Adding to the necessity of a victory on August 27, it now appears Arlovski will face a relatively unknown opponent who usually enters the cage as a light heavyweight – Ray Lopez. However, while fans may not be familiar with his adversary, the 5-2 Lopez is definitely a threat to Arlovski’s hopes of righting his sinking ship as he’s finished all five of the opponents he’s beaten and notched a fairly fast TKO earlier this month on a King of the Cage card.

The match-up was first reported by MMAFighting and has since been confirmed by other outlets.

The 15-9 Arlovski hasn’t had his hands raised since a run in 2008 netting success against Jake O’Brien, Ben Rothwell, and Roy Nelson. Prior to his recent fall from grace the 32-year old Belarusian was considered to be one of the top fighters in the division with numerous finishes to his credit and wins over Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE

Arlovski confirmed his lack of participation on the show via Twitter. No official explanation was given, nor has his replacement been announced.

The oft-bearded Belarusian hasn’t won in a Mixed Martial Arts ring since October 2008. He has lost three consecutive match-ups, including his memorable TKO defeat to Fedor Emelianenko at “Affliction – Day of Reckoning” in early 2009, and is 0-2 since signing with Strikeforce. Prior to his current run of bad luck Arlovski had won five straight bouts including victories over Roy Nelson, Ben Rothwell, and Fabricio Werdum. He has not fought since losing a decision last May to Antonio Silva at “Strikeforce – Heavy Artillery”.

While former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski has not been announced as having officially signed with the organization, with the recent signing sweepstakes by Strikeforce that has included fighters such as Dan Henderson and Bobby Lashley in recent days, no athlete seems out of reach at this point for the rapidly rising fight promotion.

Werdum and Arlovski are no stranger as the two highly respected heavyweights first met up at UFC 70 in April of 2007. A bout “The Pitbull” out of Belarus ended on top of via unanimous decision.

Arlovski hasn’t seen any action outside of beating down a tyrant on MTV’s Bully Beatdown since being knocked out in consecutive outings to the likes of Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Roger, while Werdum recently bounced back from a knockout loss suffered to Junior dos Santos the UFC by racking up back to back wins over Mike Kyle and Antonio Silva.

“I must fight in February or March, and I imagine that it could be against (Andrei) Arlovski”, said Werdum in a recent conversation with Tatame.com. “I lost to him by 2×1, it was an ugly fight, nobody liked, but I never choose opponents, I can fight anyone, but then I wanna fight Fedor”, Werdum said, talking about his last fight, against Silva.

“It was one of the toughest fights I’ve ever done, for sure. He’s very tough guy, he’s strong and has a heavy hand”

An unlikely candidate to be the most sought after free agent in the business having been knocked completely unconscious in his two previous outings in the cage, Andrei Arlovski has the type of star power and mass appeal that could serve to give either the UFC or Strikeforce a significant advantage in the ongoing, and ever crucial heavyweight war.

One could look to boxing as a prime example of the impact the biggest, most dangerous fighters have on combat sports. When there was a marketable, dominant champion such as Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, or even an Evander Holyfield at the top of the heavyweight mountain, boxing flourished. On the other side of that coin, the title reigns of fighters such as Wladimir Klitschko or Larry Holmes can be viewed as dismal times for boxing, when the sport took a significant hit in it’s mainstream fan base.

The main point being, the heavyweights are as vital to mixed martial arts as they are in any of the other form of fighting sports. The general public grasps the concept that the reality of the matter is that big man generally beats little man, especially when we’re talking about the top athletes of the sport. Everyone wants to know who the absolute baddest man on the planet is. It’s been that was since the day’s of the Ancient Romans.

When you look at the talent pool of the heavyweight rosters over at the UFC and Strikeforce, without Brock it doesn’t appear that either side holds a considerable advantage. I’ll list the top guys in both organizations and you can be the judge.

UFC

• Shane Carwin

• Cain Velasquez

• Junior dos Santos

• Cheick Kongo

• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

• Frank Mir

• Gabriel Gonzaga

• Todd Duffee

• Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic

Strikeforce

• Fedor Emelianenko

• Alistair Overeem

• Brett Rogers

• Fabricio Werdum

• Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva

• Shane Del Rosario

• Roger Gracie

• Lavar Johnson

Now granted, the current UFC heavyweight roster looks a little bit thicker than that of the competition, but throw Andrei Arlovski on the end of that Strikeforce list and things aren’t looking nearly as lopsided as before.

Andrei has a long history of getting paid well for his involvement in a televised scrap, and I’d imagine that the bidding war that ensues to pin down Arlovski will leave him as one of the highest paid athletes in the sport.

Can you think of a single fighter on either promotion’s list of heavyweights that you wouldn’t want to see Arlovski throw down with right now?

Arlovski vs. Velasquez; I’ll take it. Arlovski vs. Mir; That one’s been a long time coming. Arlovski vs. Overeem; You see where I’m going with this.

As soon as Andrei is secured to either promotion, any doubts as to the depth or the validity of the respective division would be almost instantly erased.

So let the games begin, and let the best heavyweight division of mixed martial arts emerge the victor.

Back in December 2008 when asked about Arlovski, White said, “In nine years, there’s only one fighter that I’ve lost that I didn’t want to lose.”

However, after recording two straight defeats to Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers, Arlovski is no longer high on the UFC’s shopping list.

“Now, he’s had a couple of bad performances,” said White. “He’s got to get back in the mix and win.”

White also had some advice for his former employee.

“Sometimes, we make bad career decisions. I think leaving the UFC was a bad career decision for him.”

Should Arlovski get his career back on track, he would seem to have a chance to return to promotion that made him famous. White still has appreciation for Arlovski the person if not his current win-loss record.

“I like Andre,” said White. “I don’t dislike him. He’s a nice guy.”

However, with Affliction MMA’s recent demise, the opportunities for “nice guys” has certainly taken a serious hit.

The former UFC heavyweight champion was contracted to fight three fights for Affliction. The first of which was his mugging of Ben Rothwell; the second, the disappointing knockout loss at the hands of Fedor Emelianenko; and the third and final bout in his agreement with Affliction was his recent loaning out to Strikeforce where he was overwhelmed by Rogers in lightning quick fashion.

“His contract has expired and right now we have so many fighters under contract that we are just concentrating on working with them,” said Affliction VP Tom Atencio in a recent conversation with Fighters Only Magazine.

When questioned as to whether or not Affliction would be pursuing a new contract with Arlovski, Atencio was quoted as saying,”No, we are not looking at that right now.”

Although Arlovski is still extremely marketable and talented, the record of 0-2 in his last two bouts and his hefty price tag is going make it extremely interesting as to who decides to play ball with Arlovski and sign him next. The UFC recently let him go, Affliction isn’t interested, he’s 0-1 with Strikeforce.

Although Arlovski has been flirting with making his professional boxing debut for a while now it’s unclear what the next move will be for “The Pitbull” at this time.

The feature, which was authored by none other than FiveOuncesOfPain.com‘s very own Cory Brady, analyzes which knockout artists should be considered the best at what they do in the history of the sport, he also takes an in depth look at some of the most lethal submission artists of the past and present.

Robbie Lawler will be facing off with the Cesar Gracie trained Jake Shields on June 6 in his Strikeforce debut. Extreme Fighter Magazine finds that Lawler has amassed an 83% knockout ratio throughout the course of his career against some of the best competition the sport has thrown in his direction. Fifteen of his eighteen victories have ended by blunt force trauma.

EFM also highlights “The Pitbull” in their most recent issue. Andrei Arlovski has maintained a 73% knockout ratio with eleven of his fifteen victories ending violently bad for his opponent. The fearsome Belarusian will be facing off with fellow knockout artist Brett Rogers at Strikeforce on Saturday night.

To see which other pain inducers made Extreme Fighter Magazine’s list on “The Finishers” in both the knockout and submission categories, pick up the latest copy of the magazine. You can find it everywhere, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Target, Wal-Mart.

The issue currently on shelves features a cover story with none other than “The Last Emperor” Fedor Emelianenko along with insightful commentary such as “The Finishers” and interviews with some of the sports biggest stars like Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Kenny Florian, Demian Maia, Gegard Mousasi, Greg Jackson and many more.

Extreme Fighter Magazine is authorized and sold in America’s leading supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, bookstores and mass merchandisers retailers nationwide, including Wal-Mart®, Target®, Borders®, Barnes & Noble®, CVS®, Kroger®, and many others

Fighters Only Magazine has re-confirmed that Arlovski will make his professional boxing debut on the undercard of HBO’s April 11 telecast of Winky Wright vs. Paul Williams in Las Vegas. An opponent for Arlovski has yet to be named.

Arlovski who has been working with famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach almost a year now in anticipation of his pro boxing debut. The loss to Emelianenko has apparently only served to fuel his fire.

Although Arlovski lost to Emelianenko, many ringside observers noted that Arlovksi’s hands and foot movement were much improved after working with Roach, who has trained world champions such as Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.

Plans are to place Arlovski in about a half dozen fights before he takes a step up in competition. He will continue to compete in MMA, where he holds a 15-6 career record and at one time held the UFC heavyweight title.

The news was first reported by ESPN boxing reporter and analyst Dan Rafael. According to Rafael, an opponent has yet to be named for the four round encounter.

Arlovski’s entry into boxing had been expected for quite some time. Having worked for the past year with famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach, Arlovski had also recently signed a contract with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

The Belarus native still also has a promotional MMA contract with Affliction Entertainment and is expected to compete for the promotion’s third event, which could take place sometime this summer.

Sherdog’s Loretta Hunt is reporting that Arlovski is preparing to participate in back-to-back training camps in order to honor both his MMA and boxing commitments.

“We’re not switching gears to boxing,” Arlovski’s manager Leo Khorlinsky is quoted as telling Hunt on Friday. “MMA is still our priority. Our commitment to Affliction is still a number-one priority and we’re looking forward to fighting on their next event.”

Arlovski most recently headlined Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” event last month. Facing WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, he was defeated following a first round knockout.

Full details of the deal are not known at this time, but Arlovski had been rumored to enter the boxing world since early in 2008. Recently, trainer Freddie Roach confirmed that Arlovski was going to start boxing following the fight with Fedor Emelianenko. At the time, Roach stated that he wanted to Arlovski to challenge WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev.

News of the signing with Golden Boy signals that Arlovski’s entry into boxing is more than just rumor and is now expected to become reality.

Arlovski, a former UFC heavyweight champion, challenged Emelianenko for the WAMMA heavyweight title last month during Affliction M-1′s “Day of Reckoning” event in Anaheim, Calif. After winning much of the first round, Arlovski was knocked out by a right cross delivered Fedor while attempting to finish the former PRIDE champion with a flying knee.

A native of Belarus, Arlovski is 14-6 in a pro MMA career that dates back to 1999. He holds notable wins in his career over Roman Zentsov, Ian Freeman, the late Justin Eilers, Paul Buentello, Tim Sylvia, former IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko, Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell, and former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson.

“Andrei’s going into boxing after this,” said Roach. “After we knockout Fedor, I’d like for him to challenge for the heavyweight championship against (WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay) Valuev.”

For Arlovski to transition right into a heavyweight title fight would seem very difficult. Roach does not think such a high caliber opponent would cause any problems for the former UFC heavyweight champion.

“His boxing skills are good enough. He’s the best MMA fighter in the world. Two world champions? It would be huge.”

But in the eyes of famed boxing trainer Freddie Roach, Fedor Emelianenko is just another MMA fighter that is lacking in standup technique.

“He’s flat-footed, has no technique,” Roach told SI.com’s Josh Gross recently, before adding, “But he can punch. That always helps. He’s accurate. He’ll follow you right to the floor, so he’s aggressive. But that aggressiveness can be used to our advantage, I think.”

By “us,” Roach is referring to him and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, who will challenge Fedor for the WAMMA heavyweight title on January 24 in Anaheim, California during Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning.”

The bruiser from Belarus has been working with Roach for the past several months as he looks to add polish to his already devestating striking skills that allowed him to record pure knockouts against three of his last five opponents.

While Roach isn’t a particular fan of Fedor’s striking style, he is fully aware of his abilities and prowess as a mixed martial artist. He even compared his reputation of dominance to that of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

“A lot of guys lose the fight before it starts,” Roach is quoted as saying in Gross’ article. “[Emelianenko is] like Mike Tyson. A lot of guys are scared of him. So the mental game is so important that you can’t be scared. You have to be fearless against him.”

But don’t expect Arlovski to be intimidated by Fedor in the slightest. In fact, during a recent press conference to promote the event, “The Pitbull” expressed his belief that it could be Fedor that is the one who has a crisis in confidence.

“After his loss in the Sambo tournament, I think he’s messed up a little bit,” Arlovski said. “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.”

Gross’ article goes on to add that Roach is preparing Arlovski for a possible pro boxing debut that could come after Jan. 24. However, rumors of Arlovski taking on current seven foot WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev. The Russian giant recently defended his title against Evander Holyfield on Dec. 20, winning a controversial decision that the WBA is currently reviewing.

It’s understandable that no mention of the rumor was made, considering that there appears to be no validity to an 0-0 fighter challenging for a major heavyweight title in his pro debut. As of now, it looks like Roach has laid out a more realistic approach for Arlovski’s boxing aspirations.

“We’ll start off with a low-caliber opponent,” he told Gross. “I wouldn’t have 30 fights. I’d say five fights, then fight [Vitali or Wladimir] Klitschko.”

The UFC has dominated the MMA world for the past decade. During that time period, only one person has gone to another organization that they really wanted to keep.

“In nine years, there’s only one fighter that I’ve lost that I didn’t want to lose,” said UFC President Dana White. “That was (Andrei) Arlovski, and it still bothers me.”

White tried very hard to keep Arlovski in the UFC.

“I jumped on a plane and flew to Chicago with Lorenzo (Fertitta) and kissed his butt to try to make him not leave,” said White.

Money was not the main issue with the former heavyweight champion. Arlovski wanted to expand into other entertainment areas.

“He wanted to box on HBO. He had a lot of different things that he wanted to do that I couldn’t let him do.”

After becoming a free agent, Arlovski signed with Affliction Entertainment. He defeated both Ben Rothwell and Roy Nelson since signing on. Now, Arlovski is set to face one of the top heavyweights in the world in Fedor Emelianenko in the coming weeks.

“That will be a very interesting fight,” said White.

While White admits to having tried to sign Emelianenko to a very large monetary deal in the past, White does not want to proclaim Arlovski’s opponent the top heavyweight in the world.

“I’ll never say that Fedor is the best until he jumps in there and fights the best on a consistent basis.”

In an attempt to pull the ripcord on their financial free fall, EliteXC made a deal with the sponsorship-devil and allowed Affliction to again promote their clothing as well as their fighters under the Elite XC banner. Andrei Arlovski vs. Roy Nelson is the first attempt at a joint product, as both fighters are under the Affliction promotional contract. This adds hardcore credibility to a show that was stacked heavily towards mainstream attractiveness.

Andrei Arlovski is a former Police officer from Belarus and a 2 time World Russian Sambo Champion. Sambo is a Russian self defense system similar to Judo, and Arlovski excelled in it. He used his success in Sambo to launch a professional MMA career. It was not a stellar success right out of the gate with a knockout loss to Viacheslav Datsik. But with good old-fashioned Russian persistence, he won the heavyweight tournament in M1 with two wins in the same night. That was enough for the UFC, and they signed the 20 year old to fight in America. Arlovski started strong in the UFC with a 4-2 mark and his impressive skills and intimidating physical appearance built him a dedicated fan base.

They say one person’s misfortune is another person’s gain, and case in point is Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski. Frank Mir was the reigning Heavyweight Champion in the UFC when tragedy struck in the form of a motor bike accident that almost cost Mir his leg. As a result of his serious injuries, the UFC had to create an Interim Heavyweight title. Arlovski found himself up against Tim Sylvia for the title. One quick leg lock submission later and Arlovski was the new heavyweight Champion. He defended two more times in the next year and when it was decided that Mir would not make it back from his injuries Arlovski was made undisputed heavyweight champion. He then re-matched and lost his title back to Tim Sylvia. The grudge match was a 5 round affair where Arlovski lost an uninspired decision to Sylvia. Shortly after Andrei started to enter contract extension talks with the UFC and as a result was shelved in a move to “change’ the Belarusian’s mind about his demands. When it was obvious that Arlovski was not going to be a UFC fighter anymore, they allowed him to fight his contract out and sign with Affliction. In the first fight on his deal he looked re-invigorated in a third round TKO of top-ten ranked Ben Rothwell.

Arlovski is a supremely gifted athlete with a phenomenal work ethic to go along with it. This is the picture of a top tier athlete fulfilling his potential, and it is a beautiful thing to watch. Arlovski’s standup is second to none in the heavyweight division, as he is being trained by the preeminent boxing coach in the US in Freddie Roach. Arlovski has pro level boxing skills, with footwork and head movement better than most professional boxers at his weight. Arlovski is more than just boxing skills though as his kicks and knees are all explosive with perfect technique. As with most Sambo experts, he is an above average grappler with fantastic leg locks and a full arsenal of submissions. Arlovski’s own worst enemy is himself, as his tendancy to push for the exciting finish or the big knockout will sometimes get himself into positions that will cost him a fight. If Arlovski is smart and plays to his strengths against an opponent, he is one of the toughest heavyweights in the world to beat.

Roy Nelson is one of the best submission grapplers in the Heavyweight division that no one knows about. He is a blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has won several North American titles in grappling. As a Las Vegas native he has helped train some of the best fighters in the world. Nelson saw sparring and training with other fighters as more of a job than one fighter helping out another, and decided to make himself some money instead of making other fighters better. Nelson kicked off his professional fighting career with a six fight win streak, four of which were by submission. Nelson’s stand up continually improved by working with well-known boxing coach Skipper Kelp through most of his career. He lost a close split decision to top-ten ranked Ben Rothwell in the IFL, but in that loss showed everyone that he was a force at heavyweight and someone to watch out for in the future. He went on to win 5 fights in a row in the IFL, including the IFL world heavyweight championship belt. Now that the IFL has closed its doors, Nelson is out to find the respect one can get from defeating a top ten opponent. Arlovski may be his road to legitimacy.

Nelson is a world class submission grappler with speed and agility that belie his size. He does not have many peers on the floor in the heavyweight division. During his stay in the IFL he has also developed quite the ground and pound skills. He can pack an impressive punch from the guard and is more than capable of knocking his opponent out. His stand up has also vastly improved during his IFL stay, as he has shown flashes of knockout power in his punches as well as the skill to outmaneuver and strategically deal with much larger opponents in Rothwell and Brad Imes. The one area most people point to as an area of weakness is his conditioning. Although he looks like he is hiding a medicine ball under his t-shirt, he is quite capable of fighting a full 3 or 5 rounds and winning decisions. He truly is a freak of nature in that respect.

This is an interesting fight in a few different ways. At first glance you would think Arlovski has a big edge in this bout, and by all accounts he does. His stand up is cleaner and crisper, and his ground game is defensive enough to stay out of trouble long enough to get it back to the feet where he holds the decisive edge. Nelson has shown a penchant to surprise when he is considered the underdog, and he is fully capable of doing that here. Arlovski has shown a tendancy to get bored with lesser opponents and loss interest. If he does that against Nelson, he could easily lose this fight. But I cannot see this happening. With the pressure of national television and the rather large payday ahead of him with a win, I think the Arlovski of old comes out and puts a striking clinic on Nelson and either ends it in a third round TKO or a unanimous decision win for Arlovski.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has confirmed the news after contacting Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer.

The October show has been postponed until January and is expected to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., which was the site of the promotion’s first-ever event on July 19.

“Day of Reckoning” was originally supposed to be headlined by Fedor Emelianenko defending his WAMMA heavyweight title against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. However, Fedor was forced to pull out of the show due to a hand injury that was aggravated during his win against Tim Sylvia in the main event of Affliction’s first show.

Affliction officials replaced Fedor in the main event with another former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, and the Arlovski vs. Barnett matchup was billed as a fight to determine the number one contender to Fedor’s title.

Reasons for the postponed are not yet known, however, MMARated.com’s Ariel Helwani is speculating that with just little over a month to go that Affliction had possibly sold as little as 700 tickets for the Thomas & Mack, which can seat up to 19,522 spectators.

Reasons for the possible slow ticket sales could be due to the fact that locals in Las Vegas consider the UFC to essentially be a local sports team and perceive other promotions as outsiders. Also, a boxing match between Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson is also scheduled to be held the same night on the strip.

“I think definitely by New Year’s Eve I’ll be ready to go,” the 31-year-old Russian told SI.com Sunday.

“My desire at this point is to meet with the winner of the fight,” said Emelianenko, the only current WAMMA champ. “But I still have a desire to fight with whomever loses as well.

But it doesn’t look like Fedor’s return to the ring will come against the winner of the aforementioned fight between Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett. It looks like it will come against an opponent to be determined on a New Year’s Eve show in Japan and that opponent doesn’t look to be Mirko Cro Cop:

Early speculation centered on a rematch of Emelianenko’s tremendous points win in 2005 over Mirko Filipovic. However, a representative for the No. 1-ranked heavyweight said it’s doubtful the fight would take place at this time. In a bout intended for Japanese fight fans, Emelianenko will likely meet a “judo legend or sumo wrestler.”

It would appear that Fedor will fight in another freakshow fight before he steps back into the ring against a legitimate opponent. “Judo legend or sumo wrestler” does not sound like a true challenge for the heavyweight king and is most likely a match that will be put together to appease the Japanese fans on New Year’s Eve. Let’s just hope that after he mauls whatever giant or washed up judoka they put in there with him that he gets back to fighting the top caliber heavyweights in Affliction.

“We couldn’t be more excited to see Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett faceoff for the right to take on Fedor for the WAMMA World Heavyweight Championship,” WAMMA CEO Dave Szady is quoted as saying in company-issued a press release. “In the spirit of crowning undisputed champions, we couldn’t be happier than to have two of the fighters who arguably deserve a shot at Fedor fighting it out for the chance to take on the champ.”

Both fighters competed at Affliction’s first-ever event on July 19 and both were victorious, with Barnett recording a second round knockout over Pedro Rizzo and Arlovski knocking out Ben Rothwell in the third round.

In other Affliction-related news, MMAjunkie.com was on hand to cover the promotion’s press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Junkie is reporting that HDNet will broadcast a one-hour pre-show for the Oct. 11 event that will include several undercard matches being televised.

In addition to fights between Barnett vs. Arlovski, Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland having been confirmed, Junkie is reporting that undercard bouts between Roy Nelson vs. Paul Buentello and Mike Pyle vs. Jason High were also announced.

Finally, Junkie is also reporting that there is concern whether the Belfort vs. Lindland fight will take place, as Belfort is still not fully recovered from a hand injury suffered during his win over Terry Martin during Affliction’s first event.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com was the first to break this story on Friday night, revealing that a tentative bout between Arlovksi and WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko was likely to be scrapped due to a hand injury sustained by Fedor. We were also the first site to report the replacement main event featuring Arlovski vs. Barnett.

Arlovski is coming off an impressive TKO victory over Ben Rothwell at Affliction: “Banned,” while Barnett recorded a TKO victory over on the same show. Affliction is staying true to its plan to have the best heavyweights in the world go head to head with one another and this bout will be no different.

Tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com

A reliable source speaking on the condition of anonyomity revealed to Five Ounces of Pain that Emelianenko has been dealing with a lingering hand injury that will make it virtually impossible for him to be ready in time for Affliction’s October show at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Arlovski is expected to remain on the card and event organizers are said to be looking into finalizing a bout between Arlovski and Josh Barnett to serve as the show’s new main event.

The two former UFC heavyweight champions both competed and were victorious on Affliction’s first show last month. Barnett knocked out Pedro Rizzo at 1:44 of round 2 while Arlovski knocked out Ben Rothwell at 3:13 of round 3.

So far, no bouts have been officially announced for the Oct. 11 card by Affliction. However, rumors indicate that bouts featuring Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort and Tito Ortiz vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral could be in the works.

Cane (7-1) made his UFC debut at UFC 79: Nemesis where he was disqualified after kneeing James Irvin to the head whilst Irvin was on the ground. After the fight Cane was none too happy about Irvin’s decision not to continue.

Jason Lambert (23-7) was coming off the biggest win of his career over Renato Sobral until he met the knockout power of Wilson Gouveia at UFC 80. Lambert is a healthy 4-2 in the Octagon and will look to regain the lost ground suffered in his knockout loss to Gouveia.

UFC 85 will be held at London’s 02 Arena on June 7th and will be headlined by a light-heavyweight clash between former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Chuck Liddell and winner of the 2nd season of the Ultimate Fighter, Rashad Evans.

Read more UFC 85 content on FiveOuncesOfPain.com.