Affliction Trilogy Predictions: Affliction Trilogy Predictions & Preview

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Pro Fighting Fans is the home of Affliction MMA fans across the world and we now bring you the best place to find the latest Affliction preview & predictions. Affliction Trilogy is set for August 1, 2009 in Anaheim, California and our Affliction Trilogy predictions & preview are posted below for MMA fans across the globe to enjoy. Check out the Affliction Trilogy fight card & fight results and buy Afflicition Trilogy tickets online here through Pro Fighting Fans!

The third installment of the Affliction series looks to be the best organized collection of fights for the young promotion so far. The event will be held on August 1, 2009 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California can be viewed on Pay per View, beginning at 9 PM EST.

The main card bouts will be headlined with promotional superstars Fedor Emelianenko, who will put his WAMMA heavyweight strap on the line, against number one contender Josh Barnett. Also featured on the main card will be a debuting Gegard Mousasi, appearing as a LHW for the first time, against exiled UFC contender, Renato “Babalu” Sobral. Vitor Belfort takes on Jorge Santiago and Takanori Gomi will return stateside to face ground ace, Rafaello Oliveira in the night’s other featured bouts.

The events’ undercard is considered, at first glance, an assortment of excellent pairings headed by a Jay Hieron/Paul Daley match up. Gilbert Yvel and Paul Buentello will go head to head in a battle of heavy handed strikers and lightweights, Chris Horodecki and Dan Lauzon will meet in what should be a fast paced war as well.

Below is a summary for each scheduled bout for Affliction Trilogy scheduled for August 1, 2009.

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Ben Rothwell vs. Chase Gormley

Two heavyweights that are trying to establish credibility will meet on the undercard of the third Affliction event. “Big” Ben Rothwell (30-6) has been on his share of fight cards, but he lacks the experience on the big name events. Rothwell was victorious the last time out, submitting Chris Guillen at the December 2008 Adrenaline show. Chase Gormley (6-0) puts his unbeaten streak on the line against his stiffest challenge of his young career. Gormley should be well rested, winning a unanimous decision last May over Eric Pele at Maximum FC 16.

Rothwell, 27, has been training for ten years and fighting professionally for eight. He is a long time member of Miletich Martial Arts but also works with his stand up game with trusted striking coach, Duke Roufas. A veteran of many organizations, he is mostly known for being a huge part of the now extinct, IFL heavyweight division.

A winner in his most recent contest, Rothwell has actually been successful 14 out of the last 15 times in the cage. His only loss was in his one and only Affliction fight to date, losing by 3rd round KO on the rookie Affliction card last July. “Northstar,” as he is also known as, holds big career wins over Krzysztof Soszynski, twice, Roy “Big Country” Nelson, and Travis Fulton, twice.

Chase Gormley is fairly new to the sport, fighting professionally for a little over two years. The 6 foot 3 inch heavyweight trains at the California based Bodyshop Fitness Team, where he is trained by IFL veteran, Antonio McKee. He has fought for KOTC, Cage of Fire, Maximum FC, and Gladiator Challenge, where he recently earned the interim heavyweight champion tag.

An All American wrestler at the NAIA Lindenwood University, it is no surprise as to where his strengths are. Trying to get as much experience as possible, Gormley fought five times in his first eight months as a professional. He has slowed his fight schedule as of late, only fighting once in the past 14 months, a unanimous decision victory against Eric Pele.

Prediction – Rothwell is the veteran of the two, with over 35 fights to his credit, but never has fought on a stage quite this large. His real advantage might be his size and strength. If he is able to get a takedown or two and work some strikes from the top position he should be golden for a victory. If Gormley wants to cash in his biggest opportunity of his career then he should probably keep the fight standing. Even in a standup battle, I’m not sure that will favor him a great deal. This fight on paper is to Rothwell’s advantage.

Rothwell over Gormley via unanimous decision

Deividas Taurosevicius vs. Mark Hominick

Lithuanian, Deividas Taurosevicius (10-3), will make his debut for Affliction since signing a three fight contract with the company last fall. It has been roughly fourteen months since the lightweight was in action, losing a tight decision to Ryan Schultz at an IFL event. Set to take on the fresh face is Mark Hominick (16-8) who was successful in his only Affliction bout last July, besting Savant Young with a 2 nd round armbar.

Taurosevicius, 31, is a highly skilled kick boxer that has a knack for the submission, accounting for 8 of his 10 career wins. He is a 6 ½ year veteran of the sport, fighting for a variety of organizations, the most notable, the International Fight League. He has also been in organizations such as Mass Destruction, Reality Fighting and Cage Fury Fighting Championships.

The 5 foot 8 inch submission specialist lost for only the second time in his career when Ryan Schultz got the best of a standup battle. Schultz was consistently beating the Lithuanian with strikes for much of the bout. The lost snapped a six fight win streak that he had accumulated, defeating the likes of Dan Lauzon, Zac George and Bart Palaszewski. His only other loss was against UFC lightweight Frankie Edgar in August of 2006.

Mark Hominick is only 26 years old but has been competing professionally for over seven years. He has bounced around from organization to organization, competing with some of the top promotions over the course of his career. He is a two fight veteran of the WEC, a two fight veteran of the UFC and a one fight veteran of Affliction. He completes his training with Shawn Tompkins at Xtreme Couture.

Spending much of his career splitting time between the featherweight and lightweight divisions, he has faced some of the worlds toughest. He has impressive victories against former UFC lightweights, Yves Edwards and Jorge Gurgel, and in his most recent appearance, Savant Young at Affliction: Banned. Of his eight losses, four have come against world class grapplers. WEC featherweight champion, Mike Thomas Brown, Sengoku featherweight, Hatsu Hioki (2), and Rani Yahya have all handed Hominick losses.

Prediction – This is a solid fight on a solid undercard. Hominick has been in there against some of the best at the lighter weights but Taurosevicius is fresh and is skilled in submissions, one area that has given Hominick trouble throughout his career (5 submission losses). I will go with the upset in this one.

Taurosevicius over Hominick via 3rd round submission

Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon

In what was supposed to be a part of Affliction’s second event in January, Chris “The Polish Hammer” Horodecki (13-1) takes on the tough Dan “The Upgrade” Lauzon (12-2) in a lightweight bout. Due to an injured shoulder, Horodecki was kept out of action until last month, submitting William Sriyapai at Ultimate Chaos in Biloxi, Mississippi with no problem. Lauzon’s last action was at the second Affliction show, besting replacement Bobby Green with a rear naked choke late in the 1st round.

“The Polish Hammer” is another Xtreme Couture fighter who specializes in the striking department after extensive work with trainer Shawn Tompkins. Finding fights in Canada with the TKO organization and in the United States with the now defunct, International Fight League, Horodecki rolled up quite an impressive resume.

Horodecki went down as one of the most successful fighters in IFL history with an 8-1 record. He recorded wins over Bart Palaszewski (2), Shad Lierley, and Ryan Schultz while in the team fighting league. His latest win, his first since his IFL days, was against William “The Bull” Sriyapai for Full Force International’s Ultimate Chaos show. He worked patiently, picking his opponent apart, taking him to the ground and finishing him with a rear naked choke, his first submission of his career.

Dan Lauzon, 21, is a three year veteran of MMA, fighting for such organizations as World Fighting League, World Championship Fighting, Combat Zone, and UFC. At UFC 64, Lauzon became the youngest fighter, at 18, to ever fight inside the octagon. The Bridgewater, CT resident trains with his brother Joe at Reality Self Defense.

Currently riding the wave of an eight fight win streak, Lauzon has shown no major weaknesses. His most recent fight was a 4:55 demolition of Bobby Green at the January Affliction: Day of Reckoning show. He hasn’t lost a fight since January 2007, submitting to fellow undercard fighter Deividas Taurosevicius in the 2nd round of their Cage Fury FC bout.

Prediction – Joe Lauzon will take a huge step up in competition against Horodecki. Lauzon knows how to finish, 12 stoppages out of his 12 victories, but Horodecki isn’t a mid level fighter. He possesses knockout power as well, holding a slight advantage in the stand up department over Lauzon. When these two finally get it on it should be a good one.

Horodecki over Lauzon via split decision

Gilbert Yvel vs. Paul Buentello

Two heavy hitting veterans will meet in an intriguing heavyweight contest that could factor into future title implications. Gilbert Yvel (36-13-1) will return to the Affliction ring after one fight outside of the promotion, a win over Pedro Rizzo at Ultimate Chaos. Paul Buentello (27-10) will fight for the third time on an Affliction card, winning his fist two contests with the promotion.

Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel, 33, has been competing in professional MMA events for over twelve years. He has bouts on promotions such as Rings, PRIDE, K-1, M-1 and now Affliction. The muay-thai and kick boxing specialist has an impressive 36 stoppages out of his 36 victories, including 31 KO’s. He is a member of the Holland based Vos Gym.

After losing three of four back in 2006, Yvel has went on a tear, winning eight of his last nine bouts. His lone defeat came at the mercy of Josh Barnett, who beat “The Hurricane” around the ring for parts of three rounds then submitting him with punches late in the 3rd round of their Affliction: Day of Reckoning bout. Yvel needed to step outside of the promotion to get back on track, and did with an easy KO victory over former UFC contender, Pedro Rizzo at Ultimate Chaos in June.

Buentello is a veteran of eleven different organizations throughout his twelve year career. He only has one decision victory, telling the story as to where his strength lies. The Texas native has 26 stoppages out of 27 career wins. He is a member of the American Kickboxing Academy, teaming up with Cain Velasquez, Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch and others.

“The Headhunter” was once a contender for the UFC heavyweight title, losing his only title shot at UFC 55 against Andrei Arlovski. Recently, Buentello has won his last two fights and six of his past seven overall. He used his improved stamina to earn a decision victory over Gary Goodridge at Affliction’s rookie card then reverted back to his stand up for a TKO, doctor stoppage victory, against “Baby Fedor,” Kirill Sidelnikov in January at Affliction: Banned.

Prediction – Both fighters are slugging with confidence over the last year and a half. It’s hard to say who has the advantage as a striker but Buentello holds the edge on the ground. Yvel struggles when the fight hits the ground and is as temperamental as it gets but I still like him to connect early and often en route to a KO victory.

Yvel over Buentello via 1st round TKO

LC Davis vs. Javier Vasquez

Wrestling specialist, LC Davis, will jump into the cage to take on Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace, Javier Vasquez in an undercard tussle. Davis (13-2) will return to the ring for the first time since his March loss in the Sengoku featherweight grand prix tournament to Michihiro Omigawa. Vasquez (13-2) is staying busy after returning from a year and a half retirement, most recently defeating last minute replacement Mark Kergosien in 19 seconds with a guillotine choke.

American Jiu-Jitsu Academy fighter, LC Davis, is a former wrestler who has made the transition into MMA seemingly effortless. Over the last three years, Davis has participated on Titan FC, Adrenaline MMA, Affliction and Sengoku promotions. He began his career with nine consecutive victories.

Davis’ first loss came when he lost to Wagnney Fabiano at the IFL World Grand Prix Finals by 1 st round armbar. Since that loss Davis bounced back, winning four in a row before losing in his most recent bout. When entered into the Sengoku 7 th battle featherweight grand prix, Davis looked to be in a good position to be successful, getting a 1st round pairing with former UFC fighter, Michihiro Omigawa. Omigawa got the best of Davis, defending his takedowns and not allowing him to force his ground game. Omigawa was definitely the aggressor and came away with a unanimous decision victory.

Javier “Showtime” Vasquez is a thirty two year old jiu-jitsu expert who has been competing professionally for eleven years. He made his mark as a King of the Cage fighter, compiling a 5-1 record for the Midwest based organization. The Millennia Jiu-Jitsu fighter has also fought for Shooto, Elite XC, and most recently Full Force International.

After almost ten years in the sport, in 2007, “Showtime,” believing that he had had enough, announced his retirement. At the time he had a record of 12-2 with impressive victories against Robert Emerson, Rumina Sato and JC Pennington. Eventually realizing that he wasn’t through with MMA, Vasquez returned to the cage after almost two years of retirement. Scheduled to fight Din Thomas, Vasquez instead battled Mark Kergosien, after Thomas couldn’t make weight and slapped a guillotine choke on him 19 seconds into the 1 st round.

Prediction – Davis has 11 stoppages out of his 13 career wins and has only been finished once. “Showtime” has won four consecutive and eleven of his last twelve, finishing nine of those opponents. He has never been knocked out or submitted throughout his career. Vasquez holds an edge when it comes to submissions but Davis is the better wrestler and stand up fighter.

Vasquez over Davis via unanimous decision

Takanori Gomi vs. Rafeal Oliveira

“The Fireball Kid,” Takanori Gomi (30-5), returns to the United States for the first time since February 2007 to take on Pro Elite veteran, Rafeallo Oliveira (8-1) in a lightweight bout to start off the pay per view broadcast. Gomi earned a KO his last time out, stopping Takashi Nakakura at a May Shooto event. His opponent won his third straight in April, at XFC 8, grinding out a unanimous decision over John Mahlow.

Gomi will be making his debut for Affliction in July but has been competing professionally for almost ten years. He began as a twenty year old, fighting for the Shooto organization, against some of Japan’s best lightweights. Eventually, as his reputation grew, he began to show up on some of the world’s top promotions such as Super Brawl, Rumble on the Rock, PRIDE, Sengoku, and currently Affliction.

The former Shooto middleweight champion and the last reigning PRIDE lightweight champion has hit a rough patch as of late. When PRIDE folded, Gomi settled in to World Victory Road’s Sengoku promotion, winning his first two contests. He continued with Sengoku, losing to little known Sergey Golyaev and Satoru Kitaoka in succession. With his career and reputation in jeopardy, Gomi was able to secure an important win in May, connecting with a series of punches that knocked Nakakura out before the end of the 2 nd round.

Rafeallo “Tractor” Oliveira is a Premier Martial Arts fighter who made his way to the big show through several minor promotions. Now in his fifth year of competition, Oliveira has seven stoppages in eight career wins. His only loss was against super striker, Lyle Beerbohm, who opened a cut on “Tractor” to severe to continue.

The 5 foot 8 inch lightweight is fighting for the fourth time this year, going 3-1 in 2009. The lone loss to Beerbohm was followed by three consecutive wins, stoppages over mid level fighters Robert Thompson, Beau King and a unanimous decision against John Mahlow.

Prediction – Oliveira is taking a huge step up in competition against Takanori Gomi. Oliveira is definitely game enough to serve as a yardstick in determining Gomi’s status on the lightweight food chain. The younger Oliveira will give Gomi a fight for his life in this one.

Gomi over Oliveira via split decision

> Find the Affliction Trilogy results after the fights are complete at Pro Fighting Fans, check out the Affliction & Strikeforce schedules online.

Jay Hieron vs. Paul Daley

Two heavy hitters will square off as Long Island native; Jay Hieron (17-4) will try and trip up Englishman, Paul “Semtex” Daley (21-8-2) in a welterweight showcase. Hieron will make his second start for Affliction, knocking out Jason High in January at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Daley has been busy this year, going 2-1, with a TKO victory at World FC 8 in April over Junior Barata.

Jay “Thoroughbred” Hieron is a six year veteran of MMA, fighting for the UFC, WEC, IFL and in August signed a three fight deal with Affliction. The Xtreme Couture fighter is a wrestling specialist that has used his strengths to capture the IFL welterweight title. He has eleven stoppages out of seventeen career wins to go along with six decision victories.

“Thoroughbred” had a short stint with the UFC from June 2004 to October 2005 that saw him post a 0-2 record, losing fights to George St. Pierre and Jonathan Goulet. He gained significant notoriety when joining the ranks of the IFL. His IFL career reached its pinnacle in December 2007 at the IFL World Grand Prix Finals when he collected the welterweight belt. He had only one chance to defend the title, an April 2008 TKO over Mark Miller.

Since the demise of the popular team fighting league, many of the fighters have had trouble staying busy. Hieron was no different, fighting only two times in the last year. In October of last year Hieron fought on a Superfights MMA card that featured several Xtreme Couture fighters at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. He took a unanimous decision over tough as nails, Chris Kennedy, after three hard fought rounds. He followed that victory win up with a devastating KO win over DREAM welterweight grand prix semifinalist Jason High at the Affliction: Day of Reckoning event.

Paul “Semtex” Daley is an English fighter who trains in Nottingham with the Team Rough House fight squad. His fighting career has spanned over the last six years, fighting for organizations like Cage Rage, Pancrase, Elite XC, and Maximum FC. He is as close as it gets to a one dimensional fighter, knocking out sixteen of his twenty one opponents that went for wins.

The 5 foot 9 inch, 170 pound Brit was well known during his early days in his homeland, mainly for his successful Cage Rage career that saw him win the welterweight title over Mark Weir. He wasn’t recognized as a competitive fighter, outside of England, until beginning with Pro Elite. Semtex fought two times for Pro Elite promotions, defeating Duane Ludwig and Sammy Morgan, before losing his title shot against one of the most complete fighters in all of MMA, Jake Shields.

In October 2008 at Elite XC: Heat, Daley came up short in his bid for the title, submitting to Shields in the 2nd round with an armbar. Since financial problems closed Elite XC’s doors, Daley has bounced around minor promotions for almost a year now. The results have been mixed, knocking out John Alessio at MFC 19, and then losing a decision to Nick “The Goat” Thompson at MFC 20. He bounced back after the loss to Thompson with two wins against little known competition. A Daley knee took care of Aurelijus Kerpe in March and a flurry of punches dropped Europe Top Team member Junior Barata in April.

Prediction – Hieron is solid, winning 7 of his last 8 fights but not many of his opponents are as skilled in stand up as Daley. Daley is inconsistent, defeating tough fighters such as former UFC fighters Jess Liaudin and Xavier Foupa-Pokam but can’t get by the top fighters like Shields and Thompson.

Hieron over Daley via 3rd round TKO

Vitor Belfort vs. Jorge Santiago

Both Vitor Belfort (18-8) and Jorge Santiago (21-7) will put their consecutive win streaks on the line in this main card bout that will be seen on the pay per view broadcast. Belfort, a winner in his last 4 fights, last fought in January at Affliction: Day of Reckoning, where he easily knocked out Matt “The Law” Lindland in 37 seconds. Santiago will try and make it an even ten straight; the last five coming in the Japanese based Sengoku promotion.

“The Phenom,” Vitor Belfort, has been fighting on the big stage for 12½ years now. After a rookie fight with the Superbrawl promotion he found himself battling the world’s toughest fighters in the UFC, PRIDE, Cage Rage, Strikeforce and now Affliction organizations. The Rio de Janeiro native has trained at several camps, the latest being Xtreme Couture, where he has worked extensively with striking coach Shawn Tompkins.

The former UFC 12 Tournament winner and one time UFC light heavyweight champion had two separate stints in the UFC and a six fight tenure with PRIDE FC. Lately, Belfort has rented his services out to English promotion Cage Rage, and solid American organizations Strikeforce and Affliction. Overall Belfort has won five of his last six fights, the lone loss a unanimous decision against Dan Henderson at PRIDE 32.

Belfort decided to make a switch from the light heavyweight division to the middleweight division after defeating James Zikic in a September 2007 Cage Rage bout. The results have been excellent, knocking out both opponents with his brutal one punch power. At the Affliction debut last summer, Belfort landed a solid right on Terry Martin in the second round that knocked him out cold. In his most recent bout, “The Phenom” used only 37 seconds to land the KO punch at Affliction: Day of Reckoning.

Belfort’s opponent, Jorge Santiago, is an American Top Team member who has been fighting as a middleweight for roughly 6½ years. His current nine fight win streak has seen him win bouts for the extinct BoDog Fight, Art of War, Strikeforce and Sengoku promotions. Of his 21 career victories, 20 have been via stoppage including 12 submissions.

Santiago, 29, has had the bulk of his success the last two and a half years. His first title was in the Strikeforce middleweight grand prix, knocking out both Sean Salmon and Trevor Prangley with 1st round KO’s. After claiming the grand prix, Santiago turned his attention to the Japanese based World Victory Road Sengoku promotion. He produced stoppages in all five of his Sengoku bouts. Yuki Sasaki, Logan Clark, Siyar Bahadurzada, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Kazuo Misaki have all fell victim to Santiago. His most recent bout in January produced a Sengoku middleweight title for the Brazil citizen, stopping Misaki late in the 5 th round with a rear naked choke.

Prediction – Belfort looks refreshed as a middleweight, easily winning both of his MW bouts. He has a slight advantage in the striking department but Santiago should have a slight edge in the grappling but hasn’t won a decision since 2003. Both of these UFC veterans have a possible return trip at stake in a potential Fight of the Night bout.

Belfort over Santiago via 3rd round KO

Gegard Mousasi vs. Renato Sobral

Gegard Mousasi (25-2-1) makes his Affliction debut against another debuting European, Renato “Babalu” Sobral (35-8). Mousasi, a winner of 12 consecutive fights, was seen in May at the DREAM Open weight tournament where he submitted Mark Hunt in only 1:19. “Babalu” hasn’t fought in six months when he methodically broke down Sokoudjou and submitted him mid way through the 2nd round of the Affliction: Day of Reckoning bout.

Mousasi, 23, has been fighting for six years, beginning as a seventeen year old with small Dutch promotions such as 2H2H, International Mix Fight Gala, and Together Promotions. Training in the Netherlands at Red Devil International, “The Dreamcatcher” has since moved up to the majors like DREAM, and Affliction.

Beginning in April 2008, Mousasi submitted current UFC middleweight, Denis Kang at DREAM 2, earned a unanimous decision over Dong Sik Yoon at DREAM 6, and finished the tournament with two stoppages against Melvin Manhoef and Ronaldo Souza to become the first DREAM middleweight champion. It was soon after being crowned the champion that Mousasi had announced his plans to move up to light heavyweight and eventually the heavyweight division. His only bout since that announcement was an easy 1st round straight armbar victory over Mark Hunt two months ago.

Babalu, 34, is a twelve year veteran of the sport, mostly fighting with the Rings and UFC promotions. He makes Gracie Barra Combat Team and Erik Paulson’s CSW his home when training for his upcoming bouts. He earned his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr.

The former number one LHW contender in the UFC and current Strikeforce LHW champion has won five straight bouts. His streak started at UFC 74 in August 2007 with the now infamous choke on David Heath that earned his ticket out of the organization. Four months after being released, Sobral dished out another submission, this time against little known Rodney Glunder at Plainum Fighting Productions in the Philippines. A lopsided decision over Mike Whitehead at Affliction: Banned and a doctor stoppage TKO over Bobby Southworth, for the Strikeforce LHW strap, brought his streak to four. His most recent victory was at the second Affliction event in January, submitting Sokoudjou in the 2nd round.

Prediction – Sobral is a tough out no matter who he is fighting, but Mousasi is a different type of fighter. Not having lost a fight since the summer of 2006, Mousasi doesn’t give much hope for Babalu to complete the upset. The only glimmer of hope is the fact that his two career losses have been via submission, an area that Sobral is very skilled at.

Mousasi over Sobral via 2nd round TKO

Affliction Trilogy Main Event: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett

In the main event, Fedor Emelianenko (30-1) faces “The Babyfaced Assassin,” Josh Barnett (24-5) in a long awaited heavyweight clash. “The Last Emperor” has won ten straight but if you subtract an August 2004 "No Contest," due to an accidental cut, Fedor hasn’t lost in 27 consecutive fights. His most recent bout in January was a brutal one punch KO of Andrei Arlovski at Affliction: Day of Reckoning. Josh Barnett was on the same card, earning a hard fought three round submission via punches against Gilbert Yvel.

Fedor, 32, began fighting in September of 2000 for the Rings promotion. He has also fought for PRIDE, Bodog Fight, Yarrenoka, Inoka Bom-Ba-Ye, and Affliction. “The Last Emperor” sharpens his skills at the Russian-based Red Devil Sport Club. Fedor has also participated in Sambo and Judo competitions for many years.

Emelianenko won his first four career fights before suffering his only loss, due to a severe cut against Rings, PRIDE and UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, known simply as “TK.” He went from a little known prospect to a household name when fighting Heath Herring at PRIDE 23 in November 2002. Considered a heavy underdog, Fedor dominated “The Texas Crazyhorse” for the 1st 10:00 round before the bout was called due to a cut opened up on the face of Herring.

Over the years, Fedor has also captured victories against some of the best heavyweights in the world, including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark Coleman, and Mirko Cro Cop. As dominating as the Russian is, it is a major accomplishment to even get him to the ground. Only Kazuyuki Fujita, at PRIDE 26 courtesy of a right hook, and Kevin Randleman, at Critical Countdown 2004 via suplex slam, can say that they have completed that task.

Fedor has fought on both Affliction cards since the organization came to life last summer. In July of last year, Fedor embarrassed former UFC heavyweight champion, Tim Sylvia by dropping and submitting him all within 36 seconds. He followed the first Affliction appearance with an Affliction: Day of Reckoning bout with Andre “Pit Bull” Arlovski in January. Although Arlovski began by utilizing an appropriate strategy, Fedor waited patiently and dropped his second straight former UFC champ with a hard right hand, knocking his opponent out cold in 3:14.

“The Babyfaced Assassin” has been active in MMA for over twelve years, fighting on a variety of organization cards. His resume includes fights for UFCF, Super Brawl, UFC, NJPW, Inoka Bom-Ba-Ye, K-1, PRIDE, Sengoku and Affliction. When training for his bouts, Barnett works out with teammates Erik Paulson, Justin Levens and Cub Swanson at CSW.

Barnett, 31, has won four consecutive bouts spanning over the last sixteen months. While his best career wins include victories against Dan Severn, Randy Couture, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, his recent wins weren’t of the same caliber. His recent opponents were by no means pushovers however. At Sengoku: First Battle, Barnett handled Japanese Judo legend, Hidehiko Yoshida by submitting him in the 3rd round with a heel hook. Wins against Jeff Monson, Pedro Rizzo, and Gilbert Yvel followed, giving Barnett his current winning streak.

Prediction – Fedor is so dominant that it is hard to go against him. Barnett is definitely a game opponent with serious skills. With a perfect game plan, Barnett could end the 27 fight undefeated streak. I don’t think that it will go down on this particular night.

Fedor over Barnett via 3rd round TKO

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer

Affliction fighter pictures used with permission from Affliction Entertainment