We’re back with FGB Radio.

I interview Tim Starks to talk about Vernon Forrest’s career. As a bonus, if you listen all the way to the end, I add the second part of our conversation which focused on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight, which also goes head to head with UFC 103.

Then Big D and I talk Affliction, take Twitter questions from the listeners, welcome JP who calls in to talk Fedor, and finish off with talk about SummerSlam.

The show is Twitter interactive, so follow us on Twitter @fightgameblog. You can also follow Big D @EmperorBigD, and Stevie J (who hosts this podcast) @Angrymarks.

Thanks to Stevie J for letting us be a part of his Angrymarks podcasting network. Please visit Angrymarks for all the news in pro wrestling and MMA.

Listen to the show below.

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UFC is set to make what they considered a HUGE announcement this Friday. The speculation and rumors about Fedor Emelianenko‘s signing and battling with Brock Lesnar are climaxing more and more. Dave Meltzer says they have bigger fish to fry, but what? What could possibly be bigger than that?

Well we’ve learned that UFC has actually picked up 20 contracts from Affliction MMA, as part of an absorbtion deal. We are not sure of who exactly is signed, but I can definitely tell you UFC President Dana White has had interest in bringing back Vitor Belfort as well as a handful of others.

InsideFights.com reports the following:

We have no word on which contracts have been picked up, but they would appear to be lower-tier fighters. Gegard Mousasi and Renato Sobral are scheduled for a bout at the Strikeforce show on Aug. 15, so we can rule them out as potential pickups. Jay Hieron will allegedly face Nick Diaz for the Strikeforce welterweight title (although we’ve heard conflicting reports today on whether or not Hieron has actually signed the deal at this point), so he can be ruled out as well.

You can read the full article by clicking here.

We now await Friday…

P.S. – I will be doing my critically acclaimed Superfriends Podcast tonight at 10PM where we will preview the forthcoming UFC 101: Declaration PPV. You can listen live tonight at 10PM here. Parental Discretion is Advised.

Well, all that worrying about who Fedor Emelianenko’s new opponent was going to be when Josh Barnett failed his steroid test, is for naught.

According to this Yahoo/MMA Weekly story, the show has been canceled.

We’ll update this story if there’s more to it.

Update: 5:15 PM

It looks like Affliction, the MMA company is done.

Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports reported that Affliction is no more.

The company and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are expected to release a statement sometime on Friday in which it is announced that Affliction will cease operations as a promoter and that its clothing division will become a UFC sponsor.

We are back at square one.

Big D and I did a test show the other day to see if we wanted to do a more regular version of FGB Radio.

We are heavy on the latest topics with emphasis on opinions. Please let us know what you think. It will help me make the decision on whether to go on a regular schedule or not.

Also, we want to make it Twitter interactive, so follow us on Twitter @fightgameblog.

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Late last night, rumors hit that Josh Barnett was out of his scheduled match against Fedor Emelianenko, which was the main event for Affliction’s August 1st show.

Today, it looks like those rumors are true.

Here’s what is known so far:

- It’s related to Barnett trying to renew his license in California.

- The California State Athletic Commission is supposed to make a report on exactly what happened today.

- The top three replacements are supposedly Brett Rogers, Bobby Lashley, and Vitor Belfort (who is scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago on the same show at 185). It looks like Lashley may have already pulled himself out of the running. And Rogers is under contract to Strikeforce so something would have to be worked out.

We will definitely know more later today and I will update this post when we find out.

Update: 2:45 PM Pacific

According to a press release from the CSAC, Josh Barnett failed for steroids. Here’s part of the press release below:

Barnett’s June 25 drug test came back positive for 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one, an anabolic steroid. CSAC learned of the results July 21 and immediately denied a license for Barnett. CSAC also informed the promoter of Barnett’s August 1 bout against Fedor Emelianenko that the bout would not be approved.

2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one is Clostebol according to Bloodyelbow.com.

Update: 7/23/09 2:10 PM Pacific

Dave Meltzer says what Barnett failed for was Masteron, a steroid used for athletes cutting to get into a lower weight class and attempting to maintain as much strength as possible such as bodybuilders, powerlifters, and MMA fighters.

He also says in today’s F4W/Wrestling Observer update that it’s either going to be Brett Rogers or Vitor Belfort and Rogers’ wants it bad even though he hasn’t been training.

Lastly, he also posted this:

California announced Josh Barnett was not going to be suspended, he was just being denied a license to fight. That’s a key issue because not being on the suspended list would allow him to fight as long as another state would license him, and there would be no reason not to except if they asked him to test beforehand (which many states would) and he were to fail that test as well.

So, if Barnett wants to fight in the US, he can as long as another state would license him and he wouldn’t fail the test to get that license.

Not to sound like some kind of internet stalker, but according to twitter accounts of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and UFC President Dana White, the two have made amends. Tito claims that he expects to be back in the octagon very soon (a prediction Mike Sawyer made well over a year ago after Tito’s last match with Lyoto Machida).

Ortiz had been telling the media that he was negotiating with other MMA groups such as Affliction and Strikeforce, going so far as to say that fighting for Strikeforce was a guarantee. Now it looks like we will probably see Ortiz on a UFC PPV before the end of 2009.

Tito and Dana have had a less-than-friendly relationship with each other, often publicly insulting each other but almost always making up. This “feud” was highlighted on an often-forgotten Spike TV UFC special called “Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White: Bad Blood”, where a special exhibition boxing fight was built up for the duration of the special, telling the story of how the feud started, why they hated each other so much, and Dana’s preparation to fight a former world champion. As for the actual fight – Tito no-showed. It was a lose-lose situation for him.

This however, is a win-win for the UFC, Tito, AND the fans. It’s just another major star UFC can add to their roster. Question is, who will Tito fight in his return? The 205 lb division is STACKED with talent, but I guess this will be a wait and see type situation.