What the UFC has offered Fedor...

Pulled this from Sherdog


Friday, July 31, 2009
by Joe Hall (joeh@sherdog.com)


On the morning of negotiations with M-1 Global and Fedor Emelianenko, Dana White didn’t just wake with a good feeling. The UFC president says he knew he was going to sign the top-ranked heavyweight in the world.

“This is going to happen,†White said he told UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta. “It’s going to happen today. We’re going to make this thing happen.â€

Days later, however, Emelianenko is back in Russia and still outside the UFC. White was adamant during a media conference call Friday that the fault belongs to M-1 Global.

“I was f---ing miserable, miserable … because we couldn’t make this deal,†White said. “I was so confident we were going to get this done because we were willing to do it. We were willing to make a deal at almost any cost.â€

The “almost†involves co-promoting. White said he won’t do a deal that includes co-promotion, and M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelstein has said he won’t do one that excludes it.

“We built this business, this entire freaking industry,†White said. “How are they going to come in and help us co-promote? It’s basically them coming and saying, ‘We’ve got this guy and some people say he might be the best heavyweight in the world. So for that, we want half your business.’ Yeah, OK. That sh-t probably works in Russia. Not here.â€

White added that the Fertittas’ gaming license would hinder co-promoting with M-1.

“People from other countries just don’t walk in and jump in business with the Fertitta brothers,†he said. “There has to be full background checks and all kinds of crazy sh-t. It doesn’t work that way. It’s impossible; it will never happen.â€

Other than co-promotion, White said he had relented on previous sticking points such as allowing Emelianenko to compete in sambo tournaments. He characterized himself as “the nicest Dana ever†during negotiations and described his offer to Emelianenko as “amazing.†No figures were discussed, but White guaranteed the Russian would not be offered a better deal.

“He got offered a f---ing assload of money,†White said. “A ton of money, everything he wanted. He can go fight in sambo every f---ing Thursday night if he wants to. He can do everything he wanted to. We showed them nothing but respect.â€

White sounded equal parts angry and exasperated Friday. He had said he didn’t want to discuss Emelianenko but then did numerous times over the hour-long call.

“It’s insanity to turn down a deal like this,†White said. “To turn down a deal like this, you don’t care about proving you’re the best in the world. You don’t want to fight the best in the world. You don’t care about money. How do you deal with something like that?â€

Several times White reiterated that the door to a deal was still open, then he kind of closed it by saying he was over the deal and didn’t want to discuss Emelianenko anymore, then he opened it again by saying M-1 could call him right then and they could reach an agreement if they’d budge on co-promoting.

By the call’s end White was back to questioning Emelianenko’s status as the best in the world and wondering why the media cares so much about a heavyweight who will not challenge himself in the sport’s top promotion.

In that way, the UFC wagons have circled. Might as well. M-1’s are going round and round, too, and against everything Dana White was certain of when he woke one morning this week, Fedor Emelianenko is still not in the UFC.

 

I'm actually in disagreement with Dana White about one thing. Other than Brock Lesnar, there is nobody else in the UFC whom anybody really cares about seeing Fedor fight. That's the only big worthy attraction. Nobody's going to lose any sleep if Fedor doesn't fight Noguira, Mir, Kongo, Carwin, Hardonk, etc.::
Randy Couture vs Fedor is a year past it's sell-by date. Couture is shot.
I'll still watch Fedor fight no matter which company he fights in. And just in case anybody tries to disrespect Fedor as being a guy who won't fight the best, he wasn't the one who is responsible for the fight with Josh Barnett not happening. That was a supreme top flight opponent whom Fedor was going to fight tomorrow night. It was Barnett who f*cked it all up.

 

::

 

Kongo?? Are you kidding me? Kongo is a BUM. Couture is ancient and is beyond shot, Shane is not proven, and Nog and Mir are both shot as well. Brock is the only fight for Fedor in the UFC.

I was thinking one thing though, if Brock loses his next fight will there be any of this hype for Fedor coming to the UFC? I know we would still like to see it, but it wouldn't be such a huge demand as it is now.

 

I had my doubts about that contract,thats why I sat and wait to see if it was real...turns out it wasn't.

The UFC signing him is impossible at this point and I blame nobody for it.

 

UNlikely Sure, but REED WOULDN'T Say it's Impossible Either...Excluding UFC, MMA Companies R DYING OFF like Professional Boxers...Who Knows, in 6 Months to a Year, the Company Fedor Is Currently w/Could FOLD UP Like a Card Table, or EliteXC...



REED:mj:

 

Josh Barnett. :: How about Jeff Monson? Brett Rogers? Antonio Bigfoot Silva?

 

I heard Bigfoot was close to signing on with Strikeforce. IMO, Strikeforce is the most probable home for Fedor. He has Overheem, Rogers, possibly bigfoot, and who knows who else Strikeforce could pull over if they sign Fedor. The only problem is Strikeforce isn't retarded like Affliction and won't pay him absurd amounts.

 

Godfather, your philosophy doesn't work. It's not about Fedor fighting for the sake of fighting. It's about him fighting THE BEST. And you haven't made any kind of argument to prove the UFC heavyweights are the best. Noguira(Fedor beat him twice) and Couture are finished. Carwin is unproven, Kongo is shit, Fedor already beat CroCop who again is past it, Kimbo is crap, Mir is no household name and overrated at that, Gonzaga has been smashed 3 times out of 4 fights and is probably on the brink of losing his job.
The only man people want to see Fedor fight is Lesnar. You're just throwing a bunch of unproven names out there.::

 

Brett is the only one there?? Please explain to me why Brett is the best fight out there for Fedor??? What has Brett done to get this designation? Besides catching Arlovski with a money punch, what has he done? He is just as unproven as Carwin. Kimbo and Big Country?? You must be kidding.

Barnett, Overeem, and even Werdum are all better challenges than those you have listed.

 

Let's look at the Non-UFC Heavies who could challenge Fedor...

Barnett: I think this fight will happen in Japan by the end of the year, but Barnett can only be considered a joke now, and will never fight in America again.

Overeem: A decent fighter, but has no shot against Fedor.

Rogers: Perhaps the most well known to the casual American fan. Has a punchers chance, but the rest of his game is unknown.

Werdum: Nobody cares.

Mosnon: Even less people care.

Lashley: Nowhere near ready, and probably never will be.

Yvel: An average fighter at best, has no chance, and any fighter that attacked a referee should not be fighting anywhere.

Buentello: Would struggle against the bottom feeders of the UFC heavyweight division, has no shot against Fedor.

Arlovksi\Sylvia: No reason at all for there to be a rematch.

Honestly, the only fighters that Fedor could face that would sell PPV's would be Barnett, and that number has taken a hit, Rogers, and for all the wrong reasons, Lashley. And I'm sure both Lashley and Rogers would jump at a UFC contract if offered one.

TFK

 

Agree. Wouldn't mind seeing Roger-Fedor. Like most, I have no idea if Rogers has any take down defense or grappling skills, but I'd like to see him throw some bombs Fedor's way.

Nevertheless, Fedor's options for big money (like the UFC offered) are minimal.

 

They didn't offer him any "big money" that contract was fake.

 

OK, then amend my statement to read: "Fedor's options for big money (like the UFC faked) are minimal."

Is that better?

 

The way I see it.........Fedor needs to fight somebody to keep active. His past two fights didn't last long enough for him to get in any meaningful work in.

Almost 33 now, and having not fought a true threat in 4 years....he doesn't need to stay on the bench long.

 

They definitely offered him something and that something was definitely big money as far as MMA pay goes. Maybe not the 5 million mentioned, but a lot of money none the less.

I heard the 5mil figure was based on the percentage of PPV's they offered Fedor and M-1. So it wasn't a guarantee, but they COULD have made as much as 5 million per fight.