Fedor and the UFC: New Hope or Wishful Thinking?
Posted on June 23, 2010, 12:52 AM by Joey SantosusFedor Emelianenko, The Last Emperor, The P4P King of MMA, The WAMMA Champ. However you may know him, if you're a fan of MMA, you know him. Recently however, a man of such few words seems to have incited so many amongst the MMA community. While it could easily be words concerning his impressive record, his oft-debated status as pound for pound king, or his contributions to the history of MMA in general, in recent time, it has been none of the above. Instead, it has been the fighter's contract negotiations, or lack thereof, with the most popular and most successful MMA organization in current existence.
Though Emelianenko made his MMA debut for the Japanese RINGS organization, it was his June 2002 Pride debut that, for many, would lead to him cementing his legacy. Fedor would go on to defeat many capable opponents, such as Dutch fighter Semmy Schilt, heavyweight Heath Herring, and the heavily favored Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira before capturing Pride's Heavyweight Championship title at Pride 25 on March 16, 2003. After successfully defending the title on various occasions, Pride Fighting Championships was purchased by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III.
Following the expiration of Emelianenko's contract with Pride, heavy speculation about the possibility of him fighting in the UFC began to swirl. With a public falling out between Fedor's manager, Vadim Finkelstein, and Bodog's Calvin Ayre, it seemed the only logical move.
To date, Dana White has expressed interest in "The Last Emperor" on numerous occasions, being quoted stating that the fighter had become the UFC President's "obsession." However, White has attributed Fedor's management team to be the primary barrier. Most recently, appearing on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket in South Florida on June 22, Dana explained, "Trust me, believe me, on my kids lives, I have flown to goofy parts of the world to go try to get this thing done. I have spent hours on the phone.." When asked by the show's host Dan LeBatard what offer he was most stunned that Fedor's people said "no that's not good enough either" in response to, White declined to discuss numbers, but did say, "I offered him more than anybody ever in his entire fight career has ever offered him or ever will..." He continued by referring to Emelianenko's management as "lunatics," declaring "They don't want to fight the best in the world, period! Its the only answer.."
On the other side of the matter, Vadim Finkelstein has cited difficult negotiations as the immediate issue. A central point of contention is Finkelstein's adamancy regarding the UFC working with his Russian M-1 promotion, as well as extending contractual offers to other members of the Red Devil Sport Club, and permitting Fedor to compete in combat sambo tournaments.
Currently, Emelianenko is approaching the end of a three fight contract with the nationally broadcast promotion Strikeforce. Coming off a hard fought victory over Brett Rogers, Fedor is scheduled to face Fabricio Werdum on June 26th. When asked about his future beyond his match with the two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, Fedor stated, "I don't want to look beyond my fight against Fabricio Werdum, if everything goes well, and I will feel alright, I will stay with Strikeforce. But I am considering retirement more and more often now." At the same media conference he went on to express his feelings on the UFC, "I'm not a fan of watching UFC fights. Compared to a lot of the commercials and promotion in anticipation of their fights, and compared to a lot of the shows I've seen, there seems to be a lot of negativity involved in their shows. So I'm just not a fan of watching their programs."
While it would seem all hope of the WAMMA Champion ever stepping foot in the UFC octagon has been lost, some have actually found renewed hope in light of recent events. While Dana White went on record stating that all negotiations with Emelianenko's management have came to a close, the Russian had conflicting statements:
"We are constantly negotiating, but only during recent time the Americans began to show some respect. The dialogue between us is completely different right now. They are more interested in our opinion.... All I can say is that Vadim Finkelstein is doing well in handling the situation."
Furthermore, when Fedor had previously been asked what fighters he is currently following that interest him, he answered, "Randy Couture interests me, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Shogun Rua. I also like UFC’s young fighters Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos… I think they are a very talented guys." All names mentioned being competitors under UFC contract.
While The UFC President's aforementioned comments clearly contradict Emelianenko's, Dana White has shown in the past that he is not opposed to telling "white lies" (pun-intended) for the sake of preserving discretion and surprising fans. In addition, some feel Fedor's "jab" at the UFC in reference to their events involving "negativity" was out of character for the man who has never been known for trash-talk and are considering the possibility that this remark may have been another attempt to distance himself from what could be, behind closed doors, favorable negotiations after all.
Is it the usual wishful thinking amongst fans that we have all become accustomed to or are they truly on to something? Is retirement on the horizon, or will we see more of the Russian heavyweight? In the end, only time will tell what is next for the MMA icon, until then we will all be watching and waiting in anticipation.
Comments
Thought I would type this up to give anyone who isnt familiar with the situation a quick overview, as well as offer an alternative point of view on recent events surrounding the issue, as a few members and I have been discussing the odd behavior of both parties as of late.
Great recap SUC I don't think their is more than a hanfull on this site the don't want to see Fedor in the UFC. All we can do is hope the he does end up in the UFC. Everyone would be happy. I hope their is something to these mysterious statements.
Personally I still don't see it ever happening, and I have a feeling he might actually retire sooner rather than later. Great article though, it really summarizes what's been going on with the whole situation. We still have hope. I think deep down inside even the most faithful Fedor followers would like to see him in the UFC, and it would certainly answer a lot of questions.
Ohhh! look who's here!! Mr. Writer !!!
Great article StickinUrChick !!!
Nice way to sum up the recent discussion! Noticed something I never did before as well... Funny how Fedor mentioned hes not a fan of watching the UFC programs, but he listed all UFC fighters that hes following, lol.
I think we may have an inkling of the changes Dana said would happen that would change the face of the UFC and MMA...
bottom line hes a pussy he will neve fight i the ufc cause he knows he cant win hes a bitch and always will be
I also found that to be an odd contradiction. On the other hand, I also hate the negativity and the trash talking that goes on in UFC events and yet I always watch the fighters I like, a number of which are in the UFC. That isn't to say that there is none of that in other orgs, but the UFC takes it to another level.
True. But the thing is, with the fighters he has mentioned, those fighters DONT have negativity involved. Which means he has to be following UFC quite a bit more than he wants to make it seem.
good article. i think its wishfull thinking on everybodys behalf,. but we can hope
It's part wishful thinking, but regardless of whether it's true or not, I don't think it can be disputed that the recent actions are out of character for Fedor.
This is so much better than your obvious bias comments in previous threads hahahaha! Really good read SUC. Good work!
As for Fedor of course he won't ever be in the UFC.
*rolls eyes* leave the guy alone.
da vi ebam majkata na site
HUHHH?????
I don't see Fedor going to the UFC. It would be interesting to see him fight some of their fighters but I think it is more likely that he would fight them outside the UFC. Lesner will probably not be champ for much longer so maybe he will go to Stikeforce. I doubt it though. He is too big a draw for the fly over staters for Dana to give him the boot.
Lesnar will never go to Strikeforce or any other organization for that matter. He would go back to the WWE before he went there. He got paid $450,000 to beat Randy for the belt and another $400k to defend it against Mir. This isn't even counting any % from Ratings, and Brock is at the top for the ratings draw...so no one but the UFC, especially shittty Strikefarce could afford Brock Lesnar.
Well said IHSF. I wasn't going to bother responding to him. "fly over staters" what a jackass.
Fedor would make more money in the UFC, than he ever has. A lot more money than he's making anywhere else. He would have more fans than ever, instead of just the people who've followed him in Pride.
The reason Brock won't go anywhere is because all of the competition is in the UFC, and it's the best organization in the sport. Strikeforce is a farm team where lesser fighters go to gain some experience and hopefully one day a UFC contract. It's also where fighters go when they wash out of the UFC. That's the two groups of people that Fedor is fighting. Washed up fighters, or fighters who never made it to the big show in the first place. He should be fighting Brock, and Velasquez, and JDS, and Shane, and Mir, and Kongo, or even Patric Duffee.
The P4P best ever, the greatest, the #1 guy, should be fighting Werdum in Strikeforce?... If Fedor doesn't do a lot better than he did with Rogers, his future contract offers won't be anything like what was offered before.
I wish he would atleast come to the UFC for the fans of MMA. Plus it sounds like he could earn a big retirement fund.
A bunch of misquotes spoils the premise of the article. Fact check would be in order.
None of those are misquotes haha, sad attempt my friend.
Look at the guys name... what more do u expect? lol
They are. You pulled them off Lowkick and other sites quotes him differently.
I didnt "pull them off" from anywhere... I listened to the interview you genius!! You are so pathetic...
I have had my differences with SUC, but I thought it was a good article.
You set a new standard for daft.
Haha, I noticed on ur wall that someone informed you that all my quotes are "spot-on" and have been "verified." How do u like me now simple bitch?
Sorry I accidently hit the reply button too early. The article was clearly taking on both sides. SUC blamed the UFC and M-1 for their lack of getting the deal sealed. I personally think he eventually fight in the UFC. The only question will be when? You have to think it is after these two fights since his contract is up after these two fights.
Fedor is afraid of fighting for the UFC. its as simple as that. he is a 6 foot tall 235 pound VAGINA! he knows that if he ever fought in the UFC, unless it was against Randy Couture, he would lose. every idiot mma fan thinks this guy is number 1 in the world p4p.that is pure ignorance. this guy isnt even in the top 5. there are 6 fighter that could beat him RIGHT NOW. 1. Brock Lesner, 2. Shane Carwin, 3. Frank Mir, 4. Cain Velasquez, 5. Junior Dos Santos, 6. Alistair Overeem. 5 out of 6 fight UFC only Alistair fights in strikeFARCE and Fedor already said he has no interest in fighting him because there is "nothing for him" in the fight, and then his management team said Alistair does steroids. Thats just another way of saying "he'd beat me, so i dont want to take the fight." its the same reason Fedor will never sign with the UFC, unless it was the only fight organization in the world and even then he might just quit. if he beats Fabricio Verdoom and dosnt take the fight against Alistair Overeem I would like to see him retire so he can then be stripped of the p4p ranking, he isnt the best in the world he isnt even in the top 5.
Most of the fighters also put him at number one. Idiot.
no they dont. the only fighters that say hes number one suck, josh bartnett and bums like him are the only fighters that think that. alot of fighters say "well his record says hes the best so he must be the best," but they know he is shit. the fighters that can beat him all say he sucks. Frank Mir said hes too short too slow and too fat (6'0 235lbs) to be a contender in the UFC and that is a guy that has been beaten by the two biggest guys in the division and is a freak him self at 6'3" 250. Fedor sucks and is afraid to fight the best. deal with it.
silva, gsp, penn, big nog, just 4 from the top of my head taht said he's the best
yes because he has the best record. if you think hes the best you dont know shit about fighting. if you think that he can beat Brock your dumb. he got his nose broken by Brett Rogers, the same guy that couldn't make it out of the first round with Alistair almost knocked Fedor out. what does that tell you when a fat guy that worked at Sam's Club can break the nose of, and almost beat, the "best fighter on the planet" what do you think would happen to him if Shane Carwin hit him? he would CRUMBLE, he is weak. he is out of his prime and is in a minor league organization fighting bums and has beens to keep his record clean. he wont fight the best fighters there for he isnt the best fighter.
Hey Dana, why don´t you use your real name?.
I wish i was Dana White bro. I really dude, best job in the world. He runs the best fighting organization in the world with all the best fighters in the world. I sadly am not Dana White, but I do know my MMA.
You redneck.
wth is the WAMMA? try ufc fedor
WAMMA is World Alliance of Mixed Marital Arts. its a hole in the wall organization with very low level fighters that you have never heard of that is headlined by a fake heavyweight champion.
I wish i was Dana White bro. I really dude, best job in the world. He runs the best fighting organization in the world with all the best fighters in the world. I sadly am not Dana White, but I do know my MMA.
Fedor will never go to the UFC simply over politics. Fedor has said time an time again that MMA is just a business to him, well why didn't he take the UFC multi million dollar contract then. He claims the UFC doesn't treat their fighters like people, but when Shogun Rua got ****ed out of the title against Machida, Dana White gave him an extra $100,000 just cause he felt bad about the decision. No taxes taken out of that paycheck, 100k right in his hand. So **** Fedor and his bullshit excuses. This is fighting, you should CRAVE to fight every fighter in your division, otherwise your only stalling your inevitable defeat. If a fighter goes around beating B list and C list fighters his entire career it doesn't make him an A list fighter, it makes him just as good as the people he beat. Outside of Cro Cop and Big Nog, Fedor really can't brag about any fight, and those were YEARS ago. Brett Rogers is a C list fighter, so is Tim Sylvia and Werdum, and Arlovski was beating him until he made the same mistake he always does. Fedor has been placed upon a pedistal where he doesn't belong, and the sad thing is he will never go to the UFC like any other real man, real MMA fighter would.
Your absolutely right but blame M1 not Fedor they have him by the balls they will probably kill his family if he signs with the UFC or goes against them in any way.
Fedor is the best! Take a look at all rankings for a change.
lol for some strange reason i beleive that...
take a look at the long list of washed up and broken fighters that they been feeding fedor, and to rank him #1 and p4p is pure b.s you dont even see his opponents in the rankings. of cousre he'll retire thats the best and only way to secure his status and when that happens it will forever be smeared cuz he did not once ever face an opponent at the top of their game not counting Nog and cro-cop and even then those guys got smashed in the UFC.let us not forge that his team is nothing more than a marketing team selling crap to uneducated mma newbies
As long as Fedor is represented by an entirely different and separate organization to the UFC, the deal can't happen. Put yourself in M-1's place - they take a huge risk if they allow Fedor to fight in the UFC cause if he loses then they are ****ed for good. The UFC doesn't have anything to lose really but they have the integrity to not let themselves be worked over by some low scale promotion for a single human being. The only way it could happen is if M1 is in serious financial trouble and they try and max out the amount of money they can get from letting Fedor sign with the UFC.
M-! is already F***ED, they SUCK. They are Fedors proxy.
These hating Strikeforce guys are fking idiots
Type more and prove it. No your not Dana White, your a loud mouthed know it all moron who hasnt hit puberty,
Does your mom know you act like this while she pays your bills?
Outstanding article Stickin. The anger in response is hilarious.
M-1 Global is not risking anything. They are doing well in Russia regardless if Fedor looses. The UFC is in risk if they sign Fedor because they know that Brock is no match, that's why they are not signing Fedor. If Dana signs Fedor he needs to back up his words. If Fedor is so overrated and fat, why Dana wants to sign him? Why Fedor haters like to talk about Fedor? Don't talk about him.