M-1 and Fedor Emelianenko have filed a lawsuit against Affliction Clothing, Affliction Entertainment, and other unnamed parties alleging breach of contract stemming from the cancellation of “Affliction: Trilogy” and folding of the MMA promotion earlier this year as part of a deal struck with the UFC.

The lawsuit alleges that Affliction “elected to serve its own financial interests at the expense of its partners” and hints that UFC may soon be added as another plaintiff.

The UFC will soon make several major announcements, according to UFC President Dana White, who said during a charity radio appearance on ESPN 11oo in Las Vegas on Friday that the promotion will hold a press conference on July 31 to announce “a lot of crazy things”.

The presser could be used to offer additional details on its “collaboration” with Affliction, with the latest reports suggesting the UFC will acquire all of the former-promotion’s contracts except Fedor Emelianenko, or possibly a deal to bring the UFC to ESPN.

Affliction partner M-1 Global on Saturday issued its first statement on the cancellation of Affliction: Trilogy, apologizing to fans who planned to attend or watch the event and saying that the decision to cancel the card was made without “warning or prior notice”.

“M-1 Global understands and shares the disappointment being expressed by many fans that Fedor will not be able to compete on Aug. 1 as scheduled,” read the statement. “However, we will work to ensure that Fedor returns to active competition as soon as possible.”

UFC President Dana WhiteThe UFC on Saturday issued a press release officially announcing its previously reported deal with Affliction, which folded its MMA promotion on Friday to join the UFC as a sponsor, saying that the companies had “agreed to a collaboration” that will benefit MMA and its growing fan base.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports has updated his earlier report, which said a merger between Strikeforce and Affliction was already or nearly completed, to instead reveal that Affliction will no longer promote MMA events and will instead become a UFC sponsor, though at this moment the fate of its contracted fighters is unknown.

Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole breaks news that a merger between Strikeforce and Affliction is in the works or may already be completed, though perhaps more interesting is the deal that didn’t happen with the UFC:

“Several sources have said that Affliction and Strikeforce will have some type of merger with Strikeforce retaining its name. Affliction’s Tom Atencio denied any merger is imminent, and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker is in Italy on vacation and couldn’t be reached for comment. However, two independent sources told Yahoo! Sports a deal is either completed or on the verge of completion.”

Affliction on Friday announced the cancellation of its August 1 “Trilogy” event, which was to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and air live on pay-per-view, citing its inability to fight a suitable opponent to face Fedor Emelianenko in the event’s headliner.

Numerous possible opponents were mentioned in recent days, including Vitor Belfort, Bobby Lashley, Brett Rogers, and Jeff Monson, but ultimately the promotion decided it was better to scrap the card, while vowing to promote future shows.

An opponent has still not been finalized to fight Fedor Emelianenko in the main event of Affliction: Trilogy, which takes place on August 1 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Vitor Belfort, Brett Rogers, and Jeff Monson are all rumored to be possibilites for the slot, left after Josh Barnett was forced out of the fight following a positive steroid test, with an official announcement expected soon.

Top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, whose original Affliction: Trilogy opponent Josh Barnett recently tested positive for steroids and was removed from the contest, took part in a press conference on Thursday in Moscow where he commented on the news:

“I feel disappointed about this situation. But I will fight anyone who Affliction puts in front of me. I know a lot of fans waited for this fight to happen and I am sorry for them. I can’t do much about it now but I am in good shape, my training has been good and continues to go well.”

Josh Barnett, who was forced out of his Affliction: Trilogy headliner against Fedor Emelianenko after testing positive for steroids, has issued a statement via MySpace regarding the failed test:

“It was not a random test. I had no reason to believe there would be any issues and went in to submit my sample at the earliest possible opportunity on June 25. I never once thought there would be a problem.”

Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers, Strikeforce heavyweight contenders mentioned as possible replacements for Josh Barnett, will not be fighting Fedor Emelianenko on August 1 at Affliction: Trilogy.

“It’s safe to say neither Fabricio or Brett will be fighting on Aug. 1,” Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz told MMAjunkie. “The plan is still for Fabricio to fight on Aug. 15, and we hope to have an opponent named soon. As for Brett, nothing is finalized, but he won’t be fighting on Aug. 1.”

Affliction held a conference call on Wednesday afternoon with the media to discuss Josh Barnett’s positive test for a banned substance, which has resulted in his removal from the promotion’s August 1 “Trilogy” main event against Fedor Emelianenko, and their hunt for a replacement to face Emelianenko at the pay-per-view event.

On the call, Affliction’s Tom Atencio said the promotion was in talks with 3 fighters (reported to be Brett Rogers, Vitor Belfort, and Ricardo Arona) to replace Barnett and square off with Fedor, but said nothing was official and that talks were ongoing.

Middleweight Vitor Belfort has agreed in principle to replace Josh Barnett, who tested positive for steroids in an out-of-competition drug test, and fight heavyweight Emelianenko in the main event of “Trilogy” at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, according to MMAjunkie.

Financial negotiations are ongoing between Belfort and Affliction, with the promotion expected to formally announce a replacement later today.

A positive test for steroids will prevent Josh Barnett from fighting Fedor Emelianenko next Saturday in the main event of Affliction: Trilogy.

According to Fox Fight Game, Barnett tested positive for steroids in the first out-of-competition drug test administered by the California State Athletic Commission and will likely be issued a one year suspension.

Affliction’s Tom Atencio has confirmed to Fanhouse that, as previously reported, Josh Barnett is out of his Affliction: Trilogy headliner against Fedor Emelianenko after a pre-fight drug screening was positive for a banned substance

Atencio declined to reveal what substance Barnett tested positive for and went on to say that, although the main event is no longer intact, “at this point” the event is still expected to take place.