Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio today informed his fighters that the upcoming “Trilogy” event planned for the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on August 1 has been canceled, according to SI.com.
The news comes just days after Affliction suffered a major blow to its pay-per-view main event when headliner Josh Barnett tested positive for anabolic steroids in the first ever random drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission on June 25.
As a result, Barnett was denied a license to compete, forcing company officials to scramble for a replacement opponent opposite Fedor Emelianenko.
Speculation had revolved around who that replacement fighter would be.
At the top of a short list of candidates was current middleweight contender Vitor Belfort, who was scheduled to face Jorge Santiago that same night, but who also stated he was willing to move up in weight to fight “The Last Emperor.”
Dark horse Brett Rogers, fresh off a stunning first round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, as well as freelance fighter Jeff Monson were also under consideration.
Now it appears their services will no longer be needed.
What impact this cancellation has on the future of Affliction MMA remains to be seen — but as of now it’s not looking very promising.
Bye-Bye, the company is done it seems. This sucks because even with the Main Event screwed this card rocked....
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