Fedor Emelianenko, the best heavyweight in mixed martial arts, will fight former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski on January 24 in Anaheim.
The long-rumored Affliction fight was confirmed today by MMA Rated. It will be the main event on Affliction: Day of Reckoning, the first pay-per-view MMA card promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. A formal announcement of the full card is expected to come next week.
Fedor, who needed just 36 seconds to beat Tim Sylvia in July, is widely regarded as the world's best heavyweight. But finding quality opposition for him has been difficult. Other than Fedor, Arlovski is probably the best heavyweight outside the UFC, so this is a fight that hard-core MMA fans will want to see.
The question remains, though, of just how many people will buy this card on pay-per-view. Arlovski gained name recognition when he beat Roy Nelson on CBS on Saturday night, and Fedor was heavily promoted during the CBS show, but will that translate to pay-per-view success? Affliction had better hope so.
