Fedor is not fighting for his legacy, best believe that

[JT Rock]

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.

[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.

[LEGION]

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.

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.

[VictorCharlie]

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.

[VictorCharlie]

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.

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.

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?

[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

[blegit]

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.

[VictorCharlie]

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.

[LEGION]

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.

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.

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?

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.

[match]

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.

[VictorCharlie]

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.

[match]

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.

[VictorCharlie]

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.

[amat]

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

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

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.

[VictorCharlie]

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