The Weekly Wrap: July 25 - July 31

Barnett Issues Denial

Josh Barnett, whose steroid test failure helped derail the entire Affliction MMA promotion, issued a statement in which he “vehemently denies intentionally ingesting any banned substances.” The statement called Affliction’s decision to cancel its Aug. 1 card “hasty” and called into question the integrity and validity of the California State Athletic Commission’s testing method.

The statement was released before Yahoo! Sports reported Barnett’s “B” urine sample had tested positive for the same steroid metabolite that was detected in his “A” sample, which forced him to withdraw from a main event against Fedor Emelianenko. Barnett will not be allowed to apply for a new license to fight in California for one year. He plans to appeal.

Barnett also failed steroids tests administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2001 and 2002 when he was a UFC fighter. He will participate in a professional wrestling tag team match on Aug. 9 in Japan, where coverage of his stateside drama has been less than gentle.