites disrespecting and disregarding fighters not currently in the UFC, including ex-UFC champions.

Fighters.com asked Atencio whether the Affliction/UFC deal was in the works prior to Trilogy’s cancellation giving reason for White to begin complimenting fighters he had a reasonable expectation of being able to sign in the near future. Atencio did not respond, but Coker seems to confirm that assertion.

News of the Affliction/UFC collaboration blind-sided M-1 Global executives. “This is first I hear all this,” an M-1 Global spokesperson told Fighters.com when asked to comment on the Affliction/UFC collaboration before it was officially announced.

During a press conference in Anaheim Wednesday, M-1 USA Veep of Legal Affairs Steve Bash stated, “We’re exploring all options at the time, legally with regard to Affliction and what we perceived took place. I can promise you and promise Affliction, if something was done wrong, someone will be held responsible.” There is no indication that Affliction did anything illegal or violated agreements with M-1 Global.

However, there was tension between Affliction and M-1 Global. After the success of Affliction’s first show, Banned, in July 2008 when Emelianenko knocked out former UFC champion “Maine-iac” Tim Sylvia (24-6) in 36 seconds, M-1 Global executives made increased demands about the visibility of M-1 Global’s presence in the marketing and production of the shows and use of their fighters.

Subsequently, Day of Reckoning and Trilogy were promoted as “Affliction M-1 Global” events and the M-1 Global logo became more prominent in marketing.

Emelianenko also became leverage to include M-1 Global fighters “Hurricane” Gilbert Yvel (33-13-1) and “Baby Fedor” Kiril Sidellnikov (6-3) on Day of Reckoning versus “Babyfaced Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) and “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (27-9) respectively. An M-1 Global executive threatened to pull Emelianenko off the card, effectively sabotaging the event, if Barnett was not matched versus M-1 Global’s Yvel. M-1 Global also demanded career high paydays for their fighters to fight on Affliction M-1 Global cards.

M-1 Global had no official comment when contacted by Fighters.com.

With the switch, “Babalu” will defend his Strikeforce gold from DREAM’s middleweight champion, now fighting at 205 pounds.

Mousasi dutifully remarked, “I am very happy that Strikeforce has resurrected this fight and that I will have the opportunity to become Strikeforce world champion. Strikeforce is one of the world’s top promotions and I am proud to be a part of their roster of world-class fighters.”

Last May, Mousasi tapped heavyweight Mark Hunt (5-6) in a Kimura at DREAM.9 in Yokohama.

“Babalu” tapped “African Assassin” Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (6-4) in a Brabo choke at Affliction last January.

According to Fighters.com’s sources, Strikeforce might also pickup a heavyweight from Trilogy to replace Strikeforce heavyweight champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10) versus “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1), though nothing is certain.

UFC President Dana White stated, “We are excited about the return of Affliction to the UFC and look forward to seeing our fighters once again walk into the Octagon wearing the Affliction brands. Affliction is an innovator of mixing fashion with this sport and we are looking forward to working together to promote the sport.”

Eric Foss, co-founder of Affliction, added, “Our brand is synonymous with the ‘Live Fast’ approach to life and UFC is the perfect venue for us to market our brand. We have come to an agreement with the UFC which we feel will be the best for the sport and will help the UFC continue delivering the highest caliber of fights.”

Yahoo!Sports reported Friday afternoon that the collaboration includes an agreement that Affliction would cease promoting mixed martial arts events.

A spokesperson for M-1 Global, Affliction’s partner promoting three MMA events, responded to Fighters.com’s request for comment Friday afternoon saying, “This is the first I hear of this.”

Affliction Veep Tom Atencio has not responded to Fighters.com’s request for comment.

“Finding an opponent for [Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1)] 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,” said Tom Atencio, vice president of Affliction Entertainment. “But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards.”

Emelianenko was left without an opponent after ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) tested positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid, and was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission to fight.

Barnett denies using steroids.

Both Xtreme Couture middleweight “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) and heavyweight “Snowman” Jeff Monson (27-8) had verbally agreed to replace Barnett, and “King Mo” Muhammed Lawal (3-0) lobbied hard for the matchup via the Internet.

Emelianenko called out fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0), who declined the fight on short notice to focus on an October Strikeforce fight.

But, none of the available fighters made a compelling matchup for Emelianenko. The result would’ve only made news if the icon Emelianenko lost, and even that would’ve left a sour taste in MMA fans’ mouths.

What was one of the most anticipated and stacked fight cards of 2009, Trilogy has quickly become a travesty and Barnett might take the brunt of the blame.

A charming, popular fighter, Barnett could quickly replace UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (3-1) as MMA’s heavyweight heel for canning such a huge fight for the sport, himself, Emelianenko, and Affliction.

It’s been widely speculated that the future of Affliction, a clumsy but able competitor to the UFC, was resting on the success of Trilogy, and therefore squarely on the shoulders of Emelianenko and Barnett.

If his eventual appeal to the CSAC fails to clear his name, Barnett’s mistake could ripple through mixed martial arts for years, knocking out an alternative to the UFC for both top fighters and fans, denying Emelianenko the last proven elite heavyweight matchup outside of the UFC, and tarnishing Barnett’s own legacy with the label of “cheater” and denying him the realistic shot of defeating an icon in the sport.

Also announced was a middleweight matchup between “Goat” Nick Thompson (38-11-1) and Frenchman “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (11-1-1).

Ostentatious former NCAA wrestling champion “King Mo” won a unanimous decision over Pancrase veteran Ryo Kawamura (9-3-2) at Sengoku Seventh Battle in Tokyo last March. He’ll fight for the first time in his home nation at Breakthrough.

Certain MMA Hall-of-Famer Frye tapped Richard Moss (7-4) in a rear naked choke at Shark Fights 4 in Lubbock last May.

Both Lawal and Frye are former Oklahoma State University wrestlers, though not on the same squads.

Former BodogFight welterweight champion Thompson will continue his run at 185 pounds after submitting to punches to The Pit’s Timothy Kennedy (11-2) at Strikeforce in Kent, south of Seattle, 19 June.

Kickboxer Amoussou knocked out Kazuhiro Hamanaka (3-6-1) with a flying knee in twenty-three seconds at M-1 Challenge 14 in Tokyo last April.

“I’ve always been the one people point their finger at…since I was a sophomore in high school,” Lesnar explained. He went on to criticize Barnett for “sticking [his] neck out” by using steroids.

Barnett denies he uses steroids.

When asked if he would accept a fight versus Emelianenko, Lesnar indicated he would like several more fights before that challenge, but if the fight were offered immediately, “Absolutely!”

Emelianenko will headline Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August, but is left without an opponent after ninth-ranked heavyweight “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid.

Manager of fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0), Mike Reilly, responded to Emelianenko’s challenge, “It is an honor to be called out by the big dog.”

Rogers is training for an October fight in Strikeforce and has declined both to step in on 10-days notice to fight the world’s top heavyweight and to replace injured Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10) versus “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) in San Jose 15 August.

In his last fight, Rogers knocked out tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7) in 22 seconds in Strikeforce 6 June in St. Louis.

Reilly told Fighters.com Thursday, “I feel it is a testament to what Brett has accomplished in his short career. It is also a great testament to Fedor. They have put an easy fight on his plate; but, he would rather face the biggest possible challenge available to him.”

Reilly alluded to the possibility that Xtreme Couture middleweight “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) will replace Barnett. Though Affliction has made no official announcement, Finkelchtein also remarked, “It’s pretty safe to say it’s going to be Belfort.”

Reilly also said, “I believe that marks [Emelianenko] for the great champion he is. Right now you have two great giants of the spot; one true Titan, one rising Leviathan. We are fans of the sport – we would love to see it happen.”

Emelianenko remarked at Thursday’s press conference, “I feel disappointed about this situation. But I will fight anyone who Affliction puts in front of me. I know a lot of fans waited for this fight to happen and I am sorry for them. I can’t do much about it now but I am in good shape, my training has been good and continues to go well.”

“What I can say is that when applying for my license, the CSAC asked for me to submit a urine sample for testing prior to granting my license as they do with everyone, I believe” Barnett explained. “It was not a random test. I had no reason to believe there would be any issues and went in to submit my sample at the earliest possible opportunity on June 25th. I never once thought there would be a problem.”

Barnett was denied a California State Athletic Commission license to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

In a press release Wednesday evening, the CSAC claimed, “Barnett’s June 25 drug test came back positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid. CSAC learned of the results July 21 and immediately denied a license for Barnett.”

In a media conference call Wednesday afternoon, Affliction VP Tom Atencio said Barnett was awaiting the results of testing on a second sample also obtained 25 June. It’s unclear whether results have been received for the second sample, but the CSAC press release referred to “the sample”, indicating one sample.

Barnett explained further, “My representatives and I are working to gather as much info as possible and handle this situation as best as we can. I am embarrassed and want for nothing more than to resolve this issue and receive a license from the State of California as I have done many times already and for other states as well.”

The CSAC stated, “Barnett has the right to appeal the denial of his license.”

The positive test is Barnett’s second. In 2002, after TKOing eighth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) for the UFC belt at UFC 36 in Las Vegas, Barnett tested positive for a banned substance and left competition in the United States until returning to Las Vegas to tap Pawel Nastual (1-4) in an ankle lock at PRIDE 32 in 2006.

A charming, popular fighter, Barnett could quickly replace UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (3-1) as MMA’s heavyweight heel for canning such a huge fight for the sport, himself, Emelianenko, and Affliction.

It’s been widely speculated that the future of Affliction, a clumsy but able competitor to the UFC, is resting on the success of Trilogy, and therefore squarely on the shoulders of Emelianenko and Barnett.

If his second sample confirms the results of his first, Barnett’s mistake could ripple through mixed martial arts for years, knocking out an alternative to the UFC for both top fighters and fans, denying Emelianenko the last proven elite heavyweight matchup outside of the UFC, and tarnishing Barnett’s own legacy with the label of “cheater” and denying him the realistic shot of defeating an icon in the sport.

Barnett tested positive Tuesday and was subsequently denied a California State Athletic Commision license to fight Fighters.com Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

Atencio stated Barnett was awaiting the results of a second sample taken with the first, but that Atencio was moving forward to find a replacement opponent for Emelianenko.

Atencio indicated there were three fighters in contention. Fighters.com confirmed with “Snowman” Jeff Monson‘s (27-8) camp Wednesday afternoon that the one-time UFC title challenger is negotiating for the matchup. Other sources have confirmed Xtreme Couture middleweight “Phenom” Vitor Belfort (17-8) has also been contacted about fighting Emelianenko.

Fighters.com has yet to find a denial from Barnett, and Atencio didn’t offer one Wednesday afternoon. The positive test would be Barnett’s second.

In 2002, after TKOing eighth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) for the UFC belt at UFC 36 in Las Vegas, Barnett tested positive for a banned substance and left competition in the United States until returning to Las Vegas to tap Pawel Nastual (1-4) in an ankle lock at PRIDE 32 in 2006.

A charming, popular fighter, Barnett could quickly replace UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar (3-1) as MMA’s heavyweight heel for canning such a huge fight for the sport, himself, Emelianenko, and Affliction.

It’s been widely speculated that the future of Affliction, a clumsy but able competitor to the UFC, is resting on the success of Trilogy, and therefore squarely on the shoulders of Emelianenko and Barnett.

If his second sample confirms the results of his first, Barnett’s mistake could ripple through mixed martial arts for years, knocking out an alternative to the UFC for both top fighters and fans, denying Emelianenko the last proven elite heavyweight matchup outside of the UFC, and tarnishing Barnett’s own legacy with the label of “cheater” and denying him the realistic shot of defeating an icon in the sport.

“We are working on it now,” a source inside “The Snowman’s” camp told Fighters.com Wednesday afternoon. Monson is excited about the possibility, Fighters.com’s source said.

Barnett has been denied a license to fight by the California State Athletic Commission after testing positive for “performance-enhancing substance,” according to Affliction Veep Tom Atencio in Sports Illustrated Wednesday morning.

Xtreme Couture middleweight “Phenom” Vitor Belfort‘s (17-8) camp has told several sources the one-time UFC heavyweight champion is willing to return to heavyweight to replace Barnett. He’s already scheduled to fight American Top Team’s Sengoku middleweight champion Jorge Santiago (21-7) at Trilogy. Belfort’s trainer, Shawn Tompkins, told Sports Illustrated making that fight would come down to money.

In response to a text message, management for heavyweight “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (27-9), also already on the card, replied to Fighters.com Wednesday afternoon, “Nothing yet.”

Also rumored, pro-wrestling convert “Dominator” Bobby Lashley (3-0) told Sherdog, “I don’t know if I would want [to fight Emelianenko] right now.”

In response to replacing injured Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10) versus “Vai Cavalo” Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1) in San Jose 15 August, manager of fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0), Mike Reilly, told Fighters.com Tuesday that Rogers was training for an October fight and wasn’t interested. Fighters.com doubts the rising talent would want to take a fight versus the world’s best over 205 pounds on 10-days notice.

Cream of the UFC’s young heavyweight crop, wrestlers Carwin and Velasquez will fight at UFC 104 in Los Angeles in October for the opportunity to challenge undisputed UFC champ Brock Lesnar (4-1), who beat-up Frank Mir (12-4) at UFC 100 in Las Vegas Saturday.

Carwin knocked out former UFC title challenger “Napao” Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4) last March in Columbus at UFC 96.

Velasquez mauled Cheick Kongo (14-5-1) to a one-sided UD last month in Cologne at UFC 99.

But, at the UFC 100 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White threw a wild card into the UFC heavyweight title picture.

“Eventually, Fedor’s going to be here,” White said emphatically of Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1). He added, “I want Fedor. I want him to come to the UFC and everything else. We’ll end up getting that deal done. And then we’ll do Brock versus Fedor, and it’ll be a huge fight.”

Emelianenko will fight ninth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August, which will finish his contract with Affliction.

But, signing Emelianenko has eluded White before. UFC contracts demand exclusivity, preventing Emelianenko from competing in Sambo tournaments, the Russian combat sport in which he’s a former world champion, and in Japanese promotions, where he is an icon. Emelianenko’s management demands a co-promotion with their M-1 Global promotion, as they’ve done with Affliction. Neither side has been willing to budge from their demands; and, White has made no indication why he thinks that’ll change when Emelianenko’s contract with Affliction ends.

If the deal is done, however, an Emelianenko v Lesnar square off would seem to push back a title shot for the winner of Carwin v Velasquez.

That hasn’t stopped Carwin from poking at the big guy, Lesnar, calling his post-fight antics Saturday “lame” and stating, “He may be a Champion but he has a long ways to go before he earns the respect of a Champion.”

Once considered one of MMA’s premier lightweights, Gomi is one win removed from a two-fight losing streak, beginning with a split decision loss to Sergei Goliaev (9-6) in Sengoku last November and continuing through a tapout by ankle lock to Satoru Kitaoka (24-9-7) in an undeserved Sengoku lightweight title fight in January. In May, Gomi notched one in the win column in Tokyo with a knockout of Takashi Nakakura (10-2) in Shooto.

“Tractor” is on a three-fight win streak, most recently scoring a UD over John Mahlow (12-10) at XFC 8 in Knoxville in April.

The fight will round out the Trilogy’s pay-per-view card.

Del Rosario, who drew eyeballs in ’07/’08 with three stoppages on ShoXC’s Challenger Series, disposed of Maksim Grishin (1-2) in 21 seconds. Del Rosario has won all of his fights by stoppage.

Jansen took just a second longer to stop Amirkhan Mazihov (0-1) in a guillotine choke.

“Nagao” Fabio Nasciemento (17-8), who lost a grueling decision to Jansen’s mentor, “The Law” Matt Lindland (21-6), last year, found himself teamed with Jansen on USA West. He tapped Marat Ilaev (0-1) at 2:13 of round two in a welterweight match, helping USA West sweep the Russian Imperial Team.

Light heavyweight Tony Lopez (12-3) tapped Victor Nemkov (1-1) in a rear naked choke at 3:06 of round two.

Middleweight Giva Santana (3-1) tapped Radmir Gabdullin (1-1) in an arm triangle at 3:47 of round one.

Middleweight Rosen Dimitrov (2-2) eeked out a majority decision over Mikko Suvanto (7-3), who was a late replacement from Lucio Linhares (10-3), team Finland’s star. However, Suvanto’s was Finland’s only loss in Seoul.

Popular Finnish lightweight Niko Puhakka (11-7) stepped up to TKO rising Bulgarian Yanko Yanev (4-1) at 2:16 of round one.

Heavyweight Toni Valtonen (15-7) tapped Nikola Dipchkov (0-1) in a triangle at 4:49 of round one.

Light heavyweight Marcus Vanttinen (9-1) forced Emil Samoilov (0-1) to verbally submit at 3:42 of the third round.

Welterweight Janne Tulirinta improved to 10-3 with a first round TKO of Ivan Ivanov (3-2).

Korean heavyweight Hae Joon Yang (2-0) devastated Brazillian grappler “Mamute” Joaquim Ferrera (2-3) with KO 14 seconds from the opening bell.

Light heavyweight Alexander Machado (1-0) tapped Dool Hee Lee (2-4) in a rear naked choke at 3:26 of round two.

Middleweight Daniel Acacio (14-5) pulled off a two-round majority decision victory over Jae Young Kim (10-9).

Welterweight Eduardo Pamplona (9-2) won a UD over Do Hyung Kim (11-7).

Debuting Korean lightweight Nam Yui Chul won a UD over Hacran Dias (6-2).

“Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (29-1) retains the Fighters.com heavyweight championship, which he’s set to defend from ninth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (20-5) at Affliction M-1 Global’s Trilogy in Anaheim 1 August.

But, with Affliction’s run thought to be at its end, Fighters.com worries that whomever wins will return to Japan to fight freaks and middleweights.

Up I-15 in Las Vegas 11 July, UFC 100 features a fight for the soul of MMA’s top promotion when second-ranked Frank Mir (12-3) and third-ranked Brock Lesnar (3-1) rematch for the UFC title.

Mir represents the martial artists of MMA’s origins, while uber-athlete Lesnar proudly proclaims he fights for a paycheck and is likely the future of the sport whether he wins Saturday or not.

Fourth-ranked “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-5-1) is set for a showdown with fellow legend and eighth-ranked “The Natural” Randy Couture (16-9) at UFC 102 in Portland 29 August, but only after the fight has lost the significance it would’ve had just a year ago.

On the undercard, seventh-ranked “Cigano” Junior dos Santos (8-1) will fight overmatched “Insane 1″ Justin McCully (9-4-2).

Fifth-ranked “Grim” Brett Rogers (8-0) is gunning for Strikeforce champ “Demolition Man” Alistair Overeem (27-10) after knocking out tenth-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-7) in 22 seconds 6 June in St. Louis.

Finally, sixth-ranked Shane Carwin (10-0) is rumoured to be mulling a match-up versus fellow UFC up-and-comer Cain Velasquez (6-0).

The match-ups are as follows:

Lightweights Mikhail Malutin (7-5) v Bogdan Christea (4-2-1)

Welterweights Erik Oganov (8-7) v Romano de los Reyes (5-3)

Middleweights Dimitry Samoylov (5-4) v Jason Jones (5-2)

Light heavyweights Mikhail Zayats (7-1) v Kamil Uyghun (6-3)

Heavyweights Alexey Oleynik (6-4) v Jessie Gibs (3-0)

Also participating in non-tournament bouts are Makhtar Gueye (3-2) of France, Tommy Depret (4-0) of Belgium, “Skull Cracker” Mike Dolce (2-5) of the USA, and Toni Valtonen (13-6) of Finland.

M-1 told Fighters.com that Yvel will not rematch Red Devil heavyweight Roman Zentsov (17-12), who knocked Yvel out in a 2006 PRIDE fight.

The event will be lead by the return of Fighters.com’s tenth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (12-3) after the commission debacle before Affliction’s debut in Anaheim, east of Los Angeles, 19 July.  Emelianenko will fight Korean Sang Soo Lee (9-4).

The event will also feature a team format with bouts between Russia’s Red Devil team versus Korea and Russia’s Legion team versus Holland.

The Red Devil versus Korea match-ups will be lead by a light heavyweight bout between Red Devil’s Mikhail Zayats (7-1) and Korea’s Eun Soo Lee (9-0).

Zayats made John Cornett (5-4) verbally submit at M-1 Challenge 7 in Nottingham 27 September.

Lee won a unanimous decision over Daijiro Matsui (10-18-4) at DEEP Gladiator Okayama 16 August and will make his M-1 debut in St. Petersburg.

The Legion versus Holland match-ups will be highlighted by a middleweight fight between “Russian Warrior” Ansar Chalangov (8-3) versus Jason Jones (5-2).

Chalangov tapped Eulogio Fernandez (0-1) in a toe hold at M-1 Challenge 4 in St. Petersburg 27 June.

Jones lost a UD to Riki Fukuda (10-3) DEEP 38 in Tokyo last Thursday.

The rest of the card includes:

Yuri Ivlev (1-0) v Bogdan Cristea (4-2-1)
Islam Karimov (2-3) v Romano Delos (0-0)
Besike Gerinava (5-0) v Kamil Uygun (6-3)
Akhmed Sultanov (1-1) v TBD

Mikhail Malutin (7-5) v Soo Yong Kim  (1-0)
Erik Oganov (8-7) v Do Hyung Kim (9-5)
Dmitry Samoilov (5-4) v Min Suk Heo (1-2)
Kiril Sidelnikov (3-1) v Jang Yong Kim (1-1)

“Fedor will not sign to the enslaving terms of a UFC contract, and the UFC just doesn’t want to compromise.”

Finkelstein, M-1 Global president and Emelianenko’s manager, was responding Friday to UFC president Dana White’s recent comment to the Boston Herald that “[the UFC’s] door is wide open” to Emelianenko.

“Dana says that the UFC’s doors are wide open.  Maybe they are. But these doors are also shut tightly once the fighter signs with the organization,” he stated.

Finkelstein does not believe Emelianenko has anything to prove in the UFC; he has defeated three former UFC champions, and current interim champion and second-ranked heavyweight “Mintotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (31-4-1) twice, and can face third-ranked “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski (14-5) and sixth-ranked “Babyface Assassin” Josh Barnett (23-5) at Affliction.

Finkelstein added, “I believe Dana White in the past has done more for MMA than anybody else, but now he is the one who is hindering the progress of our sport.  He is like a man who has a large tasty pie and is afraid someone will come and take a bite of it.”

Fighting Fedor will feature sixteen heavyweights from around the world competing tournament-style for the chance to fight WAMMA Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) on a future Affliction card.

The fighters will live and train at the Red Devil Sports Club in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Filming is expected to begin in April 2009.  No broadcast partner has been determined yet.

Plans for the series had been in the works for several months, but details about the show had been scant.

Emelianenko, Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion, is next expected to fight “Pitbull” Andrei Arlovski at Affliction’s next event, although no official announcement has been made.

The match-up is Emelianenko’s first since being denied a license to fight “Headhunter” Paul Buentello (26-10) by the California State Athletic Commission in July.

Emelianenko publicly denied rumors that he was denied a license because of a positive test for Hepatitis.

Emelianenko rolled through Silvao Santos (1-1) in St. Petersburg 3 April.

Lee tapped Emelianenko’s Red Devil teammate Roman Zentsov (17-3) in a triangle choke in Seoul 29 August.

The fight will feature as one of two Super Fights at M-1 Challenge 9.

Minonzio forced a doctor stoppage “W” over Buck in Nottingham in July, handing Buck his first MMA loss.

Buck is a retired boxer hailing from Nottingham and looking for revenge.  He ended his career in the ring in 2000 at 10-4-1, winning his final five fights.

Saturday afternoon before the fights, Red Devil fighter and coach Fighters.com’s ninth-ranked heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3) will hold a seminar featuring DREAM Middleweight GP Champion Gegard Mousasi (24-2-1), UFC welterweight “Outlaw” Dan Hardy (19-6), and “The Machine” Ian Freeman (19-7-1).

Just a week after winning a split decision over Brandon Thatch (3-1) in Beverly Hills, north of Los Angeles, Brandon Magana (6-1) will fight Red Devil’s Erik Oganov (7-7) in Nottingham.

Called the protégé of Fighters.com’s Heavyweight Champion “Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (28-1), Kiril Sidelnikov (3-2) will try to do something for the second time that Emelianenko has only had to do once: come back from a loss.

Sidelnikov draws American James Jack (3-2-1), who comes in off of a TKO of RJ Wishard (0-1) in August.

After having his 12-fight win streak snapped in a UD loss to Daisuke Nakamura (17-9) in August, Belgian welterweight “Moreno” Wim Deputter (18-3) will try to kickstart a new streak versus Mysail Khamanaev (0-0).

Other fights include:

Mikhail Malutin (5-6) v Beau King (2-3)
Dmitry Samoilov (4-2-1) v Bryan Harper (5-1)
Mikhail Zayats (5-1) v John Cornett (5-3)
“Judo” Jim Wallhead (14-5) v Igor Araujo (11-6)
Sergey Verdesh (1-0) v Jason Ponet (0-1)
Sergey Kornev (0-0) v Rosen Dimitrov (1-0)
Gadzhimurad Omarov (0-0) v Nills van Noord (0-0)
Akhmed Sultanov (3-1) v Sylwester Oleksy (0-0)
Christian Smith (4-5) v Clifford Hall (6-3)

Viewers in other countries will also be able to watch: in African countries on the GTV channel, in Korea on CBS, in Brazil on SporTV, in the Philippines on Solar, and in India on ZEE.

The M-1 Challenge is an international competition involving teams from Finland, France, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, two from Russia (Legion and Red Devil), Spain, USA, and a World Star Team.

Welterweight Jake Ellenberger (18-4) will return after a successful Team USA debut in July to face Korean Doo Won Seo (1-2) on the card.

Lightweight Daisuke Nakamura (16-9) returns to Team Japan versus Berlgian “Moreno” Wim Deputter (18-2) while welterweight Hidehiko Hasegawa (13-10-6) debuts versus American Top Team’s Norman Paraisy (4-0).

Russian Roman Zentsov (17-12) will headline the event in a rematch versus Korean Sang Soo Lee (8-4).

Also on the card, light heavyweight Tatsuya Mizuno (4-3) will fight Bruno Carvalho (3-3).

Undefeated American light heavyweight Bryan Harper (5-0) will fight Mujin Na (0-0).

Lightweight Dutchman Furdjel de Windt (24-10-1) will fight Korean Park Won Sik (0-0).

Lightweight American David Gardner (13-9) will fight Korean Jong Man Kim (3-5-3).

Middleweight American Brandon Magana (5-0) will debut in M-1 versus Korean Hyungyu Lim (0-0).

Heavyweight American Jeremiah Constant (6-5) drew Korean Ji Hoon Kim (1-6).

Heavyweight Dutchman Stefan Struve (13-2) will face Japan’s Yuji Sakuragi (9-12-1).

Russian Radmir Gabdulin (2-0) will fight Min Suk Heo (3-5) in a “Superfight”.

Mizuno dispatched Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (3-1) at 4:13 of round one in the main event.

American Jake Ellenberger (18-4) bounced back from a UD loss in Portland 20 June to win a UD over Frenchman “Paco” Farouk Lakebir (2-1) in Ellenberger’s Japan debut.

Countryman and former TUF contestant Mike Dolce (3-5) was TKO’d at 41 seconds of round two by middleweight “Psycho” Karl Amoussou (7-1-1) of France.

It was Dolce’s first action since season seven of TUF.

Japanese lightweight Daisuke Nakamura (15-9), fresh from knocking out Bu Kyung Jung (0-3) at DREAM.3 last May, won a decision over Bogdan Christea (4-3-1).

Dutch middleweight Jason Jones (6-3) TKO’d DEEP star “Andre” Yuta Watanabe (9-3-3) in the second round.

In SuperFights, Yuki Ito (9-3-3) and Seigo Inoue (4-3-1) came away tops in decisions versus Takaaki Aoki (4-4) and “Mike” Nobuhiro Hayakawa (1-4-2) respecitvely.

Journeyman Romano de los reyes (8-5) upset Japanese welterweight Ken Hamamura (14-5-4) by decision.

Heavyweight Jessie Gibbs (1-0) knocked out Katsuhisa Fujii (9-15-1) at 1:34 of round one.

Light heavyweight Kamil Uygun (6-2) TKO’d Yuji Sakuragi (9-12-1) in the first round.

Heavyweight Frenchman “Komodo” Malick Idiaye (2-1) wrapped up American James Jack (2-2) in a keylock at 3:54 of round one.

Keith Perrigon (2-1) TKO’d Samuel Judes (2-2) at 3:16 of round one.

Light heavyweight Christian N’Pumbu (10-1) TKO’d Bryan Harper (5-1) 32 seconds into the second round.

In M-1 Challenge’s national team format, the Netherlands crushed Japan 4-1 and France edge out the States 3-2.

Emelianenko’s teammates Amar Suloev (24-7) and Roman Zentsov (17-12) also scored wins for the home team, while Japanese fighters “Andre” Yuta Watanabe (8-1-3) and Ken Hamamura (14-4-4) picked-up victories on foreign soil.

In the same kind of Finkelsteinian matchmaking that has kept “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko (27-1) from meaningful MMA for over two-and-a-half years, li’l brother Aleks was paired with Santos whose only other professional MMA appearance ended in a split decision victory over that notorious gatekeeper to top ten contention, Edson Conterraneo (3-1).

Note my sarcasm.

The big Brazilian circled Russia’s finest before a shot stuffed and swept by Aleks into a textbook uchi mata makikomi toss landing Emelianenko in Santos’s half-guard.

Strong Santos stood out of Emelianenko’s half-mount, but into a near standing guillotine the Russian wrenched like a neck crank.

Emelianenko muscled Santos into a corner, released the choke, and hopped into a flying knee that effectively ended the fight.

Santos shot forward for a desperate single-leg lunge, but Emelianenko sprawled and pummeled the Brazilian with a series of rights as the referee dove to Santos’s rescue.

Emelianenko’s middleweight Red Devil Sport Club stablemate, Suloev, bounced back from a second round TKO to Chael Sonnen (20-9-1) last July to TKO Jacek Buczko (11-4), who hadn’t fought in two-and-a-half years, in the first round.

Heavyweight Zentsov also rebounded from an ’07 stoppage loss to deal undersized Daniel Tabera (9-1-2) of Spain his first “L” in a two-round decision.

DEEP middleweight vet Watanabe dealt Ansar Chalangov (7-4) his fourth consecutive defeat in a first-round rear naked choke.  It was Watanabe’s first fight out of country.

Welterweight Hamamura also ventured out of the “Land of the Rising Sun” for the first time to TKO Russia’s Islam Karimov (5-4-1) in the second round.

The event also saw Akhmet Sultanov (2-0) submit multi-promotion veteran Katsuhisa Fuji (8-14-1) in a first-round armbar.

Besiki Gerenava (5-0) won a decision over Pancrase vet Yuji Sakuragi (9-10-1).

U-File Camp’s Daisuke Nakamura (13-9) decisioned Juri Ivlev (4-3).

Victor Nemkov (1-0) debuted with a triangle choke submission of fellow rookie Christian Bombay (0-1).

Team Scandinavia’s Jarno Nurminen (2-1) forced Ji Hoon Kim’s (1-6) corner to throw in the towel in the first round.

Heavyweight Fin Toni Valtonen (15-7) submitted South Korean Seung Hyun Choi (0-2) in a rear naked choke in the first round.

Hyun Gyu Lim (2-1-1) knocked out Brazil’s Lucio Linhares (7-3) in the first round.

Lightweight Janne Tulirinta (7-2) TKO’d Doo Won Seo (1-2) in round two.

Finally, lightweight Niko Puhakka (11-6) of Finland submitted Jong Man Kim (3-5-2) in a triangle choke in round one.