Fedor Emelianenko continued his mastery of former UFC heavyweight champions on Saturday. With his first-round knockout of Andrei Arlovski to go along with a July victory over Tim Sylvia, Emelianenko has now defeated former UFC champions in successive fights. Now, the question for Affliction Entertainment is who does Emelianenko fight next? And with two shows already complete, what are Affliction's plans for a third?
These questions and a few more were addressed moments after the Affliction: Day of Reckoning pay-per-view event completed.
Fedor vs. Barnett
After Emelianenko and Josh Barnett were both successful in their bouts, the stage is finally set for the two heavyweights to face off. The matchup has been a work in progress dating back over five years since they both competed in PRIDE Fighting Championships.
Barnett expressed interest in the fight but was non-committal about a possible matchup.
"I don't have a bout agreement," Barnett said. "Nothing is signed. Nothing exists."
Watching the main event, Barnett was hoping for an Emelianenko victory.
"He (Emelianenko) was making me a little nervous tonight," Barnett said. "I wanted to see him raise his hands more."
Affliction Entertainment vice president Tom Atencio confirmed that the Emelianenko vs. Barnett fight is the direction the promotion wants to go for its next show.
Golden Statement
Even though his company also had a boxing event in the Los Angeles area, Oscar "Golden Boy" De La Hoya was in attendance for the Affliction show. Golden Boy Promotions was one of the co-promoters of the event. De La Hoya was very impressed with what he saw.
"I think we got someone's attention tonight (alluding to the UFC)," De La Hoya said.
Many people wondered how committed Golden Boy Promotions was to its partnership with Affliction Entertainment. When they announced the boxing match between Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito only 30 miles away, Golden Boy was questioned as to whether the relationship would end as quickly as it started.
