Sports Illustrated was able to catch up with Fedor Emelianenko and get some comments on him in regards to when he thinks he’ll be able to step back into the ring as well as his future fight plans:

“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.

The World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts issued a press release on Thursday announcing that the heavyweight main event between Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski that is scheduled for Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” pay-per-view on Oct. 11 will determine the number one contender to the WAMMA heavyweight title currently held by Fedor Emelianenko.

“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.

Affliction has officially announced that top ten heavyweights Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett are set to face off against one another at Affliction’s October 11 event entitled “Day of Reckoning.” The event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

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 learned late Friday that a proposed main event for Affliction’s second-ever show on Oct. 11 between WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and Andrei Arlovski appears to be off for the time being.

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.

Sherdog.com is reporting that Falaniko Vitale is off EliteXC’s September 15 card in Hawaii after signing a multi-fight contract with both K-1 and Strikeforce.

Vitale had been talked about as an opponent for Riki Fukuda on 9/15 but according to a quote from Vitale’s agent, Ken Pavia, a deal with Pro Elite could not be finalized.

Vitale had been secured as a replacement for Murilo “Ninja” Rua in June after he encountered trouble getting licensed for an EliteXC middleweight title match against Joey Villasenor on the Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Baroni card on 6/22. It was announced after Rua was cleared that Vitale would be fighting for EliteXC in the future. Obviously, that’s no longer the case.

Josh Gross of Sherdog.com has an update in regard to this Friday’s co-promoted card between EliteXC and Strikeforce available at:

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=7995

Gross reports that the medical issue that had been thought likely to prevent Murilo “Shogun” Rua from fighting Joey Villasenor for the vacant EliteXC middleweight title may have been resolved. CSAC executive officer Armando Garcia said that if everything continues to progress as they have for Rua, he could be cleared in time to fight Villasenor after all.

After Rua was unable to secure a license to fight last week, EliteXC brought Niko Vitale in as a replacement for Rua. If Vitale’s services are not utilized, he’ll still be compensated and EliteXC has announced that he’s been signed to a long-term contract.

In regard to a report on GracieFighter.com that Phil Baroni’s status is in doubt, Garcia reiterated what he told us yesterday and that is that Baroni has undergone all the standard tests.

Gross spoke with Baroni’s agent, Ken Pavia, who said that results from a standard MRI could be available Wednesday and that he believes his client will be cleared to fight.