UFC Considers Fedor Emelianenko Signing

[Rappy Veteran]

The UFC considers the signing of famed PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (26-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to be ?inevitable? and is confident a deal could be reached soon, according to a UFCjunkie.com (www.ufcjunkie.com) source close to the organization.

Ever since Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta (primary owners of Zuffa LLC, the UFC?s parent company) announced the purchase of the Japanese-based fight organization earlier this year, some of PRIDE?s best fighters have been signed to fight exclusively in the UFC. However, the one fighter most wanted by fans ? and UFC officials alike ? is Emelianenko, the PRIDE 2004 Grand Prix winner and a heavyweight champ since 2003.

UFC president Dana White stated in a recent newspaper interview that he was close to signing Emelianenko to a UFC deal.

Our source says that the general consensus inside the UFC is that it?s a done deal:

?Everyone [associated with the UFC] expects the deal will get done. They think it?s inevitable. They expect Fedor to be in a UFC fight before the end of the year.?

If true, the arrival of Emelianenko would mean an instant impact on the UFC?s heavyweight division. Once considered paper-thin, the UFC?s crop of heavyweights has suddenly risen to respectability. Current 43-year-old champ Randy Couture battles Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 74 in a title shot. Despite the loss to Gonzaga, Mirko ?Cro Cop? Filipovic remains a top contender. Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tim Sylvia and Fabricio Werdum could all be in the title picture, as well.

Emelianenko, though, would bring an unparalleled resume to the UFC. With a near-perfect 26-1 record, he suffered his lone loss in a 2000 RINGS event against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The bout was stopped just 17 second in because of a cut caused by a glancing elbow from Kohsaka (Emelianenko later avenged the loss in a 2005 PRIDE Bushido event).

Since the loss, it?s been pure domination of some of the sport?s top heavyweight fighters, including a 2005 unanimous-decision win over Filipovic. Emelianenko?s rematch with Filipovic could be one of the biggest ? if not the biggest ? fights in MMA history.

[Zoom7000]

If they really wanna pull in the big draws, they simply have to sign him. The possibilities of possible match ups if they do sign him is simply huge!

[Rappy Veteran]

If they really wanna pull in the big draws, they simply have to sign him. The possibilities of possible match ups if they do sign him is simply huge!

Yeah I mean theres some people I want to see Fedor take on like Randy and Gonzaga and maybe Crocop again...

[Googintosh]

Dana White has also expressed interest in signing Emelianenko, but considers his management team to be the primary barrier left to the inking of a contract

I wish they'd hurry up and agree to a contract already. I'd like to see Fedor vs UFC champion (preferably Randy Couture) by the end of the year. Since he's PRIDE champion I don't think they'd make him fight his way up the ranks, similar to Dan Henderson getting a title fight in his first match.

They could hold it on 12/31 and call it UFC Shockwave 2007 since its probable there won't be any PRIDE Shockwave this year :cool:

[Rappy Veteran]

I wish they'd hurry up and agree to a contract already. I'd like to see Fedor vs UFC champion (preferably Randy Couture) by the end of the year. Since he's PRIDE champion I don't think they'd make him fight his way up the ranks, similar to Dan Henderson getting a title fight in his first match.

They could hold it on 12/31 and call it UFC Shockwave 2007 since its probable there won't be any PRIDE Shockwave this year :cool:

Yeah I want to see Randy vs Fedor but I doubt it will happen because I think Gonzaga will take Randy next month...

[Rappy Veteran]

Despite conflicting reports, a meeting the UFC had Thursday with Fedor Emelianenko?s camp was ?not good? according to a source within the organization that spoke to UFCjunkie.com (www.ufcjunkie.com) contributor Sam Caplan.

Caplan posted the report on his personal blog, fiveouncesofpain.

A variety of reports today stated the meeting was productive ? and even that a tentative deal worth about $2 million per fight had been reached. However, Caplan reports that his source gave no indication that a deal was imminent.

Emelianenko, the PRIDE heavyweight champion and top-ranked Russian fighter, has been in negotiations with the UFC for months.

During Thursday?s UFC 75 media conference call, UFC President Dana White said that if Emelianenko signs with the organization, he could be next in line for a title shot with current champ Randy Couture. White, though, gave no indication that a deal was close, and even joked that the conference call members should ?put in a good word? for him.

Emelianenko would bring an unparalleled resume to the UFC. With a near-perfect 26-1 record, he suffered his lone loss in a 2000 RINGS event against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. The bout was stopped just 17 seconds in because of a cut caused by a glancing elbow from Kohsaka (Emelianenko later avenged the loss in a 2005 PRIDE Bushido event).

Since the loss, it?s been pure domination of some of the sport?s top heavyweight fighters, including a 2005 unanimous-decision win over current UFC fighter Mirko ?Cro Cop? Filipovic.

[Christopher]

$2 million per fight? Thats rediculous.

On a side note, its a shame for Randy Coture. Hes practically the gatekeeper anymore. They want to throw all of the PRIDE superstars at him each chance they get. I would love to see Randy hold them all off. (Fedor, Cro Cop, etc.) It would be even better to see Fedor get shut out on his Debut fight by someone such as Andrei Arlovski. Something along the lines of what happend to Heath Herring. They bring him in, expect him to win, and he gets thrown around for 3 rounds.