Fedor is not fighting for his legacy, best believe that

Fedor signs with Strikeforce, will fight this fall - Cagewriter - Mixed Martial Arts - Yahoo! Sports



Tito Ortiz rejoins UFC; Fedor still on sideline - Yahoo! News
Although White refused to rule out a future deal, he sounded frustrated with his inability to bring the most tantalizing fighter outside the UFC into his league, particularly after the surge in MMA attention and revenue created by the landmark UFC 100 card three weeks ago.
"We tried everything we could possibly do to get Fedor into the UFC," said White, who is eager to match Emelianenko against UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

We came to the table willing to give up just about anything except the co-promotion," White added. "We offered him the most amazing deal. We guarantee he will not be offered a deal like this in mixed martial arts."

Believing the UFC has done all the hard work in raising MMA to its current level of popularity and profitability, White doesn't allow the type of co-promotion, co-branding deal demanded by officials from M-1 Global, which is part-owned by Emelianenko. M-1 Global president Vadim Finkelstein wasn't available for comment while en route back to Russia after the negotiations in Los Angeles.
"Why would I let anybody come in and co-promote with us?" White asked. "It's insanity to turn down a deal like this. To turn down a deal like this, you don't care about fighting the best in the world."
Emelianenko has fought mostly with the Pride promotion in Japan, where MMA is wildly popular. Last year, he won fights against Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski for Affliction in Anaheim, Calif.

I hope Fedor NEVER goes to the UFC. Dana White is such a bullshitter, why doesn't someone bring up those "Fedor is not a top 10 heavyweight" comments from Dana. Would you work for a boss who only acknowledges the great job you do when you have the chance to make him money? Fuck that, those were the most innappropriate comments I have ever seen a promoter make about a fighter's abilities. And what makes him want Fedor now? Because he beat AA and Tim Sylvia?


Sorry JT but Fedor is in the right hear I hope he stays undefeated and never goes to the UFC.

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Originally Posted by amat

I hope Fedor NEVER goes to the UFC. Dana White is such a bullshitter, why doesn't someone bring up those "Fedor is not a top 10 heavyweight" comments from Dana. Would you work for a boss who only acknowledges the great job you do when you have the chance to make him money? Fuck that, those were the most innappropriate comments I have ever seen a promoter make about a fighter's abilities. And what makes him want Fedor now? Because he beat AA and Tim Sylvia?


Sorry JT but Fedor is in the right hear I hope he stays undefeated and never goes to the UFC.

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Dana is just trying to fool people into thinking Fedor is hype and the real comp. is in UFC; upset because he can't get him to bow down to him.

And Fedor fights because he likes it; I don't think he gives 2 sh#ts about what anyone thinks of him or bearing the UFC brand behind him. Whether he could beat Lesnar who knows maybe, maybe not. There is always going to be someone coming along who will be the new guy and ups the game; whether Lesnar is that guy I don't know. All I know is Fedor already beat more than a handful of former UFC heavies pretty easily; including NOG 3 times, actually 1 was a NC though, but still beating NOG in his prime is hella' good to me, one of the best hw's ever in mma.

Dana wants him to come in to not only fight Lesnar but make the UFC HW div. look fuller; it is garbage right now for the most part. Anyone who knows anything knows Fedor is the best, beating all those guys before they went to UFC or after they came out; and doesn't give a sh#t about the UFC brand and won't be played by Dana. Only one who could give him severe problems is Lesnar; just from the huge size difference and athletic ability. Kongo, Mir, Overeem lol, Vasquez, Carwin all get owned by him imo easily.

I think also people have to take into consideration the Russian Mafia is in this somewhere and they pull alot of the strings; or at least I wouldn't doubt it. They won't be bullied by Dana White.

I don't blame Fedor or Dana. Dana runs a business and part of his business is having us believe that the best fighters in the world are in the UFC. If you read his most recent quotes though he was very gracious in describing Fedor's abilities and only citing that he hadn't been in with a top fighter in a while. UFC agreed to every contract request made except co promoting and you can't blame them for that. No one in their right mind would just give up a percentage of their profit per PPV b/c of one fighter. Fedor is clearly fighting for money and money alone. While his manager is getting the bad end of this, Fedor is a partner in M1 and stands to make a lot of money if M1 co promotes. The UFC offered the richest contract with the most concessions they have ever made. Can't say they didn't make the maximum effort.

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Originally Posted by LEGION

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Originally Posted by amat

I hope Fedor NEVER goes to the UFC. Dana White is such a bullshitter, why doesn't someone bring up those "Fedor is not a top 10 heavyweight" comments from Dana. Would you work for a boss who only acknowledges the great job you do when you have the chance to make him money? Fuck that, those were the most innappropriate comments I have ever seen a promoter make about a fighter's abilities. And what makes him want Fedor now? Because he beat AA and Tim Sylvia?


Sorry JT but Fedor is in the right hear I hope he stays undefeated and never goes to the UFC.

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Dana is just trying to fool people into thinking Fedor is hype and the real comp. is in UFC; upset because he can't get him to bow down to him.

And Fedor fights because he likes it; I don't think he gives 2 sh#ts about what anyone thinks of him or bearing the UFC brand behind him. Whether he could beat Lesnar who knows maybe, maybe not. There is always going to be someone coming along who will be the new guy and ups the game; whether Lesnar is that guy I don't know. All I know is Fedor already beat more than a handful of former UFC heavies pretty easily; including NOG 3 times, actually 1 was a NC though, but still beating NOG in his prime is hella' good to me, one of the best hw's ever in mma.

Dana wants him to come in to not only fight Lesnar but make the UFC HW div. look fuller; it is garbage right now for the most part. Anyone who knows anything knows Fedor is the best, beating all those guys before they went to UFC or after they came out; and doesn't give a sh#t about the UFC brand and won't be played by Dana. Only one who could give him severe problems is Lesnar; just from the huge size difference and athletic ability. Kongo, Mir, Overeem lol, Vasquez, Carwin all get owned by him imo easily.

I think also people have to take into consideration the Russian Mafia is in this somewhere and they pull alot of the strings; or at least I wouldn't doubt it. They won't be bullied by Dana White.

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Overeem is in Strikeforce, but I'd say Dos Santos, Carwin, Velasquez, Mir, Kongo, Couture, Nog, Cro Cop, Gonzaga and Lesnar make up a pretty good division. Can you name someone with a better HW div?

So Werdum, Rodgers and Oversteem are going to round out his career...

Please dont give me that shiit about Dana White, I am so fuking tired of hearing about he is a douche bag and blah, blah, blah. The guy has single handidly put MMA in the mainstream and has been more than fair with his fighters. The fact that Fedor thumbed his nose at a bizillion dollars, was going to immediately fight for a title and wear M-1 global on all his shit and prepared tea like Dr Fukin Zhivago is more than fair,

I am a HUGE Ginormous Fedor fan and would love him to put it on Brock and bring his cool quit demeanor to the UFC and run the table, but please dont give me that I wouldnt work for a douche like Dana White shiit, because money talks and bullshit walks and Dana stuffed a bull full of greenbacks and walked it over to Fedor... Its stupid to have to co promote a whole gotdam organization that sells 1.5 millon units per paperview with one fighter who never bested 300,000 units on his best day

Let Fedor be honored for making his choice and sticking to it. A fighter who controls his business(himself) is a fighter who will make better business decisions. I think Fedor refuses to work for Dana because Dana was belittling him when he had no chance to land Fedor. When he thought he had a chance to land Fedor then he tones it down and even slightly compliments him. How can someone really argue against Fedor for not selling out? More money isn't everything. Some things mean more and it not like he is choosing nothing over money. Besides, UFC doesn't have deserving contracts. Look at most of the top guys what they get paid per fight, most only get 5 figures, so its not like he is passing up millions for peanuts. A lot of UFC guys are not happy with what they make in comparison to what UFC makes. That is where boxing is light years ahead of UFC.

The UFC met every contract demand Fedor had except the co promotion. Fedor will probably make more money with his partnership but to suggest he wasn't going to make a ton of money with the UFC and more than any MMA fighter ever has is silly. As far as UFC contracts in general...One would think the UFC could pay better but its not like any of the other orgs are paying on par with them much less better.

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Originally Posted by VanChilds

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Originally Posted by LEGION

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Originally Posted by amat

I hope Fedor NEVER goes to the UFC. Dana White is such a bullshitter, why doesn't someone bring up those "Fedor is not a top 10 heavyweight" comments from Dana. Would you work for a boss who only acknowledges the great job you do when you have the chance to make him money? Fuck that, those were the most innappropriate comments I have ever seen a promoter make about a fighter's abilities. And what makes him want Fedor now? Because he beat AA and Tim Sylvia?


Sorry JT but Fedor is in the right hear I hope he stays undefeated and never goes to the UFC.

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Dana is just trying to fool people into thinking Fedor is hype and the real comp. is in UFC; upset because he can't get him to bow down to him.

And Fedor fights because he likes it; I don't think he gives 2 sh#ts about what anyone thinks of him or bearing the UFC brand behind him. Whether he could beat Lesnar who knows maybe, maybe not. There is always going to be someone coming along who will be the new guy and ups the game; whether Lesnar is that guy I don't know. All I know is Fedor already beat more than a handful of former UFC heavies pretty easily; including NOG 3 times, actually 1 was a NC though, but still beating NOG in his prime is hella' good to me, one of the best hw's ever in mma.

Dana wants him to come in to not only fight Lesnar but make the UFC HW div. look fuller; it is garbage right now for the most part. Anyone who knows anything knows Fedor is the best, beating all those guys before they went to UFC or after they came out; and doesn't give a sh#t about the UFC brand and won't be played by Dana. Only one who could give him severe problems is Lesnar; just from the huge size difference and athletic ability. Kongo, Mir, Overeem lol, Vasquez, Carwin all get owned by him imo easily.

I think also people have to take into consideration the Russian Mafia is in this somewhere and they pull alot of the strings; or at least I wouldn't doubt it. They won't be bullied by Dana White.

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Overeem is in Strikeforce, but I'd say Dos Santos, Carwin, Velasquez, Mir, Kongo, Couture, Nog, Cro Cop, Gonzaga and Lesnar make up a pretty good division. Can you name someone with a better HW div?

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Nope.

But if Fedor doesn't go to UFC he will just keep beating the sh#t out of them when Dana gets tired of them and throws them out to fight for someone else anyways. I'd love to see him in the UFC, would be huge, but oh well it's gotten to be old and tired news now; lots of other, better divisions to watch than the heavies anyways. Dana and Fedor are stubborn so fukk it.

It's not Fedor's job to get the best matchups in UFC, it's Dana White's, and thus it's White's fault that this deal fell through. Dana knows Fedor would beat Lesnar, and is scared to split the inevitable windfall with someone else. It's just a real tragedy that the best MMA company in the world does not have the best MMA heavyweight in the world.

Lets look at this another way. If for arguments sake we say Tom Brady is the best QB in the NFL and next year decided to play for the CFL. Who really looks dumber the league with almost every top football player except Brady or the best QB playing in a league devoid of any players of comparable skill? Scared to split the earnings? Seriously why should he have to? The UFC has been tremendously successful without Fedor and will continue to be. Cant fault Fedor for looking out for his own best interests but lots not be absurd and suggest that the UFC didnt offer the best MMA contract in the history of the sport.

That's probably not entirely true. I think we can all agree that Fedor is not afraid of any man on earth, least of all Brock Lesnar who doesn't possess close to the amount of skills Fedor has, so in that essence it must have come down to money, and what Dana was offering may very well have been a higher guarantee as far as money per fight than Strikeforce, but it wouldn't have equaled the amount Fedor could generate with him fighting in Strikeforce IN ADDITION to his earnings as part owner of his company, which is the earnings he would be forced to abandon had he signed with UFC. Bottom line, Fedor's total earnings with the UFC would not have been as much as his total earnings with Strikeforce. It obviously did come down to money, and Dana offering him more than any other UFC fighter is irrelevant if that is less than what he saw he could make with promotional control. De la Hoya raked in over $40 million for fighting Floyd and over $30 million for fighting Hopkins, partly do to the money he recouped as a result of his stake in Golden Boy Promotions. It would have not made sense for him to fight Floyd under a promotion by say Bob Arum or Don King and make $25 million guaranteed when he could pull in an additional $15 million helming part of the promotion.

Well then we agree. Fedor may have taken a better deal. I think we will have to see what Strikeforce can put together and if M1 will ruin them like they did Bodog and Affliction before its 100% sure he will make more money, but Dana was just as right not give up a percentage of UFCs profit. The UFC just did 1.5 million PPV buys, Fedor has never been on a card that got even close to that. Neither party needs each other what so ever. I dont fault either party but if Fedor wanted to fight the best HWs in the world then that is in the UFC hands down. What was once the joke of all HW divisions has grown into a pretty competitive division. Not really anyone on his level but the best there is.

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

So Werdum, Rodgers and Oversteem are going to round out his career...

Please dont give me that shiit about Dana White, I am so fuking tired of hearing about he is a douche bag and blah, blah, blah. The guy has single handidly put MMA in the mainstream and has been more than fair with his fighters. The fact that Fedor thumbed his nose at a bizillion dollars, was going to immediately fight for a title and wear M-1 global on all his shit and prepared tea like Dr Fukin Zhivago is more than fair,

I am a HUGE Ginormous Fedor fan and would love him to put it on Brock and bring his cool quit demeanor to the UFC and run the table, but please dont give me that I wouldnt work for a douche like Dana White shiit, because money talks and bullshit walks and Dana stuffed a bull full of greenbacks and walked it over to Fedor... Its stupid to have to co promote a whole gotdam organization that sells 1.5 millon units per paperview with one fighter who never bested 300,000 units on his best day

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1.5 mil per ppv? More like one time they sold on 1.5 million pay per views ;D

If Joe Torre was asked where does Roy Halladay rank among the best pitchers in baseball and Torre said that Halladay was a bum, not a top 10 pitcher in his own division, Hiroki Kuroda is better then Roy Halladay ect. The chances are that when Halladay was a free agent he would make it a point that when the Dodgers came offering, Halladay would tell them to fuck off.

It's not that he's just an asshole, he's been on record calling this guy that he's now trying to make a whole lot of money off a bum! Dana White isn't a business man.

I don't think anyone is really saying that Dana Whites "persona" is desirable and as a MMA fan I really wish the guy would take a more off center stage role. Guys is an asshole but I really don't think that had anything to do with Fedor's decision

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Originally Posted by amat

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

So Werdum, Rodgers and Oversteem are going to round out his career...

Please dont give me that shiit about Dana White, I am so fuking tired of hearing about he is a douche bag and blah, blah, blah. The guy has single handidly put MMA in the mainstream and has been more than fair with his fighters. The fact that Fedor thumbed his nose at a bizillion dollars, was going to immediately fight for a title and wear M-1 global on all his shit and prepared tea like Dr Fukin Zhivago is more than fair,

I am a HUGE Ginormous Fedor fan and would love him to put it on Brock and bring his cool quit demeanor to the UFC and run the table, but please dont give me that I wouldnt work for a douche like Dana White shiit, because money talks and bullshit walks and Dana stuffed a bull full of greenbacks and walked it over to Fedor... Its stupid to have to co promote a whole gotdam organization that sells 1.5 millon units per paperview with one fighter who never bested 300,000 units on his best day

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1.5 mil per ppv? More like one time they sold on 1.5 million pay per views ;D

If Joe Torre was asked where does Roy Halladay rank among the best pitchers in baseball and Torre said that Halladay was a bum, not a top 10 pitcher in his own division, Hiroki Kuroda is better then Roy Halladay ect. The chances are that when Halladay was a free agent he would make it a point that when the Dodgers came offering, Halladay would tell them to fuck off.

It's not that he's just an asshole, he's been on record calling this guy that he's now trying to make a whole lot of money off a bum! Dana White isn't a business man.

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No disrespect Amat but besides buying a dime what business deals have you closed in your teenage life?

Bad analogy and trust me that shiit you mentioned dosent matter.. The money, comp, glory and legacy are all in the UFC. Not in a fly by night organization like Strikeforce..

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

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Originally Posted by amat

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

So Werdum, Rodgers and Oversteem are going to round out his career...

Please dont give me that shiit about Dana White, I am so fuking tired of hearing about he is a douche bag and blah, blah, blah. The guy has single handidly put MMA in the mainstream and has been more than fair with his fighters. The fact that Fedor thumbed his nose at a bizillion dollars, was going to immediately fight for a title and wear M-1 global on all his shit and prepared tea like Dr Fukin Zhivago is more than fair,

I am a HUGE Ginormous Fedor fan and would love him to put it on Brock and bring his cool quit demeanor to the UFC and run the table, but please dont give me that I wouldnt work for a douche like Dana White shiit, because money talks and bullshit walks and Dana stuffed a bull full of greenbacks and walked it over to Fedor... Its stupid to have to co promote a whole gotdam organization that sells 1.5 millon units per paperview with one fighter who never bested 300,000 units on his best day

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1.5 mil per ppv? More like one time they sold on 1.5 million pay per views ;D

If Joe Torre was asked where does Roy Halladay rank among the best pitchers in baseball and Torre said that Halladay was a bum, not a top 10 pitcher in his own division, Hiroki Kuroda is better then Roy Halladay ect. The chances are that when Halladay was a free agent he would make it a point that when the Dodgers came offering, Halladay would tell them to fuck off.

It's not that he's just an asshole, he's been on record calling this guy that he's now trying to make a whole lot of money off a bum! Dana White isn't a business man.

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No disrespect Amat but besides buying a dime what business deals have you closed in your teenage life?

Bad analogy and trust me that shiit you mentioned dosent matter.. The money, comp, glory and legacy are all in the UFC. Not in a fly by night organization like Strikeforce..

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Very true JT Rock if all you people defending Fedor saying "Oh he said this about Fedor he shouldnt sign he isnt a business man" Keep in mind in that same article it says HE SIGNED BACK TITO ORTIZ! And we know what those guys have gone through for years and it was a hell of a lot more then Dana ever did to Fedor and yet Tito is back in the octagon, and why? Because Tito says he wants to fight the best, he says he could make a bunch of money in Strikeforce but that he wouldn't feel like he is fighting the best, he didn't wanna be a big fish in a small pond and I respect him for that. Fedor is just fine with being a big fish and a small pond and no one wants to bash him because they are Fedor followers, if ANY other fighter made a decision like that(like lets say Floyd Mayweather) everyone of you would be jumping on him saying he was avoiding fighting the best and was a fool to say no on the offer. But if Fedor does it its just fine because "Dana white is a jerk". Listen to yourselves people.

I think Fedor is missing out in all honesty.

He may be the best heavyweight in the world, he may be even the best p4p fighter in the world but it doesn't mean anything if he's not fighting on the centre stage.

Strikforce are unlikely to make him a superstar and beating Overeems won't equate to beating Brock Lesnar.

I think the average MMA doesn't really care about Fedor, he's just a name, this supposed great star, much like a boxer who spends his career in his own country and never fights in America, imagine Joe Calzaghe had he not gone to Vegas for the fights with Hopkins and Jones. Even after beating Kessler and Lacy he was still Joe Who? in the US and non UK fans couldn't care less about him as evidenced by his fights getting some of the worst viewing figures in HBO's history I believe.

Fedor could have become a household name across America and in much of the world had he joined the UFC, as it is he will likely just remain a name and a vague shadowy figure that most people have heard of but no little about.

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

I think Fedor is missing out in all honesty.

He may be the best heavyweight in the world, he may be even the best p4p fighter in the world but it doesn't mean anything if he's not fighting on the centre stage.

Strikforce are unlikely to make him a superstar and beating Overeems won't equate to beating Brock Lesnar.

I think the average MMA doesn't really care about Fedor, he's just a name, this supposed great star, much like a boxer who spends his career in his own country and never fights in America, imagine Joe Calzaghe had he not gone to Vegas for the fights with Hopkins and Jones. Even after beating Kessler and Lacy he was still Joe Who? in the US and non UK fans couldn't care less about him as evidenced by his fights getting some of the worst viewing figures in HBO's history I believe.

Fedor could have become a household name across America and in much of the world had he joined the UFC, as it is he will likely just remain a name and a vague shadowy figure that most people have heard of but no little about.

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IF you ask me, LEsnar is just a freak hype at the moment, he got beaten once in less than 1:30 min, won convincingly a revenge and lost against a modest Crazy Horse, I don't see much more how he's any better than Alsadair at the moment, in all honesty, he's just very hyped because of his size and the fact that he was in the WWE.
I agree tough that UFC has perhaps the best stage, at the moment, to hype him a bit and to forge him a name in North America.

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Originally Posted by Majesty

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

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Originally Posted by amat

1.5 mil per ppv? More like one time they sold on 1.5 million pay per views ;D

If Joe Torre was asked where does Roy Halladay rank among the best pitchers in baseball and Torre said that Halladay was a bum, not a top 10 pitcher in his own division, Hiroki Kuroda is better then Roy Halladay ect. The chances are that when Halladay was a free agent he would make it a point that when the Dodgers came offering, Halladay would tell them to fuck off.

It's not that he's just an asshole, he's been on record calling this guy that he's now trying to make a whole lot of money off a bum! Dana White isn't a business man.

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No disrespect Amat but besides buying a dime what business deals have you closed in your teenage life?

Bad analogy and trust me that shiit you mentioned dosent matter.. The money, comp, glory and legacy are all in the UFC. Not in a fly by night organization like Strikeforce..

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Very true JT Rock if all you people defending Fedor saying "Oh he said this about Fedor he shouldnt sign he isnt a business man" Keep in mind in that same article it says HE SIGNED BACK TITO ORTIZ! And we know what those guys have gone through for years and it was a hell of a lot more then Dana ever did to Fedor and yet Tito is back in the octagon, and why? Because Tito says he wants to fight the best, he says he could make a bunch of money in Strikeforce but that he wouldn't feel like he is fighting the best, he didn't wanna be a big fish in a small pond and I respect him for that. Fedor is just fine with being a big fish and a small pond and no one wants to bash him because they are Fedor followers, if ANY other fighter made a decision like that(like lets say Floyd Mayweather) everyone of you would be jumping on him saying he was avoiding fighting the best and was a fool to say no on the offer. But if Fedor does it its just fine because "Dana white is a jerk". Listen to yourselves people.

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blah blah Don't bring up Tito Ortiz because Tito had no leverage with the UFC because he's not in demand by anyone else, and he certainly won't make more money fighting elsewhere. I'd prefer Fedor to be in the UFC BUT I can't blame the guy for not fighting for the UFC. Even if those aren't he didn't fight, I'm still glad. Fuck the UFC for not paying their fighters top dollar like ALL OTHER elite level star athletes including boxers. I know that's boring to some but it's true.

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Originally Posted by amat

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Originally Posted by Majesty

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Originally Posted by JT Rock

No disrespect Amat but besides buying a dime what business deals have you closed in your teenage life?

Bad analogy and trust me that shiit you mentioned dosent matter.. The money, comp, glory and legacy are all in the UFC. Not in a fly by night organization like Strikeforce..

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Very true JT Rock if all you people defending Fedor saying "Oh he said this about Fedor he shouldnt sign he isnt a business man" Keep in mind in that same article it says HE SIGNED BACK TITO ORTIZ! And we know what those guys have gone through for years and it was a hell of a lot more then Dana ever did to Fedor and yet Tito is back in the octagon, and why? Because Tito says he wants to fight the best, he says he could make a bunch of money in Strikeforce but that he wouldn't feel like he is fighting the best, he didn't wanna be a big fish in a small pond and I respect him for that. Fedor is just fine with being a big fish and a small pond and no one wants to bash him because they are Fedor followers, if ANY other fighter made a decision like that(like lets say Floyd Mayweather) everyone of you would be jumping on him saying he was avoiding fighting the best and was a fool to say no on the offer. But if Fedor does it its just fine because "Dana white is a jerk". Listen to yourselves people.

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blah blah Don't bring up Tito Ortiz because Tito had no leverage with the UFC because he's not in demand by anyone else, and he certainly won't make more money fighting elsewhere. I'd prefer Fedor to be in the UFC BUT I can't blame the guy for not fighting for the UFC. Even if those aren't he didn't fight, I'm still glad. Fuck the UFC for not paying their fighters top dollar like ALL OTHER elite level star athletes including boxers. I know that's boring to some but it's true.

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Do you think any other promotion could pay Fedor more then the UFC? UFC is the company paying top dollar so if its "fuck the UFC" for them then what would that say about any other company?

Um Majesty YES, any other organization could pay more then the UFC especially it's own. UFC routinely has 1 milion dollar payrolls to split up between over 20 fighters who fight on PAY PER VIEW, um yes plenty could pay more for Fedor like Affliction did.

Since when is UFC paying top dollar? Most of their really big contracts they had to eat when they bought Pride. And you said absolutely nothing that takes away from my point, that UFC pays their fighters like shit and not like any other pro athletic league or organization. These guys make a tiny bit more then the average Major League Lacrosse player by like 5 thousand.

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Originally Posted by VanChilds

I don't think anyone is really saying that Dana Whites "persona" is desirable and as a MMA fan I really wish the guy would take a more off center stage role. Guys is an asshole but I really don't think that had anything to do with Fedor's decision

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No? Perhaps like Klitchkos refusing to fight for Don King cause King is an asshole.

well they are obviously the exact same thing now aren't they :confused:

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Originally Posted by VanChilds

well they are obviously the exact same thing now aren't they :confused:

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I follow you about as well as you follow me. My impression, perhaps incorrect, is that you were implying that Fedor is just motivated by cash, and not by a dislike for White. If that is what you think, then I am saying that maybe it ain't so, as I think Klitchkos are motivated by a dislike for King, and if that is true for them, then maybe it is true for Fedor.

regards.

Well if you believe Fedor he has been quoted that White's comments had nothing to do with signing/not signing. The UFC met every contract demand Fedor's management put forth except co-promotion. It may very well be more than just money but IMHO I don't think White being a media whore and asshole played a part. I doubt Fedor personally has had much if any one on one time with White.

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Originally Posted by VanChilds

Well if you believe Fedor he has been quoted that White's comments had nothing to do with signing/not signing. The UFC met every contract demand Fedor's management put forth except co-promotion. It may very well be more than just money but IMHO I don't think White being a media whore and asshole played a part. I doubt Fedor personally has had much if any one on one time with White.

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And I doubt Klitchko has had much one one one time with King, but that didn't stop them from forming an opinion of the guy, and I wouldn't simply chalk that opinion up to the way the media portrayed him. One on one is not exactly the only, or even the best, way to form an opinion on someone

Anyways, I see your point. Fedor through his management rejected White's conditions. Or White rejected Fedor's, which is just the flip side of the same coin. That's the only thing we really have to go on. Whatever role Fedor's like or dislike of White plays is really just speculation on my part.

Yeah I'd think that when you are looking at millions some douchebag says but I can't find myself to get all worked up about it and for me White is an easy scapegoat.

that's one possibility I suppose

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Originally Posted by amat

Yeah I'd think that when you are looking at millions some douchebag says but I can't find myself to get all worked up about it and for me White is an easy scapegoat.

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I dont get the whole complaint about what UFC pays their fighters, what other organization compares to the UFC? There is none, all the other MMA organizations operate on a shoestring budget and lack staying power. What good is it to pay a fighter more money when the organization will more than likely become dissolved sooner than later.

UFC provides a steady and stable income/ career with a proven track record of success along with many opportunities for mainstream appeal and big time endorsements and sponsorship... UFC as a company is the bench mark, carved its niche and puts on the best production hands down.

what he said:goodpost:

Are you serious? So because the UFC itself is a huge name and serves as a platform for sponsors that is an excuse for the horrendously low purses? I'm not comparing them to other MMA organizations but like White himself does, to boxing or other sporting leagues.

I'm sorry but I can not see how anyone can defend these absurdly low payrolls like a 1 million dollar payroll for a PPV event (Evans vs Griffin I think) and defend that. It's ridiculous they are taking in so much money and signing fighters exclusive contracts, limiting the number of times they can fight a year and not even pay them enough to realistically support a family full time. That isn't going to grow the sport if all the money the fighters get comes from sponsorship.

Top Rank compensates their fighters 10 times better then Dana White does.

Amat what is not disclosed is what sponsors pay each fighter when they fight. Lots of these sponsors are procurred through the UFC.

The truth is, UFC need Fedor, they just have average fighters compared to Fedor.
but on the other hand, Fedor needs UFC also, what is he going to do after Overeem (which, imo will blast Briock in one round) and Jeff Moonson ?

but don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that for Brock, but against a man like Mir, Noguiera, Cain Velasquez, it can be interesting.

BTW, just to refresh memories, Fedor was meant to fight Barnett, who is really the number 2 nowadays...so it's not like if he was fighting tomato cans. Brock is far from the level of Barnett.

It would be great to see Strikeforce and UFC making a special edition joined together so we can have a mega-event and see who is the ultimate HW champion....That would be awesome but I really doubt that Zubba would agree on anything like that, unfortunately.

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Originally Posted by amat

Are you serious? So because the UFC itself is a huge name and serves as a platform for sponsors that is an excuse for the horrendously low purses? I'm not comparing them to other MMA organizations but like White himself does, to boxing or other sporting leagues.

I'm sorry but I can not see how anyone can defend these absurdly low payrolls like a 1 million dollar payroll for a PPV event (Evans vs Griffin I think) and defend that. It's ridiculous they are taking in so much money and signing fighters exclusive contracts, limiting the number of times they can fight a year and not even pay them enough to realistically support a family full time. That isn't going to grow the sport if all the money the fighters get comes from sponsorship.

Top Rank compensates their fighters 10 times better then Dana White does.

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Well good let them sign with Strikeforce for a few extra bucks and then be out of a job in 6 months.. You make it sound like they are working for $10 an hour at a drive thru.

I can also guarantee the UFC looks after their fighters better than any boxing promoter looks after theirs. The UFC has a real good thing going right now and arent ridiculously inflated like everyother sport in the world.. If your telling me they cant support a family with those amounts. I'm telling you to put down the pipe.

UFC 100 fighters salaries: Lesnar and St-Pierre get top paydays in $1.8 million payroll | MMAjunkie.com

Those figures didnt look awful to me especially for the elite fighters. Sure its not a DLH or Mayweather Pac type pay day but its nothing to sneeze at, not to mention there are plenty of B class fighters that have to have a regular job unless they hit the big time

While I agree with many of you, that many of White's comments regarding Fedor are simply to pull the wool over some people's eyes, I do believe he is correct in stating that the best fighters are in the UFC. While lately I believe the UFC is becoming watered down (should fighters really be signed because they are entertaining over efficient? IMO this just opens the sport to brawlers who are tough, and discourages a lot of talent) I believe the top fighters are still in the UFC. Proof of this is the difficulty that fighters who come from other associations are having. At UFC 101, I believe it was, the Japanese K1 fighter who won a shocking split decision (or was it unanimous) said before hand that the fighters were much bigger in their division due to weight cuts, and he wasn't sure how well he would do, even though he had dominated in K1.

Anyway, too bad Fedor didn't get to come to the UFC, and shame on him and Dana for not being able to come to SOME kind of agreement so that fight fans could see some potentially great bouts.

1.85 total payroll for UFC 100, the biggest event of the UFC year, and you somehow think that's at all right? Could you imagine if 2 boxers fought and got over a million PPV buys, and they split a 1.85 million dollar pot with 8 other fighters on the card. No way it's not fair where are those millions and millions of dollars that's not going to the fighters going? Really now, any fight fan should be wanting more money for the fighters and really, for how much hype that fight got, 400 thousand for Lesnar and 45K for Mir? Seriously, 45 thousand? I don't care how much sponsors give him he should get a waaaaay better payout then that.

400K is like what Berto got for fighting Collazo maybe even less.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by amat

1.85 total payroll for UFC 100, the biggest event of the UFC year, and you somehow think that's at all right? Could you imagine if 2 boxers fought and got over a million PPV buys, and they split a 1.85 million dollar pot with 8 other fighters on the card. No way it's not fair where are those millions and millions of dollars that's not going to the fighters going? Really now, any fight fan should be wanting more money for the fighters and really, for how much hype that fight got, 400 thousand for Lesnar and 45K for Mir? Seriously, 45 thousand? I don't care how much sponsors give him he should get a waaaaay better payout then that.

400K is like what Berto got for fighting Collazo maybe even less.

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It is what it is dude, whether you like it or not... I dont hear those guys crying poverty one bit. What I do see is a company that has managed to dominate the promotion of a sport to the point that no one else can even sniff the success they enjoy.