Fedor Emelianenko is expected to face off with Vitor Belfort in the main event of “Affliction Trilogy”.

The news comes courtesy of a recent report from John Pollock from The Fight Network who received the confirmation of the bout via Belfort’s trainer at Xtreme Couture, Shawn Tompkins.

A shocking twist of events as Belfort was scheduled to fight on the card as a middleweight, facing off with Jorge Santiago.

No news of a new opponent for Santiago has been announced at this time.

Vitor has won his last four straight bouts, three of which have come by knockout, with his last victory coming in the form of a paralyzing first round knockout over the highly regarded Matt Lindland at Affliction: Day of Reckoning in January of this year.

Putting on quality fights – at least through their first two pay-per-view events (“Affliction: Banned” and “Affliction: Day of Reckoning“) – hasn’t been an issue.

However, their fighter payroll, which is reported to be over $6,000,000 combined for those events, is an issue. And, if the company has any chance at financial success, especially with their astronomical payrolls, then they must succeed in two areas: live gate and pay-per-view revenues.

Affliction can keep their pay-per-view numbers on the down low if they choose. Various sources have reported that their latest show, “Day of Reckoning,” sold anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 buys (FiveOuncesOfPain.com has been told the number right now is 120,000 but that it could increase when late buys are collected by the cable and satellite companies).

But there’s one thing they can’t hide: the production of Affliction’s pay-per-view telecasts is not good. In order for their pay-per-view numbers to increase – and the promotion to continue – changes must be made.

PRODUCTION AND PACING:

Golden Boy Promotions took over the production reigns for “Day of Reckoning.” “Day of Reckoning” was nowhere near the train wreck “Banned” was, but the improvement was more like an F to a C-minus as opposed to an average to good improvement.

In short, Affliction pay-per-view shows are still poorly produced.

When viewers, especially in this economy, are forking over their hard-earned money for a pay-per-view, they expect a quality show. In the world of mixed martial arts and television, that translates to a show that focuses primarily on the fights, without having to sit through dead air and useless segments. It’s about producing and pacing.

Affliction needs major work in those departments.

To appreciate what Affliction’s television team is up against, let’s make a comparison to the UFC and Zuffa’s pay-per-view telecasts.

During a UFC pay-per-view event, the fights are certainly the cornerstone of their telecasts, but there’s also more “business” to conduct. Their production team needs to hit promo spots for things such as future pay-per-views and television shows, as well as sponsor segments (a movie, a poker company, a motorcycle company, etc.).

With Affliction Entertainment, at least for the time being, there are no future events to promote during their pay-per-views. There are no reality shows. And there are far less sponsor spots to hit, especially when your company is a spinoff of a t-shirt company.

In other words, the “rundown” of the show focuses primarily on the fights. Therefore, making seamless transitions from one fight to the next can be challenging at times.

With “Day of Reckoning,” viewers could have watched The Godfather trilogy during the time it took to get from the show’s woeful open to the first fight of the night. For nearly $50, you were treated to that woeful open, the announcer previews of the card, Scott Ferrall and Chuck Zito interviewing Freddie Roach and then the PRIDE-like introductions of all of the show’s fighters, all before seeing anything resembling a fight.

Question: Do you go out to a $50 dinner and expect to get just a glass of warm water 20 minutes after ordering your meal?

Personally, I would have canned all of the above; especially the fighter introductions. I believe that the lineup of the fighters is geared more towards the live audience than those sitting at home waiting for fights to start. It’s overkill, especially if you consider the fact that we’re also going to see pre-fight packages on these same fighters.

The solution is simple and different, especially for a promotion with almost no existing fight history of its own to fall back on: start the broadcast with what I call a “Cold Open Fight.”

That’s right…the broadcast begins, blow-by-blow announcer Sean Wheelock quickly introduces himself on camera along with his partners, Jimmy Smith and Tito Ortiz… Smith quickly introduces the first fight of the night and then tosses it to the referee asking the if the fighters are ready…the bell sounds… and within 30 seconds of the pay-per-view telecast that you are shelling out almost $50 for, you have a fight.

What if this idea had been executed for “Day of Reckoning’”s controversial opening fight, Dan Lauzon versus Bobby Green? Even with Green landing three supposed low blows on Lauzon and the delays that followed, it still would have been a high-energy way to start the night, especially with Lauzon reaping revenge on Green by making him tap out.

Speaking of producing and pacing, how does one make the call to NOT send Ortiz into the ring to interview Lauzon, especially after stating during the fight that Lauzon was “putting on an acting job?” Isn’t this the reason why you’d want to take the time to cut to a post-fight interview? Someone made that call in the truck – and someone failed at capitalizing on what could have been an interesting post-fight segment between the always opinionated Ortiz and Lauzon. Again, with just one card under their belt before “Day of Reckoning,” Affliction producers weren’t dealing with a lot of dramatic storylines coming into this telecast, so not recognizing the opportunity to let one play out was a poor judgment call that can’t happen again.

Another poor judgment call that cannot happen again is staying on shots of a fighter who may be seriously injured. This was the case with the Vitor Belfort - Matt Lindland fight. Lindland, who was knocked out in devastating fashion by Belfort, was shown unconscious on the ground with his legs twitching. Of course, you cannot predict how a human being’s body will react to such a violent act, but making the decision to stay on Lindland for so long, when it was clear that he was very, very hurt, was a terrible decision. Good, experienced crews who’ve done MMA telecasts before know this. If Affliction’s television crew was experienced, then someone simply made a horrible judgment call.

There were other options available, such as cutting back to the announcers while doctors tended to Lindland. It’s the equivalent of an NFL game cutting to a commercial after a serious injury; except this was a commercial-free broadcast. The decision to stay on Lindland could have been devastating – to Affliction, to the sport of mixed martial arts, and most of all, to Lindland, had he been seriously injured. Thankfully, he recovered – and hopefully, such bush league decisions will not be made in Affliction’s next show.

Affliction and its television producers also need to re-think how they present their fighters before their respective fights.

With “Day of Reckoning,” it seemed as if Affliction’s production team was trying to fill as much time as possible with fighter packages and introductions. The decision to go from a fighter package into that fighter’s ring walk (and vice versa, at times) into the ring announcement of that fighter completely brought the broadcast to a halt; especially considering that this was done for each fighter. If the producers were trying to do something different, it was a bad choice. Something different would have been producing fighter packages that resembled anything but a poor man’s rip-off of what the UFC does.

The solution? Keep it simple and get to the fight as soon as possible. Produce fighter packages that include both fighters, followed by each guy making his ring entrance, just like the UFC does. Oddly enough, the producers chose to actually do this with just two fights: Josh Barnett – Gilbert Yvel and Fedor Emelianenko – Andrei Arlovski. If they felt that this gave the two featured fights a “different” look, they were wrong. This is simply a case of Affliction and its producers trying too hard.

Another problem that was obvious on “Day of Reckoning,” which also supports the “fill as much time as possible” theory, was the reluctance of the show’s producers to end the telecast properly.

Fedor provided his knockout of the ages, and of course you have to interview him. And of course the viewer expects the announcing team to quickly wrap up the fight and the night in general. But to go to Zito and Ferrall for their analysis of the fight? Really? And then provide the viewers with a useless, long recap of all of the fights that we all just paid up to $50 for and watched with our very own eyes? Really?

The question Affliction’s producers need to ask themselves is, “What reasons are we giving the viewer to keep watching beyond the last fight?”

The answer: “There were none.”

Note to Affliction Entertainment: You’re not fooling the viewers. They know when a show begins and a show ends. Focus more on what comes inbetween that, and you’ll most likely have well-paced shows with good fights that are actually worth paying about $50 for.

THE ANNOUNCE TEAM:

A very positive decision by Affliction Entertainment was to bring in M-1’s announce team of Wheelock (blow-by-blow) and Smith (analyst) for “Day of Reckoning. Wheelock and Smith called the card exactly as they should have, which is professionally and as” a team who has worked together many, many times.

Even more impressive was how they incorporated Ortiz into the equation as the third member of their team. Both Wheelock and Smith allowed Ortiz enough time to show the viewer that, while very, very raw, he certainly has the opinions and knowledge to become a good MMA analyst.

Ortiz was hardly smooth in the analyst role, and he often stumbled upon his own words. But if you throw aside your personal opinions for Tito Ortiz the fighter, whatever they may be, you have to be fair and acknowledge that if he works on his delivery, he’d be a pretty darn good analyst. Also consider the fact that he was joining two guys who’d worked together on numerous occasions, so fitting in was a challenge. Assuming he’s available for their next pay-per-view, Affliction should not only use Ortiz again, but groom him even more as an analyst.

Then comes Tito Ortiz, the post-fight interviewer.

Let’s put it this way…you’re never going to see “The Tito Ortiz Talk Show” following Oprah. Matter of fact, Affliction should never, ever put Ortiz in the position of conducting a ring interview – whether he’s getting booed by the crowd or not – ever again.

From a production perspective, you don’t want the post-fight interviewer to take away from the fighters or interview itself. And almost every time Ortiz entered the ring, he was booed. Whether the booing got to him or not, Ortiz did not deliver. Fighting while being booed is a whole different story than trying to conduct an interview while being booed. When you’re fighting, I imagine you can block it out more. When you’re in the center of the ring and all eyes and ears are focused on everything you say, and not how you fight, I imagine it’s harder.

Also, eliminating Tito Ortiz as a post-fight interviewer will eliminate the possibility that viewers will ever have to listen to these types of lines ever again:

To Renato “Babalu” Sobral after beating Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: “I wanna tell me what you see. Let’s go ahead and see by the fight, what you saw, in the ring.”

Also to Sobral: “Everybody let’s give a hand to Renato Babalu,’ one of the greatest light heavyweights…of the night.”

Ortiz also didn’t appear to be too comfortable interviewing “Fee-dor” Emelianenko after his fight. Note to Tito: it’s “Fay-dor.”

The solution is to keep Ortiz in the “booth” and bring in somebody else to conduct post-fight interviews. Who that person should be is not my call, but I remember when I first saw Jim Gray on boxing telecasts and how odd it seemed. Now, he’s one of my personal favorites when it comes to conducting post-anything interviews. Gray gets my vote here.

Which brings us back to Ferrall and Zito. Personally, this writer is a fan of both of these men, but not in the roles they served for “Day of Reckoning.” Matter of fact, I believe that both men should be eliminated from future Affliction telecasts, only because the producers didn’t have the slightest clue on how they should use them.

As a sports talk show host, I’m a huge fan of Ferrall. But let’s face it; he’s an acquired taste. The same is true with Zito, who, if sitting in as a guest on a show, is a fantastic interview due to his amazing stories.

The problem with using Ferrall and Zito is that they use none of their above skills for these pay-per-views. Having Ferrall, on “Day of Reckoning,” give the viewer an over-hyped play by play of Babalu getting ready for his fight was completely forced. And having them analyze any fight, especially when you already have Smith and Ortiz doing the same thing, is absurd and unnecessary. It’s almost as if the producers weren’t quite sure what to do with Ferrall and Zito. The solution, to no fault of the twosome: lose them.

AND FINALLY….

Many viewers of Affliction: Banned may recall how awful the audio was for that show. The audio quality improved for Day of Reckoning, but the richness of the packed crowd still doesn’t compare to the UFC’s stellar audio production. On “Day of Reckoning,” one of the first things Wheelock did was describe the crowd as “a frenzied crowd.” The problem was, the audio quality hardly sounded as such; not to mention the fact that the director didn’t even cut to the crowd to compliment Wheelock from a visual perspective. Maybe they weren’t lit properly? Maybe the lack of micrphone placement prevented this from being executed? I’m not sure, but crowd cutaways and top-notch audio are very rare in Affliction Entertainment shows; yet both are crucial elements needed to energize television productions such as MMA shows.

There is absolutely no doubt that those who run Affliction Entertainment understand the importance of producing top-notch, pay-per-view events. But the bottom line is, there’s a big difference between understanding that and then executing it.

Hardcore fight fans may not care how it’s produced, because there’s only one thing they tune in to see: the fights.

Well, without significant improvement in the production of their pay-per-view events, there won’t be any fights left for Affliction to broadcast. Because some of those fans who do care about quality shows won’t continue to spend their hard-earned money anymore. And without that pay-per-view revenue, money will be lost.

Right now, the numbers speak for themselves.

And for a fledgling company like Affliction Entertainment, that could be devastating. The clock is ticking.

The Good:

Fedor Emelianenko proved, once again, why he is the best fighter on the planet.In a fight against a physically superior opponent, he remained composed and waited for his opportunity. The resulting knockout was one that no one watching will ever forget. He targeted a man’s chin perfectly — while that man was flying at him 100 miles per hour through the air. Absolutely fantastic.

The phenom is back. Even at the ripe old age of 32, Vitor Belfort looked just as quick as he did hurtling across the cage to dismantle Wanderlei Silva in Brazil. It was a timely performance for Belfort. The UFC is in desperate need for credible opponents for middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva. Belfort has a big name and the credibility that only a former champion can bring to the cage. UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, who was sitting near the ring, had to be thinking about making this fight. I hope he does.

This show also provided some nice comic relief. Albert Rios with his gold plated chain and silly glasses made me laugh. Maybe after the win he can trade it in for one actually made of solid gold? And how about Bobby Green taking the time out from kicking a guy in the balls to mark out over Donald Trump and Oscar De La Hoya sitting ringside? Act like you’ve been there before!

The Bad:

Tito Ortiz on commentary. Some ex-fighters are great. Both Shamrocks, Randy Couture, and Frank Mir all bring an expert viewpoint and make solid points. Tito brought a giant head. And awkwardness. Don’t forget the awkwardness. Tito still gets a reaction from the crowd, but this didn’t seem like a group enjoying booing him and looking forward to rooting against him when he makes his return later this year. The crowd hated him and seemed to just want him to go away. Perhaps the bad boy has worn out his welcome?

What was going on with Vladimir Matyushenko? He sleep walked through the first round before getting stopped in the second. Horrible performance and the one fight on the card that failed to live up to expectations.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou looked like a world beater in the first round, but ran out of steam in the second. It seems like a consistent pattern at this point. Is it just me, or is it unacceptable for a professional in his prime to be unable to fight for three rounds?

The Ugly:

Why didn’t the broadcast cut away from a disoriented Matt Lindland receiving medical care? After suffering a career changing knockout, the Olympic Silver Medalist was acting erratically in the ring. It isn’t appropriate for an incoherent fighter to dictate his own medical care. I talked to my uncle, an emergency EMT, who agreed the whole scene was a debacle. At least have the courtesy not to show it all to us. The disoriented fighter deserves more than that base voyeurism.

Dan Lauzon put on quite a show after some questionable low blows. But his sloppy rear naked choke was truly ugly. Greene may have made a name for himself, but he needs more work if he’s getting finished by a fighter whose balls are too sore to get his hooks in.

Josh Barnett’s post fight comments were not exactly in good taste, talking about losing his friend Justin Levens to “suicide or something.” That “something” consists of two deaths being investigated as a possible murder/suicide. Maybe glorifying a killer on live television isn’t the best idea, Josh? Levens may have been a friend, but his final moments were clearly nothing to be proud of.

“Baby Fedor” Kiril Sidelnikov took a horrible beating. Young fighters, take note of what Fedor’s style looks like when the fighter employing it doesn’t have the champion’s unique athleticism. Not everyone can lead with their head with their hands hanging at their waist.

• Jay Hieron def. Jason High via KO (punch) ~ Round 1
• Fedor Emelianenko def. Andrei Arlovski via KO (punch) ~ Round 1 ~ 3:14
• Josh Barnett def. Gilbert Yvel via submission (strikes) ~ Round 3 ~ 3:05
• Vitor Belfort def. Matt Lindland via KO (punches) ~ Round 1 ~ 0:37
• Renato Sobral def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via submission (D’arce choke) ~ Round 2 ~ 2:36
• Paul Buentello def. Kiril Sidelnikov via TKO (doctor’s stoppage due to cuts) ~ Round 3 ~ 4:18
• Dan Lauzon def. Bobby Green via submission (rear-naked choke) ~ Round 1 ~ 4:55
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Vladimir Matyushenko via TKO (strikes) ~ Round 2 ~ 4:26
• L.C. Davis def. Bao Quach via unanimous decision
• Albert Rios def. Antonio Duarte via unanimous decision
• Brett Cooper def. Patrick Speight via TKO (punches) ~ Round 1~4:10

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski

Caleb Newby: Fedor wins with his superior ground game and by just being Fedor. If this stays on the feet, it could get interesting. Still, Fedor is the longest running rock of consistency we have in this sport. I suspect Arlovski gets pummeled on the ground. Winner: Fedor Emelianenko – GnP, Rd1

Jonathan Snowden: The MMA world has been largely silent about this match, perhaps the best heavyweight matchup we’ll see this year. Arlovski is a good test for Fedor. He punches with power and has good quickness for a heavyweight. When the fight goes to the ground, he’s also dangerous with submissions.

It’s rare a fighter of his caliber would be such an overwhelming underdog, but Arlovski has lost the faith of many fans after his chin was found lacking by Tim Sylvia. That may be the difference in this fight. Fedor can take a punch, while Arlovski will likely crumble the first time he is tagged with Fedor’s heavy hands. Fedor, Submission, Round 2.

Christopher Dolan: Arlovski will pose a huge threat to Fedor, probably his biggest in the past three years. Arlovski’s boxing skills will be the making or breaking point during the course of this bout. I want to say I see an upset happening but I see Fedor winning this fight in the second round via TKO.

Cory Brady: To me, Arlovski’s only chance in this one is to stay on the outside, use movement an prevent Fedor from swarming him. He won’t be able to. Fedor is just way too fast, explosive and natural for Arlovski. I see Fedor mauling Arlovski very early on in this one. Fedor by TKO

David Andrest: Since the day this fight was announced, I’ve had the feeling Arlovski was going to win. My pick is not based in logic or common sense.  Arlovski is the bigger fighter, should have better hands, longer reach…………oh hell who am I trying to fool, it’s a gut feeling. Maybe it’s something I ate.   Arlovski  via tko

Nick Travaglini:Arlovski has been working his boxing for months with one of the best trainers in the world in Freddie Roach. Unfortunately for Arlovski, its not boxing, its MMA. The rhythm is different, the footwork is WAY different, and the timing and combos are different. There have been much better pedigree pro boxers who have tried and failed in MMA. Arlovski has never had a good ground game, he resembles a fish out of water on the floor and his guard can be passed rather easily. Fedor is to explosive on the feet, and even if Arlovski manages to get Fedor into trouble in the striking, he will just takedown Arlovski and submit him there. I like Arlovski, but he is overmatched here. It will take a completely well rounded MMA fighter to dethrone Fedor from his perch, and Arlovski is not it. Fedor via submission round 1.

Lee Gerowitz: Okay kids, I’m on vacation so my picks will be brief and to the point. As will this fight.
Fedor by submission, Round 2

Brendhan Conlan: Fedor Emelianenko, TKO, RD1

Josh Barnet vs. Gilbert Yvel

Caleb Newby: Not exactly sure why this is the fight Affliction deemed worthy for the number two slot. Barnett should win and better win. A Barnett vs. the main event winner is a great next fight. Winner: Josh Barnett – Submission, Rd1

Jonathan Snowden:Barnett should easily outclass Yvel here. Gamblers have to be a little nervous, because Josh is the kind of fighter who would do something stupid like stand with Yvel to prove he can. I think he’ll be smart, get a quick submission, and hope the promotion survives long enough to match him with Fedor. Barnett, Submission, Round 1.

Christopher Dolan:This might be the fight I am most excited about on the card. Yvel is a monster of a fighter but Barnet should be able to neutralize him with his wresting ability. As long as Barnet isn’t caught with a punch I like for him to win the fight via submission in the second round.

Cory Brady: Barnett will have little problems taking Yvel to the floor and using his extremely superior submission skills to make short work of Yvel en route to a long overdue match up with Fedor. Barnett by submission.

David Andrest: This fight will go to the floor, when it does Barnett wins with ease.  Barnett by submission

Nick Travaglini:Yvel could catch Barnett and knock him out cold. We all know Yvel is a phenomenal striker. But Barnett is just to good in every other facet of MMA to lose this match. I expect Barnett to take Yvel down immediately and work some ground and pound and submit him rather quickly. Barnett via submission round 1.

Lee Gerowitz: Barnett by submission, Round 1
Brendhan Conlan: Josh Barnett, Submission, RD2

Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort

Caleb Newby: Lindland wasn’t overly impressive in his last outing, and I want to believe Belfort is on the upswing. I’ll take what I’m assuming is the upset. Winner: Vitor Belfort – Decision

Jonathan Snowden:A few years ago, this is an easy win for Lindland. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the signs of aging I saw in his last fight. He still has all the tools to beat Belfort. Luckily for Lindland, Belfort will almost certainly quit if the fight goes to the ground and he has Lindland on top of him for three rounds. I like Lindland here, but need more convincing to consider him among the top fighters at 185. Lindland, Decision.

Christopher Dolan:Part of me is saying to go with Lindland in this fight, but I’m having a problem pulling the trigger. With that being said I’ll go with Belfort winning this fight in the second round via TKO.

Cory Brady: Lindland looked like crap against Negao. He was rocked several times by a guy that is not known for his striking. I know I’m going out on a limb here but I feel that Lindland is way over rated and I’m thinking Belfort will have the momentum and explosiveness that it will take to expose him. Belfort by knockout- second round.

David Andrest: This is a tough fight for me to call.  I suppose Lindland could wet blanket his way to victory.  But on this night  I’m going to pick  Belfort via TKO

Nick Travaglini:Everyone is waiting for the “Old Vitor” to return and wreck havoc on the MMA scene. I think the old Vitor is buried and gone. I see Lindland controlling position for most of the fight and winning on the score cards. But it seems the Team Quest guys are having problems with cardio lately, as Sokoudjou, Henderson, and Lindland all gased out badly in their last fights. If Vitor can hang in til the third round, he should be able to steal a 3rd round tko win over Lindland.

Lee Gerowitz: Belfort by decision
Brendhan Conlan: Matt Lindland, Judges’ Decision

Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Caleb Newby: I love me some Sokoudjou and hope he comes on strong here, but I can’t take him. He still has a future in the sport, but Babalu is a very good fighter. I figure Babalu can finish Sokoudjou after he inevitably gasses. Winner: Renato “Babalu” Sobral – Submission, Rd3

Jonathan Snowden:Babalu may be the best fighter in the world to never win a major championship in his career. He’s really good everywhere and has the kind of mean streak you need to be a success. We know who he is as a fighter.

I think we have a better idea of what kind of fighter Sokoudjou is now too. He was a little overrated after two flash knockouts. More time in the cage has exposed plenty of weaknesses and Babalu is a fighter that makes you pay for any mistakes. I don’t think this was the right opponent to get Rameau back on track. Babalu, Decision.

Christopher Dolan: Sokoudjou has the ability to be a top five fighter but for whatever reason he is extremely inconsistent. Babalu will be a huge challenge for him, but I’m going to stick with Sokoudjou who will win this fight via decision.

Cory Brady: Babalu is by far, the superior ground fighter in this match up and the gap between the two will be too much for Sokoudjou. I don’t see Sokoudjou being able to keep Babalu off of him for very long. Babalu by early submission.

David Andrest: Again  this fight will go to the ground.  once there Babalu will win via what ever choke he feels like.  Babalu via submission

Nick Travaglini:This is a bad style matchup for Sokoudjou, and I have to question the wisdom in taking this fight after the run he just had in the UFC. Sobral is an intelligent fighter if he keep his cool. Babalu will take down Sokoudjou and submit him rather quickly. Babalu via submission round 1.

Lee Gerowitz: “Babalu” by submission, Round 2
Brendhan Conlan: Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Judges’ Decision

Paul Buentello vs. Kiril “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov

Caleb Newby: While I am a fan of Sidelnikov and his nickname, Buentello may be too much for this young fighter to handle at this stage in his career. I am seriously tempted to go with the kid but I can’t pass up the experience of a true vet like Buentello. I could be very wrong. Winner: Paul Buentello – Decision

Jonathan Snowden:I don’t see “Baby Fedor” doing well here. Bunetello hits hard and will try his best to propel his win here into a main event agains the real Fedor. Buentello, KO, Round 1.

Christopher Dolan: The key in this fight will be how long it lasts. Baby Fedor is 5-0 when the fight ends in the first round but 0-2 when it goes longer. I’m not enthralled with Buentello so I’m going to go with Baby Fedor via TKO in the first round.

Cory Brady: Baby Fedor has a super sweet nickname and an awesome training camp but that won’t stop him from being punished by the older and more experienced Buentello. Buentello by knockout.

David Andrest: someone really hates this kid  and wanted to doom his future from the start.  “Baby Fedor” ??   Head Hunter  TKO Round 2

Nick Travaglini:Another interesting matchup between two heavy hitters. If Sidelnikov can avoid getting sucked into a stand up brawl with Buentello, he should use his strikes to take Buentello down and use his ground and pound to set up a submission. Sidelnikov via submission round 2.

Lee Gerowitz: Um, yeah…and I’m “Baby Brad Pitt.” Buentello by destruction/TKO, Round 2

Brendhan Conlan: Paul Buentello, KO, RD2

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira  vs. Vladimir Matyushenko

Jonathan Snowden:The Janitor has been wiping the map with the competition since losing to Arlovski in 2003. But none of the guys he fought in the IFL had the superlative skills of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Rogerio has even better boxing than his more famous brother, while maintaining a fundamentally sound ground game. This is actually a rematch of a fight on the mostly forgotten UFO card in 2002. That Rogerio had just three pro fights and none against top opponents. He’s come a long way since then, while Vlad is pretty much the same fighter. I think it’s a different experience for the Russian this time around. Rogerio, Submission, Round 3.

Christopher Dolan: Matyushenko already holds a decision victory over Nogueira but I see this one playing out differently. I like Nogueira to take this fight via decision.

Cory Brady: Hardest fight on the card for me to call and perhaps the most overlooked. The janitor has the superior wrestling and Lil Nog has the better submissions and maybe a little better boxing. I’m going to flip a coin on this one. Heads, Matyushenko, tails, Nogueira…..heads. Vladimir by hard fought decision.

David Andrest: Toss up fight.  Really it is.   Because Brady took Vladimir  I’m going to go with Nogueira via decision.

Caleb Newby: Like everyone else said, this is hard fight to call. I’m going to be swayed by my ambivalence for the IFL when it was around. Logical? No. I also like the Nogueria brothers, so it’s really just personal bias here. Winner: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira – Decision

Nick Travaglini:A rematch of their previous meeting back in August of 2002 which Matyushenko won. This is a good fight but Matyushenko does not have the most exciting fighting style. Could turn in a grinder on the ground with Matyushenko controlling position for most of the fight. I do not think Matyushenko wants to stand with Nogueira for any extended period of this fight. I will take Matyushenko via unanimous decision.

Lee Gerowitz: Matyushenko by decision
Brendhan Conlan: Vladimir Matyushenko, Judges’ Decision

Jay Hieron vs. Jason High

Jonathan Snowden:Hieron’s game was advancing by leaps and bounds when the IFL collapsed beneath the weight of their millions of dollars of debt. His wrestling has been great since college. At Xtreme Couture, he’s added a solid standup attack and is one of the very best fighters in his weight class that isn’t a major television star. High is undefeated, but hasn’t fought anyone like Hieron. Welcome to the big leagues kid. Hieron, TKO, Round 1.

Christopher Dolan:High comes into this fight undefeated, but I don’t think he’ll leave in the same fashion. I like Hieron to win this fight via submission in the third round.

Cory Brady: High is a prospect to watch in the future no doubt, but Hieron is way too experienced and well rounded for him at this point in his career. Hieron by TKO.

David Andrest: I think this fight is way more competitive than most are predicting.  Still I gotta pick Hieron via tko

Caleb Newby: Hieron via the experience and having faced better competition argument.Winner: Jay Hieron – TKO, Rd2

Nick Travaglini:High is a nice prospect, but this is too much to soon. Hieron is a beast and will dominate this fight. Hieron via round 2 tko.
Lee Gerowitz: Jay Hieron TKO, Round 1
Brendhan Conlan: Jay Hieron, TKO, RD3

L.C. Davis vs. Bao Quach

Jonathan Snowden:Davis has one loss on his record, to Wagney Fabiano. No shame in that. I think his game is too well rounded for Quach, a fighter that has been around forever and never managed to succeed against anyone of consequence. If Quach does pull out a win here, it will be by decision and you will be happy it wasn’t on PPV. Davis, Decision.

Christopher Dolan: Both men are hot coming into this fight and will put on a great show. I like Davis to win the fight via decision.

Cory Brady: Quach has been on a role as of late but no type of momentum will prepare him for the extremely impressive Davis. This will a good test for Davis, but a test that he will pass with flying colors. Davis by knockout.

David Andrest: Bao Quach. I just like saying the name.    Davis will win this fight in impressive fashion. Davis via KO.

Caleb Newby: I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS FIGHT!! Ok, not really. Winner: L.C. Davis – Decision

Nick Travaglini:This is a very interesting fight to me. Davis is the favorite here, coming out of the Militech camp with only one loss to Wagney Fabiano. Big hitter with very good cardio. Quach impressed me greatly in his win over Mark Oshiro in Icon. I am taking Davis to win via 3rd round tko, but would not be surprised if Quach pulled out a decision win.

Lee Gerowitz: Davis by decision
Brendhan Conlan: L.C. Davis, Submission, RD3

Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios

Jonathan Snowden:Duarte’s nickname is “Tigre” which is awesome. If he fights with half the ferocity of the original MMA Tigers (Vernon White and Marcelo Tigre) he will do well. To channel a bit of Jeff Foxworthy: When you’re picking fights based on a guy’s nickname, this might be a dark match. Duarte, Submission, Round 2.]

Christopher Dolan: Duarte should be able to win this fight and in quick fashion with a first round submission.

Cory Brady: This is another tough fight to call. I’ll give the edge to Duarte because of his dangerous submission game. Duarte by submission.

David Andrest: Really hard fight to call.  Duarte by sub

Caleb Newby: Snowden stole my methodology for this pick. I need to find something else. I was going to go against Rios because he lost once via heel hook. Then I see Duarte also lost via heel hook. So fooy on that. How about Duarte because he finishes more of his fights, and with varried submissions? Don’t look at me like that. It’s all I got. Winner: Antonio Duarte – Submission, Rd2

Nick Travaglini: I like Rios and I see big things in the future for him, but this is Duarte’s fight to lose. Duarte via unanimous decision.

Lee Gerowitz: Duarte by decision
Brendhan Conlan: Antonio Duarte, Judges’ Decision

Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

Jonathan Snowden:Cooper is the guy who upset Rory Markham in the IFL. On the strength of that solid win, I’ll give him the edge here. Cooper, KO, Round 1

Christopher Dolan: In a tough one to call but I’ll look for Speight to bounce back from the first loss of his career with a decision victory over Cooper.

Cory Brady: Cooper has really been on fire lately and I expect for him to continue his winning streak against the very game Patrick Speight. Cooper by TKO.

David Andrest: How could anyone pick against Cooper in this fight?  Cooper KO round 1

Caleb Newby: I have no idea Mr. Andrest! Winner: Brett Cooper – TKO, Rd2
Nick Travaglini: Brett Cooper vs Patrick Speight – Cooper is a dynamic fighter and turning into a stellar up and comer. This has all the makings of a showcase fight, Cooper via tko rd 1.

Lee Gerowitz: Cooper TKO, Round 1
Brendhan Conlan: Brett Cooper, TKO, RD2

The 60-minute plus marathon event was held inside the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. and saw the night’s heavyweight main eventers — WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski — weigh-in below 240 pounds.

Emelianenko, a former heavyweight champion in PRIDE, tipped the scales at 230 pounds while Arlovski, a former heavyweight champion in the UFC, weighed in at a svelte 237 pounds.

Vitor Belfort, who will be fighting former U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman silver medalist Matt Lindland in a bout to be featured on pay-per-view, weighed in one pound below the maximum middleweight requirement of 186 pounds. For Belfort, “Day of Reckoning” represents only the second time he has made the cut to his new weight class.

Bobby Green, a late injury replacement for Chris Horodecki, had little trouble making weight despite having accepted a fight vs. Dan Lauzon on less than 24 hours notice. Scheduled to compete at the lightweight limit of 156 pounds, Green clocked in at 155.5 pounds.

Official results from the weigh-ins are listed below:

HDNet Televised Undercard (7 p.m. ET) -

• Welterweight: Patrick Speight (169 lbs.) vs. Brett Cooper (169 pounds)
• Featherweight: Albert Rios (145) vs. Antonio Duarte (145)
• Featherweight: L.C. Davis (143.75) vs. Bao Quach (140.5)
• Welterweight: Jason High (170) vs. Jay Hieron (169.25)
• Light Heavyweight: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (204.75) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (204.5)

Main Card (9 p.m. ET on Showtime pay-per-view) -

• Lightweight: Dan Lauzon (155.5) vs. Bobby Green (155.5)
• Heavyweight: Kirill Sidelnikov (229.5) vs. Paul Buentello (244)
• Light Heavyweight: Renato Sobral (204) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (205.25)
• Middleweight: Matt Lindland (186) vs. Vitor Belfort (184)
• Heavyweight: Josh Barnett (248) vs. Gilbert Yvel (240)
• Heavyweight: Fedor Emelianenko (230) vs. Andrei Arlovski (236)

Affliction officials have secured Bobby Green as a replacement in a fight against Dan Lauzon and the fight could be televised on the PPV instead of Hieron vs. High. Lauzon had originally been scheduled to fight Chris Horodecki but Horodecki was forced off the card after the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not license him for the bout after he failed a neurological exam.

The 22-year old Green is 7-1 and has finished his last three opponents inside the distance. A native of Inland Empire, Green has competed for the California-based Total Fighting Alliance as well as the Warriors Fighting Championship in Mexico.

It should be noted that the proposed Lauzon vs. Green matchup has not been finalized as Green must still complete all of his medicals before being licensed for the fight.

There was some question as to whether the 32-year old veteran would receive clearance to fight due to several infractions committed in prior fights. However, CSAC ruled earlier this month that despite having been denied a license by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2007 for a proposed fight vs. Sergei Kharitonov at PRIDE 33, Yvel would be permitted to be licensed for the fight pending the approval of his medicals.

Yvel is 35-12-1 in his career with notable victories over Semmy Schilt, Kiyoshi Tamura, Tsuyoshi Koshaka, Cheick Kongo, and Gary Goodridge. While gaining great notoriety during his tenure competing for the PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan, Yvel also earned a bad reputation following several instances of unsportsmanlike conduct during an MMA career that began in 1997.

During a fight with Atte Backman in November of 2004, Yvel was disqualified after he knocked the referee down and subsequently kicked him as he lay on the mat. The Dutch fighter was also disqualified in 1997 after biting opponent Karimula Barkalaev and again in 2001 during PRIDE 16 after raking Don Frye’s face with his fingers.

Questions will be listed below, followed by the complete set of rules that you must abide by before playing. We only have one pair of tickets so there will be only one winner. Entries will only be accepted in this comment thread.

Trivia Questions “Day of Reckoning” Ticket Giveaway:

1) WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko has called this town home since the approximate age of three.

2) In addition to being a professional mixed martial artist, Josh Barnett also competes as a professional wrestler in Japan. What is the name of the Japan-based promotion he last competed for?

3) At least three of Andrei Arlovski’s early MMA fights were under the M-1/MFC promotional banner. What are the names of the three opponents in M-1/MFC that Arlovski fought?

4) Who did Vitor Belfort receive his black belt under?

5) Matt Lindland represented the United States in Greco Roman wrestling during the 2000 games and won a silver medal. Which weight class did he medal in?

Rules and Regulations regarding the Five Ounces of Pain “Day of Reckoning” ticket giveaway (by entering the contest, you are acknowledging that you’ve read and have accepted the rules):

- The winner will be notified via e-mail by 9 a.m ET on Tuesday. You then have until 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday to respond with your U.S. mail address so that we can ship tickets to you via next day air in order to assure that they arrive by Thursday. If an initial winner does not respond by the Thursday deadline, the next person in line will be declared the winner. Please do not enter the contest if you are not going to be near your e-mail.

- Entries will not be accepted via e-mail or in any other thread outside of the actual contest thread. This post does not qualify as the contest thread. Any entry submitted outside of the contest thread will be declared invalid.

- The winner will be notified at the e-mail address that they submitted their comment under. We are not responsible for contacting you at any other address and we are not responsible for any attempted correspondance that is not received. Furthermore, we shall not accept any responsibility for failure by third parties to deliver the tickets to the winner via standard mail.

- We are asking that you do not enter the contest if you are not 100% certain that you will be able to attend Saturday’s show at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

- Five Ounces of Pain is only providing the tickets and the cost to deliver them. We will not be paying for airfare or hotel or any other additional expenses (this gets asked a lot when we do contests).

- Five Ounces of Pain will officially announce the winner ourselves. Readers cannot announce winners. Just because you see your answer as one of the first does not mean that will be the final order. All new posters are subject to an approval process courtesy of a moderator. As such, the first three posts you see may not be the actual first three posts. Once we are finished approving posts, the order may change. However, all posts are time stamped so once the approval process is finished, the final post order will be an accurate reflection of the chronological order we received the entries in.

- Five Ounces of Pain is in sole control of deciding which answers are considered correct. All decisions made by Five Ounces of Pain regarding its contests are final.

- Five Ounces of Pain will not pay International shipping costs to deliver prizes, meaning we cannot ship tickets outside of the U.S.

- Five Ounces of Pain reserves the right to disqualify entries from those that are not in good standing with the site (i.e. entrants that have been banned but are posting from an alternative e-mail account).

- This contest is in no way affiliated with Affliction Entertainment.

- This contest is being conducted as a way to thank our users. We are not making a profit from this contest and are simply trying to give back. Please remain positive and appreciative after winners have been announced. All negative or disrespectful comments will be deleted.

At some point today, a post containing the five trivia questions will go live and you will be prompted to submit your answers in response to the post. The first person to get all five correct will win the tickets.

We’re not going to give any hints as to when this contest will be going live, so make sure you check back often. Below are the rules for the contest of which all entries have to read before playing. By entering the contest, you are implying that you have read and accepted the rules and regulations of the “Day of Reckoning” trivia contest:

- The winner will be notified via e-mail by 9 a.m ET on Tuesday. You then have until 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday to respond with your U.S. mail address so that we can ship tickets to you via next day air in order to assure that they arrive by Thursday. If an initial winner does not respond by the Thursday deadline, the next person in line will be declared the winner. Please do not enter the contest if you are not going to be near your e-mail.

- Entries will not be accepted via e-mail or in any other thread outside of the actual contest thread. This post does not qualify as the contest thread. Any entry submitted outside of the contest thread will be declared invalid.

- The winner will be notified at the e-mail address that they submitted their comment under. We are not responsible for contacting you at any other address and we are not responsible for any attempted correspondance that is not received. Furthermore, we shall not accept any responsibility for failure by third parties to deliver the tickets to the winner via standard mail.

- We are asking that you do not enter the contest if you are not 100% certain that you will be able to attend Saturday’s show at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

- Five Ounces of Pain is only providing the tickets and the cost to deliver them. We will not be paying for airfare or hotel or any other additional expenses (this gets asked a lot when we do contests).

- Five Ounces of Pain will officially announce the winner ourselves. Readers cannot announce winners. Just because you see your answer as one of the first does not mean that will be the final order. All new posters are subject to an approval process courtesy of a moderator. As such, the first three posts you see may not be the actual first three posts. Once we are finished approving posts, the order may change. However, all posts are time stamped so once the approval process is finished, the final post order will be an accurate reflection of the chronological order we received the entries in.

- Five Ounces of Pain is in sole control of deciding which answers are considered correct. All decisions made by Five Ounces of Pain regarding its contests are final.

- Five Ounces of Pain will not pay International shipping costs to deliver prizes, meaning we cannot ship tickets outside of the U.S.

- Five Ounces of Pain reserves the right to disqualify entries from those that are not in good standing with the site (i.e. entrants that have been banned but are posting from an alternative e-mail account).

- This contest is in no way affiliated with Affliction Entertainment.

- This contest is being conducted as a way to thank our users. We are not making a profit from this contest and are simply trying to give back. Please remain positive and appreciative after winners have been announced. All negative or disrespectful comments will be deleted.

Hominick has been forced to withdraw from the event and has been replaced by EliteXC bantamweight title contender Bao Quach.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com video content partner The Fight Network was the first to report the news.

Quach, who trains under Colin Oyama, is 15-8-1 overall in MMA and is currently in the midst of a nine fight winning streak. During his eight-year career, Quach has recorded notable victories over Cole Escovedo, Del Hawkins, Doug Evans, and Mark Oshiro.

Quach will be looking to improve his win streak to ten when he faces Davis, one of the top prospects currently training out of Miletich Fighting Systems in Davenport, Iowa.

Davis, 12-1, is a former IFL standout who recorded notable wins over Rafael Dias, Conor Heun, and Jay Estrada. The Kansas City native last competed on Dec. 11 during Adrenaline MMA’s second-ever event. Facing Billy Kidd, Davis extended his win streak to three after winning via a bulldog choke submission at 2:52 of round 1.

The Quach vs. Davis matchup is slated to take place during HDNet’s telecast of the “Day of Reckoning” undercard. The event will emanate from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and will air on pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. ET. Featured matchups include WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko defending his title vs. Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel, Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon.

Despite having recorded victories in the past over the likes for former PRIDE and interim UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Arlovski could pose Fedor’s toughest test to date.

Fedor’s potential toughest test is also set to occur on the heels of his first loss in the World Combat Sambo Championships in nearly eight years. Fedor responded to the loss by claiming that it had little to no bearing on his career in MMA and that Combat Sambo was merely a hobby for him.

Despite what he had said publicly, Emelianenko still ultimately elected to cancel an-early December press trip to the U.S. so that he could begin his camp early in preparation for Arlovski. The decision created a great deal of skepiticism with Arlovski at the top of the list of skeptics.

“After his loss in the Sambo tournament, I think he’s messed up a little bit,” Arlovski said during a December press conference to promote ‘Day of Reckoning.’ “He says it’s not important, but c’mon, let’s be serious. He was unbeatable, like, five years, six years in Sambo, and he’s not beatable in MMA. When you lose something, of course it’s [expletive] important. For me, it’s really hard to believe that he doesn’t care about it. Of course he cares. He’s not like 100 percent sure of himself.”

In addition to Arlovski’s comments, Fedor has recently had verbal salvos fired at him by both Arlovski’s boxing trainer, Freddie Roach, and UFC President Dana White.

While Roach made several complementary remarks about Fedor, he still was critical of his standup and pointed out several flaws of his during an interview with Josh Gross of SI.com. And during a recent radio interview on “The Carmichael Dave Show” on KHTK in Sacramento, White attempted to discredit Emelianenko’s first round submission over Sylvia during Affliction and M-1’s “Banned” event this past July.

“Tim Sylvia!? Everybody knocked Tim Sylvia down in the first round,” White said during the interview. “Randy Couture knocked Tim Sylvia down in the first round too and took his back. Randy just couldn’t choke him out or he would have choked him out the same exact way Fedor did!”

Despite being secluded for his training camp in his Russian home city of Stary Oskol — a small town in which cell phone connectivity is spotty at best and Internet access is almost non-existent — Emelianenko still responded to an interview request by FiveOuncesOfPain.com. With M-1 Global Vice President of Legal Affairs Steve Bash serving as a translator, Fedor addressed our questions about recent comments made by Arlovski, Roach, and White.

Sam Caplan: You train in your home town of Stary Oskol, which is very isolated from the rest of the world. With so many world class camps popping up that have some many top coaches and training partners, why do you choose to keep things simple?

Fedor Emelianenko: My training is not simple. I believe I train harder than anyone else in the world. The strength and power I obtain can only [be done so] here in Russia. I feed off my surroundings and I do not believe I would be as prepared if I trained somewhere else. I like to have everything I love around me when I train.

Sam Caplan: During a recent press conference to promote “Day of Reckoning,” Andrei Arlovski questioned the sincerity of a statement you made last month regarding the your loss at the Combat Sambo Championships. Can you respond to that statement?

Fedor Emelianenko: Maybe Andrei is trying to convince himself that I have been weakened in some way. But it [doesn’t] matter [as] we are not fighting Sambo with Andrei. The only thing I am 100 percent sure about is that I will be 100 percent ready to fight MMA against Andrei. And that is the only thing I care about right now.

Sam Caplan: One of Arlovski’s trainers, famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach, questioned some aspects of your standup from a technical boxing perspective, most notably your footwork. Do you feel Roach’s criticisms are relevant to MMA?

Fedor Emelianenko: The beauty about MMA is that every fighter has his own unique style and preferences. But it’s not a beauty contest. We fight to see which fighter’s approach prevails. But again, we are not boxing and we are not fighting Sambo. We fight MMA.

Sam Caplan: How do you feel about an opponent’s trainer saying picking a part your standup like that?

Fedor Emelianenko: Sometimes it is a trainer’s job to point out weaknesses in his fighter’s opponents. And sometimes it is a trainer’s job to convince his fighter that his opponent has weaknesses. We will see.

Sam Caplan: During a recent radio interview, UFC president Dana White once again made some negative remarks about you. He especially tried to discredit your victory over Tim Sylvia. Could you respond to that statement?

Fedor Emelianenko: I think if Dana White says something negative about his [former] champions then he is only saying something negative about his own organization. I have victories over many of the UFC’s champions. If he says something bad about them or me then he only makes his organization look weak.

Sam Caplan: White has said many negative things about you in the past. Is it at a point where he has burned a bridge with you, or would you still consider fighting in a promotion he’s involved with under the right circumstances?

Fedor Emelianenko: I do not pay too much attention to what Dana White says in the media. He is trying to sell one thing as good and make you not buy another thing by saying it is bad. I just want to fight the best fighters in the world. I am lucky that the best heavyweight fighters in the world right now are with M-1 Global and Affliction. If the situation is right and there is someone really good in the UFC that will fight me, then I would be fine fighting [for] them.

Sam Caplan: If you fought for the UFC, do you think Dana would be referring to you as the number one heavyweight in the world?

Fedor Emelianenko: (Laughs) I think if I fought for the UFC, he would try to sell me as the greatest MMA fighter that ever lived.

Sam Caplan: White has blamed your management as the reason why you are not in the UFC. Do you agree with his assessment?

Fedor Emelianenko: No.

Sam Caplan: There have also been questions raised about how much control you have over your career. Could you set the record straight and comment who has the final say in regard to who has final say: you or your management?

Fedor Emelianenko: It depends on the decisions. I am not a specialist in some thing. Sometimes I make the decisions and sometimes we make them together. If I stop fighting tomorrow, I stop. If I want to fight Sambo, I fight. If I need to finish my training camp and miss a press conference, I need to. But I am lucky to have good management with my team, M-1 Global. I am part of M-1 Global so it is easy to make decisions together.

Sam Caplan: White has proclaimed Anderson Silva the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Do you have any interest in fighting Silva and if so, how do you see that fight going down?

Fedor Emelianenko: If this was a fight that the fans would want, why not? I also never make predictions on how a fight will turn out.

Sam Caplan: M-1 USA Vice President Jerry Millen made the statement that in a fight with Brock Lesnar, he would not make it past the first round against you. Do you agree with that assessment?

Fedor Emelianenko: I just do not like to make predictions [because] anything can happen in a ring. Lesnar has some natural talent. It would be an interesting fight for fans to see.

Sam Caplan:  Your protege, Kirill “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov will also be competing at “Day of Reckoning.” At only 20-years of age, do you think he’s ready for such a high-profile match against a seasoned veteran such as Paul Buentello?

Fedor Emelianenko: Kirill has improved greatly with his fights in the M-1 Challenge and helped out Red Devil Team reach the world finals. I think Buentello is a good test for Kirill but I know Kirill is ready.

Sam Caplan: During some recent interviews you revealed that you weren’t looking forward to a possible fight vs. Randy Couture because he’s a friend. But if he were to suddenly to become a free agent, would you refuse the fight?

Fedor Emelianenko: I would not refuse the fight because I believe Randy and I are both ambassadors for the sport of MMA and we would help grow the sport very much with the fight. This was the main reason why I wanted to fight Randy, even if it meant to fight someone I admired.

Sam Caplan: If you are able to defeat Arlovski, it’s been said your next fight could come against the winner of the Barnett vs. Yvel fight. It’s also been said that you are friends with Barnett. You said you weren’t looking forward to fight Couture because he’s a friend, so how do you feel about the possibility of facing him?

Fedor Emelianenko: Yes, Josh and I are friends. But once again, the best should fight the best for [the good] of the sport of MMA. It would be okay.

Sam Caplan: Ideally, how many times would you like to fight in 2009?

Fedor Emelianenko: God willing, it will be nice to fight three times in 2009 and have one more fight New Year’s Eve.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com learned of the development late Tuesday night from a source speaking on the condition of anonymity. The site has since confirmed the news with both Bill Douglas, CSAC’s Assistant Executive Officer, and Steve Bash, the Vice President of Legal Affairs for M-1 Global.

“Gilbert Yvel has been approved to ‘submit’ his application for license to the State of California,” Douglas said in e-mail response for comment. “However, he must fully meet all licensing requirements, as would any applicant, before ‘approval’ is granted. Once ‘approval’ is granted, the rest is up to Gilbert to prove that he is a professional in every sense of the word.”

“We felt the California was fair, unbiased, and democratic in hearing Gilbert’s case,” Bash told FiveOuncesOfPain.com. “We are confident that once Gilbert completes the licensing process that he will compete with honor against Josh Barnett during Affliction’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ on January 24.”

With the ruling, Yvel still needs to pass several requirements before he is formally approved for a license to compete in the state. Such tests he will need to pass include a blood test, an MRI, and several other medicals.

The 32-year old veteran is 35-12-1 with notable victories over Semmy Schilt, Kiyoshi Tamura, Tsuyoshi Koshaka, Cheick Kongo, and Gary Goodridge. While gaining great notoriety during his tenure competing for the PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan, Yvel also earned a bad reputation following several instances of unsportsmanlike conduct during an MMA career that began in 1997.

During a fight with Atte Backman in November of 2004, Yvel was disqualified after he knocked the referee down and subsequently kicked him as he lay on the mat. The Dutch fighter was also disqualified in 1997 after biting opponent Karimula Barkalaev and again in 2001 during PRIDE 16 after raking Don Frye’s face with his fingers.

Yvel’s indiscretions in the ring also prevented a planned bout at PRIDE 33 in 2007 from taking place against Sergei Kharitonov after the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to grant him a license for the event.

Affliction’s second-ever PPV, entitled “Day of Reckoning,” is scheduled for Saturday, January 24. With the UFC scheduled to promote pay-per-view events on January 17 and 31, it will be virtually impossible to schedule a live event to go head-to-head with Affliction again.

However, the UFC will still be airing programming opposite “Day of Reckoning” and to virtually no one’s surprise, the competition will come in the form of a replay of UFC 91.

UFC 91 originally took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 15 in Las Vegas and featured Brock Lesnar winning the UFC heavyweight title from Randy Couture in a PPV event that some in the cable industry have estimated was viewed by over 800,000 households.

While the UFC won’t be airing live programming opposite Affliction, it will still be putting forth a formidable challenge by featuring an event that UFC President Dana White referred to as “the biggest fight in UFC history.”

The replay of UFC 91 joins HBO’s presentation of a welterweight boxing attraction between Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley as events that will be competing with “Day of Reckoning” for the coveted male 18-34 demographic on Jan. 24. Complicating matters further is the fact that Margarito vs. Mosley will be taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which is in the same market as “Day of Reckoning,” as the event will be emanating from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

In addition to competing for local media attention with the event, Affliction finds itself in a position where it will be competing with partner Golden Boy Promotions as it tries to sell tickets. Several sources have indicated that ticket sales for “Day of Reckoning” are moving at a slower pace than Affliction’s first event at the Honda Center.

The show has essentially been broken down into two cards. There will be a six-bout lineup for the show’s pay-per-view telecast, which will retail for $44.95 and feature Sean Wheelock, Jimmy Smith, and Tito Ortiz handling the commentary. The PPV will also be preceded by a special five-bout pre-show on HDNet to help push viewers to the PPV.

The PPV and HDNet lineups are as follows:

Pay-Per-View Fight Card

• Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
• Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
• Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
• Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
• Paul Buentello vs. Kirill “Baby Fedor” Sidelnikov

HDNet Fight Card

• Antonio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
• Jay Heiron vs. Jason High
• Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis
• Albert Rios vs. Antonio Duarte
• Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

FiveOuncesOfPain.com spoke with Sokoudjou on Friday during the weigh-ins for the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he stated that he had signed the bout agreement to face Sobral and that the matchup is now official.

Reports of the bout surfaced earlier this week after Affliction prematurely released promotional materials to its website signifying the addition of the bout. However, Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio informed MMAjunkie.com that while the fight was under discussion, that Sokoudjou had not formally signed.

Sobral, 31-7, last competed on November 21 during a Strikeforce event in San Jose, California. Facing the promotion’s then-incumbent light heavyweight champion Bobby Southworth, Sobral claimed his first major title following a TKO at the conclusion of the first round.

Prior to arriving in Strikeforce, Sobral had competed in the UFC, where he recorded notable victories over Chael Sonnen, Travis Wiuff, and Mike Van Arsdale. He was dismmised from the promotion following a second round submission victory over David Heath at UFC 74 for refusing to immediately release a choke.

Sokoudjou rose to stardom falling a pair of upset victories against top ten ranked light heavyweights during bis brief PRIDE tenure. Despite facing long odds heading into his bout at PRIDE 33 vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Sokoudjou managed to upset the native Brazilian with a knockout just 23 seconds into the bout.

The Cameroon native returned a couple of months later at PRIDE 34 in April of the same year and was matched up against another renowned Brazilian light heavyweight in Ricardo Arona. Despite his win over Nogueira, Sokoudjou was still pegged as the underdog. However, lightning struck twice with Sokoudjou knocking out Arona at 1:59 into the first round.

Sokoudjou eventually migrated to the UFC after Dream Stage Entertainment sold PRIDE to Zuffa. However, Sokoudjou’s tenure in the UFC was less than memorable and he was released following an October loss to Luis Cane at UFC 90.

In addition to the possibility of Sobral vs. Sokoudjou, “Day of Reckoning” is also slated to feature Fedor Emelianenko defending his WAMMA heavyweight title vs. former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Additional matchups include Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort and Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel.

According to Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum announced after Saturday night’s eighth round TKO victory by Manny Pacquiao over Oscar De La Hoya that Mosley vs. Margarito will take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, January 24.

Already scheduled to take place the same night across town at the Honda Center in Anaheim is Affliction Entertainment’s second-ever pay-per-view event, titled “”Day of Reckoning.”

The event will be headlined by WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko defending his title against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Earlier in the fall, Affliction announced a partnership with Golden Boy that would entail the retail clothing maker producing several boxing-theme shirts with Golden Boy providing production resources for “Day of Reckoning.”

The committment of that partnership was called into question after it was officially reported several weeks ago that Golden Boy was going to be involved with a major boxing promotion the same night it is slated to assist Affliction. Those questions will only increase now that Affliction will have to compete with one of its own partners for ticket buyers and local media coverage.

Officials with M-1 made the official announcement in a press release that was sent out Tuesday morning.

Yvel, 33-12-1, has been competing professionally in MMA since 1997 and is known for being a vicious striker. He is also known for unsportsmanlike conduct and in 2004 he was disqualified for assaulting a referee during a fight against Atte Backman.

The 2004 incident combined with several other instances prompted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to reject Yvel’s license application in anticipation of a scheduled bout vs. Sergei Kharitonov at PRIDE 33. After being denied a license, Yvel was forced to pull off the card.

Despite his history of unprofessional conduct, Yvel has earned a reputation for being a top heavyweight thanks in large part to notable victories over K-1 standout Semmy Schilt, current UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo, and former PRIDE and UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

Yvel’s addition to “Day of Reckoning” serves as the third M-1 contracted fighter to be added to the card. Already scheduled to compete from M-1 are Fedor Emelianenko and Kirill Sidelnikov, who will be fighting Andrei Arlovski and Paul Buentello, respectively. FiveOuncesOfPain.com was also the first to report over the weekend that Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith, the announce team for M-1′s M-1 Challenge, will be serving as the announce team for the pay-per-view telecast.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com confirmed the reports with Jacob Schaap, M-1 Global’s Director of Communications.

“Affliction is negotiating with Yvel right now about a three fight deal,” said Schaap responding to a request for comment via e-mail. “Nothing is decided yet, but the negotiations are still happening.”

Yvel, 35-12-1, last competed on Nov. 21 during M-1 Challenge 9 in Russia, where he needed just 22 seconds to TKO Alexander Timonov. As per his agreement with M-1, Schaap indicated that Yvel is allowed to compete in the U.S.

The Dutch native has competed all over the world but would like to make a name for himself on U.S. soil.

“I like the M-1 (and) Affliction promotions very much,” Yvel said in a statement forwarded by Schaap. “I’m feeling stronger than ever and I am ready to suprise the MMA world.”

While Schaap expressed that nothing is imminent as far as a finalized deal between Yvel and Affliction, the promotion has an opening for its Jan. 24 “Day of Reckoning” event in Anaheim, Calif. As of now, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett has been advertised for the show but does not have an opponent.

Attempts to sign a rematch between Barnett and Aleksander Emelianenko fell through after it was determined that Emelianenko could not be licensed in time. Additionally, an attempt to sign undefeated EliteXC heavyweight Brett Rogers to fight Barnett has apparently stalled as sources have indicated that ProElite has moved to block the matchup from happening.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was alerted about the change by a source speaking on the condition of anonymity. We then contacted Richard Wilner, Sobral’s agent and attorney, in regards to the information and confirmed that the match is indeed off.

According to Wilner, there was a strong desire to schedule a middleweight matchup between Lindland and former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort. While Lindland vs. Belfort has not yet been finalized, Wilner stated that out of respect for Lindland, the promotion, and the sport itself, he was willing to opt out so that all parties involved could pursue the matchup.

Wilner added that there was some debate about what weight the Lindland vs. Sobral fight would be contested at. The principles could not settle on whether the catchweight bout would take place at 192.5 or 195 pounds. Wilner also expressed that there was concern whether his client could drop 25 pounds and still perform to the best of his ability. As such, the decision to step aside was made easier by the fact that a final weight for the fight had yet to be determined.

Wilner also indicated that Sobral is expected to remain on the card and compete in a 205 pound. He added that Affliction officials are currently working to secure a new opponent.

Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. and will be headlined by WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko defending his title vs. former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.