Sherdog’s Top 10: Matches That Were Never Made

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4. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett

In its brief existence, the Affliction promotion acquired a boatload of big-name heavyweight talent, enough to rival any mixed martial arts organization at that time. The crown jewel of the roster, of course, was Emelianenko, who earned victories over Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski as headliner of the promotion’s first two events.

While those two matchups generated their fair share of interest, neither was as highly anticipated as the proposed meeting between Emelianenko and Barnett at Affliction “Trilogy” on Aug. 1 2009. At the time, Emelianenko and Barnett were arguably the top two heavyweights in the world. Unfortunately, Barnett failed a pre-fight drug test, and the California State Athletic Commission denied “The Warmaster” a license, resulting in the cancellation of the bout. As a result, the entire card was scrapped, and Affliction went under shortly thereafter. In typical fashion, Emelianenko took the news of the lost fight in stride.

“Josh is a great, strong fighter. I’ve always followed his fights and liked him as a competitor and as a person. I was very prepared, totally ready for a good, hard fight,” he told Sherdog.com. “But what can you do? I am disappointed, though I’m glad that after all I don’t have to fight a friend.”

There were other opportunities for the fight to occur. In 2010, rumors of a Barnett-Emelianenko matchup in Dream -- where Barnett could still compete as he fought his positive drug test -- tantalized, but never came to fruition. In 2011, Strikeforce’s heavyweight grand prix offered the potential of a final featuring the two former Pride standouts, but Emelianenko was upset by Antonio Silva in the tournament’s first round.

While the fight could certainly generate its fair share of interest even today, the Russian closed the curtain on his career in June. Some things just are not meant to be.

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