Justin Levens

Veteran mixed martial artist Justin Levens and his wife, Sarah McLean-Levens, were found shot dead yesterday at their home in Southern California.

Authorities investigating the deaths suspect it to be a murder-suicide based on preliminary findings, including no signs of a struggle and a gun recovered at the scene.

The 28-year old Levens was 9-8 in his professional career, which included stints in the IFL, WEC, and UFC. After a promising 6-0 start, Levens struggled, losing 8 of his next 10 bouts including both of his UFC matchups against Evan Tanner and Jorge Santiago. He has not fought since an October 2007 loss to Kenny Ento, but had been scheduled to compete at Affliction “Banned” in July. He was scratched from the card due to time constraints and subsequently tested positive for the banned painkiller oxymorphone.

Leven’s pre-event drug test returned levels of 10,141 ng/mL, nearly 10,000 ng/mL higher than the CSAC’s cutoff for oxymorphone of 120 ng/mL.

A loser of five-straight and eight of his last ten, Levens has been fined $1,000 and suspended for six months by the CSAC as a result of the positive test. He has the right to appeal the ruling.

Levens’ positive test was revealed just hours after UFC light heavyweight James Irvin was confirmed to have tested positive for the same painkiller following his loss to Anderson Silva in Nevada.

The ten-bout event took place on Saturday, July 19th, at The Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Main event winner Fedor Emelianenko took home $300,000 for his 36-second knockout of Tim Sylvia, who received $800,000 for the first-round loss. Other notable salaries for the event included Andrei Arlovski, who earned $750,000, Ben Rothwell, who received $250,000, Josh Barnett, who took home $300,000, and Matt Lindland, who also earned $300,000.

“Banned” had a paid attendance of 11,242 and a total attendance of 14,832 for a live gate of $2,085,510.

The disclosed payroll for the event was $3,321,000.

The salaries listed below represent the official fighter salaries as reported by the promoter to the CSAC and do not include some bonuses, fees, or sponsorships.

Fedor Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia
Emelianenko — $300,000 (no win bonus)
Sylvia — $800,000

Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell
Arlovski — $750,000 (includes $250,000 win bonus)
Rothwell — $250,000

Josh Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo
Barnett — $300,000 (no win bonus)
Rizzo — $70,000

Mark Hominick def. Savant Young
Hominick — $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Young — $7,000

Renato “Babalu” Sobral def. Mike Whitehead
Sobral — $90,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
Whitehead — $50,000

Matt Lindland def. Fabio Negao
Lindland — $300,000 (includes $75,000 win bonus)
Negao — $20,000

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin Dewees
Nogueira — $50,000 (no win bonus)
Dewees — $15,000

Mike Pyle def. JJ Ambrose
Pyle — $20,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus)
Ambrose — $5,000

Vitor Belfort def. Terry Martin
Belfort — $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus)
Martin — $30,000

Paul Buentello def. Gary Goodridge
Buentello — $80,000 (includes $20,000 win bonus)
Goodridge — $25,000

Ray Lamaza vs. Justin Levens – Canceled due to time constraints
Lamaza — $3,000
Levens — $6,000

For a complete recap of Affliction “Banned” click here.

The ten-bout event took place on Saturday, July 19th, in front of a sold out crowd of 13,988 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Sylvia came out punching at the opening of the bout but just seconds in Emelianenko floored Sylvia with several quick-but-powerful punch combinations. On the ground Fedor continued the barrage, pounding on Sylvia before sinking in hooks and securing a rear naked choke that forced Sylvia to tap out just 36 seconds into the championship contest.

Emelianenko, long-regarded as the best heavyweight but doubted over the strength of his opponents, was crowned the first-ever WAMMA heavyweight champion following the first-round submission victory while Sylvia looks to regroup after dropping his second straight bout and third of his past four.

“You never know how short or long the fight will be, but I just wanted to end it as quickly as possible. I just wanted to show the fans my skills,” said Fedor following the victory. “I would be very honored to fight Randy Couture.”

“I was amazed at how good he is. The guy’s a stud. I don’t think he’s human. He’s incredible. I don’t think anybody’s going to beat him for a while,” remarked Sylvia following the defeat.

Former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski displayed superior striking in his matchup with IFL standout Ben Rothwell, stopping his opponent with a right-uppercut combination early in the third round to earn the knockout victory.

“I think they got their money’s worth tonight. I did a lot of work on my boxing,” said Arlovski following the knockout win. “I want to fight Fedor, Josh or anybody Affliction chooses.”

Following a slow first round between Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo the pace picked up in the second as both fighters were content to trade. Barnett connected with a vicious left hook that dropped Rizzo to the canvas and finished him off with several more shots on the ground before Referee Herb Dean halted the bout at 1:44 of the second.

After a paced opening frame featherweight Mark Hominick submitted Savant Young via armbar at 4:25 of the second.

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Renato “Babalu” Sobral was victorious in his return, defeating Mike Whitehead via unanimous decision by utilizing crisp and accurate striking.

Matt Lindland overwhelmed Fabio Negao to earn a unanimous decision victory with scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26.

“He was so damn tough. He was the real deal,” said Lindland of his opponent following the bout.

As expected, heavy favorite Antonio Rogerio Nogueira stopped Edwin Dewees with a combination at 4:06 of the opening round.

Vitor Belfort stopped Terry Martin in the second round of their middleweight contest with a flying knee followed by an uppercut-left combination that collapsed Martin into the ropes.

Paul Buentello was unable to finish off late replacement Gary Goodridge but did enough to earn a unanimous decision victory.

Mike Pyle defeated JJ Ambrose with a rear naked choke at 2:51 of the opening round.

A scheduled bout between Ray Lamaza and Justin Levens was canceled due to time constraints but both fighters were paid their base salary as well as a bonus.

QUICK RESULTS

Former PRIDE heavyweight champion and top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko took on former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in the “Banned” main event. Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell, Josh Barnett vs. Pedro Rizzo, Mike Whitehead vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao were also featured on the main, pay-per-view card while Terry Martin vs. Vitor Belfort and Gary Goodridge  vs. Paul Buentello were featured on a preliminary Fox Sports Net broadcast.

Continue reading for MMAFrenzy.com’s live coverage of Affliction “Banned”…

QUICK RESULTS

• Fedor Emelianenko def. Tim Sylvia via submission – Round 1, 0:36
  WAMMA Heavyweight Championship
• Andrei Arlovski def. Ben Rothwell via KO – Round 3, 1:13
• Josh Barnett def. Pedro Rizzo via KO – Round 2, 1:44
• Mark Hominick def. Savant Young via submission – Round 2, 4:25
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral def. Mike Whitehead via unanimous decision
• Matt Lindland def. Fabio Negao via unanimous decision
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Edwin Dewees via TKO – Round 1, 4:06
• Mike Pyle def. J.J. Ambrose via submission – Round 1, 2:51
• Vitor Belfort def. Terry Martin via KO – Round 2, 3:12
• Paul Buentello def. Gary Goodridge via unanimous decision
• Ray Lazama vs. Justin Levens

Affliction “Banned” Betting Odds

• Fedor Emelianenko (-350) vs. Tim Sylvia (+275)
  WAMMA Heavyweight Championship
• Andrei Arlovski (-225) vs. Ben Rothwell (+185)
• Josh Barnett (-450) vs. Pedro Rizzo (+300)
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral (-260) vs. Mike Whitehead (+190)
• Matt Lindland (-500) vs. Fabio Negao (+350)
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (-1500) vs. Edwin Dewees (+700)
• Mike Pyle (-450) vs. JJ Ambrose (+300)
• Justin Levens (-240) vs. Ray Lazama (+190)
• Paul Buentello (N/A) vs. Gary Goodridge (N/A)
• Vitor Belfort (-260) vs. Terry Martin (+200)
• Mark Hominick (-130) vs. Savant Young (EVEN)

Bet on MMA at Bodog

* Emelianenko was pulled from his scheduled bout against Buentello after he failed to be licensed by the CSAC for undisclosed reasons. Emelianenko will be replaced by Gary Goodridge.

REMINDER: MMAFrenzy.com will have live coverage of Affliction “Banned” tomorrow, July 19th, beginning at 8pm ET.

The superstar-studded card is so stacked with talent that it had to be separated into two live shows produced for broadcast. The night’s activities will kick off with a one-hour, free live telecast on FSN (Fox Sports Net) starting at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM/ET), dubbed “Affliction Live.” Following that is “Affliction Banned”—five incredible fights on pay-per-view starting at 6 PM/PT (9 PM/ET) via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewers Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice in the United States and Canada for a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Kicking off the night with “Affliction Live” on FSN is the highly anticipated US debut of Russian heavyweight Aleksander Emelianenko (13-3), brother of Fedor Emelianenko, against tough Texan brawler Paul “The Headhunter” Buentello (23-10), of Amarillo, and Brazilian strongman, Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira (13-3) against veteran Vernon “Tiger” White (26-32-2), fighting out of Palo Alto, California.

Then, live on pay-per-view, “Affliction Banned” features the much-anticipated return of the former undisputed PRIDE heavyweight champion and Russian M-1 legend Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko (27-1), who takes on former 2-time UFC heavyweight title-holder Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia (24-4), fighting out of Iowa by way of his native Maine, in the main event.

The co-feature of the night will match Former UFC heavyweight title-holder Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski (12-5), fighting out of Chicago by way of Belarus, facing IFL titlist “Big” Ben Rothwell (29-5) of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The PPV action continues with three more super showdowns as Josh “The Baby Faced Assassin” Barnett (21-5) of Seattle, faces off stateside for the first time in two years in a grudge match against the only opponent to ever knock him out—Brazilian strongman Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo (16-7); three-time All-American wrestler Mike Whitehead (20-5) of Salt Lake City battles Brazilian sensation Renato “Babalu” Sobral (29-7) of Costa Mesa, California; and 2000 Olympic Wrestling Silver Medalist and Oregon House of Representative candidate, Matt “The Law” Lindland (20-5) meets Brazilian favorite Fabio “Negao” Nascimento (8-3).

Finally, for the thousands in attendance at the Honda Center, the off television swing bouts will fill out an exciting night of action as light-heavyweights Terry Martin (16-4) of Chicago vs. Victor “The Phenom” Belfort (16-8) from Brazil, and Justin Levens (9-8) of Laguna Niguel (CA) vs. unbeaten San Diego prospect Patrick Speight (6-0); welterweight JJ Ambrose (9-1) of Lakewood (CA) vs. Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (15-5-1) of Las Vegas; and lightweight Savant Young (8-7) of Lakewood (CA) vs. Mark “The Machine” Hominick (15-8), representing Ontario, Canada.

Tickets for “Affliction Banned” range between $50.00 and $1,000.00, and are on sale at the Honda Center Box Office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.

• Tim Sylvia vs. Fedor Emelianenko
• Pedro Rizzo vs. Josh Barnett
• Matt Lindland vs. Fabio Negao
• Renato “Babalu” Sobral vs. Mike Whitehead
• Ben Rothwell vs. TBD

PRELIMINARY BOUTS

• Savant Young vs. Mark Hominick
• Ray Lamaza vs. Justin Levens
• JJ Ambrose vs. Patrick Speight
• Brett Cooper vs. Mike Pyle

Rumored Bouts

• Andrei Arlovski vs. Ben Rothwell
• Paul Buentello vs. Aleksander Emelianenko

For the latest Affliction rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.