M-1 Global issued a press release today announcing the recent contract signing between MMA heavyweight Gilbert Yvel and Affliction Entertainment.

Yvel signed a reported three-fight deal with the promotion and will make his Affliction debut on the Affliction: Day of Reckoning fight card against top heavyweight Josh Barnett.

Yvel is an MMA veteran with nearly 50 fights to his credit including a rather disappointing run through Pride Fighting Championships where he gathered a record of 2-7. Since the sale of PrideFC in 2007, Yvel has won four straight fights, most recently this past November at M-1 Challenge 9.

Yvel will face a tough opponent in top 5 heavyweight Josh Barnett. Barnett carries his own impressive record of 23-5 with his only losses coming against other top heavyweights like Antonio Nogueira, Mirko Filipovic, and Pedro Rizzo. Barnett last fought on the inaugural Affliction fight card last July where he avenged his loss to Rizzo with a 2nd round KO.

Affliction: Day of Reckoning is currently scheduled for January 24 in Anaheim, CA and is an even co-promoted by Affliction, M-1 Global, and Golden Boy Promotions. The event will be headlined by a fight for the WAMMA heavyweight title as current champion Fedor Emelianenko battles former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Also on the card are fights between Matt Lindland and Vitor Belfort, Antonio Nogueira and Vladimir Matyushenko , and Chris Horodecki vs Dan Lauzon.