Fedor's crazy Russian Management strikes again

[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 fedor and his management.

[dbreiden83080]

What The UFC and Strikeforce Reportedly Offered Fedor


http://mmafrenzy.com/11117/what-the-...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 le 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..

[BlackSwordsMan]

man I swear fedor is re ed
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 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 re ed
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]

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

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 compe ors. 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 iden y 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=436...goryid=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?"

[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 he wants...thats close enough to cross promotion.

[cool cat]

yes it would but my God...he gets to wear all the M-1 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]

m1 and fedor

[IX_Equilibrium]

m1 and fedor

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




One man to blame in UFC-Fedor breakdown: Fedor

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_yl...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 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 probably works in Russia -- not here."