TRILOGY: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett Set For August 1

Posted on | June 4, 2009 | 2 Comments

WAMMA Heavyweight Championship

Pay Per View Event-9 PM/ET 6 PM/PT
Honda Center · Anaheim, California ·
Saturday, August 1, 2009

Fedor defends heavyweight title

vs. Barnett in Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy”

August 1 PPV Extravaganza in Anaheim

SEAL BEACH, California (June 3, 2009) – Russian combat fighting legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko defends his WAMMA heavyweight title against No. 1 contender Josh “The Baby faced Assassin” Barnett, when Affliction M-1Global presents its third major mixed martial arts show, “Trilogy,” Saturday night, August 1 live on Pay-Per-View from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The monster card has been separated into two live broadcasts in the same night. A one-hour special will air on HDNet starting at 7:30 PM/ET (4:30 PM/PT), followed by the sensational Pay-Per-View event, “Trilogy,” commencing at 9 PM/ET (6 PM/PT).

Affliction M-1 “Trilogy,” promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and presented by Affliction and M-1 Global in association with Donald J. Trump, features many premier MMA fighters, including the former undisputed PRIDE® Heavyweight Champion, Fedor Emelianenko(30-1-0), the star of Affliction’s first two shows.

Fedor defeated a pair of former UFC® heavyweight title-holders, Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (SUB1) in “Affliction Banned,” and Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (KO1) in “Day Of Reckoning,” at Honda Center. Emelianenko is undisputedly the most lethal man in MMA and the definitive heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter in the world. His only loss came in 2000, the result of an illegal elbow thrown by Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, which caused a cut so severe that officials had to stop the fight out of concern for the safety of the fighter.

In addition to being the best heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor is also its most popular performer and a genuine Russian icon. He is the darling of the Kremlin and a favorite of former Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who has regularly attended his fights. Beyond the previously mentioned defeats of Sylvia and Arlovski, Emelianenko’s resume includes impressive triumphs over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (twice), Mirko Filipovic and Heath Herring.

Emelianenko’s stiffest career challenge, however, lies ahead at Affliction M-1 “Trilogy,” against another former UFC® Heavyweight Champion, Josh Barnett (24-5-0), who has the size (6-3, 250-pounds), strength, conditioning and experience to present real problems for any fighter, even Fedor. Barnett’s punching power forced Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel to submit at “Day Of Reckoning” and Josh stopped Pedro Rizzo in the second round of their fight on “Affliction Banned.”

Barnett’s victims also include Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Jeff Monson and Dan Severn. “The Babyfaced Assassin” has already defeated one Emelianenko-Fedor’s brother Aleksander-back in 2006 by second-round submission (keylock).

In the co-main event, wildly popular Brazilian light heavyweight Renato “Babalu” Sobral (32-8-0) takes on Armenian kick-boxing specialist Gegard “Young Vagabond” Mousasi (25-2-1), fighting out of The Netherlands, in his American debut.

Also on the PPV card is Brazilian knockout artist Victor “The Phenom” Belfort (18-8-0), former UFC® light heavyweight champion, against an opponent to be determined; Sylvia (24-5-0) faces heavyweight Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (27-10-0). Former IFL® heavyweight titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (30-6-0) meets unbeaten prospect Chase Gormley (6-0-0).

The undercard on HDNet features two young light weights prospects, Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki vs. Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon; exciting welterweights Jay “The Thoroughbred” Hieron (17-4-0) and Paul “Semtex” Daley (21-8-2); former IFL lightweight challenger Deividas Taurosevicius (10-3-0) and welterweight fan-favorite Brett Cooper (9-4-0).

Tickets for Affliction M-1 “Trilogy,” ranging between $50.00 and $600.00, go on sale June 8 at Honda Center Box Office (1.714.704.2500) and also online at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticket Master outlets (1.714.740.2000).

Affliction

Already a mainstay for the most elite athletes, heaviest bands, A-listers and the fashion conscious, Affliction Clothing’s ability to set the bar high in fashion is evident in its collection’s indulgence of style and design, focus on quality, and its trademark series of divinely executed, dark and powerful themes. (www.afflictionclothing.com)

M-1 Global and M-1 Challenge

M-1 Global has been one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the world for over a decade. International MMA stars who have fought under the M-1 banner have included Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Keith Jardine, Alistair Overeem, Yushin Okami, Ben Rothwell, Mike Pyle, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zenstov, Denis Kang, MartinKampmann, Omar Suloev, and Chalid Arrab, to name a few. (www.m1mixfight.com)
The Trump Organization

The Trump Organization encompasses global real estate development and global licensing, sales and marketing, property management, golf course development, entertainment, entertainment and product licensing, brand development as well as restaurants and event planning. Donald J. Trump is the Chairman and President of the Trump Organization, a privately held company in New York. (www.Trump.com)

Golden Boy Promotions

Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by Oscar de la Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. Golden Boy Promotions currently has over 60 fighters under contract, from future hall of famers Bernard Hopkins, Sugar Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez to current world champions Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Joel Casamayor, Israel Vazquez and Gerry Peñalosa. Also included on the company’s roster are top contenders Jeff Lacy, Juan Diaz, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Jhonny Gonzalez, Librado Andrade, Rocky Juarez and Rey Bautista; 2004 Olympians Abner Mares, Vicente Escobedo and Rock Allen; and highly regarded prospects Danny Garcia, Jermell Charlo, Hylon Williams and Carlos and Juan Velasquez. (www.goldenboypromotions.com)