.jpg "Bobby Lashley")
Despite rumors to the contrary, former WWE star turned MMA fighter and TNA Wrestling star Bobby Lashley will not be fighting Fedor Emelianenko at the Affliction "Trilogy" show on August 1st.
Originally, the main event was to feature Fedor vs. former UFC Heavyweight champion and PRIDE Fighting standout Josh Barnett. The fight was cancelled today when it was revealed that Barnett had failed his pre-fight drug test. As a quick side note, Barnett never lost his UFC Heavyweight title, rather, he was stripped for failing a post-fight drug test after his victory over MMA legend Randy Couture. So this isn’t the first time this has happened with Barnett.
The rumored replacement possibilities at this point include former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort, as well as Brett Rogers, the man who is coming off a knockout victory over former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
WrestleZone.com can exclusively confirm that Belfort has signed a deal to fight Fedor on short notice. Belfort was originally scheduled to fight in a Middleweight bout on the card anyways, so he’ll be putting on weight and going after the consensus best fighter/heavyweight in the world in Fedor.
WrestleZone.com can also confirm that Lashley was someone Affliction wanted to replace Barnett, but Lashley’s represenatives informed us that ten days is not enough time to train for a fight against someone such as Fedor of all people.
Bobby Lashley does have a fifth pro MMA fight scheduled, and for another WrestleZone exclusive on the details for that fight, CLICK HERE.
