Did Josh Barnett just single-handedly bring down a whole promotion and put twenty-three fighters and a number of other employees out of work? It would appear so.

The domino effect caused by one man’s desire to enhance his performance with an illegal substance has been, frankly, mind-boggling. Not only has Barnett cost a lot of fighters a lot of money, but think of all the fans and people who had made plans, hotel reservations, and purchased tickets for the event.

What would cause an “athlete” about to have the biggest fight of his career to risk it all? Why would Barnett put himself in this situation? Obviously, based on his 2002 incident of the same nature, he is familiar with performance enhancers. So he should know how to cycle correctly, right?

Or does the blame lie with Fedor and his management for not taking the replacement fight with Vitor? After all, it seems the show would have gone on if “Affliction: Trilogy” had a main event. Would it have been Affliction’s last show anyway?

It has been an odd month for MMA; big fights cancelled, promotions folding, fighters dying and resurrecting, and the number two ranked heavyweight in the world testing positive for steroids. Through it all, one promotion stands strong, still moving forward — the UFC.

Once the smoke settles, maybe Fedor Emelianenko will end up in the UFC after all. Affliction’s fighters have to go somewhere and at this point it seems most viable. If Fedor does end up in the UFC, then maybe the whole thing can be seen as Barnett actually doing MMA a favor. It would be his only saving grace.

We want to know what you think about the whole thing. Please share your thoughts below.

By: Jack Bratcher

2 thoughts on “Did Josh Barnett bring down Affliction?”
  1. As long as Fedor ends up in the UFC, that’s all that really matters, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

  2. Quote Fedor: “The bottom line was that the UFC was a one-sided offer, and you know, that’s something that can never be acceptable,” he is quoted as saying. “”If I was the UFC champion, I would never be able to leave the UFC. The contract would just keep extending and extending. But if I lost, they could just kick me out of the UFC.”

    It is the UFC that will not allow just a one time Fedor Brock fight that fedor has asked for.

Leave a Reply