Saturday, July 25 11:16 am PT: Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s premier heavyweight mixed martial artist, was blindsided when he stepped off a plane in Los Angeles on Friday, greeted by the news that Affliction “Trilogy” had been axed.
According to news release from M-1 Global, the Emelianenko affiliate and Affliction Entertainment partner, news of the show’s demise caught the company by complete surprise. Emelianenko, Red Devil Sport Club teammate Mikhail Zayats and a traveling party of 35 others from Russia -- including Emelianenko’s trainers, friends, family and M-1 support personnel -- boarded their plane for Los Angeles believing “Trilogy” would go forward as planned.
Emelianenko was originally booked to meet Josh Barnett in the main event, but the American was denied a license from the California State Athletic Commission after he failed a pre-fight drug test.
“Fedor did not learn of the cancellation until arriving at the airport,” the release said. “Following the California State Athletic Commission’s decision not to license Josh Barnett earlier in the week, M-1 Global was confident that a suitable replacement would be found. Fedor was ready, willing and able to compete against whomever Affliction determined was the most qualified candidate amongst an extensive list of potential replacements.”
M-1 Global vowed to help fill the void created by Affliction’s exit from the promotional scene. It will launch its “Breakthrough” fight series on Aug. 28 in Los Angeles with an event headlined by a match pairing Muhammed Lawal with MMA legend Don Frye.
Saturday, July 25 8:25 am PT: All indications point to a Tito Ortiz return to the UFC.
UFC President Dana White stoked the flames of speculation on Friday with a post on his Twitter account, which ended with an “Oh yea, and welcome back Tito.” Still, the outspoken UFC executive remained noncommittal about Ortiz’s return to the promotion during an interview on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas.
“Tito and I have been talking, and we’ve been trying to figure some things out,” White said. “I’ve said many times that Tito and I have issues. It’s a possibility.”
Once the face of the UFC, Ortiz (15-6-1) has not competed since he dropped a unanimous decision to reigning light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 in May 2008. The 34-year-old Californian has not won a fight since he stopped UFC hall of famer Ken Shamrock on strikes in October 2006. Still, he counts victories against Wanderlei Silva, Vladimir Matyushenko, Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin among his 15 career wins.
“Tito just had major back surgery,” White said. “He feels good. We’ll see if he can come back.”
Saturday, July 25 12:00 am PT: Dana White appeared on ESPN Radio 1100 in Las Vegas Friday evening with host Steve Cofield. You can guess what was discussed -- though White was evasive on specifics.
On the subject of Affliction closing its promotional hatches and returning as a UFC sponsor: “Affliction hasn’t made any real announcement yet…I’ve said this for a long time, they’re good at making clothes, not [being in] the fight business. That’s what we do. We’ll see what happens…There’s going to be a lot of interesting things happening over the next few weeks.”
On White’s own -- and God help me for even typing this word -- “Tweet” on Tito Ortiz re-signing with the UFC: “Tito and I have been talking….it’s a possibility.”
