Fedor's crazy Russian Management strikes again

[dbreiden83080]

Whoa whoa hold the phone.".

Lets all cross our fingers on this one

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/07/fedor-emelianenko-ufc-finalizing-deal.html

Fedor Emelianenko, UFC finalizing deal

A long-awaited agreement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the man considered the world's best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is expected to be announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday, a source with information about the negotiations told The Times today.

The source, who asked not to be identified because he's not authorized to speak publicly about the dealings, called negotiations between the UFC and Fedor "very civil" just days after Fedor's scheduled Affliction Trilogy fight Saturday against Josh Barnett was canceled.

Affliction wound up folding its MMA promotion activities and announced an apparel deal to sponsor UFC.

Now, Fedor, who has previously fought in organizations including PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan, Bodog Fight and Affliction, is crossing over to the world's most successful MMA fighting organization, as well.

With a 30-1 record that includes victories over former UFC heavyweight champions Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Emelianenko would likely get an immediate shot at reigning UFC heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.

The source said officials were discussing details on the public announcement of the deal, which in the past has been complicated by Emelianenko's resistance to accept UFC's standard six-fight contract and his unwillingness to surrender some merchandising and marketing revenues.

But this month White said he was optimistic he could bring Emelianenko aboard, and his confidence was well-placed. The UFC declined to elaborate on Friday's scheduled announcement.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/07/fedor-emelianenko-ufc-finalizing-deal.html

[anakha]

Sherdog is going to be absolutely swamped if this is true.

[dbreiden83080]

Sherdog is going to be absolutely swamped if this is true.

Worst place to talk MMA around..

[anakha]

Worst place to talk MMA around..

Not contesting that. :lol

Just saying that forum better be prepared for a troll onslaught if this does happen.

[Evan]

wtf?!

[dbreiden83080]

wtf?!

Indeed...:lol

[Evan]

When he is at the press conf I will believe it.

[Evan]

Sherdog is going to be absolutely swamped if this is true.

don't go there.

[LEONARD]

Not biting on this yet, but I hope it's true!

[oligarchy]

wait for the conference.

[LEONARD]

Rogan on Fedor...
oJA6cqPrJUA

[BlackSwordsMan]

bullshit

[BlackSwordsMan]

nice music on the video

[dbreiden83080]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/mma/07/28/Emelianenko.Octagon/

Fedor's lackies say Bullshit..

M-1 Global says Fedor, UFC not close to a deal

Denying a published report Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times, M-1 Global officials told SI.com that Fedor Emelianenko and the Ultimate Fighting Championship are not close to finalizing a deal that would bring mixed martial arts' top heavyweight in the Octagon.

"I can give you a guarantee it's not accurate," said Apy Echteld of M-1 Global, a St. Petersburg, Russia-based promotion and management company of which Emelianenko is an equity stakeholder.

According to the Times' report -- which referenced an unnamed source unaffiliated with the UFC and "with information about the negotiations" -- UFC president Dana White was set to announce the signing of Emelianenko on Friday. The source also said negotiations between the top MMA promoter and the Russian champion's camp were "very civil," and that both groups were discussing details on the pending public announcement.

Echteld declined to comment on negotiations between M-1 Global and the UFC, which are rumored to be taking place Tuesday in Los Angeles. He pointed to a press conference Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., for "important" news on Emelianenko's fate.

Every MMA fan alive wants to see this guy in the UFC, make it happen already..

[Evan]

and so it begins

*************************

M-1 Global Denies Rumors of UFC Deal With Fedor Emelianenko

[Evan]

As for Fedor...I suspect we have 6 months of insane back & forth rumors ahead of us.

[dbreiden83080]

Jumping way ahead here but if this is true we know what is coming next

Fedor and Brock for the title, right out of the gate. UFC won't risk Brock or Fedor slipping up with other fights, it will happen right away. And no for the Brock haters, if he loses (Which he likely will) he is not done. It's fuckin Fedor after all..

[djohn14]

Ill just pretend like I didnt read this and if it happens Ill be so excited, but if not no big deal.

[polandprzem]

:lol

hahaha

check this out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_103

[polandprzem]

They are changing this site every frickin miinute

-------------

edit

there was, and it is not there now, a bout between Brock and Fedor UFC belt vs Pride belt.
Then it was co-promotional M-1 Global and UFC Fedor vs Brock
Then it was co-promotional M-1 Global Brock vs Vadim Fikenstein

What a crazy shit is going on /?/

[ezau]

Lesnar is going to get killed if he fights Fedor.

[desflood]

The source, who asked not to be identified because he's not authorized to speak publicly about the dealings
Translated: The source, who asked not to be identified because he actually has nothing to do with any of it...

[robbie380]

Translated: The source, who asked not to be identified because he actually has nothing to do with any of it...

:lol QFT


let's talk about other fantasy fedor matchups in the ufc since i think he would run over brock. how do you guys think a fedor/machida catchweight fight would go? i think machida is fedor's only competition in the ufc and if that were ever put together it would be epic imo. maybe anderson silva if he actually walks around at 220 like people say but i just don't think he is big enough for fedor. opinions?

[dbreiden83080]

Lesnar is going to get killed if he fights Fedor.

Maybe but look at it this way, Fedor has ten times the experience of Brock. Isn't he supposed to win?? It's like Jordan playing one on one with a rookie..

[dbreiden83080]

Translated: The source, who asked not to be identified because he actually has nothing to do with any of it...

It was the LA Times, odd if they totally blew it, not exactly a blog with no credibility..


Looks like this is dead, what else is new with Fedor..

http://mmajunkie.com/news/15663/report-of-fedor-emelianenko-finalizing-a-deal-with-the-ufc-not-true-says-source.mma


Report of Fedor Emelianenko finalizing a deal with the UFC "not true," says source
by Dann Stupp on Jul 29, 2009 at 10:20 am ET

A recent report that top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianeko and the Ultimate Championship are "finalizing a deal" and that the fighter will be introduced on Friday as the organization's newest signee is "untrue," a source close to M-1 today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Emelianenko had been slated to fight on Aug. 1 against Josh Barnett, whose failed drug test (due to alleged anabolic-steroid use) triggered a series of events leading to the cancellation of "Affliction: Trilogy" and eventually the demise of Affliction's entire promotional arm.

The cancellation was followed by a report from the L.A. Times stating that Emelianenko will sign with the UFC, but a source speaking on the condition of anonymity said no such deal is likely.

(Additionally, SI.com's Josh Gross spoke to M-1 Global executive Apy Echteld, who also said the report is "not accurate.")

Emelianenko and M-1 officials have a media call and press conference in Los Angeles planned for today. The Russian fighter and former PRIDE champion is expected to update the press on what the future may hold for him. (MMAjunkie.com will have a full recap from the meeting posted at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET today.)

The UFC may be an option, though multiple sources have told MMAjunkie.com that Emelianenko is unlikely to have his next fight under the UFC umbrella.

The UFC also has a press conference planned for this week. On Friday company president Dana White will "break all the latest news and developments in UFC," according to a UFC release. White is expected to announce some Affliction fighters, including Ben Rothwell and Chase Gormley, have been added to the UFC roster.

But for now, Emelianenko doesn't appear to be one of them.

Emelianenko (30-1), who's unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a contract with the UFC on multiple occasions, has also reportedly drawn interest from Strikeforce. M-1's new "premium fight series," which debuts Aug. 28 in Los Angeles with "King" Mo Lawal vs. Don Frye, is also an option for the fighter. (M-1 President Vadim Finkelchtein is also Emelianenko's manager.)

For the latest on this story, stay tuned to the Fedor Emelianenko section of MMAjunkie.com.

[ATRAIN]

Man to be honest, I am pretty sick of this. The Fedor to UFC is getting tiring like Brett Farve not wanting to retire, then retire again etc. I hope UFC signs him and brock smashes him just so we can get passed this :).

[dbreiden83080]

Man to be honest, I am pretty sick of this. The Fedor to UFC is getting tiring like Brett Farve not wanting to retire, then retire again etc. I hope UFC signs him and brock smashes him just so we can get passed this :).

You look at the comments from his brother bashing Fedor's manager and you get a clear picture of what has always been going on here.

"And all this talk about the restrictive conditions when signing the contract with the UFC comes only from Finkelstein, who wants to promote his own business through any Fedor-UFC contract," Aleksander told the site, which was picked up by Fighter's Only. "You can negotiate with the UFC. I know that their contracts are sufficiently flexible."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4362426&name=mma

Fedor is fiercely loyal but it's clear he is and always has been getting taken advantage of.. He goes to the UFC and the leaches may lose some of their control and income and they can't have that..

[ATRAIN]

You look at the comments from his brother bashing Fedor's manager and you get a clear picture of what has always been going on here.

"And all this talk about the restrictive conditions when signing the contract with the UFC comes only from Finkelstein, who wants to promote his own business through any Fedor-UFC contract," Aleksander told the site, which was picked up by Fighter's Only. "You can negotiate with the UFC. I know that their contracts are sufficiently flexible."

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4362426&name=mma

Fedor is fiercely loyal but it's clear he is and always has been getting taken advantage of.. He goes to the UFC and the leaches may lose some of their control and income and they can't have that..

Yeah I know its his management but it ultimately reflects on him no matter what. I know he doesnt care really, he is a classy guy but he needs to cut that chord and do whats best for Fedor.

[LEONARD]

:lol QFT

let's talk about other fantasy fedor matchups in the ufc since i think he would run over brock. how do you guys think a fedor/machida catchweight fight would go? i think machida is fedor's only competition in the ufc and if that were ever put together it would be epic imo. maybe anderson silva if he actually walks around at 220 like people say but i just don't think he is big enough for fedor. opinions?

Fedor could cut to LHW if he cared to. He's just not very big. 5'11"...223-230. He'd even be a small LHW if he cut, due to his height...

There are plenty in the UFC that would be interesting:

Lesnar
Couture (although I think Randy would get smoked)
Cain
Carwin
Dos Santos
Machida
Forrest

Machida could very well be the toughest test, although Lesnar is up there due to his size advantage and wrestling base.

[BlackSwordsMan]

bullshit fedor can't cut he's like the bj penn of the HW's

[Evan]

uh oh

[LEONARD]

bullshit fedor can't cut he's like the bj penn of the HW's

Wut?

You're saying he's not physically capable of cutting 18 lbs of water?? He was 223 at Real Deal.
http://photos.mmaweekly.com/gallery/PRIDE/Pride_32/weigh-ins/26_ColemanEmelianenkoPrideU.jpg

Coleman is a LHW now, coincidentally...also weighed in at 223 in that pic...

[dbreiden83080]

Hopefully this is getting close...


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/07/sources-fedorufc-talks-intense-but-will-likely-drag-past-friday.html


Sources: Fedor-UFC talks 'intense' but will likely drag past Friday


11:21 AM, July 29, 2009

The chief operating officer of Fedor Emelianenko's promotional company, M-1 Global, confirmed to The Times in an e-mail early this morning that the heavyweight, considered the world's best mixed martial arts fighter, is engaged in "intense negotiations with the UFC."

Joost Raimond told The Times that contract talks "are ongoing, but we have not reached any kind of agreement at this time."

On Tuesday, another source close to Emelianenko's camp told The Times it made sense that the "very civil" talks between Emelianenko, his people and the UFC would be the subject of a news conference call the UFC has scheduled for Friday. A UFC official did not dismiss the suggestion that the two events were linked.

However, the original source told The Times today it would now be surprising for UFC and Fedor to have a deal signed by Friday. The source requested anonymity because authorization hasn't been given to speak publicly on the issue.

The sides have been separated in the past by issues including the number of fights in the contract (the UFC wants six) and they have to address Emelianenko's business connection to M-1. No deal-breaking event has happened since yesterday, the source said, but negotiations are complex and will likely require "more than 48 hours."

A UFC spokeswoman said Tuesday that the special Friday news conference would "not be [UFC President] Dana [White] talking about UFC 101," scheduled for next month in Philadelphia, but she provided no more information about the subject of the call.

The Times' attempts to reach White and company owner Lorenzo Fertitta since Tuesday have been unsuccessful.

The Sun website in England is reporting that the UFC is planning to announce a venture that will allow ESPN to broadcast UFC events in England.

The UFC is also reportedly mulling how to handle the contracts of other fighters who were part of Affliction Entertainment, which canceled its Saturday show starring Emelianenko (30-1) at Anaheim's Honda Center after his scheduled opponent, Josh Barnett, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Emelianenko is scheduled to conduct a news conference today in Anaheim to discuss his post-Affliction plans, M-1 has announced. He has long maintained that he wants to fight the best possible opponent, and the UFC offers that person in its heavyweight champ, Brock Lesnar.

But Emelianenko could leave the U.S. as early as today, the source said.

[polandprzem]

wooo man

Isn't it got intresting in MMA world after affliction folded?



DAna will probably at press conference will talk about tv contract and ufc 103 - they wil have to concur with mayweather boxing match on ppv. That's why they scratched hendo vs Franklin as a main.
Also thre will be questions about Fedor, but Fedor issue will be solved earlier I suppose

[BlackSwordsMan]

dana said fedor's first fight would be a title fight today

[dbreiden83080]

dana said fedor's first fight would be a title fight today

Fedor/Brock immediately is a no brainer..

[angelbelow]

wow..

[polandprzem]

http://cyber-sport.us/zalaczniki/motivatorde3420275218d5df3ca0f9f71f_159.jpg

[BlackSwordsMan]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/15669/fedor-emelianenko-to-headline-ea-sports-videogame-currently-negotiating-with-ufc.mma

[robbie380]

so basically fedor is going to be in the crappy ea mma game and dana has said in the past he would bar fighters from competing in the ufc if they were in that game.

[dbreiden83080]

so basically fedor is going to be in the crappy ea mma game and dana has said in the past he would bar fighters from competing in the ufc if they were in that game.

Dana is talking out of his ass on that one. It does not apply to any UFC big name. Like he is telling Rampage, Anderson Silva or GSP to take a walk if they are in another video game.. Typical Dana playing the bully, to all the little fish.. He wants Fedor, he'll make exceptions to get it done..

[BlackSwordsMan]

randy is gonna be in the EA game

[BlackSwordsMan]

it's just a shame EA is making an MMA game

[dbreiden83080]

"White has also stated that any fighters who sign on with the EA Sports videogame would be barred from competing in the UFC"

Did he actually fuckin say that?? Will one of the Fertitta's put a muzzle on him already..

[dbreiden83080]

randy is gonna be in the EA game

Which shows you, he and the UFC still hate eachother. Not a coincidence he never went back to the broadcast booth..

[dbreiden83080]

http://www.examiner.com/x-15531-Long-Island-MMA-Examiner~y2009m7d29-Rumor-has-Fedor-fighting-Brock-Lesnar-at-UFC-103

And on and on and on....

Rumor has Fedor fighting Brock Lesnar at UFC 103

To follow up on a report that I posted yesterday about a potential UFC-Fedor Emelianenko deal, Five Knuckles is now reporting that UFC 103 will showcase a bout between UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and Fedor.

None of this has been confirmed and is as of right now merely speculation. M-1 Global has stated that reports of Fedor signing with the UFC are completely false, but they may just be holding their cards close to their chest.

If such a match-up should take place it would more than likely set new records for paid attendance as well as pay-per-view buys. UFC 100 which took place a mere 3 weeks ago apparently broke the 1.5 million mark.

UFC 103 is scheduled for September 19th and will take place at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas. That would give Lesnar 10 weeks from his fight with Frank Mir at UFC 100. He should be rather fresh as he sustained no injuries in afight that was over in less than two rounds.

The source in question is reportedly from Fedor's camp and has told Five Knuckles that the rumors of fedor signing with the UFC are true and that Dane White will announce the signing at a press conference on July 31st.

[dbreiden83080]

Someone please throw Fedor's mgr under a train already..

M-1: No Fedor in UFC Without Co-Promoting

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/m-1-no-fedor-in-ufc-without-co-promoting-18792

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Fedor Emelianenko, the top-ranked heavyweight in the world, will not fight in the UFC unless Dana White and company agree to co-promote with Emelianenko’s partners at M-1 Global.

M-1 Global CEO Vadim Finkelstein made that clear Wednesday at a news conference. Finkelstein confirmed that M-1 Global had negotiated with UFC officials as recently as Tuesday.

“We are open,” Finkelstein said. “We do want to work with the UFC. We do want to work with other promotions.”

Finkelstein said the UFC made a new offer to Emelianenko, and M-1 Global made a counteroffer. However, Finkelstein said Emeliananko would not proceed without a co-promotional effort between M-1 and the UFC where they shared expenses and profits.

Finkelstein also communicated that the UFC's representation in the media of his negotiations with the organization has not been accurate. He said Emelianenko has been made completely aware of any deals, past and present, that have been offered.

“I have 100 percent faith in Vadim and M-1 Global," Emelianenko said.

M-1 Global also pressured the UFC by saying they are in talks with other shows, including Strikeforce.

“We're not going to wait,” Finkelstein said. “We have to move forward. It might be that very soon we will be able to announce a deal with another promotion. I'm going to tell you that we're only going to work under co-promotion conditions.”

[polandprzem]

:pctoss

Fuckin fuck shit gotdamnit :cuss:

[robbie380]

fuck you m-1. if you assholes fuck this up with your co-promotional bullshit then you will be missing out on possibly the biggest ppv of all time.

[dbreiden83080]

Co-promote is what has basically messed up Fedor coming to the UFC for years now is my understanding. If that is still a sticking point for them then it's likely not happening. Whatever offer the UFC made i am sure was to minimize M1 participation. You know Dana doesn't want people to think he bent over just to finally get Fedor..

[dbreiden83080]

fuck you m-1. if you assholes fuck this up with your co-promotional bullshit then you will be missing out on possibly the biggest ppv of all time.

Fedor is all his clown of a manager has. He is going to squeeze every buck he can get out of him until he is old, broken and retired..

[dbreiden83080]

It looks to me like M1 is asking for the same shit they were a few years ago. The UFC fearing this may be their last shot to land Fedor may just be more willing to cave in..

[robbie380]

Co-promote is what has basicallymessed up Fedor coming to the UFC for years now is my understanding. If that is still a sticking point for them then it's likely not happening. Whatever offer the UFC made i am sure was to minimize M1 participation. You know Dana doesn't want people to think he bent over just to finally get Fedor..

he shouldn't bend over for these douches. ufc might as well be the only game in town right now especially if they ink an espn deal. secondly, there is no one left for fedor to fight outside the ufc. mousasi would be an interesting fight but even mousasi has said he wants to come to the ufc. overeem would be good too but that guy needs to get to the ufc after his strikeforce deal is done. dana has done an excellent job growing the organization organically thru tuf and thru putting competitors out of business/acquiring them. i think m-1 is just trying to take as much as they can get at this point since they know all the money is in the ufc. maybe they will accept a strikeforce offer but there is no way it would be more lucrative than a ufc deal. they would be shooting themselves in the leg if they denied ufc again because of that m-1 participation shit.

m-1 has no legs to stand on if they turn down another deal. hell i just looked at their website and clicked their 'about' section and it's funny to see every good fighter they list as repping them has basically left for the ufc


M-1 Global (www.m-1global.com) has been one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the world for over a decade. International MMA stars who have fought under the M-1 banner have included Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Aleksander Emelianenko, Keith Jardine, Alistair Overeem, Yushin Okami, Ben Rothwell, Mike Pyle, Melvin Manhoef, Roman Zentsov, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, and Chalid Arrab, to name a few.



just give it up m-1....the game is over.

[dbreiden83080]

he shouldn't bend over for these douches. ufc might as well be the only game in town right now especially if they ink an espn deal. secondly, there is no one left for fedor to fight outside the ufc. mousasi would be an interesting fight but even mousasi has said he wants to come to the ufc. overeem would be good too but that guy needs to get to the ufc after his strikeforce deal is done. dana has done an excellent job growing the organization organically thru tuf and thru putting competitors out of business/acquiring them. i think m-1 is just trying to take as much as they can get at this point since they know all the money is in the ufc. maybe they will accept a strikeforce offer but there is no way it would be more lucrative than a ufc deal. they would be shooting themselves in the leg if they denied ufc again because of that m-1 participation shit.

m-1 has no legs to stand on if they turn down another deal. hell i just looked at their website and clicked their 'about' section and it's funny to see every good fighter they list as repping them has basically left for the ufc





just give it up m-1....the game is over.

Great post Robbie, all excellent points. But i guess if Fedor's management feels going to the UFC may shrink their piece of his pie, they would rather he fight one at a time someplace else until there are no more fights left for him to take that anyone is willing to see. The thing is, Fedor has no track record of making a company money. Strikeforce is going to give him a huge deal. Why? Who is he going to fight and why would he make you so much money when he made really none for Affliction?? A long term deal with the UFC is all that makes sense. Break PPV records, with the fight with Brock and possibly others. It's his best option by a friggin mile..

[dbreiden83080]

Fedor-UFC talks ongoing
By Ken Pishna/MMAWeekly.com

an Internet report surfaced on Tuesday, stating Fedor Emelianenko and the Ultimate Fighting Championship were all but done negotiating a deal that would land the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in the world’s foremost mixed martial arts promotion, Emelianenko’s management gathered a news conference on Wednesday that far from confirmed the news

In fact, the news conference in Anaheim, Calif., only served to confirm counter reports that the two parties still have not finalized a contract.

The UFC made initial offers that M-1 Global countered, with company president Vadim Finkelchtein saying, “The UFC has their champions; we (M-1 Global) also have our champions and our representatives. We offered to have a co-promotion.”

He says that the UFC met the counter “very quietly.” The UFC resisted holding a co-promoted event, even in attempts to land Emelianenko.

“The UFC made a different offer that was a very good offer,” continued Finkelchtein, but it still hasn’t been enough to bridge the gap between the two parties and they remain at an impasse.

The door is still open for those that hope to see Fedor Emelianenko in the octagon across from Brock Lesnar or Randy Couture.

“Maybe not now, but maybe later,” Finkelchtein said of further progress being possible.

Fedor’s camp on Wednesday also announced that the fighter would grace the cover of the upcoming mixed martial arts video game from EA Sports.

“EA Sports (on Wednesday) will announce that Fedor Emelianenko will headline the EA Sports mixed martial arts fighter game due October next year, also along with Gegard Mousasi and Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral, who will also be in the game,” announced Jerry Millen, M-1’s U.S. vice-president.

Although UFC President Dana White has remained steadfast in his comments that the UFC will not work with fighters that ink a deal with EA Sports, it is unlikely that Fedor’s already signed agreement with the video game company would create a chasm too wide to cross. Current UFC fighter Randy Couture also had a deal in place with EA Sports before he returned to the promotion last year.

The UFC, which has a press conference planned for Friday to announce as-yet unspecified news, has not publicly commented on negotiations with Emelianenko.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ys-mmaweekfe072909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[polandprzem]

The UFC made a different offer that was a very good offer

This alone says that UFC doing everything to land Fedor. It's tough for them to make it co-promotion. How it would look like if Fedor will sign 3 fight deal? Is he going to be an M-1 champion all the time or what?

[Evan]

[B]Fedor-UFC talks ongoing
By Ken Pishna/MMAWeekly.com

when did Ken start writing for MMAWeekly??????

I liked his old blog...

Good for Ken!

[Evan]

By: Carmichael Dave
CBS Radio MMA Host
Twitter.com/Carmichaeldave

So we all know the deal with M-1 and what they are saying about co-promotion. I'm not here to say who's right and wrong in this deal, but I can tell you some of the specifics that were offered to Fedor.....

- The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight

- The UFC offered Fedor an immediate title shot

- Lesnar/Fedor would be the biggest PPV in MMA history (we assume), and the UFC offered M-1 Global a cut of the PPV on top of Fedor's purse.

- Fedor was free to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished.

- The UFC also relented on allowing Fedor to compete in combat sambo.

Apparently, for good or bad, M-1 refuses to sign a deal unless the UFC agrees to co-promote.

I can tell you right now, the boys at ZUFFA will never, EVER agree to that. So if M-1 doesnt relent on that item alone, the Fedor to UFC talks are dead. Look for Team Emelianenko to turn to Strikeforce next. With co-promotions already in the books with Affliction, that shouldnt be a stopping point.

I will have more comprehensive coverage on my show tonight at 9pm PST. You can stream live at www.khtk.com and call toll free at 1-800-920-1140. Twitter updates to the minute at twitter.com/carmichaeldave

Updated: 6:55 PST

[Evan]

That UFC sure does offer a slave contract

^ note extreme sarcasm

[djohn14]

- The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight



Good Lord

[robbie380]

By: Carmichael Dave
CBS Radio MMA Host
Twitter.com/Carmichaeldave

So we all know the deal with M-1 and what they are saying about co-promotion. I'm not here to say who's right and wrong in this deal, but I can tell you some of the specifics that were offered to Fedor.....

- The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight

- The UFC offered Fedor an immediate title shot

- Lesnar/Fedor would be the biggest PPV in MMA history (we assume), and the UFC offered M-1 Global a cut of the PPV on top of Fedor's purse.

- Fedor was free to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished.

- The UFC also relented on allowing Fedor to compete in combat sambo.

Apparently, for good or bad, M-1 refuses to sign a deal unless the UFC agrees to co-promote.

I can tell you right now, the boys at ZUFFA will never, EVER agree to that. So if M-1 doesnt relent on that item alone, the Fedor to UFC talks are dead. Look for Team Emelianenko to turn to Strikeforce next. With co-promotions already in the books with Affliction, that shouldnt be a stopping point.

I will have more comprehensive coverage on my show tonight at 9pm PST. You can stream live at www.khtk.com and call toll free at 1-800-920-1140. Twitter updates to the minute at twitter.com/carmichaeldave

Updated: 6:55 PST

where did you find that carmichael dave report? i checked his site but i couldnt find anything.

[robbie380]

also, do you guys know how this would compare to the pride contracts? i wasn't around following the game then so i would be curious to see if this is by far the biggest mma deal ever offered. i would imagine ppv's would put this thing somewhere around 9-10 mil for fedor/m-1's side.

[dbreiden83080]

The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight

Which goes to show you how much these guys can get in bonuses. No way in hell they offered him 5 mil a fight base salary, not a chance.. What do you say to Brock and GSP making 400 grand before bonuses, and Fedor gets 5 mil..

They offered an insane deal and it looks like it still won't happen.. {Sigh}

[robbie380]

The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight

Which goes to show you how much these guys can get in bonuses. No way in hell they offered him 5 mil a fight base salary, not a chance.. What do you say to Brock and GSP making 400 grand before bonuses, and Fedor gets 5 mil..

They offered an insane deal and it looks like it still won't happen.. {Sigh}

i wonder if that 5 mil per is a max amount he can get after ppv bonus and stuff.

[dbreiden83080]

i wonder if that 5 mil per is a max amount he can get after ppv bonus and stuff.

Has to be or it was 5 mil base with no bonuses. Either way with Fedor not being a huge draw in the US you know the guys that are big draws, must be racking up huge PPV and other bonuses likely putting them at a number close to that. The UFC never releases all the info on salary, but this gives us a good idea at just how lucrative the bonuses can be..

[Evan]

where did you find that carmichael dave report? i checked his site but i couldnt find anything.

C dave posted it on the UG himself

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&forum=1&thread=1498425&page=1

[dbreiden83080]

C dave posted it on the UG himself

http://www.mixedmartialarts.com/mma.cfm?go=forum.posts&forum=1&thread=1498425&page=1

Evan you don't miss a beat bro.. :toast

[BlackSwordsMan]

told you he'd go to strikeforce
fedor is such a bitch he needs better management

[polandprzem]

Maybe he meant 13, it would be more accurate.

All in all we will never know I guess, but we all know that UFC won't co-pomote and vadim need to co-promote.

So Srikeforce got Fedor

[dbreiden83080]

told you he'd go to strikeforce
fedor is such a bitch he needs better management

Strikeforce is a good company but come on Fedor, you want to go down as the best ever, get to the UFC and kick ass will ya..

And how can Strikeforce afford to pay him 5 mil a fight?? Will he take less just for the co-promote with M1??

[BlackSwordsMan]

He won't but his management will. I think fedor is mentally ill

[dbreiden83080]

This makes Fedor look like he is ducking the UFC, just my take..

I mean the best competiton by far is there and he was offered 5 friggin mil a fight..

[polandprzem]

This makes Fedor look like he is ducking the UFC, just my take..

I mean the best competiton by far is there and he was offered 5 friggin mil a fight..

yEA IF IT'S TRUE

[dbreiden83080]

Confirmation: M-1 President Vadim Finkelchtein Doesn't Want Fedor In The UFC
http://www.mmaforreal.com/2009/7/29/968636/confirmation-m-1-president-vadim

"Ah, the story that has had the fans of MMA hanging horse shoes and crossing their fingers. Will Fedor sign with the UFC? The terms of the deal that the UFC offered Fedor were posted earlier, and I'll post them here as a reminder:

5 fight contract worth 30 million dollars
Fedor can do his Sambo competitions
M-1 gets a cut of the PPV in which Fedor fights
Fedor could wear all the M-1 clothing he wanted when he fought
M-1 and Fedor refused the deal unless the UFC agree to co-promote
I said it here that M-1 President Vadim Finklechtein didn't want Fedor to sign with the UFC. They will never get another deal like that in my opinion. Bloodyelbow's Luke Thomas chimes in:

The reality is this. We cannot fault M-1 for seeking to aggrandize its riches and use this opportunity to work with the UFC to benefit its efforts. But we also must recognize the stubbornness of M-1's co-promotion stipulation indicates they are attempting to make a statement. The UFC is offering unreal payment and exposure - exposure that literally no one else can provide save perhaps CBS - for the M-1 organization, to say nothing of how much they'll pocket from the PPV buys. Fedor will be allowed to wear as much M-1 signage as he likes. That means this deal accomplishes in meaningful ways the goal of promoting M-1. This deal is helpful to the M-1 brand and company.It's not as helpful as co-promotion, but the inexorable position that it's co-promotion or its nothing is the epitome of cutting off one's nose to spite their face.

I couldn't really say it any better than that. The simple fact that the UFC has made concessions on the Sambo issue as well as allowing Fedor to wear M-1 apparel speaks volumes in regards to their efforts to sign this guy. Whereas there is no evidence of Fedor/M-1 making concessions on their end, if so they should make that public. Also, let's not even talk about the amount of money they offered Fedor. This contract is worth 5 MILLION dollars per fight. The biggest PPV draw the UFC has(Brock Lesnar) isn't even making that, and Fedor hasn't even fought in the UFC yet. I'm all for giving respect to Fedor as the best HW right now, but he isn't making himself any new fans by turning down this contract.

Sure, all of the hardcore fans that witnessed his greatness in PRIDE will remember how great he was/is. However, to the slew of new fans that make up the majority of the MMA fanbase, Fedor will be nothing but a guy that ducked fighting in the largest and best MMA organization in the world if he doesn't sign with the UFC. I truly think his window of dominating the heavyweight division is closing pretty quickly anyways, so in the grand scheme of things it may not be such a big deal after all if he doesn't sign. But, there will probably always be that 'what if' factor and sometimes that isn't a bad thing."

Sure, all of the hardcore fans that witnessed his greatness in PRIDE will remember how great he was/is. However, to the slew of new fans that make up the majority of the MMA fanbase, Fedor will be nothing but a guy that ducked fighting in the largest and best MMA organization in the world if he doesn't sign with the UFC.

^^^^

Worth repeating since it's 100% true..

[polandprzem]

U cannot be serious!

If UFC really has an offer like this and they turn it down it's the biggest failure of a menagment (of one of the best spotsmen in the world) in the history of the human existance.

That's just fucking ... I'm speachless


Fedor is my guy, he is the one that made me a mma fan. To hear things like that is a hearbreaking.
I'm gonna go to Russia and thow that Vadim guy under train or something

[dbreiden83080]

I don't deny Fedor is the best fighter in the world, i fully believe he is but this makes him look so bad it's not even funny. It's like Jordan opting for the CBA and telling the NBA to take a walk..

[angelbelow]

my goodness...

[djohn14]

It's like Jordan opting for the CBA and telling the NBA to take a walk..

Haha....pretty much

[dbreiden83080]

Haha....pretty much

Not trying to be harsh he is a legend but 5 mil a fight wasn't enough, for shit's sake..

[Evan]

It's like Jordan opting for the CBA and telling the NBA to take a walk..

well said

[Evan]

Lets just see how this plays out tho.

[dbreiden83080]

Lets just see how this plays out tho.

If i were a betting man i'd say the UFC made all the concessions they thought a few years ago they'd never make. They maybe see it as a last ditch effort to sign this guy but it was such a good offer, it was take it or leave it. And it seems Fedor and nis nutty mgt still said no.

[robbie380]

http://ringpsychology.wordpress.com/2009/07/30/dont-believe-the-ufc-spin-the-real-details-on-fedors-offer/

Don’t Believe The UFC Spin: The Real Details on Fedor’s Offer
By Ty Lannister


The MMA media is abuzz with the latest in the Fedor Emelianenko-UFC negotiations. Carmichael Dave, one of the UFC’s favorite go-to guys in the media, announced the terms Zuffa is offering Fedor:

The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That’s 5 mil a fight
- The UFC offered Fedor an immediate title shot
- Lesnar/Fedor would be the biggest PPV in MMA history (we assume), and the UFC offered M-1 Global a cut of the PPV on top of Fedor’s purse.
- Fedor was free to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished.
- The UFC also relented on allowing Fedor to compete in combat sambo.
Apparently, for good or bad, M-1 refuses to sign a deal unless the UFC agrees to co-promote

That’s the story. The question: why is everyone buying it? Our new special contributor Jonathan Snowden, the author of Total MMA: Inside Ultimate Fighting has the real scoop on the UFC’s offer.


“The numbers being floated there are a little misleading. The UFC’s offer of $30 million over six fights isn’t a guarantee,” Snowden learned from a source. “The number is based on Zuffa’s projections of what Fedor’s take of the PPV money would be, and the numbers they are projecting are based on selling a ton of PPV’s. The actual guarantee for Fedor is much more modest. It’s true that if business stays at record levels Fedor could walk away with $30 million. But that is no guarantee.”

In reality, this is a deal no more generous than many others Zuffa has offered to most of their top fighters. It’s a deal that is risky for a fighter like Fedor who prefers getting his money up front, rather than take a risk on whether the UFC’s business will continue to grow.

As long as Fedor can get guaranteed money elsewhere, he isn’t likely to take a chance on a deal that only pays him huge money if the business model continues to grow at an astounding rate. He seems willing to wait for the next promotion to come along and throw money at him: guaranteed money.

[ATRAIN]

So if it happened 6 fights and his first being against Brock.....WHAT if he loses!!!! GOD I hope that happens so M1 can stop riding their own jock!!

[dbreiden83080]

“The numbers being floated there are a little misleading. The UFC’s offer of $30 million over six fights isn’t a guarantee,” Snowden learned from a source. “The number is based on Zuffa’s projections of what Fedor’s take of the PPV money would be,

Which is exactly what i figured was the case, it's an incredible offer once you factor in all the bonuses. The Brock Fight will pay him the 5 mil easy right out of the gate..

In reality, this is a deal no more generous than many others Zuffa has offered to most of their top fighters.

And why the hell should it be? His track record of making a company a shit-load of money is what exactly? The fight with Arlovski sold like 100,000 PPV's. UFC 100 just did 1.5 million. They have like 5 shows in the last 10 months that did close to a million PPV buys.


It’s a deal that is risky for a fighter like Fedor who prefers getting his money up front, rather than take a risk on whether the UFC’s business will continue to grow.

LOL, then take a walk Fedor. Have fun fighting in complete obscurity the rest of your career. Funny thing is, once Strikeforce goes belly up, he and his crazy Russan MGT will be going back to the UFC, whining about M1 cross promotion again.. :lol Who cares anymore???

[polandprzem]

:lol Who cares anymore???

Till then Fedor will be too old to comepte. I don't think he will be fighting till 40

[desflood]

The thread title seems a bit misleading.

[dbreiden83080]

The more you think about the deal, the more i go to the UFC's side. Of course he is not getting offered 5 mil a fight guaranteed, when there is only one fight (Brock) going to bring in massive PPV numbers. The interest in the Randy fight went out the window the moment Brock, KO'd him. So who's left. Nog, already beat him. The UFC is not paying Fedor 5 mil guaranted to whip up on the likes of Cheick Kongo.. :lol

[dbreiden83080]

The thread title seems a bit misleading.

Well it was the exact title of the thread from the orginal article..

Change it Evan to

"Fedor's crazy Russian Management strikes again"

[desflood]

"Fedor's crazy Russian Management strikes again"
:lol

[dbreiden83080]

HA

there ya go Evan... :toast

[Evan]

Evan you don't miss a beat bro.. :toast

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/65/l_18e54b0f4fe54dc28a39b1811eb044b9.png

[polandprzem]

9SDJj9yyqds&feature=related

[dbreiden83080]

9SDJj9yyqds&feature=related


Classic but since we are talking about Crazy Russians, Rocky 4 seems fitting.


9UQ1hw2bkdA

[polandprzem]

ygQvB6OjHOU&feature=related

[dbreiden83080]

ygQvB6OjHOU&feature=related

"I must break you"

"Is this fight co-promoted"

"No"

"Oh well then never-mind"

[dbreiden83080]

:lol:lol

What could the UFC be announcing on Friday?

By Maggie Hendricks

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/What-could-the-UFC-be-announcing-on-Friday-?urn=mma,179851


The UFC has a press conference scheduled for Friday that is supposed to announce "a laundry list of news." What could the UFC possibly be announcing?

1. Dana White is leaving the company to pursue his dreams to dance on Broadway.

2. The UFC is no longer satisfied with worldwide domination. They are going to the moon. UFC 110 will take place in a lunar module.

3. After flourishing on Spike, the television station for men, the UFC is going after the ladies. They've signed a deal with Lifetime Television for women, and will soon be producing the movie, "Not Without My Coors: The Brock Lesnar Story."

4. The UFC will revolutionize gaming with a new console for Wii. In the new Wii UFC game, you will actually be punched in the face by an actual UFC fighter.

5. After years of speculation, contract discussions and rumors, the UFC has signed Fedor Emelianenko to a five-fight contract. He will fight Brock Lesnar for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 106.

Nah, that last one is too crazy to believe.

[polandprzem]

Yup the last one seems so unreal it won't happen, but the previous ones are more probable

[BlackSwordsMan]

this is so sad man
I will never watch another fedor fight again

[dbreiden83080]

this is so sad man
I will never watch another fedor fight again

It's tough to be a fan of his right now, i wonder how Leonard is holding up. :lol

The bottom line though is the UFC can never be blamed again for not doing whatever it took to sign this guy.

They offered a insanely rich contract to him

Relented on the Sambo competiton

Said he could wear all the M1 crap he wanted

Agreed to pay out tons of money to M1 on his fights

Everything and anything short of the co-promotion which is an insane demand on M1's part and the UFC should never feel obligated to say yes. They are a rinky dink outfit trying to push their brand on UFC time.

I still don't know where Fedor goes if the UFC deal is dead. Strikeforce is not paying him anywhere near what the UFC was offering for an extended deal. They can't afford it..

[BlackSwordsMan]

Yup this is no where even close to UFC's fault. Last time it was Dana wouldn't budge on the issue of fedor fighting in sambo but this time fuck fedor and his management.

[dbreiden83080]

What The UFC and Strikeforce Reportedly Offered Fedor


http://mmafrenzy.com/11117/what-the-ufc-and-strikeforce-reportedly-offered-fedor/

Posted by Kris Karkoski on Jul 30, 2009

UFC and Strikeforce have apparently made formal offers to top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, who was left without an upcoming fight or a promotion to call home following last weeks cancellation of Affliction: Trilogy and subsequent collapse of Affliction’s MMA promotion.

Though the UFC’s offer was called “very good” by Fedor’s M-1 Global management on Wednesday, the UFC’s reluctance to co-promote events with M-1 to bring Fedor has caused talks to stall.

Strikeforce’s reported offer, though less lucrative than the UFC’s, is still very good and allows M-1 to co-promote Fedor’s events.

First, the reported UFC offer from the Carmichael Dave Show (via Bloody Elbow):

The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That’s 5 mil a fight
The UFC offered Fedor an immediate title shot
Lesnar/Fedor would be the biggest PPV in MMA history (we assume), and the UFC offered M-1 Global a cut of the PPV on top of Fedor’s purse.
Fedor was free to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished.
The UFC also relented on allowing Fedor to compete in combat sambo.
Apparently, for good or bad, M-1 refuses to sign a deal unless the UFC agrees to co-promote.
Next, some updates from Ring Psychology’s Jonathan Snowden on the contract details reported above:

“The actual guarantee offered Fedor was less than $2 million. The other money would only come into play if the PPV’s did extremely well,” Snowden said. “Fedor was not offered a $5 million guarantee.”

Offer was only for three fights, not six as originally reported.
The guarantee per fight was *less* than Fedor’s contract with Affliction.
Finally, details on Strikeforce’s offer from Chad Dukes today on the Lavar Arrington Show in Washington (also via Bloody Elbow):

Strikeforce has offered Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 would be for $1 million per fight: $500k from Strikeforce and $500k from CBS for 6 fights (not sure about what happens when he doesn’t fight on CBS or perhaps these are all CBS fights?). Any fight would be co-promoted with M-1 and the contract would be non-exclusive.

At this point it appears Fedor has not yet reached a deal with any promotion, including the UFC and Strikeforce. Though monetarily the UFC’s deal appears significantly better, co-promotion issues remain, while Strikeforce is willing to work with M-1 Global in order to sign Fedor.

MMAFrenzy.com will keep you posted as more information becomes available

So way less money but M1 gets to co-promote on CBS, yeah great deal there.. :rolleyes

[BlackSwordsMan]

man I swear fedor is retarded
literally, he is like the yao ming of mma he's stuck to something that is sucking the life out of him for money in their pockets

[dbreiden83080]

Yup this is no where even close to UFC's fault. Last time it was Dana wouldn't budge on the issue of fedor fighting in sambo but this time fuck fedor and his management.

Well it wasn't just the Sambo. My understanding is M1 is basically asking for all the same crap they always did. They wanted to co-promote then and they still do now. The UFC just decided to lay everything on the line this time and make some concessions and still they are nowhere..

[dbreiden83080]

man I swear fedor is retarded
literally, he is like the yao ming of mma he's stuck to something that is sucking the life out of him for money in their pockets

It's funny how the spin i see from M1 is

"They offered less of a guarantee then his Affliction deal was"

Yeah because he wasn't selling any PPV's with them. Brock and Fedor right out of the gate will sell over a mil PPVS and he'll get his 5 mil or close to it, first fight in the UFC..

[BlackSwordsMan]

fuck yeah it would
I hardly ever pay for an mma event and a fedor vs lesnar fight I would drop 50$ so fucking fast

[BlackSwordsMan]

oh well I never liked heavyweight mma anyways

[dbreiden83080]

Off from work today and it's just one article after another popping up on this.. :lol

http://sherdog.com/news/articles/chasing-fedor-18815

Chasing Fedor


If you’re a hardened watcher of the MMA scene, it should be no surprise that the UFC and Fedor Emelianenko have not reached an agreement. Vadim Finkelstein, manager of mixed martial arts’ best heavyweight, reiterated Wednesday that the Russian will not fight for the UFC unless M-1 Global is allowed to co-promote.

Somebody ought to update the Wikipedia entry on “chutzpah” with Finkelstein’s picture, because it’s a perfect fit for such a demand.

If the annual battle for the mixed martial arts fan base were a presidential election, the UFC would be Ronald Reagan in 1984 -- with M-1 running somewhere between Walter Mondale and Lyndon LaRouche. If Finkelstein’s gonna go all-in on unlikely-to-be-met requests, he might as well insist Uganda host the Winter Olympics. Or, maybe the Jonas Brothers headline the next Slayer tour. Because those two miracles are as likely to happen as the UFC letting M-1 hijack their brand and horn in on their success.

Such statements are often posturing and merely part of the mad dance of negotiation. The worst thing would be if Finkelstein were actually serious when he said it.

Because if that’s the case, UFC President Dana White’s oft-used “crazy Russians” phrase to describe negotiating with Fedor’s management would be regrettably correct.

Just because White is prone to expletive-laden tirades and colorful hyperbole doesn’t mean he isn’t (sometimes) very correct.

UFC is a high-maintenance negotiator, one that didn’t come to terms with HBO in 2007, despite the obvious advantages of doing so at the time.

There’s a thin line between good business practices and outright zealotry. But regardless of where you classify the UFC in that analogy, that single-mindedness is a big part of why UFC is largely identified as MMA (a la Xerox-as-photocopy), and also why the company engenders so much resistance (largely short-lived) from competitors. As Wilt Chamberlain aptly put it, “Nobody roots for Goliath,” but we’d sure miss him if he went away.

In the world of corporate deal-making, it was a ballsy move at the time not to budge when negotiating with HBO, which occupies a similar position in their industry as the UFC does now.

You don’t place demands on the prom queen unless you know you’ve got supreme confidence that something better will come along. But the UFC and White did by refusing to cede production control to the cable giant, and now they’re prospering in a dizzying version of double-digit growth, in a bad economy no less. Ask yourself why they should let M-1 cut in line merely to get Fedor? So they can go through another Affliction-like debacle, and build up a future rival?


Evgeni Kogan/Sherdog.com


Vadim Finkelstein reiterated
that Fedor will not fight unless
M-1 is allowed to co-promote.And thus MMA’s Cold War continues. And in this one, like the real CW, the winner will probably be the side that has more assets than the other guy.

If a deal happens with an M-1 partnership as part of landing Fedor’s services, that might be the most shocking announcement in the history of the sport. The fine details would demand an exacting review, and given M-1’s pithy cash position, it’s hard to glean how they could finesse their way into a Fedor signing. History suggests the UFC will not be intimidated or strong-armed, especially when they’re the ones used to doing it.

Finkelstein, in his news conference Wednesday, also alluded to ongoing negotiations with Strikeforce, which is another entirely weird possibility, however remote. The Bay Area-based promotion has been on good terms with the UFC, and prospered nicely -- the little engine that could.

Today, Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker confirmed the organization is indeed trying to sign Fedor.

Landing Fedor would place them squarely in the promotional crosshairs of the UFC, which is great for journalists, if not for fans who want to see the Russian take on Lesnar. It’s another plot twist entirely which will be tackled, if appropriate.

With brand-building the key to the UFC’s success -- and lack thereof key to everyone else’s failure -- letting M-1 get anywhere near the marquee in exchange for promotional mojo would be ill-advised, at best. Despite his breathtaking skills and a 30-1 record, Fedor is not forever.

Brand awareness, fan identification and dollars most certainly are.

It’s that kind of thinking, parlayed into difficult decisions which affect public opinion in the short term, that make the difference between promotional champs and chumps. A half dozen promotions have been cast to the wasteland in the past three years, footnotes to the sport’s history.

Personally, a potential signing of Fedor -- or failure to do so -- elicits ambiguous feelings. Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly:

Failure to sign Fedor will be a letdown for fans, particularly in the wake of the Russian heavyweight getting more coverage in the MMA and mainstream media in the light of a potential acquisition.

But with Brock Lesnar’s ascension, no Fedor means the UFC has more time to build Lesnar, further solidifying their negotiating position. If you think the UFC has too much leverage now and is wanting too much, ask yourself how negotiations will go should Lesnar put together a couple more destructive performances. The time for Fedor’s signing is now, while the iron is hottest, and the two commodities at hand are perfect as a superfight. Both of them will lose eventually, but the UFC can always fall back on a deep roster of stars, and build Lesnar back up from whatever heights he ascends to.

If Fedor is upset, and/or bounces from one promotion to another, what will his people have to show at the negotiating table? Certainly not ratings, nor more leverage than they currently have.

Throw in the dizzyingly savage move of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show featuring Kimbo Slice in September, and the organization will further solidify its promotable heavyweights.

The Kimbo Slice acquisition is as clever a hand as the UFC has ever played, and the boost to the flagship division couldn’t come at a better time. Letting EliteXC and CBS burn millions to the tune of a Seth Petruzelli-supplied flameout of both, and then picking up Slice to boost your own company’s reality show and identity is a savage double-dip in the world of corporate warfare. Like letting an aggressive sucker (Gary Shaw, thank you) keep betting in a poker hand, only to finally spring the trap shut when the final card is turned.

With the UFC’s recent drive to squeeze sponsorship dollars from fighters, and self-protecting contractual status with its in-house talent, it could very well be that Fedor’s team doesn’t want to give up too much control over their gem. That’s entirely understandable. Emelianenko can live a long, fruitful life with hardcore fans remembering him, his phenomenal gifts, and the roads not taken for whatever reasons. Lesnar is still a long way from going down as the Sugar Ray Robinson of MMA, but Fedor could easily be the sport’s Charley Burley. And that’s no good for anybody.

Fedor will be Fedor, and all the things that endear him to the hardcore fans that know him. The UFC can bide its time, and rightfully refuse being forced to cede too much to acquire the world’s best heavyweight.

The world is an unfair place, but sometimes, the best deal is the one that is no longer on the table.

Does Fedor know it? Will he?

Stay tuned.

[The TroutBum]

I like turtles.

[Evan]

I like turtles.

and I like steak

[dbreiden83080]

M-1 Exec Comments On $30 Million UFC Offer For Fedor
Posted by Ashish on 07.30.2009

The games continue...

Joost Raimond of M-1 Global says that the $30 million number going around regarding the deal UFC offered Fedor Emelianenko would only happen if the PPVs headlined by Fedor did huge business. He said the guaranteed deal is only $2 million or so per fight. Of course, that would still be the most lucrative deal UFC has ever offered anyone.

The real issue though isn't money, it remains M-1's desire to control Fedor. As long as they feel that they have other options, they won't essentially sell that control to UFC.

http://www.411mania.com/MMA/news/111984/M-1-Exec-Comments-On-$30-Million-UFC-Offer-For-Fedor.htm

Who knows this might still all work out. I mean if the UFC is really going to give him 2 mil a fight guaranteed, (I'm shocked they are willing to go that high) that's 1 mil more than what the rumored Strikeforce offer is and as much as 4 mil more if his PPV numbers are big. How do you turn that down, when the UFC has already made a ton of concessions that will make M1 money and get them exposure short of the actual co-promotion deal?? Fedor will look horrible if he blows the UFC off with that offer on the table..

[djohn14]

I like turtles.

Mr. TroutBum, what you've just typed is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever read. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

However, I do enjoy your sigs.

[angelbelow]

fedor should fire his guys..but then again we all know how loyal he is..

[polandprzem]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4366776&categoryid=2881270

[polandprzem]

M-1 press conference from wensday

http://videos.mmaweekly.com/view_player.php?id=3181


You see the guy behind Fedor? I thought he was all dead in mma

[desflood]

My husband asked me last night, "Hey, Alex was supposedly part of the Russian mob once, right? Can't he find somebody to take care of this Finkelstein guy?" :lol

[dbreiden83080]

Just saw this on twitter from Dana

Dana on Fedor - We tried everything that we could possibly do to get Fedor in the UFC – we went above and beyond.

[Evan]

damn....

[angelbelow]

Just saw this on twitter from Dana

Dana on Fedor - We tried everything that we could possibly do to get Fedor in the UFC – we went above and beyond.

i know he tried... props to dana for going as far as he did...

[angelbelow]

would it make sense to say that fedor has a stake in m-1?

[Evan]

yes it would but my God...he gets to wear all the M-1 shit he wants...thats close enough to cross promotion.

[cool cat]

yes it would but my God...he gets to wear all the M-1 shit he wants...thats close enough to cross promotion.

Yeah, doing one UFC show will get a bigger audience to see the M-1 brand then doing 10+ cross promotions with another company.

[BlackSwordsMan]

fuck m1 and fuck fedor

[IX_Equilibrium]

fuck m1 and fuck fedor

You said it. FUCK FEDOR. He is content to keep fighting cans.




One man to blame in UFC-Fedor breakdown: Fedor

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AuyQkSRfBkkJCc2zQ8lD.lU5nYcB?slug=ki-fedorufc073109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[dbreiden83080]

"Let me ask you a question; let's be honest here," White told reporters. "These guys are going to come in and co-promote? How the hell are they going to co-promote anything? We've built this entire frigging industry."


"It's basically them coming in and saying, 'Hey, we've got this guy and some people might say he's the best heavyweight in the world. So for that, we want half of your business.' Yeah, okay. That shit probably works in Russia -- not here."

[eyeh8u]

i thought diana white was banning all fighters that sign on to be part of the upcoming EA MMA game, the cover fighter for the game is gonna be Fedor

[dbreiden83080]

When he did say something noteworthy, his translator missed it. Asked why he should be considered any different than scores of world-class fighters who have agreed to fight in the UFC, Emelianenko said it was a matter of timing.

"When I first read the UFC contract that was offered two years ago, I clearly understood they were trying to [expletive] me," he said defiantly. "If we got an offer two years ago that we received yesterday, maybe we would agree. But not in today's situation, we could not accept that offer."

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/8/1/971954/fedor-emelianenko-the-ufc-tried-to

So 5 mil a fight might have worked 2 years ago but NOT now huh buddy, whatever.. :rolleyes

[polandprzem]

I was thinking about Fedor and his face to face negotiations and a translator. I thought UFC will have their own ?/??/

[polandprzem]

http://www.cagepotato.com/m-1’s-jerry-millen-mixes-terrible-metaphors-nonsensical-reasoning-arrives-predictable-conclusion


http://insidefights.com/2009/07/31/jerry-millen-idiot/

[Evan]

As for Fedor...I suspect we have 6 months of insane back & forth rumors ahead of us.

^ a reminder

[dbreiden83080]

^ a reminder

On the UFC side i think it is done if you go bye Dana's word. They have a take it or leave it offer on the table for Fedor. So all the negotiating for them is done, they are never going to co-promote.. If they want the deal, they can call the UFC and accept it..

[Evan]

On the UFC side i think it is done if you go bye Dana's word. They have a take it or leave it offer on the table for Fedor. So all the negotiating for them is done, they are never going to co-promote.. If they want the deal, they can call the UFC and accept it..

I agree with this.

In my mind this entire issue rests with Showtime.

Scott Coker does not over pay fighters and he is sick of being used as a spring board to get better contracts in other orgs like Tito and Josh have recently done.

So it all rests on showtime's willingness to fork out money via PPV's. All they will do is look at the appalling PPV numbers that have been the Fedor fights and laugh.

so there we are back at the UFC eventually.

[dbreiden83080]

I agree with this.

In my mind this entire issue rests with Showtime.

Scott Coker does not over pay fighters and he is sick of being used as a spring board to get better contracts in other orgs like Tito and Josh have recently done.

So it all rests on showtime's willingness to fork out money via PPV's. All they will do is look at the appalling PPV numbers that have been the Fedor fights and laugh.

so there we are back at the UFC eventually.

In your mind Evan why does M1 hang on to this Co-Promote thing so hard? The UFC will give M1 lots of pub with T-Shirts and apparell? So if they Co-Promote with Strikeforce it still is not a deal like the UFC is offering. They can't put on a show that will draw over a mil PPV buys. Co-Promoting only makes sense if Fedor sells a lot of PPV's and he can only do that in the UFC..

[robbie380]

In your mind Evan why does M1 hang on to this Co-Promote thing so hard? The UFC will give M1 lots of pub with T-Shirts and apparell? So if they Co-Promote with Strikeforce it still is not a deal like the UFC is offering. They can't put on a show that will draw over a mil PPV buys. Co-Promoting only makes sense if Fedor sells a lot of PPV's and he can only do that in the UFC..

Does anyone know how copromotion worked under affliction? I heard fedors douchebags saying they want to share 50% in the profits and losses. Affliction clearly got run over financially so where did m1 experience any losses?

[djohn14]

Does anyone know how copromotion worked under affliction? I heard fedors douchebags saying they want to share 50% in the profits and losses. Affliction clearly got run over financially so where did m1 experience any losses?

I seeing you posting on here more and more. Good to have you, always good to get more openions and what not. However I cant answer your question as I have no knowledege of how the businesses are run.

[dbreiden83080]

Does anyone know how copromotion worked under affliction? I heard fedors douchebags saying they want to share 50% in the profits and losses. Affliction clearly got run over financially so where did m1 experience any losses?

I don't know exactly but it sounds like what M1 wants is for the cards Fedor is on, to also have other M1 fighters be on there as well. So if it is Brock and Fedor in the main event, it's not UFC such and such, it's something like M1/UFC present, and share in all the profits. That's obviously not ever happening. But the deal they would get elsewhere will be worse than what UFC has offered..

[robbie380]

I seeing you posting on here more and more. Good to have you, always good to get more openions and what not. However I cant answer your question as I have no knowledege of how the businesses are run.

Thanks for the welcome.

Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this and become internet mma heroes. All I can tell from the negotiations is that fedor and his team have become faaaaaar to greedy and used to organizations bending over backwards for him and his oppressive demands. As this has gone on I continue to doubt more and more the idea that fedor is not knowledgeable of what his mgmt is doing. Fedor is not a dumb guy and I can't believe he is just being used as a pawn for m1s greed.

In my mind I can't see fedor signing a strikeforce deal because I can't see them destroying their organization that has existed for over 20 years for 1 fighter. Btw is strikeforce profitable? Also I see no reason why strikeforce and ufc can't coexist so I don't see why they would have to throw a hail mary to sign fedor if they are profitable and already have a stable of very good (just below the ufc) fighters.

I can see m1 putting together some bs japan card with roided barnett v fedor but that would be dangerous for them since they might actually lose money if they can't find another org to copromote aka leach off of so they are protected from losses. I dunno in the end I see this back and forth persisting in the near future and fedor/m1 realizing that ufc has taken over and that the ufc did offer a great deal for fedor but not "m1".

[dbreiden83080]

I seeing you posting on here more and more. Good to have you, always good to get more openions and what not.

Yes, Robbie knows his stuff, good having him here.. :toast

[IX_Equilibrium]

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1773/danafedor2name.gif

[djohn14]

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1773/danafedor2name.gif

Nice haha

[Evan]

In your mind Evan why does M1 hang on to this Co-Promote thing so hard? .

for the life of me I can't figure it out. My guess is they think they can take Japan and Europe by storm with MMA given a jump start? I dunno.

[robbie380]

for the life of me I can't figure it out. My guess is they think they can take Japan and Europe by storm with MMA given a jump start? I dunno.

or they don't want to give up on a model that has worked very well for them. i think they may eventually see the writing on the wall that the ufc is now in control and won't bend over to sign fedor. also they do have 2 major orgs they can still try to take advantage of with dream and strikeforce. neither have the ability to beat a ufc deal but it's worth a shot for m-1. if it doesn't work out then they just come back to the ufc deal.

[Evan]

or they don't want to give up on a model that has worked very well for them. .

How has it worked?

[robbie380]

How has it worked?

granted they have not had stability with the organizations they have been associated with but somehow they have been able to avoid taking losses on these copromotions. the guy in the sherdog article that was posted on page 5 stated that m-1 has a "pithy cash position". an odd word to use for cash but i am guessing he meant they had an abundant amount of cash on the sideline which i am guessing has come from the parasitic copromotional events that use fedor as the headline. who knows if that is even true since i doubt anyone really knows what kind of cash position m-1 really has. hell i don't think anyone really knows what kind of cash position ufc has.

my point is they have had success sucking orgs dry with this model and coming out seemingly unscathed. i would be curious to see how they do this because i don't understand how they can state they want to go in 50/50 on the losses and profits with ufc yet they didn't take any losses on the affliction deal. anyhow, i don't see them stopping now since they do have other orgs like dream and strikeforce that they might be able to rape before they have to sign with the ufc since the ufc is the only major money maker left. if they can get some sort of obscene deal done with strikeforce then good for them...if the can't then they accept the deal that is just a deal that signs fedor and not the whole m-1 crew.


the bottom line is i am blindly speculating but making it sound like i have a clue :lol:toast

[2centsworth]

It's as simple as fedor is on roids and he will get stomped, so hell no we won't sign

[dbreiden83080]

granted they have not had stability with the organizations they have been associated with but somehow they have been able to avoid taking losses on these copromotions. the guy in the sherdog article that was posted on page 5 stated that m-1 has a "pithy cash position". an odd word to use for cash but i am guessing he meant they had an abundant amount of cash on the sideline which i am guessing has come from the parasitic copromotional events that use fedor as the headline. who knows if that is even true since i doubt anyone really knows what kind of cash position m-1 really has. hell i don't think anyone really knows what kind of cash position ufc has.

my point is they have had success sucking orgs dry with this model and coming out seemingly unscathed. i would be curious to see how they do this because i don't understand how they can state they want to go in 50/50 on the losses and profits with ufc yet they didn't take any losses on the affliction deal. anyhow, i don't see them stopping now since they do have other orgs like dream and strikeforce that they might be able to rape before they have to sign with the ufc since the ufc is the only major money maker left. if they can get some sort of obscene deal done with strikeforce then good for them...if the can't then they accept the deal that is just a deal that signs fedor and not the whole m-1 crew.


the bottom line is i am blindly speculating but making it sound like i have a clue :lol:toast


All good points but Fedor's management has to know the model is already out there on this guy not making companies a lot of money. He needs the UFC marketing machine behind him to make him a star in the US. GSP/Penn doesn't sell what it did at UFC 94 if they did it at Affliction. Strikeforce is led by a very smart man, he knows paying Fedor a truckload of money is pointless long term.. So Fedor's team can arrogantly play this game a little longer, or concede to the UFC juggernut and make a deal. The UFC is MMA, and that's not going to change. In 10 years it will be twice as big as it is now..

[dbreiden83080]

for the life of me I can't figure it out. My guess is they think they can take Japan and Europe by storm with MMA given a jump start? I dunno.

If that's their line of thinking

"Delusional Much"..

[Evan]

robbie380 kicks ass...where have you been dude???!?!?! Why haven't you posted more?

dude you bring a unique take on things...

[robbie380]

It's as simple as fedor is on roids and he will get stomped, so hell no we won't sign

dude...fwiw i have actually wondered about this. i dunno when i hear fighters talk about fedor's legendary strength it made me think. when one of his boys "baby fedor" :lol got busted for roids it really made me wonder. but when barnett got busted for roids who is supposedly one of his great friends in mma then that really set off some doubt in my mind. he may be 100% clean but i won't be surprised if he gets busted.

[Blackjack]

One man to blame in UFC-Fedor breakdown

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports


It’s easy to paint Vadim Finkelchtein as the villain in this mess between heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Emelianenko is the free agent heavyweight with the gaudy 30-1 record and small but passionate fan base. The UFC is the world’s finest mixed martial arts promotional company and has roughly 90 percent of the top 100 fighters in the world under contract.

Emelianenko was looking for a place to fight and the UFC wanted to put on what it believed could have become a massive pay-per-view show with a big push by pitting Emelianenko against Brock Lesnar, its silo-sized heavyweight champion.

But no deal was reached despite a lucrative offer from the UFC. Though UFC president Dana White wouldn’t rule it out, chances of it happening in the future are remote.


Finkelchtein is the Russian heavyweight’s manager and, more significantly, the president and co-owner of what purports to be a major MMA promotional company, M-1 Global. Finkelchtein clearly used Emelianenko as a pawn in an attempt to force the UFC to accept M-1 as a partner. All M-1 Global brought to the table was one fighter, even if he is a very good one, which would have made White a moron had he acquiesced to that demand.

If the UFC was in the business of giving 50 percent of its company away every time it tried to sign an elite fighter, it would have been in worse shape a lot sooner than Chrysler.

The reason the deal didn’t get done is simple: Fedor Emelianenko.

Emelianenko’s supporters are going to point the finger at White as the reason a deal did not get done. White, though, agreed to essentially every demand Emelianenko made. He offered to pay him more than he’s ever made. He agreed to allow Emelianenko to fight in combat sambo. He agreed to allow Emelianenko to advertise M-1 on his fight shorts, on the apparel he wore and on banners his cornermen brought with them to the cage.

What White wouldn’t do, though, is give half of his company to Finkelchtein in return for the, ahem, privilege, of promoting Emelianenko’s next few fights.

The demand was kind of like an owner in the Continental Basketball Association demanding 50 percent ownership in an NBA team before allowing his player to sign.

Emelianenko can fight wherever he wants, of course. His legacy, though, took a serious shellacking when he refused to order Finkelchtein to get a deal done.

That would have allowed Emelianenko, who was ranked No. 2 in the most recent Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound Top 10 poll, to end any doubts whether he is as great as his most ardent supporters say or whether he is overrated, as White insists. Rather, Emelianenko acts as if he’s under some sort of spell cast by Finkelchtein. He’s never met White and when Finkelchtein, White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta negotiated via conference call, Emelianenko was on the line but said nothing.

All Emelianenko needed to do to know what he should have done was to look to Tito Ortiz, the UFC’s former light heavyweight champion. Ortiz and White have long engaged in a nasty public feud and they split, seemingly for good, after Ortiz’ contract ran out after he lost to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84 in May 2008.

There Ortiz was, however, on a conference call on Friday all chummy chummy with White. White revealed he had flown to Huntington Beach, Calif., recently and met personally with Ortiz, where they finalized resolved their differences.

Ortiz had dalliances with Elite XC and Affliction and said he was close to a deal to fight for Strikeforce. He referred to Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker as “an awesome guy.”

Ortiz said the reason he opted to fight in the UFC is simple: Competition. “Who was I going to fight there?” Ortiz said. “I want to fight the best.”

It’s too bad Emelianenko doesn’t have the same attitude. Had he been outraged by Finkelchtein’s negotiating tactics and insisted Finkelchtein work out the best possible deal, White would have been announcing an Emelianenko-Lesnar bout at his ballyhooed news conference on Friday rather than again railing at Finkelchtein’s bizarre stance.

Finkelchtein released a statement on Friday before the UFC news conference in which he said, in part, “All we are asking is that there is give-and-take in the negotiations and that they are not one-sided.”

But the UFC gave on the money. The UFC gave on the Fedor’s desire to compete in the Russian combat sport of sambo. The UFC gave on allowing Fedor to wear M-1’s logos. Finkelchtein wouldn’t budge on his ridiculous demand that the UFC make him a full promotional partner.

So now, Emelianenko will be a free agent, traveling the world in search of a fight. He could fight Josh Barnett, whom he was supposed to fight on Saturday on an Affliction card until Barnett tested positive for an anabolic steroid and was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission.

Emelianenko remains highly popular in Japan, where they don’t test for steroids and don’t honor U.S. suspensions. Barnett, who has been caught cheating more than once, could be licensed there and conceivably could fight Emelianenko.

But there are precious few quality opponents for him outside of the UFC. And none of the fights would captivate the world’s interest the way UFC 100 did on July 11.

Emelianenko is largely unknown in the U.S. despite his 30-1 record and long winning streak. The three pay-per-view shows he headlined in this country – PRIDE 32 in 2006, Affliction 1 in 2008 and Affliction 2 in January – sold a combined total of fewer than 300,000 units.

UFC 100 alone sold well over 1.5 million.

Finkelchtein clearly botched the negotiations, but he’s not to blame.

If Emelianenko really wanted to be in the UFC and fight the best competition in the world, he would have made certain Finkelchtein got it done.

If you want to blame someone in this fiasco, blame Emelianenko.

It’s 100 percent his fault.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ki-fedorufc073109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

[robbie380]

robbie380 kicks ass...where have you been dude???!?!?! Why haven't you posted more?

dude you bring a unique take on things...

thanks!:toast

[desflood]

If you want to blame someone in this fiasco, blame Emelianenko.

It’s 100 percent his fault.
Hear, hear!

What the hell, guys? It's 2330 and you're all here. People need to sleep, or didn't you get that memo?

[LEONARD]

It's as simple as fedor is on roids and he will get stomped, so hell no we won't sign

:lol

Wow...genius breakdown...

You do realize he's fought in the US and passed tests before right? No reason to think he's on roids anymore than anybody else in the UFC might be.

[LEONARD]

You said it. FUCK FEDOR. He is content to keep fighting cans.

One man to blame in UFC-Fedor breakdown: Fedor

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AuyQkSRfBkkJCc2zQ8lD.lU5nYcB?slug=ki-fedorufc073109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

WTF?

The last 3 fights they've lined up were against top 5 HW's when he fought them (although Barnett didn't happen). How is he fighting "cans"?? Which HW's aren't cans??

[IX_Equilibrium]

WTF?

The last 3 fights they've lined up were against top 5 HW's when he fought them (although Barnett didn't happen). How is he fighting "cans"?? Which HW's aren't cans??

You mean against Tim Sylvia who is one of the biggest jokes in MMA and an Arlovski who lost to Sylvia twice? Hank, you have always been a huge detractor of Sylvia. Don't tout his rankings now.

That's why I have always thought that MMA rankings were bullshit. Look at how some of these Pride guys were so highly ranked through their careers and then came to the UFC and flopped (or hardly dominated like the rankings suggested they might): Shogun, Nog, Cro-Cop, Werdum, Paulo Filho (WEC), Wanderlei Silva, etc.

So who else has Fedor beat of significance recently? Mark Hunt who has zero ground game? Choi Hong-man who had an impressive victory over Jose Canseco? :rolleyes Matt Lindland who usually fights at middleweight?

Sorry, but if you think his fighting resume has been impressive the past few years, then your head is in the sand. You are right about him taking the Barnett fight, but he sure as shit won't get those caliber opponents fighting in Strikeforce.

Don't be so much of a Fedor homer that you won't admit him ducking the UFC was a flakey move.

[LEONARD]

I've never liked Tim Sylvia (at all) but you can't deny his place in the HW division over the last 4 years. The fact that Fedor beat him isn't impressive to me, but he beat him like nobody ever had up to that point (of course ignoring his 50 lbs over-weight 1 punch loss to Mercer a couple months ago). Fedor completely smoked him when he was a still a valid HW. He's a tough matchup and going into that fight many of the Fedor nay sayers were picking Tim. After the fight, they pointed to how much Tim sucks. They did the same with Arlovski. They would've done the same with Barnett had that fight happened and Fedor won it. It's going to keep happening until he's in the UFC.

Arlovski is still a solid HW, despite your mma math with Sylvia. Especially the "new and improved" AA that Fedor was supposed to be fighting.

The few years prior to Sylvia and Arlovski were nothing special. Hunt and Coleman were decent at best. I didn't say his resume over the past few years was impressive did I? I was referring to the fights they've lined up for him for the past year. You can't call those guys "cans" IMO.

I just don't see it as him "ducking" the UFC because of who fights there...

[robbie380]

That's why I have always thought that MMA rankings were bullshit. Look at how some of these Pride guys were so highly ranked through their careers and then came to the UFC and flopped (or hardly dominated like the rankings suggested they might): Shogun, Nog, Cro-Cop, Werdum, Paulo Filho (WEC), Wanderlei Silva, etc.


Please explain how nog and filho have flopped? granted filho did flip his lid but the guy was amazing until he went insane in that sonnen fight. nog only has one loss in a fight that he should have postponed. hell even shogun is 2-1 and fighting for the title at ufc 104. have rampage and hendo also been flops? what about anderson silva? hell i dunno what their rankings were when they came to the ufc so if you can enlighten me that would be good.

[IX_Equilibrium]

Arlovski is still a solid HW, despite your mma math with Sylvia.



Yeah, we saw that with Brett Rogers :lol




Fedor completely smoked him when he was a still a valid HW. He's a tough matchup and going into that fight many of the Fedor nay sayers were picking Tim. After the fight, they pointed to how much Tim sucks.

I guess these naysayers ignored the fact that Sylvia got beat by a much smaller and older Couture, and then lost to Nog in his last UFC fight. Hey, I'm not questioning Fedor's talent here. Any MMA fan who knows their stuff knew Tim winning would be a huge longshot.

At 5-6 Hunt certainly hasn't shown himself to be a successful MMA fighter, getting submitted in 5 of his 6 losses. As for Coleman, his best years were behind him when he faced Fedor, but you are right in him not being a "can".

Anyway, you know damn well that he will get better competition in the UFC than anywhere else. He knew this, he knows the fans want to see him in the UFC, but refuses no matter how great the contract the UFC would offer him. Think about it, do you think anyone would prefer seeing him in Strikeforce than in the UFC?

[IX_Equilibrium]

Please explain how nog and filho have flopped? granted filho did flip his lid but the guy was amazing until he went insane in that sonnen fight. nog only has one loss in a fight that he should have postponed. hell even shogun is 2-1 and fighting for the title at ufc 104. have rampage and hendo also been flops? what about anderson silva? hell i dunno what their rankings were when they came to the ufc so if you can enlighten me that would be good.

Did I say all Pride fighters were flops? Or did I specifically name certain fighters?

I didn't mention Dan because he is one of my favorite fighters. But you can't say that his UFC debut coming from Pride was successful. He was the Pride Middleweight Champion and the Pride Welterweight Champion going into the UFC. Then his 1st 2 UFC fights were title bouts for the light heavyweight & middleweight championship and he lost them both. Hardly a successful transition.

Rua was ranked above Forrest Griffin (can't remember his ranking exactly) and was heavily favored is his debut UFC fight and lost that one.

As for Filho, some (Leonard was one of them) were saying that he was too good for the WEC and should be in the UFC since he had a #1 ranking. You can't say he has a successful stint in the WEC with all of 3 fights. Shit, he missed an event that he was supposed to headline because he was in substance abuse rehab, and then pathetically was not able to make weight in a title bout in another event and lost to Chael Sonnen. You say that wasn't a flop?

As for Nog, I thought he was going to take the Heavyweight Championship with no problem. It was a big letdown for me when he lost to Mir. Flop may be a harsh word in his case. I just say that because my expectations for him were high.

Anyway, the fighters I have mentioned had inflated pre-UFC rankings in my opinion. Many of them got a big reality check when they got into the UFC. That's not to say that they all suck and are bad fighters. They just had to get taken down a few notches.

[IX_Equilibrium]

http://www.cr3static.com/data/gif/howscottcokersignsfedorbp.gif

[IX_Equilibrium]

http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/1217/fedordanagif.gif

[LEONARD]

Yeah, we saw that with Brett Rogers :lol

I guess these naysayers ignored the fact that Sylvia got beat by a much smaller and older Couture, and then lost to Nog in his last UFC fight. Hey, I'm not questioning Fedor's talent here. Any MMA fan who knows their stuff knew Tim winning would be a huge longshot.

At 5-6 Hunt certainly hasn't shown himself to be a successful MMA fighter, getting submitted in 5 of his 6 losses. As for Coleman, his best years were behind him when he faced Fedor, but you are right in him not being a "can".

Anyway, you know damn well that he will get better competition in the UFC than anywhere else. He knew this, he knows the fans want to see him in the UFC, but refuses no matter how great the contract the UFC would offer him. Think about it, do you think anyone would prefer seeing him in Strikeforce than in the UFC?

Maybe Rogers is the next big thing...you don't know that he's not do you? Still an unknown for the most part with just 1 high profile win (same # as Cain, Dos Santos, and Carwin...right?).

Hunt was around #10 in the rankings when Fedor fought him. He's not a well rounded MMA fighter but he's still a threat while the fight is standing anyway.

I would prefer that he be in the UFC of course, but I understand why he's not. This isn't the end of the world IMO. It's a 1 yr contract and he should fight 3 guys in the top 15 in the next year, possibly including Barnett at some point also. Then we'll be right back to Dana kissing ass trying to get him again. I'm a Fedor homer because of how he fights, his sportsmanship, his demeanor, etc. The fact that he's not in the UFC isn't going to cause me to flip on the guy, call him a pussy, wish failure on him, or some of the other things I'm reading from people.

[oligarchy]

According you, he doesn't want to deal with Dana, so he won't be going to the UFC later. He'll just be fighting these ultra-talented guys outside the UFC.

[LEONARD]

Dana will have to step it up a little more next time I guess...he got closer this time than he did a couple years ago. I'm sure he'd fight for Dana if they cleared all the hurdles...

[oligarchy]

"hurdles" huh? You mean, making stupid demands? You mean, like Dana should co-promote with M-1?

Dana doesn't need Fedor, it's been proven. The world will go on and Fedor will always be that question mark. Whether he's afraid of competition or he's just a tool remains to be seen.

[dbreiden83080]

Dana will have to step it up a little more next time I guess...he got closer this time than he did a couple years ago. I'm sure he'd fight for Dana if they cleared all the hurdles...

Step it up, he was reportedly offered the richest contract in the history of MMA. His first fight was going to be a guaranteed title shot with Brock, that surely would bring in over a mil PPV buys. Likely netting him that 5 mil or close to it, that was reported. So one fight in the UFC and he'd be 5 mil richer. The deal was as sweet as it was going to get and then some.. UFC is never co-promoting with M1 and that appears to be the only way Fedor's nut-job MGT does business. So by Hurdles you can only mean the Co-Promotion, so he's never fighting in the UFC then..

[IX_Equilibrium]

Hunt was around #10 in the rankings when Fedor fought him. He's not a well rounded MMA fighter but he's still a threat while the fight is standing anyway.



Again, I don't put any stock in rankings. If it would be a K-1 fight, I'd have been excited. There was no doubt that Fedor was going to submit him.


Maybe Rogers is the next big thing...you don't know that he's not do you? Still an unknown for the most part with just 1 high profile win (same # as Cain, Dos Santos, and Carwin...right?).


But not the same as Lesnar. As much as I hate Lesnar, he has defeated 2 former UFC Heavyweight champions.

What type of interest would Rogers/Fedor or a Werdum/Fedor generate verses a Lesnar/Fedor matchup?? I think even you who are blinded by your "Fedor can do no wrong" attitude knows that.




I would prefer that he be in the UFC of course, but I understand why he's not. This isn't the end of the world IMO. It's a 1 yr contract and he should fight 3 guys in the top 15 in the next year, possibly including Barnett at some point also. Then we'll be right back to Dana kissing ass trying to get him again. I'm a Fedor homer because of how he fights, his sportsmanship, his demeanor, etc. The fact that he's not in the UFC isn't going to cause me to flip on the guy, call him a pussy, wish failure on him, or some of the other things I'm reading from people.

I don't think he is a pussy. I would love nothing more than for Fedor to come to the UFC, kick Lesnar's ass, and be the UFC Heavyweight champ. So you understand why he isn't fighting for the UFC? You said Dana needs to step up to the plate more? Leonard, you're fucking high.

Although Dana isn't a likable person, he knows this business. He knows that Fedor vs. Lesnar would be the biggest MMA fight in history. Fedor could shut up all doubters with one fight, be the UFC heavyweight champ, and get even richer while accomplishing all of that. But no, he would rather fight Brett Rogers or Werdum :sleep

He deserves every but of the shit he is getting. Not enough money? Sure...

[LEONARD]

But not the same as Lesnar. As much as I hate Lesnar, he has defeated 2 former UFC Heavyweight champions.

I'm not taking anything away from Lesnar. Fedor's last 2 fights were wins against former UFC HW champs also.

Maybe you missed it, but everything I've been talking about with regards to UFC HW's is OUTSIDE of the Lesnar matchup, which is what I really want to see. I'm saying that the guys he'll fight in SF are on par with the guys in the UFC not named Lesnar.


What type of interest would Rogers/Fedor or a Werdum/Fedor generate verses a Lesnar/Fedor matchup?? I think even you who are blinded by your "Fedor can do no wrong" attitude knows that.

Of course Fedor vs Lesnar would generate insane interest and PPV buys...I've never stated (or hinted at?) that it wouldn't. That's a no-brainer.

[IX_Equilibrium]

I'm saying that the guys he'll fight in SF are on par with the guys in the UFC not named Lesnar.



I think that Nog, Mir, and Lesnar would beat anybody in Strikeforce other than Fedor. It would be interesting to see what Cain and Carwin would do against those guys too.




Of course Fedor vs Lesnar would generate insane interest and PPV buys...I've never stated (or hinted at?) that it wouldn't. That's a no-brainer.

Right, and that's why Fedor signing with the UFC after Dana has bent over backwards should be a no-brainer.

[LEONARD]

I think Mir is incredibly over-rated after beating a shell of the former Nog (knee, staff, whatever the case was with him that night). He'll be doing well to beat Kongo IMO.

Nog is a tough fight for anybody as long as he's healthy. But even then, he's not even close to what he was 4 years ago. I think the SF guys matchup well with him now (not with Nog of the past though).

Cain and Carwin would good matchups with the SF HW's. I'm a Carwin homer too, by the way. War ME's...lol

[IX_Equilibrium]

Well, Mir isn't overrated anymore. That being said, you can't deny that his standup has improved big time over the past 2 years. Plus his BJJ has had to have improved working with Drysdale. I'd put money on Mir to smoke anyone in Strikeforce other than Fedor.

[LEONARD]

I'm happy for Mir in that he's returned from his accident and done well the past 2 yrs (as opposed to Mir of 2006), but I'm not sold on just how good he is yet. His striking was great against Nog, but he was a zombie in that fight. I think he'll have problems with Kongo, who isn't easy to takedown and sub these days. I'll be pulling for Mir, but not feeling good about it.