Apparently Affliction is throwing in the towel on the fight promotion business and has announced a deal with the UFC. After the much publicized Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett bout was cancelled due to Barnett's failed drug test, Affliction management came to the conclusion the Affliction: Trilogy bout would lose money no matter who they found to replace the Baby Faced Assassin.
 
In lieu of promoting future mixed martial arts fights, Affliction has decided to concentrate on their clothing business and become a sponsor of the UFC. While it may come as a surprise, this deal will most likely be a good thing for MMA fans all over the world. We've all been hearing about a possible Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brock Lesnar title bout since Lesnar's destruction of Frank Mir at UFC 100. However, the UFC and Fedor's camp were never very close on a deal that was satisfactory to both camps. This agreement brings that bout one step closer to actually happening.
 
Fedor vs. Barnett wasn't the only fight that MMA fans wanted to see. The Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Gegard Mousasi was also cancelled and will now take place at Strikeforce on August 15th. The news is not so rosey for fighters on the Affliction roster. While some fighters will find work with the UFC or Strikeforce, others will be sent scrambling. And according to some Affliction fighters, there's no love lost for Barnett.
 
"Josh Barnett should pay everybody said one Affliction fighter. He F#@ked up bad." Said one Affliction fighter.
 
It remains to be seen what the UFC will do with Affliction's fighter contracts.