“Trilogy” was to take place on August 1 in Anaheim, California, but was put in doubt when headliner Josh Barnett, who was to fight Emelianenko in the pay-per-view’s main event, tested positive for steroids and was forced off the card in late-July. The event was ultimately canceled citing the promotion’s inability to secure a suitable replacement, though the lawsuit alleges that Brett Rogers was “ready, willing, and able” to fight Fedor at the event and that Affliction “elected to serve its own financial interests at the expense of its partners”.

Emelianenko and Rogers are now slated to headline Saturday’s Strikeforce event on CBS, which is co-promoted by M-1.

The lawsuit outlines a number of allegations regarding the relationship between M-1 and Affliction, most of which concern the deal between Affliction and the UFC which resulted in the cancellation of the event and closure of Affliction Entertainment, an independent branch of the company which promoted MMA events, even though a viable replacement opponent had been secured and the show could have taken place as scheduled.

Bloody Elbow and MMA Payout have further details on the lawsuit, including that wording of the complaint makes it appear likely that the UFC will soon be added as a defendant alongside Affliction.

Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s top-ranked heavyweight who was set to headline the event prior to its cancellation, along with 34 others were en route from Russia to Anaheim, California when they learned of the sudden cancellation of the event after arriving at the airport.

Emelianenko was said to be “ready, willing, and able” to compete against anyone Affliction secured for the main event, after original opponent Josh Barnett failed to be licensed for the bout after testing positive for steroids.

“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.”

M-1 Global will launch its new “Breakthrough” fight series on August 28 in Los Angeles with an event co-headlined by “King” Mo Lawal vs. Don Frye and Karl Amoussou vs. Nick Thompson, and asked fans planning to attend “Trilogy” to instead support its upcoming card.

Statements from Fedor and M-1 Global Owner and President Vadim Finkelchtein will be released soon.

[Pictured: Fedor Emelianenko]

Emelianenko’s original opponent, Josh Barnett, failed to be licensed for the fight earlier this week after testing positive for steroids.

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.

The press release announcing the cancellation is below:

Seal Beach, California (July 24, 2009) – The highly anticipated fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett at the Affliction Trilogy MMA show has been cancelled. The mega fight was scheduled to take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim on August 1st. The unforeseen license denial of Josh Barnett gave Affliction limited time to find a replacement and adequately promote the new main event.

“Finding an opponent for the number one ranked MMA heavy weight champion in such a short period of time was a huge endeavor and I’m thrilled at the amount of fighters willing to take on this challenge,” said Tom Atencio, vice president of Affliction Entertainment. “But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards.”

Affliction is deeply disappointed that the under card is also cancelled through no fault of its own. Affliction stands behind the company’s brands and delivers premium products to the most passionate and loyal customers. Affliction’s first priority is to ensure that all future events live up to the company’s high standards.

Ticket holders for the canceled event should contact Ticketmaster or ticketmaster.com for a refund.

Emelianenko’s original opponent, Josh Barnett, was forced out of the fight yesterday after testing positive for steroids during a random pre-fight screening.

Belfort, a middleweight who was scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago on the card, has agreed in principle to fight Fedor, but other options continue to be explored.

Emelianenko’s management, maintaining that their client is open to fighting anyone, made it clear at a press conference earlier Thursday that they’d prefer a fight with undefeated Strikeforce heavyweight contender Brett Rogers, who is coming off a knockout of Arlovski. Strikeforce maintains that Rogers, and fellow Strikeforce heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum, won’t be fighting on August 1.

The latest possible opponent to appear in rumors is veteran heavyweight Jeff Monson, a Division I wrestler and Jiu Jitsu black belt, who should be in fighting shape with fights already scheduled for August 29 and September 15. Monson said earlier today that his name is “in the mix” in the pay-per-view headliner.

Affliction’s Tom Atencio stressed during a conference call with the media yesterday that rumors are just rumors until he announces a matchup, though an opponent is still expected to be officially named shortly.

[Pictured: Jeff Monson]

“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.”

Though he’s open to fighting anyone, M-1 Global’s Vadim Finkelchtein made it clear that they’d prefer a fight with heavyweight Brett Rogers, who is coming off a knockout of Andrei Arlovski, but would also accept a matchup with middleweight Vitor Belfort.

A replacement opponent is expected to be announced by the end of the day.

“Many of you are wondering what’s happening. What I can say is that when applying for my license, the CSAC asked for me to submit a urine sample for testing prior to granting my license as they do with everyone, I believe.

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.

My representatives and I are working to gather as much info as possible and handle this situation as best we can. I am embarrassed and want for nothing more than to resolve this issue and receive a license from the State of California as I have done many times already and for other states as well.

I am very thankful for all the great family, friends and fans that still support me.”

A replacement has still not been named to replace Barnett and fight Fedor in the August 1 main event.

“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.”

Middleweight Vitor Belfort, who was scheduled to fight Jorge Santiago at “Trilogy,” remains the most-likely opponent for Fedor, with some reports stating that Belfort has already reached an agreement to replace Barnett, though an official announcement has yet to be made.

It appears likely that Strikeforce is working on booking Rogers to replace Alistair Overeem against Werdum at its August 15 event. Overeem withdrew from his scheduled fight with Werdum yesterday due to a lingering hand injury, and having Werdum and Rogers square off, possibly with an interim heavyweight title on the line, now makes sense.

[Pictured: Brett Rogers]

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. He dismissed reports that a contract was in place with Belfort, saying nothing’s official until he announces the matchup.

Asked what substance Barnett tested positive for, Atencio, who called the news a “complete surprise” and a “disappointment”, directed questions to the California State Athletic Commission, saying he only learned of the positive test yesterday and was not told of the specific drug, other than it’s a banned substance.

Atencio said that a “B sample” from Barnett, taken at the same time as the first test, was being tested to confirm the positive result, but that the promotion is proceeding as though it will be upheld. Barnett is expected to appeal the failed drug test if it is upheld.

Since news of Barnett’s withdrawal from the card broke this morning, some questioned whether Fedor and his management, who have the ability to approve and decline any new opponent, would turn down some of the possible opponents who were under consideration to replace Barnett. Atencio says that Fedor is open to fighting anyone and wouldn’t back down from a fight, clearing the way for Affliction to announce a matchup as soon as a contract is reached.

Atencio made it clear that Affliction is looking to put on the best fight possible, and is negotiating with multiple fighters in hopes of putting on a fight that fans want to watch.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Affliction news and Affliction rumors.

[Pictured: Tom Atencio]

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

If Belfort is secured as a replacement, the fight must still be approved by the California State Athletic Commission, which has not yet been formally informed of the rumored matchup.

“I’ve heard that rumor as well and that has not been proposed to us and it is not even something we’re looking at seriously right now.  No one has even approached us with that.  Not to say they’re not going to approach us with it but no one has said anything about it at this time,” Assistant Executive Officer Bill Douglas told Bloody Elbow.

Stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com for the latest Affliction news and Affliction rumors.

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 confirmed earlier Wednesday that Barnett had tested positive for a banned substance, without disclosing additional details.

If confirmed, the positive test would be Barnett’s second, having previously tested positive for steroids after defeating Randy Couture for the  UFC heavyweight title in 2002.

The CSAC is expected to issue an official statement on Barnett sometime today.