Josh Barnett's appeal to the California State Athletic Commission has been delayed for the fourth time and won't be heard until the commission's next meeting on April 20.
The commission delayed the appeal when Barnett, 32, failed to appear at an official commission meeting today in Los Angeles. Barnett's lawyer, Michael DiMaggio, spoke on behalf of Barnett and was denied a request to continue without the fighter.
Shannon Hooper, Barnett's manager, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Monday that Barnett was in Japan on Sunday for a pro wrestling match and will return to the U.S. later today.
"If the CSAC was requiring his presence, he wasn't aware of it," Hooper said.
But George Dodd, the CSAC's new executive director, said Barnett was notified via letter that he was required to be at the appeal.
"The letter went out when his license was first denied," Dodd said. "When we came [to Los Angeles], we were fully expecting him to be here. We didn't know he was out of the country fighting."
This past July, Barnett was denied a license to fight Fedor Emelianenko at "Affliction: Trilogy" when he failed the first random drug test in the commission's history. Barnett tested positive for a metabolite of the synthetic steroid Drostanolone.
Shortly after the denial, Barnett claimed the test was not random and vowed to resolve the issue with the commission.
"I had no reason to believe there would be any issues and went in to submit my sample at the earliest possible opportunity on June 25," he wrote on his Myspace page. "I never once thought there would be a problem."
Affliction canceled "Trilogy" eight days before its Aug. 1, 2009 event date and subsequently folded its MMA-promotion division. Emelianenko and his management company, M-1 Global, sued the clothing company this past November for breach of contract. A trial is expected on Nov. 16 of this year.
Barnett and DiMaggio postponed appeal dates on Aug. 24 and Oct. 26 of last year after they said they didn't receive requested case information from the CSAC. A third appeal date on Dec. 8 was rescheduled when the New York-based DiMaggio was unable to make a commission meeting due to bad weather on the East Coast.
In an interview with Mauro Renallo on The Fight Show last week, Barnett said he is clear to continue his career anywhere except California and will fight as soon as the right offer is made.
"If they want me to fight, all they have to do is step up to the plate, throw me an opponent, and don't put something in front of me that's a slap in my face or ridiculous," Barnett said.
Barnett said he has spoken with Strikeforce, where Emelianenko currently resides, but did not go into specifics about negotiations.
Dodd said the commission will likely make a final ruling on Barnett's appeal during the April 20 meeting.
Barnett (24-5), a former UFC heavyweight champion who's long been ranked among the division's top 10, has not fought in MMA since this January 2009, when he defeated Gilbert Yvel via submission at "Affliction: Day of Reckoning."
(article written by Steven Morrocco of mmajunkie and yahoooooo sports.)
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