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.