Fedor versus Arlovski Set For January 24th

Affliction have announced that the Fedor Emelianenko - Andre Arlovski fight will take place on January 24th.

This move comes after Fedor's manager announced that he will not be fighting on New Years Eve as he usually does. This will leave him with plenty of time to prepare for the fight with Arlovski, which is a fight that fans have been anticipating for a long time.

Also named as participants on the card are Josh Barnett, Matt Lindland, Vitor Belfort, Vladimir Matyushenko, Jay Hieron, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Chris Horodecki. No match ups have been mentioned as yet.

Rothwell versus Rizzo At Affliction 2

Affliction have announced another bout for their Affliction 2: Day of Reckoning card.

Former IFL fighter Ben Rothwell will face Former UFC heavweight Pedro Rizzo. Both fighters are coming off losses, Rothwell to Andre Arlovski and Rizzo to Josh Barnett. Both fights took place at Affliction 1: Banned last month.

Affliction 2: Day Of Reckoning takes place October 11th in Las Vegas. Here is the card as it currently stands.

Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski

Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Ben Rothwell vs. Pedro Rizzo

Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon*

Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello

Mike Pyle vs. Jason High

*This bout is currently not confirmed

Affliction Announce Next Event Details

Affliction held a press conference yesterday to announce plans for their next event.

The event, called "Day Of Reckoning" will be held on October 11th in Las Vegas. The three preliminary bouts will be shown on HDNet, with the seven fight main card being shown on Pay Per View straight after.

The main event will be a heavyweight fight between Josh Barnett and Andre Arlovski. This is a number one contender fight, with the winner facing Fedor Emelianenko at a future event. Emelianenko was originally slated to face Arlovski at this event but was forced out due to a lingering hand injury, causing the number one contender match to be scheduled in it's place.

Other planned bouts include Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Jason High vs. Mike Pyle, (as a preliminary bout) Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson (as a preliminary bout) and Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort. There is currently speculation as to whether Belfort will be fit to fight on October after he was given a six month medical suspension after Affliction's last event. Belfort cvan be cleared early to fight, but he needs to show a significant improvement in his injury before a doctor will clear him. We will keep you updated on this.

If Tito Ortiz is signed by the company in time for the event, there is rumors that he may face Renato "babalu" Sobral on this card, but that is still under speculation.

Here is the card as it stands:

Main Card

Josh Barnett vs. Andre Arlovski

Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort

Preliminary Bouts

Paul Buentello vs. Roy Nelson

Jason High vs. Mike Pyle

UPDATE: Fedor Out, Barnett In

Yesterday we reported that the anticipated fight between Andre Arlovski and Fedor Emelianenko looked liekly to be cancelled.

This has now been cancelled, and a fight between Josh Barnett and Andre Arlovski has been announced. Whilst this fight is not quite on the same level as a Fedor/Arlovski fight, it still has a great deal of pulling power for fans.

The fight will headline the Affliction 2 card, which takes place on October 11th.

RUMOR: Arlovski - Fedor Off Due To Injury

The rumored fight between Andre Arlovski and Fedor Emelianenko looks to be offf the card for October's Affliction 2 card.

Fedor is reportedly suffering from a hand injury which will make it impossible for him to be ready in time for the event. It is not yet known whether Fedor will have surgery to correct the problem.

Affliction are rumored to be trying to secure Josh Barnett to create a Arlovski - Barnett replacement fight.

Lindland - Belfort Fight For Title

Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort have recently announced that they will meet at the next Affliction event to fight for the Middleweight Title.

The event, scheduled for the 11th October, currently has no title fight, so the creation of this bout and this belt could see the pair headlining the event.

We will bring more news on this as it breaks.

Aleksander Emelianenko Expected To Fight At Affliction 2

Aleksander Emelianenko was pulled from the recent Affliction: Banned card due to "not meeting licensing requirements" of California State Athletic Commission.

Since then, rumors have circulated that Aleks had contracted Hepatitis B, and may never be licensed to fight in the U.S.A again.

In a recent video interview with a Russian website, Aleksander has dismissed these claims, stating that he was unable to receive his license to fight due to timing issues. Emelianenko was due to be given his medical and drug tests in California on the 13th June, but his visa was not issued until the 14th. He arrived in California on the 15th, but the California State Athletic Commission refused to license him as he didn't turn up at the correct time.

Aleksander expects to be able to compete at Affliction 2.

Pedro Rizzo To Fight At Affliction 2

Despite a loss to Josh Barnett at Affliction 2, he will be fighting at the next Affliction card.

Rizzo made this announcement on Tatame.com, in an interview talking about his recent loss. Rizzo also stated in this interview that he felt some ring rust in his fight with Barnett, but is not using this as an excuse.

No official announcement has been made regarding this fight, and no opponents have been suggested.