Affliction cancels major MMA show after failing to replace banned Josh Barnett

Affliction MMA show canceled after Barnett’s ban

LOS ANGELES — Affliction canceled its mixed martial arts show scheduled for Aug. 1 in Anaheim on Friday after failing to find a suitable replacement for heavyweight Josh Barnett, who failed a steroids test.

Fedor Emelianenko was set to fight Barnett in the main event of “Affliction: Trilogy” at the Honda Center, but Barnett was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission on Wednesday after the commission learned Barnett had tested positive for anabolic steroids last month.

Affliction, a relatively fledgling promotional company with just two major shows on its resume, didn’t have enough time to find a proper opponent for Emelianenko, the Russian heavyweight often considered to be the world’s top mixed martial artist.

Affliction Entertainment vice president Tom Atencio said finding a replacement for Barnett “was a huge endeavor, and I’m thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge.”

“But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards,” Atencio said.

Brett Rogers and former pro wrestler Bobby Lashley were among the fighters considered as replacements. Neither has Barnett’s pedigree, which includes a victory over Randy Couture for the UFC heavyweight title March 2002 — although Barnett was stripped of the title for another positive steroids test.

Some of the Affliction undercard fights could end up on the Strikeforce promotion’s Aug. 15 card in San Jose.