Back in 2009, Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett were all set to do battle in a huge heavyweight match for Affliction. Barnett, however, could not get his license from CSAC, and the fight promotion eventually disbanded completely.
Both Emelianenko and Barnett joined Strikeforce, and both were even entered in the grand prix tournament. However, Fedor lost and has since left the promotion, while Barnett is on his way to the finals and a possible contract with the UFC.
However, if Barnett does not join the UFC, Emelianenko's management team at M-1 Global would like nothing more than putting the two inside a cage together.
"There are many other good fighters, whom we are considering (for Fedor's upcoming fights," said Vadim Finkelstein, president of M-1 Global, in an interview with Championat.com (thanks to The Underground for translating) recently. "For instance, Josh Barnett. We need to wait for the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament to end and then we can see how likely it is that we can arrange a fight."
Finkelstein also mentioned a possible rematch with Fabricio Werdum, but Werdum recently signed a new contract with the UFC and will meet Roy Nelson in 2012. As for Fedor, his next match will be on New Year's Eve against Satoshi Ishii at DREAM: New Year! 2011 in Saitama, Japan.
Fightline.com