Earlier this week news broke that Josh Barnett would not be licensed by the California State Athletic Commission for Affliction Trilogy due to a positive banned substance test. Now, Affliction has announced that they will scrap the card altogether.
The vice president of Affliction Entertainment, Tom Atencio released a statement that said, "Finding an opponent for the number one ranked MMA heavyweight champion in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor… in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a fight to our standards."
After speculation that included Muhammed Lawal, Brett Rogers, Jeff Monson, and Bobby Lashley, there were rumors that middleweight fighter Vitor Belfort had agreed to take the fight. Apparently Affliction did not view the new match up as a viable main event. Without the suitable replacement they did not wish to move forward with the card.
The promotion has not announced if the fight card will be rescheduled. Previously, Affliction was forced to cancel their second show, Affliction: Day of Reckoning. It was originally scheduled for Oct. 11, 2008, but it was postponed until Jan. 24 of the following year.
