Tom Atencio Lands on His Feet

Affliction’s own Tom Atencio stepped in and got some one on one training with the MMA Legend.

Josh Barnett’s failed drug test brought MMA promotion Affliction to the end of the line and Atencio and Affliction Entertainment canceled Affliction:Trilogy which had been scheduled for Aug. 1, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“Finding an opponent for the number one-ranked MMA heavyweight 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 Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio. “But in the end, we just didn’t have enough time to promote a new fight to our standards.”

The cancellation marked the end for Affliction as a player in mixed martial arts promotion. It went down with the announcement of heavyweight Josh Barnett’s failed drug test. The California State Athletic Commission refused to license Barnett as a result of the positive test for an anabolic steroid, and that test  forced him out of the Trilogy main event against Fedor Emelianenko on Wednesday.

Promoters cast their net far and wide to find a replacement opponent for Emelianenko and considered middleweight Vitor Belfort, light heavyweight prospect Muhammed Lawal and heavyweights Brett Rogers, Paul Buentello, Jeff Monson and Bobby Lashley, but it never happened and Atencio was forced to call it quits.

Do I miss promoting fights?

Of course I do — it was great. There’s nothing like being in the forefront, and I don’t care what anybody says, when people recognize you, it’s a great feeling.

When people know what you do and follow you, it’s a great feeling. They still do, it’s just not as obvious, I guess you can say. It was a great ride, and I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.

- Tom Atencio of Affliction Entertainment