Former UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell will reportedly not retire despite the wishes of Dana White, with rumors swirling that he could return to action this fall, possibly for a bout against Rich Franklin.

The anticipated showdown between TUF 10 coaches Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans is expected to headline UFC 107 on December 19 in Las Vegas.

Continue reading for the latest MMA news and notes in MMAFrenzy.com’s Quick Hits…

Veteran heavyweight Andrei Arlovski is now a free agent after Affliction opted not to re-sign “The Pitbull”, whose contract recently expired following back-to-back losses.

Affliction vice president Tom Atencio confirmed the news on Tuesday with Fighters Only, and also that the company will keep Tim Sylvia under contract for now despite back-to-back losses of his own and that Affliction has no plans for Fedor’s brother Aleksander Emelianenko to fight for them in the future.

Aleksander Emelianenko (15-3) won his sixth-straight bout on Sunday at ProFC 5: Russia vs. Europe, defeating Ibragim Magomedov (21-6-1) via first-round TKO at the Palace of Sports in Rostov-on-do, Russia.

Fedor Emelianenko

Fedor Emelianenko is considered to be the best heavyweight fighter in the history of MMA, ranking in the top 2 or 3 in every pound for pound ranking you will find. In Russia he is their Michael Jordan, but his sport of calling is Sambo. Fedor and his brother Aleksander will enter the [...]

Affliction heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (14-3), the younger brother of WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, posted a first-round knockout of South Korean Sang Soo Lee (10-5) on Saturday in the main event of M-1 Challenger 9 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Emelianenko earned the victory with a right hook midway through the opening round that dropped Lee [...]

Middleweights Vitor Belfort and Matt Lindland will square off on the main card of Affliction “Day of Reckoning”, which takes place on October 11th in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view.
Belfort (17-8) defeated Terry Martin at Affliction’s first-ever event in July, but is currently serving a 180-day medical suspension and will need to be cleared [...]

It seems the always temperamental California State Athletic Commission has struck yet again. While it was widely speculated that a case of Hepatitis kept Aleksander Emelianenko out of his scheduled bout at Affliction “Banned”, it now appears that it was merely a matter of paperwork:
“I passed the medical board and my license to fight was [...]

Aleksander Emelianenko, the younger brother of WAMMA heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko and an established MMA heavyweight, has tested positive for Hepatitis B according to MMANews.com, confirming earlier rumors that Emelianenko was pulled from Affliction “Banned” on July 19th after testing positive for the virus:
“A source close to the situation…explained that the blood tests came back [...]

Leonard Garcia has agreed to a September 10th featherweight bout against former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver at WEC 36. [MMA Junkie]
Anderson Silva will likely face Patrick Cote in a middleweight title bout at UFC 88 in Atlanta. [MMA Weekly]
A long-rumored bout between welterweight contenders Thiago Alves and Diego Sanchez has been moved from UFC [...]

UFC and PRIDE veteran Gary Goodridge will replace Aleksander Emelianenko against Paul Buentello at Affliction “Banned” after Emelianenko failed to be licensed for the bout by the California State Athletic Commission for undisclosed reasons.
According to Sherdog.com Goodridge was “already in California, licensed and expecting to fight in San Diego this weekend on a card that [...]

Fedor Emelianenko (230) vs. Tim Sylvia (263)
WAMMA Heavyweight Championship
Andrei Arlovski (241) vs. Ben Rothwell (264)
Josh Barnett (256) vs. Pedro Rizzo (242)
Renato “Babalu” Sobral (201) vs. Mike Whitehead (206)
Matt Lindland (185) vs. Fabio Negao (185)
Edwin Dewees (205) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (205)
JJ Ambrose (170) vs. Mike Pyle (171)
Ray Lazama (186) vs. Justin Levens (189)
Paul Buentello vs. [...]

Affliction “Banned” betting odds courtesy of Bodog. Support MMAFrenzy.com by opening an account today!
Affliction “Banned” Betting Odds

Fedor Emelianenko (-400) vs. Tim Sylvia (+275)
Josh Barnett (-450) vs. Pedro Rizzo (+300)
Renato Sobral (-260) vs. Mike Whitehead (+190)
Matt Lindland (-500) vs. Fabio Negao (+350)
Aleksander Emelianenko (-350) vs. Paul Buentello (+275)
Mike Pyle (-325) vs. Brett Cooper (+250)

Bet on MMA [...]

Fans worldwide now will have a free sneak peak at “Affliction Banned”, the greatest MMA event ever staged. George Greenberg, Fox Sports Net (FSN) Executive Vice President of Programming and Production, announced last week that FSN will air the undercard of the “Affliction Banned” event live on Saturday, July 19 at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM [...]

Affliction Entertainment will make MMA history with the greatest line-up of mixed-martial-arts fights ever presented in one night. Live on July 19th, from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, “Affliction Banned” will showcase talent from around the world in the fastest growing sport on earth.
The superstar-studded card is so stacked with talent that it had [...]