By Steve Ficca, FightTicker.com Blogger

WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko spoke at a recent Los Angeles press conference for Affliction. Emelianenko's topic of discussion was his own trainer, Vladimir Voronov. Apparently Fedor had been unhappy with the public remarks made by Voronov after his first round KO of Andrei Arlovski in his last fight.

From MMAWeekly.com:

By Steve Ficca, FightTicker.com Blogger

Reports continue to come in that WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko will be facing challenger Josh Barnett at Affliction III. The event is tentatively scheduled for August 1st but it is still unknown if or when the fight will be made official.

Emelianenko spoke with M-1Global.com about the prospective fight. From M-1Global.com:

By Mark Figula, FightTicker.com blogger

The big event is over, the title has changed hands yet again and the grudge has been almost-sorta-kinda put to rest. What is one to do with a brief lull in the action and nothing immediately skiing down your neural pathways, screaming for attention or words on a digital page?

By Tom Casale, FightTicker.com Blogger

Affliction announced its third card today according to MMA Fanhouse, which orginally broke the news, and to no one's surprise it looks like it will be headlined by heavyweight king Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) taking on Josh Barnett (24-5), though this has not been officially announced by the promotion.

From an account on MMAJunkie.com:

From a press release:

Orlando, Florida -- Following Andrei Arlovski's first round knockout loss against WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko during last month's Affliction and M-1 "Day of Reckoning" event, the pollsters for the World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) have voted on a new number one heavyweight contender in its latest rankings release for the month of February.

By Josh Stein, FightTicker.com blogger

When I hear a discussion about the use of steroids in MMA, there are a few stories that immediately jump to mind and make me consider the future of mixed martial arts. The revelations about professional baseball players abusing steroids as a way to enhance performance has opened up a very interesting debate (and a poll here at FightTicker.com that is worth checking out).

By Josh Stein, FightTicker.com blogger

Gilbert Yvel is notorious. Biggie had nothing on Yvel, and reading into the history (even the abridged version) it’s hard not to wonder who is still signing this guy. There’s a reason why, though, and it’s not just for the controversy that often surrounds him, or the challenge of getting him sanctioned -- it’s because he’s one of the best strikers in the world, superceded only by, arguably, the K-1 crew (Overeem, Schilt, LeBanner and a few others).

From a press release in my inbox:

M-1 Global is pleased to announce that Gilbert Yvel, one of its top heavyweight competitors, has agreed to terms on a three-fight contract with Affliction Entertainment.

Yvel will make his Affliction debut against former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett on January 24 in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center during "Day of Reckoning," to be presented by Affliction, M-1 Global, and Golden Boy Promotions.

Despite being veterans of the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan, Yvel and Barnett have never fought before with "Day of Reckoning" serving as the first-ever meeting between the two.

From FiveOuncesofPain.com:

Multiple sources have informed FiveOuncesOfPain.com within the last 24 hours that Affliction Entertainment officials are currently attempting to secure EliteXC-contracted heavyweight Brett Rogers for a possible Jan. 24 clash with Josh Barnett.

Rogers, a member of Team Bison MMA in St. Paul, is still under contract to EliteXC. Despite not being a free agent, he would be allowed to compete at the Jan. 24 event as ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC, is giving permission to many of its fighters to sign one-off deals with other promotions while it helps to reorganize

I like Barnett's chances in this one. Rogers hasn't shown much besides sheer power while Barnett is extremely well-rounded and an outstanding wrestler. I don't see what Barnett has to gain from fighting Rogers as he presumably would be in line to face the winner of Fedor-Arlovski which takes place on the same show. Hopefully Josh takes this fight seriously and we get to see him take on the winner of the main event.