Aleksander Emelianenko failed to meet medical licensing requirements and was scratched from his bout against Paul Buentello at the Affliction: Banned event on July 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
At the time, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) Executive Director, Armando Garcia, was unable to elaborate on the situation due to California’s very strict medical privacy laws. And since Gary Goodrich was able to step-up on such short notice to replace him, much of the fallout from Emelianenko’s ban went by the wayside.
Then last week, Emelianenko tried to further downplay the incident by going public with his side of the story. Perhaps it was to dispel rumors that he was afflicted with very serious medical problems. Or maybe it was just to clear the air and reassure fans that he intends on competing at Affliction: 'Day of Reckoning'.
Either way, it wasn't very successful.
It seems his simple explanation of missed deadlines and poor timing isn't sitting well with Bill Douglas and the rest of the suits over at the CSAC, who fired back recently on the Figure Four Daily Radio Show.
From Douglas:
"The one thing that I can absolutely say is that he (Emelianenko) was not and will not be cleared to fight in California. He is officially denied a license and that will stand for all of the United States of America".
Pretty strong words from the commission.
Whether or not Emelianenko chooses to keep the rhetoric going is entirely up to him. But whatever he chooses, the CSAC sounds ready to refute him at every turn.
If Emelianenko has some sort of documented proof that he was medically cleared, now is the time to show it. Otherwise, he might want to take a page from our book and plead the fifth.
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