With the collapse of Affliction and the imminent possibility of the UFC signing Fedor, what are the next milestones for the UFC?

"First, if the UFC does in fact sign Fedor that would be big for them. But more important is maintaining interest in the growth of the sport. Despite popular perception, MMA is still not a mainstream sport. MMA will be mainstream when it has mainstream sponsors such as Nike, Adidas, Coke, etc."

The UFC is in the midst of a systematic campaign of global expansion. The crown jewel of international fight markets is Japan. What obstacles will the UFC face if they try to break into Japan?

"They would need a Japanese partner in order to be successful. However, there are so many organizations in Japan already that are very successful with a loyal following of fans that it may not make sense for the UFC to go to Japan now. If I were advising the UFC I'd suggest they focus their energy on more fertile international markets such as Europe, Canada, and South America. The only reason to go into Japan at this time is for lack of a better term, ego, if they want to prove that they can promote shows wherever they want. But honestly, Japan may be more headache and energy than its worth. "

Josh Barnett's most recent positive test for steroids just days before Affliction: Trilogy was the final blow that brought tumbling down the house of cards that was Affliction's efforts to promote fights. Do you think that another organization will take a chance on Barnett or do you think his MMA career is over?

"It's too bad that this occurred for many reasons. Josh is smart guy and a good guy, but he certainly has done some damage to his career. I'm sure he is kicking himself. As it stands now, he will not be able to fight in the U.S. for a year. However, Josh is very popular in Japan so he might be able to go back and fight there, but it will likely be for less money than he was making. Also, he may need to shift gears entirely; he has a good thing going in Japan as a pro wrestler. The bottom line is he needs to make some decisions about his life and career. Hopefully it works out for him, because he really is a good guy."

Josh Barnett's positive test for steroids raises the ugly specter of the use of performance enhancing drugs in MMA. How widespread is the use of these substances in MMA and what should be done to address it?

"It's sad but true that most performance athletes use drugs of some sort to enhance their ability to compete and win. This is true of everything from Olympic sports to MMA. In a perfect world fighters would put it on the line with what they can do naturally, but it's not a perfect world. If you want to get steroids and other performance enhancing drugs out of sports, the punishment needs...