UPDATE: Aleksander Emelianenko May Never Fight In USA

After mixed reports concerning Aleksander Emelianenko's licensing status in California after last month's Affliction: Banned event.

Affliction expected Aleksander to be able to fight at their coming event "Day of Reckoning" in October, but the California State Athletic Commission may have stopped these plans early. Speaking about Emelianenko, a spokesman for the Commission had this to say: "

The one thing that I can absolutely say is that he (Emelianenko) was not and will not be cleared to fight in California. He is officially denied a license and that will stand for all of the United States of America”.

I'm not sure if anything can be done to rectify the situation for Aleks, but things certainly don't look good.

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.

M-1 Challenge To Hit UK Shores

Russian company M-1 Challenge has announced an event to be held in Nottingham, England on September 27th.

The event will be hosted by Warrior Promotions, the team in charge of UK Promotion Cage Warriors. They are expected to enter their own team of fighters into the M-1 line up for the first time.

The team format for the event will be Red Devils versus USA, and Russia Legion versus Europe. Expected to attend the event are Aleksander Emelianenko and Ian Freeman, who will be holding a seminar on September 26th, and Cage Warriors champions Dan Hardy and Gegard Mousasi.

Affliction Confirm Emelianenko - Buentello Bout

The long rumored fight between Aleksander Emelianenko and Paul Buentello has been confirmed by Affliction, and will take place on their first card Affliction: Banned.

This fight was put in jeopardy due to visa restrictions for Aleksander, but it appears these have been resolved. This fight was the big announcement that Affliction made at their fan atuograph signing event earlier today. This fight is added to an already stacked card.

The card also features a fight between Emelianenko's older brother Fedor Emelianenko, and former UFC Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia.

This new bout is a great addition to an already stellar card. Fans should expect this to be a heavy hitting fight with both fighters looking for the knockout.