Fedor Signs With StrikeForce!

[Rappy Veteran]

UFC President Dana White will announce the signing of Fedor Emelianenko this Friday. Shortly after the report was made posted, the UFC announced a media conference call with White scheduled for this Friday afternoon.

According to the report, an unidentified source stated that the negotiations between Fedor and the UFC have been "very civil". The source went on to state that officials are apparently discussing details on the announcement of the deal, although the UFC is declining to comment on Friday's announcement.

The signing of Fedor by the UFC has been talked about for years, with the Russian heavyweight coming close to signing with the organization in the summer of 2007. Negotations failed after Fedor's manager, Vadim Finkelstein, demanded that the UFC work with his Russian M-1 Global promotion and permit Emelianenko to compete in combat sambo tournaments. However, speculation renewed during the UFC 100 post-fight press conference earlier this month, when White said that Fedor would eventually be joining the organization.

?Eventually Fedor is going to be here,? White noted. ?I want Fedor. I want him to come of the UFC."

White also said this past weekend that the Russian heavyweight would fight UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in his first fight in the organization, if they were to come to terms on a deal.

"He'll fight for the title first," White stated. "What does he need, a tune-up fight or something? ... To argue where this guy sits in the heavyweight division, we can argue that all day."

Meanwhile, Fedor Emelianenko will address the public with a press conference on Wednesday, where he is expected to address his future plans. It's unlikely that Fedor would announce a deal with the UFC if the UFC is planning to make their own announcement on Friday. Stay tuned to MMAScoops.com for more on this story.

This all means that Lesnar vs. Fedor would be first up.

[source]

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Edited August 3, 2009 by Rappy

[TheElite]

Either Dana underestimates Fedor, or he dislikes Brock (by giving him a very short title reign).

[Rappy Veteran]

Either Dana underestimates Fedor, or he dislikes Brock (by giving him a very short title reign).

Yeah but are we underestimating Brock...he could beat Fedor :p

[Zoom7000]

If Fedor does sign (and I sure damn hope the UFC confirm this on Friday!) and if he does get past Lesnar, I really want to see him take on Randy Couture. Sure, I guess the fight has lost some of it's value since Couture lost to Lesnar, but we can never underestimate Randy!

Let's hope he gets past Big Nog!

[Rappy Veteran]

Yeah I still would love to see Fedor vs Randy

[Matrix XII]

I really hope he gets signed and beats the crap out of Lesnar. I can't stand that guy.

[Konstanov]

UFC is going to lose all their money giving it to Fedor for winning fights.

[Rappy Veteran]

Fedor Emelianenko and M-1 officials today held a coinciding press conference and media call to discuss the latest news with the Russian fighter.

Unfortunately, no definitive news was released regarding the fighter's future, other than that Emelianenko and his manager, M-1 boss Vadim Finkelchtein, are currently in negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Officials, though, did announce that Emelianenko will "headline" EA Sports' new videogame, EA Sports MMA, which will compete with THQ's and the UFC's hugely successful "UFC Undisputed" videogame franchise that debuted with a 2009 edition earlier this year. "EA Sports MMA" will also feature Gegard Mousasi and Renato "Babalu" Sobral, officials announced.

Emelianenko, a longtime PRIDE champion who's widely regarded as the sport's No. 1 ranked heavyweight, was slated to fight Josh Barnett on Aug. 1. However, after the California State Athletic Commission denied Barnett a license due to a failed drug test (anabolic steroid), Affliction briefly sought a replacement but first canceled its "Trilogy" event and then announced it would cease promotional operations altogether and return to the UFC as a sponsor.

Emelianenko had one fight remaining on his Affliction deal. It's unclear what that deal means or could mean for the fighter.

"We're exploring all options at the time, legally with regard to Affliction and what we perceived took place," Steve Bash, M-1 USA vice president of legal affairs, said. "I can promise you and promise Affliction, if something was done wrong, someone will be held responsible."

In the mean time, Finkelchtein confirmed that in addition to the UFC, Emelianenko is negotiating with multiple organizations, including Strikeforce.

Emelianenko and the UFC have negotiated in the past, but no deal ever came to fruition. One sticking point has been that Finkelchtein wants any UFC event featuring Emelianenko to be co-promoted with the M-1 brand. Finkelchtein said that remains one of their demands.

As we mentioned earlier today, the L.A. Times recently reported that the UFC and Emelianenko were finalizing a deal that would be announced at a UFC media call scheduled for Friday. Although a source close to M-1 told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the report was "untrue," we've since updated the story to include information from a source close to the UFC who said the organization is devoting all its resources to getting a deal done with Emelianenko by Friday. It's not known if the UFC would be willing to co-promote with M-1, which is something UFC president Dana White has often said he's unwilling to do.

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

Again, it's unknown if an exception would be made for Emelianenko.

[source]

[TheElite]

Yeah but are we underestimating Brock...he could beat Fedor :p

:laugh:

He could. But unlikely.

[Rappy Veteran]

haha so very true! :p

he could run at him like a tank...which is his strength :p

[Lovell]

- 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.

Fedor got everything he wanted and M1 still refused because the UFC won't co promote :omg:

[TheElite]

Maybe due to loyalty.

But it is true, that is one hell of a deal for Fedor.

[Rappy Veteran]

**** at that deal if that is true that is one mega deal! we should know today!

[+StevoFC MVC]

Fedor did not take the deal...

read the updates here... http://twitter.com/UFC

It was obvious to me he wasn't going to UFC yet. All you had to do was watch his interview a couple weeks ago on Inside MMA.

[Bubbabyte]

Yeah i knew he wouldn't go to the UFC. As much as i respect Fedor, i really don't know how well he would do against top competitors every fight rather then just some affliction BS. I've watched the M1 manager many times before and i knew he wasn't going to budge on the co promotion thing, but to be honest i have to side with Dana on this one. Why on earth would the UFC, the top promotion in MMA by far, ever want to do a co promotion. They have nothing to gain, by doing a co promotion that would benefit M1 and make it direct competition with UFC, it doesn't make good business sense to do co promotion. But strikeforce and M1 are really fedor's only options.. and i dont think strikeforce can afford him, and M1 is not as "global" as they would like to appear, so i can see Fickelschtein running back to the UFC in a year or 2, just watch.

[+StevoFC MVC]

But strikeforce and M1 are really fedor's only options.. and i dont think strikeforce can afford him, and M1 is not as "global" as they would like to appear, so i can see Fickelschtein running back to the UFC in a year or 2, just watch.

But for Fedor it's not all about money. It's being able to fight where he wants and when he wants. UFC puts too many restrictions on things. Strikeforce would be willing to give him a deal better suited to what he wants I bet.

[Rappy Veteran]

Oh well it's quite a shame :(

Hendo vs Silva might be cool!

and Ortiz is back!

[Bubbabyte]

But for Fedor it's not all about money. It's being able to fight where he wants and when he wants. UFC puts too many restrictions on things. Strikeforce would be willing to give him a deal better suited to what he wants I bet.

that's what his camp "says". But come on, the guy was making over 1mil a fight for affliction, surely he's about money. But even more so is the co promotion, which like i said i can't blame ufc for not wanting. Strikeforce will most likely not see co promotion as an issue, but it's very obvious that fedor (or his management) just want to build M1 to be a powerhouse. They say all this garbage about we want to see MMA globally, we care about the sport, we want it to grow etc.. and that's FINE, if you're on the lower end of the spectrum, of course you want all that stuff, but the UFC is already global, there is nobody else that can compete and that's why M1 is crying about how they want a piece of the pie. M1 is not global, they do shows in japan. I see this just like any other sport, you have major league and you have minor league, but you gotta be kidding yourself if you think any minor league sports player doesn't want the money/fame/glory etc. of the major league. There aren't 2 NFL's, or 2 NHL's etc, why should their be 2 major league MMA organizations? If you don't make it in the UFC, you get cut and sent back to another organization, if you succeed you can get back in the UFC, it's been done many times before. It's no different then any other sport, so why would someone want fedor only to have him be able to fight somewhere else too? You wouldn't see that in any other sport, so why MMA?

[revvo]

Yeah but are we underestimating Brock...he could beat Fedor :p

Haha I lol'd.

[Lovell]

But for Fedor it's not all about money. It's being able to fight where he wants and when he wants. UFC puts too many restrictions on things. Strikeforce would be willing to give him a deal better suited to what he wants I bet.

That might have been the reason a few years ago but not now, the only reason the UFC doesn't have Fedor is they won't co-promote with M1 and I don't blame them, M1 has 1 fighter and expects the UFC to co-promote and turn M1 into a power house, and it doesn't look like Fedor wants to stay with M1 for much longer he has another 3 fights before his contract is up, Fedors the best heavyweight their is and they have him fighting in freak shows and against washed up UFC champs it's pathetic.

[Rappy Veteran]

haha that gif is priceless!

[Zoom7000]

Oh well, maybe when his M-1 contract is up he'll consider the UFC again. It is pathetic though. That deal, if it was what was really offered, was simply amazing!

[arrrgh]

Dana White about Fedor:

Good stuff.. :)

[Rappy Veteran]

After last week's negotiations with the UFC failed due to co-promoting demands, Fedor Emelianenko has instead signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC's biggest competitor, Strikeforce.

The organization today announced it has signed Emelianenko (30-1) to a multi-fight deal that will have him fight under the Strikeforce banner in events co-headlined M-1 Global. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

No specific date has been determined for his first Strikeforce fight, but Emelianenko will make his promotional debut this fall on Showtime, according to today's announcement.

"I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level," Emelianenko stated. "Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world. I am prepared to fight any of them."

Emelianeko hit the open market last month when Affliction Entertainment canceled its Aug. 1 "Trilogy" event after Emelianenko's main-event opponent, Josh Barnett, was denied a license because of a failed drug test due to an anabolic steroid. Affliction then announced it had ceased all promotional operations and would return to the UFC as an official sponsor.

UFC president Dana White last week suggested he gave his best effort to signing the Russian fighter, who had negotiated with the organization multiple times in the past, but that ultimately even offering Emelianenko "the most amazing deal" wasn't enough.

As Emelianenko's manager, M-1 Global co-owner and president Vadim Finkelchtein, suggested during a July 29 press conference, the UFC's refusal to co-promote shows with M-1 was likely the negotiations' biggest hurdle.

"How are they going to help us co-promote?" White said. "They're going to help us? That [expletive] might work in Russia (but) not here."

Strikeforce, though, which has previously co-promoted with organizations such as EliteXC and BodogFIGHT, is willing to work with M-1.

"We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor," Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker stated. "Fedor has been the reigning king of MMA's heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class."

Strikeforce, one of the few financially successful promotions outside of the UFC, launched its MMA division in 2006 and has grown the company substantially with a highlights show on NBC and live events on Showtime and HDNet. The San Jose, Calif.-based organization is also believed to be close to signing a deal with CBS, the former home of the now-defunct EliteXC promotion, that would put its live shows on major U.S. network television for the first time.

Emelianenko, a longtime PRIDE champion who's widely regarded as the sport's No. 1 ranked heavyweight, currently owns a 24-fight win streak. He becomes an immediate challenger in Strikeforce's heavyweight division, which currently boasts Alistair Overeem as its champion. However, Overeem hasn't fought since winning the title in November 2007 and was recently scratched from an Aug. 15 title with Fabricio Werdum because of a hand injury.

[mma junkie]

[Lovell]

"I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level," Emelianenko stated. "Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world. I am prepared to fight any of them."

I'm starting to agree with Dana White on Fedor, sure a few years ago he was the best heavyweight in the world but how can we know if he's still the best heavyweight when for the last 4 years he's only fought in freak shows and against washed up ex UFC fighters, theirs only 2 heavyweights in Strikeforce Alistair Overeem and maybe Brett Rogers who don't pose a threat to Fedor.

I like Strikeforce they've done the smart thing they've slowly built their company up rather than go all out and try to compete with the UFC like Elite XC and Affliction, I just hope that Fedor brings in a lot of viewers because I really can't see how they can afford to co promote with M-1 which means splitting the profits 50-50 on top of the millions they're paying Fedor.