Fedor “Ready, Willing, and Able” To Fight Anyone, Will Return to Competition ASAP
Affliction partner M-1 Global on Saturday issued its first statement on the cancellation of Affliction: Trilogy, apologizing to fans who planned to attend or watch the event and saying that the decision to cancel the card was made without “warning or prior notice”.
Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s top-ranked heavyweight who was set to headline the event prior to its cancellation, along with 34 others were en route from Russia to Anaheim, California when they learned of the sudden cancellation of the event after arriving at the airport.
Emelianenko was said to be “ready, willing, and able” to compete against anyone Affliction secured for the main event, after original opponent Josh Barnett failed to be licensed for the bout after testing positive for steroids.
“M-1 Global understands and shares the disappointment being expressed by many fans that Fedor will not be able to compete on Aug. 1 as scheduled,” read the statement. “However, we will work to ensure that Fedor returns to active competition as soon as possible.”
M-1 Global will launch its new “Breakthrough” fight series on August 28 in Los Angeles with an event co-headlined by “King” Mo Lawal vs. Don Frye and Karl Amoussou vs. Nick Thompson, and asked fans planning to attend “Trilogy” to instead support its upcoming card.
Statements from Fedor and M-1 Global Owner and President Vadim Finkelchtein will be released soon.
[Pictured: Fedor Emelianenko]
Tags: Fedor Emelianenko
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I would like to be the first to tell M-1 to f*ck off back to Russia.
M~1 is going to be a huge issue for anyone attempting to secure the services of Fedor soo yes I can co sign your statement if needed DbiZ yet I think u have this one under control
What up fella’s
question for ya??
With the ufc /affliction deal do you guys think Fedor will even come to the ufc or even want to come??
NOT that the ufc needs him at all, but it seems like the Fedor wagon is getting played out and IMO its blatantly obvious he{and his people} do not want to fight in the ufc or for the ufc.
It see a couple of ways of looking at it.
1. They want to hold on to the fact or auro that is “Fedor” and
continue to make money off of that he is or may be is the best P4P atleast best heavy weight out there . And hold on to that until it proven otherwise.
2. They realize in the UFC he would get beaten.. And dispell that theory.
3. They want more money and control over the fight he fights.
Wait a minute, fr702.
Did that article really say that Fedor travels with a Red Army/Russian Mob mash-up posse of 34?!?!
Seriously?
Is the Fedor afraid of his own shadow these days?
I mean, I never have been a Fedor supporter, although I can appreciate and respect what he did years ago in the PRIDE ring, but he needs 34 other guys to take a flight from Russia to LA?
Really?
You would think a man, and an alleged former Soviet Superman no less, who is called the “best p4p fighter on the planet” by his fans and those who have bought into Fedor’s publicist’s ceaseless efforts to keep Fedor relevent in modern-day MMA, could in fact pack a duffel bag, grab his passport, score a ride to the airport, get his boarding pass and doughy Red a$$ into a first-class seat, take a snooze or read a book for the 16 someodd hour flight to LA, a city not exactly known for bad-a$$ery these days, WITHOUT 34 OTHER FORMER SOVIET SOLDIERS AND RUSSIAN MOBSTERS getting his back.
Naturally, I’m joking, for the most part. Fedor probably never served in the Soviet Army, as I think their time had come before Fedor served in their military, and well, the Russian Mob thing…eh.
But the optics of something like that are just awful.
Fedor’s management tries to convince Dana White that yesterday’s champion is tomorrow’s big PPV draw, and in the process asks for a contract that is simply never going to happen.
Again, anyone who hasnt seen it needs to catch the video fr702 posted “covering” the Fedor/UFC negotiations.
I watch it every day.
Then Fedor’s shifty management releases a statement saying, “we want to fight in the UFC”.
That’s like my saying I want some guy to give me a job, AND I want to get to nail his girlfirend from behind in some nightclub bathroom stall, AND I want to post it on RedTube afterwards.
Is Dana White really supposed to foot the bill for Fedor to fly half a block of guys from some former Soviet apartment collective in every time Fedor fights?
Honestly?
Although maybe we should give Fedor the benefit of the doubt, and that “some” of those 34 extra people were Red Devil-type fighters coming with him before Affliction MMA tapped out were to fill out the undercard or some such.
Still and all, a 34 man crew?
THAT tells me as much about Fedor, and his management, as anything else I’ve read or heard about them.
And the more I hear, the more I’m convinced that while Fedor the man and fighter, would be welcome and prosper in the UFC, his “baggage” most certainly would not be, and will in all likelihood prevent him from ever stepping foot in the Octagon.
Also, is Monte Cox still a part of this trainwreck?
If so, it would sure explain a lot…
world’s top-ranked heavyweight?
Bit of a, I love fedor fictitious report!. Or is that just my opinion?
Agree with both of you…Someone should tak an M-1 to M-1.
take
Wait — Fedor and his people have REPEATEDLY said they would love to fight brock for do some one fight deals with UFC BUT it is the UFC that will not let its fighters fight else-where Or do a one fight UFC champ vs FEDOR. B/c they are scared of losing, scared of compitition, and control freaks (like most of their supporters). Look at all the trash Dana talks even about his former fighters or anyone that is not his “top dog” right now – WHAT Actual Fighter in it for the fighting would Want to be part of that CIRCUS. UFC let Brock have a title fight with a record of 1-1… it is a moneymaking show/circus for sheep who follow hype not an actual sport like the other fight promotion groups. SUPPORT M-1 IT will be better for MMA (as with ALL business) if there are NO Monopolies!
Also… if people did not keep feeding money to UFC then they would have openned up their fighters to other groups and let fighters like Fedor (from other groups) sign up for a single fight under the UFC (ie fedor vs brock or whomever).
UFC is ever keeping its fighters out of other MMA video games AND everyone knows that DANA white is well known (look at all the youtube videos by the actual fighters) for not paying fighters well and mistreating them. Think of how bad it will get when they is only the UFC.
But go ahead and trash my comments and luv up to the UFC b/c that is ALL you know.
I have to semi-agree with you on this. UFC by far is the best organization out there, but if it was really going towards making it a collaborated sport they would have rankings just like any other professional sports organization. When it comes down to it the fights they put on are just there to make money, not sense. I still believe they do a better job than any other promotion, but they still have a long way to go.
I also agree with you that if they were not the top dog they would be collaborating. Look at the Pride GP 2003. Dana White has simply become what he stated he didn’t like about Pride back then.
dbiz – you want to take a crack at addressing John’s “comments”, or do you want me to get this one?
Lets PLEASE just be clear on one thing as it relates to Fedor, and any possible future he may have in the UFC.
Even though its been posted numerous times before, Fedor pursuing SAMBO is NOT the sticking point with his UFC contract situation, in spite of any misleading statements made to the contrary by Fedor’s representatives and/or his supporters.
Several other UFC fighters have engaged in alternate athletic pursuits while under contract, such as ADCC, Grapplers Quest, ProSub League, and I think NAGA.
The problem with Fedor’s UFC contract is either Fedor himself, or Fedor’s [mis]management team, depending on which version of events you subscribe to.
If you believe that Fedor is a simple country bumpkin from some Urshanka farm collective, is possessed of a noble spirit and gentle soul that just happens to have a supernatural talent for SAMBO, and only cares about Mother Russia and honor and so on, then you’re going to want to blame “people”, and I use the term very loosely, like Vadim Finklestein and maybe Monte Cox or some other nameless, faceless M-1 Global Russian Mobster-type shot-caller for keeping him from facing legitimate HW MMA competitiion in a cage for [misplaced] fear of having him be exposed as not a Russian Military Experiment, but just a talented mixed martial artist who several years ago dominated in PRIDE, which itself was rumored to be controlled by the Japanese Mafia.
If you believe that Fedor himself is the shot-caller, is also a shrewd and caluclating businessman with a very unSoviet-like love of the folding green, and is a real-live version of some Cold War-era James Bond villain, minus the white fluffy cat, and hides behind a wall of stioc Eastern Euro-trash in expensive suits and other unsavory yes-men, then the Last Emperor has some “splaining” to do, as it relates to his prior…lets call it reluctance as not to send his supporters into a panic…to join the UFC and face Randy Couture when the Natural called him out, albeit respectfully as befits sportsmen.
Not to mention his current reluctance to speak up, step out, and clearly state that he wants to be included in the UFC, and in the ranks of the best HW MMA fighters in the world today, and SIGN A DAMNED CONTRACT TO DO THAT VERY THING.
Then there is the matter of being allegedly two-faced, and by that I mean SAYING that he [Fedor] wants to fight in the UFC, but not actually SIGNING to do so, because of both literal and figurative nonsensical reasons.
And again, remember, SAMBO is not an issue, so please lets not have any posts carrying on and on about Russian honor on the SAMBO mat and so forth.
In Fedor’s defense, I’m not sure I buy into all of this “Red Mafia, Japanese Mafia” deal.
Yes, I understand that most civilized nations have uncivilized but highly organized ongoing criminal enterprises, and that some of these OCE’s [as the Justice Department calls them] dabble in boxing, just as they do in other sports, and presumably MMA isn’t immune.
But its hard for me to imagine a man like Fedor, who served his country both in its army as a firefighter with distinction and on the SAMBO mats as a 220 pound world champion with dignity and respect, as somehow being the puppet of dark forces and nefarious individuals straight out of central casting.
Its more likely that Fedor takes very specific MMA fights, with hand-picked opponents, at a time and place of his choosing, for an inordinate amount of compensation, in order to underwrite his lifestyle.
A lifestyle that includes first and foremost his dedication to the sport he actually cares about, SAMBO, and not MMA, which Fedor has repeatedly said he doesn’t consider a life priority in terms of accomplishment, participation, and legacy.
Fedor has a female and children to care for, hangers-on and other parasites feeding off of his earnings, and financial and contractual obligations to fulfill.
Said obligations can be fulfilled easily and with a minimum of training and effort, when he fights undersized opponents like Matt Lindland, UFC castoffs like Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia, and sideshow attractions like Hong Man Chin [sp] and Zuluhino.
Fighting Josh Barnett would have been like a reunion tour for Fedor, and take him back to a time when he fought men his own size, strength, and relative skill level, such as Mirko CroCop and BigNog.
Back in the early part of this decade, Mirko and Fedor represented the top of the food chain in PRIDE, which was more of a shoot-fighting promotion than an MMA promotion, but I’ll get back to that later. Now, in the UFC these men would more than likely be exposed as merely average, or in Fedor’s case above average, at MMA.
Mirko has already been exposed as alarmingly one-dimensional, and seemingly unable or unwilling to adapt to life in the MMA cage.
Fedor’s skillset would serve him better in a cage than it did in a ring, but either the man himself has his doubts about that, or his management does.
Either way, its sad, because his supporters are robbed of a chance to see Fedor test his PRIDE shoot-fighting skillset against modern-day MMA HWs.
Personally I think he would do well against many of todays top MMA fighters, but would definitely need to scrape the rust off and maybe firm up a bit before taking on someone like Frank Mir, or Brock Lesnar himself.
Finally, I tend to think of Fedor as the last of the great shoot-fighters, as opposed to a true modern-day mixed martial artist, and I say that with respect and not derision. For me shoot-fighting, or hybrid wrestling, is what dominated the combat sport landscape before the dawn of true MMA, which is what we see today, primarily in Strikeforce and the UFC.
True MMA is always evolving, and never static. I think the difference between MMA and shoot-fighting is that shoot-fighting, hybrid wrestling, whatever you want to call it, tended to be static, which is why men like Ken and Frank Shamrock [amongst many others] saw the sport pass them by.
MMA takes place in a cage, or the Octagon if you must. Shoot-fighting, which I believe reached its peak in Japan, takes place in a boxing or professional wrestling ring.
The differences are small, but they are there, and its important to note them.
Fedor may very well have been the finest shoot-fighter, or hybrid-wrestler, that era produced, or ever to have lived for that matter.
What remains to be seen is if his shoot-fighting skillset, and more importantly his mindset towards non-SAMBO competitors and competition, translates into modern MMA, and preferably the UFC, where the best in the world currently compete…
uhhhh Jchol could you repeat that it was way too short..
Goootttttt dang. I fell asleep 3x trying to read your romance novel!!
titled { my love/hate affair of FEDOR}
But I gotta tell ya you thought that one over playboy..
I see where your point is on alot of it.
The kind words are much appreciated, OT1.
brock lesner is 4-1 my god, and mir never beat anybody good.im sick of brock this and brock that. maybe when hes 10-1 and beats carwin or cain or nogaira.
Thank you for your well thought out response, However:
Quote Fedor: The bottom line was that the UFC was a one-sided offer, and you know, thats something that can never be acceptable, he is quoted as saying. If I was the UFC champion, I would never be able to leave the UFC. The contract would just keep extending and extending. But if I lost, they could just kick me out of the UFC.
When questioned abouyt this Dana would not denie it. Who would fight for a group where you are contractually OBLIGATED to be stuct to them on their terms UNTIL YOU LOSE (this is very tough for a guy that has essentially won 30 something strait fights if one used UFC rules!
It is the UFC that will not allow just a one time Fedor Brock fight that fedor HAS ALREADY ASKED FOR. Fedor has beat 6-7 former UFC champs brock has beat 2. And keep in mind that the UFC can go through multiple champs in a single year (if brock loses his next fight He’ll be a former champ… and the guys fedor fights = arlovski younger than brock, sliva one year older than brock and same weight(within three pounds) with more reach, heck silva was fighting for the ufc champ title and lost and then faught Fedor in his next match… The guy who beat him is Nog (who then became the champ) and Fedor beat Nog twice much earlier so this is not Hand picking, this is huge competition that Dana would be worshiping Fedor for if Fedor worked for him like brock.
PLUS every fighter that faces Fedor knows that they will become an instant legend if they are the first ever and iun ten year to beat fedor so these guys are not ‘going easy’. Next please keep in mind that Fedor was willing to fight ANYONE when barnett was forced out by the state of CA. It was Affliction that folded without even talking to him. This is not picking fights one one’s terms. He would fight anyone on 10 days notice (brock is now getting 6-9 months between fights and has not even earned that and brocks next fight is not someone dana knows will submit him like NOG it’ll be another big rookie who cannot wrestle in Carwin or someone like him.
Finally, Fedor is not making tons of money. He has the biggest reason to and he won but if you look at the payout for his last fight where is Fight was the Top one on the card and a title fight: Fedor made just 300k while HIS OPPONENANT WHO LOST (silva) MADE 800k (almost a million).
So your point is invalid, brock made 400k his last fight and GSP made 600k. But what did UFC pay their champ (now former champ) who they had under contract and who had to fight brock really soon after beating him (while mir was recovering form an injury) Just so Dana could have his 4-1 star? They gave Mir 45k. That is the circus Fedor does not want to get stuck in so they can use him as long as he is winning (b/c the contract forces him to stay in the UFC ALONE not even in the video games of other groups).
I’m not a Fedor lover but I hate what I see happening in the UFC right now and all these people defending the UFC and saying someone like fedor is scared (when HE and GSP are the only fighters out there who have EARNED to be called the best currently fighting) and acting like the UFC is not to blame at all for Fedor not fighting there or all the fighters they have ruined.
And no one can honestly say that brock has not used riods in the past if they know anything about roids or body building. Fedor does not even look like a fighter but he gets the job done.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyen3eQjDVU&feature=fvst
Fedor won’t fight in the UFC because his management team loses too much money and control over their only marketing tool. Yes he has a problem with the champion clause but lets be real every time his management comes up with a new excuse as soon as the UFC relents to one thing. They say SAMBO tourney’s are not the issue and then this comes out. It’s a never ending string of excuses.
Fedor did made 300K from Affliction in his last fight with AA. That does not include the money he’s paid by M-1 for that fight or the signing bonus he received. So money isn’t the issue in the UFC they’d pay him more than that easily. It’s the fact that he would still be under contract(for I believe 5 more fights) to another organization putting on fights in the US. The fact this company is also his management presents a huge conflict of interest since he STILL receives a huge amount money from another fight promotion outside of the UFC. You never want conflict of interest that’s basic business, kinda why Affliction was banned from being worn in the octagon to begin with.
Don’t forget just because Fedor says he would fight anyone right now doesn’t mean he isn’t taking the same amount of time off between fights. He’s been taking off 6-7 months in between fights as well. How long has it been since he last fought? A little under six months. Just saying.
Now I say this about the man who is the Master of my discipline, someone I looked up to in SAMBO and that I modeled my grappling style after, not to mention someone I have followed for years. So believe me I get it. He doesn’t want to be there, it’s not the UFC’s fault either.
The UFC could buy his contract (like they are the other affliction fighters) and have 1 fight for a brock fedor right now BUT they have already said they won’t (they will ONLY sign him to multi fight deals or unending as long as he is champ) becuase the UFC is scared. They are scared he would win and walk away with the UFC championship. My point is that is is obvious that it is not Fedor being scared of the UFC or compitition but the UFC scared of not having the upper hand in a contract or losing money in the long run. This is a Sport not the WWF, The UFC should care more about the fans and their fighters. The UFC is even wrecking MMA video games now by threatening to kick out fighters who appear in any video game besides one that the UFC aproves. And you would say the UFC has bent on its contracts for Fedor or is not a control freak. They own fight promotion not the fighters and have no business telling anyone what they should be doing video game wise outside the ring.
CONTRACTS WHICH ARE PURCASED ARE NOT ENFORCEABLE. IF the UFC “buys” his contract, they have to negotiate a contract with him. Personal services contracts in the US do not transfer to other parties.
Look back over the Strikeforce/EXC buyout. Strikeforce had to negotiate a contract with every single fighter they picked up. Nio one except M-1 has any fights on contract with Fedor.
Fedor doesn’t even call his own shots. His mob/KGB bosses make all of his decisions. He hasn’t fought a real, quality fighter in years. He’s a paper champion.
dbiz, I have a question.
Why is it that YOU called Fedor a paper champion, yet somehow John called ME out on it?
You do know it is illegal in the United States to BUY a contract. They can only absorb meaning BOTH sides agree to the same terms of what was left on the deal. It has nothing to do with that believe me. They both want a new contract, both want crazy terms, and neither will get them. The UFC has done a lot more than M-1 has as far as relenting to demands. M-1 just creates more and more demands as time goes on. It’s clear they do not want to lose their main draw.
Also if a UFC fighter appears in a game that is competing against the UFC’s then it is competing with the very organization that pays your bills. So that would apply to possible future fighters as well. Most video games sign individual contracts with fighters that are exclusive(even if they fall under the umbrella of the UFC label). There is no players association in MMA, so that means that it does fall on the fight promoters and individual fighters to make these decisions. If EA produces a rival game then those fighters are competing against the UFC’s label and game. It makes sense to issue that statement. It does not help that EA repeatedly turned the UFC down for a game and then after the success of Undisputed they want to launch their own.
This is a business first.
OK..nicely thought out, John, but time for a few inconvenient facts.
First, John, the UFC COULD NOT buy the “one fight remaining” contract of Fedor’s because it isn’t held by Affliction MMA, its held by M-1 Global, which doubles as Fedor’s representation. M-1 Global was co-promoting, or cooperating with Affliction MMA, and they have ZERO motivation to sell Fedor’s contract. I would suggest you research M-1 Global before you post anything else under your name regarding Fedor’s contract status.
I know it can be confusing, but you’re working under a false premise from the start. The key words here are conflict of interest.
Second, John, we here DO NOT accuse someone of “taking riods [roids]“, by which I guess you mean you think Brock Lesnar has/is taking performance enhancing drugs, or PEDs.
That’s something I learned on my first day here. We don’t disparage ANY fighter like that unless there’s proof, like Josh Barnett gave to the CSAC the other day. It’s bad form, and degrades not only the fighter but the spirit of this open platform for MMA discussion.
More than likely, you’ll probably receive some sort of warning from Justin if you keep posting slanderous comments about fighters without some sort of proof.
Third, John, please do not, like so many others do, confuse BASE SALARY with overall payout for a fight. Brock Lesnar snagged like $3 million for UFC 100. Frank Mir was paid 45k in base salary, AND undisclosed amount. If you take the time to research the relationship between the UFC and Frank Mir, you’ll understand that Mir received far more than reported, as do most name fighters. The UFC looked after Mir when he was at his lowest point professionally and personally, so its highly unlikely that they would freeze him out of the biggest payday in MMA history. Think about it.
Again, BASE SALARY DOES NOT EQUAL TOTAL PAYOUT.
And FYI, I believe Fedor snagged close to a million dollars for his last fight total payout.
Fourth, John, if Fedor wasn’t making “tons of money”, there wouldn’t be so many points of contention between the rest of the MMA world and Fedor’s odious manager Vadim Finklestein.
AND Fedor wouldn’t be traveling with an entourage of 30 or more, as was reported in the original article above.
Fifth, John, in a discussion of this type, appearing in video games is a pretty tangential bit of information. I don’t pretend to be an expert in the legal profession, or the video game industry, but reportedly Dana White models his trademark and copyright type-policies on those of other major sports organizations in this country.
]
Of course because MMA is a solo and not a team sport, so the policy differently applies, but it’s not like Dana White is acting outside of the law, or outside of the UFC’s best interests, in this area.
Also, without UFC exposure, most fighter’s video game likenesses wouldn’t be worth the price of a Cafe Americano from Tim Horton’s [that one is for my bud carls
Sixth, John, Fedor’s management’s contract demands to the UFC were as “one-sided” as you claim Dana’s contract offer was, so I’m not sure of what point you are trying to make, other than both are tough negotiators? The defense of “no fair” doesn’t really carry any weight in the grown-up world of MMA.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I’m not sure how else to put it. I’m sure Dana White doesn’t think its “fair” that he has to deal with creatures like Vadim Finklestein, but he does because he’s an adult and its business. If Fedor doesn’t think it’s “fair” that Dana won’t concede to his manager’s every ludicrous demand, then he can go back to some tractor factory or wheat farm in Russia and live out his days as the world’s greatest SAMBO practitioner, and stop bothering the MMA community asking for unrealistic things like a one fight contract, which is essentially the most ludicrious thing I may have ever heard as it relates to MMA promotion and a title fight.
Please remember, Fedor needs the UFC FAR MORE than the UFC needs Fedor, assuming that Fedor still has interest in MMA. Fortune Magazine estimates that the UFC will be worth a quarter of a billion dollars or more at the end of 2009. The UFC reached this astounding pinnacle of success under Dana White’s [and the Fertita brothers] leadership, and without a single Fedor appearance in the Octagon. If Fedor NEVER fights in the Octagon, the UFC will continue to grow, and Fedor will continue to become less and less relevent to MMA each passing year.
Don’t kid yourself.
Seventh, John, when Fedor fights sideshow acts like Zuluhino and Hong Man Choi, and a middleweight like Matt Lindland, not to mention Tim Sylvia, he most certainly is handpicking his fights, or his management is handpicking Fedor’s fights for him.
When you correct someone when you’re wrong, you just undermine your entire position and lose credibility.
Also, of all the posters here at the frenzy, I’m the least likely to make an invalid point, as you mentioned John.
I’m also one of the most likely to keep things grounded, not buy into fanboy hype for one particular fighter or another, and check my facts before I post.
I won’t take offense, because I can see you need to do your research in a lot of areas of MMA, but I do appreciate your passion for the sport.
Finally, John, be grateful that I was the one that took your “fly ball”, and not someone like dbiz.
He’s a lot harsher and blunt than I am, ESPECIALLY when he has to repeat himself and re-cover ground he’s posted on multiple times, like the Fedor/M-1/Affliction contract situation, or the payout/base salary issue.
Most posters here are pretty tolerant of others who post factlessly, to put it politely, but dbiz most definitely is not.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you…
And chrisl, I hope I didn’t in my previous post disrespect or disregard SAMBO in any way, by calling into question some of the motives and motivations of that discipline’s number one practitioner.
If I did,it was unintentional, so please accept my apology if you were offended.
Never took it that way actually. I haven’t agreed with a lot of what he’s done either but I still respect him. I’m still a fan and he’s still the lead personality in the sport of SAMBO but I don’t blindly follow what he does or doesn’t do.
And sorry John, I tried to post a response before dbiz got to it, but I was too late.
Fortunately he was in a good mood or something
Jcohl,
It appears you feel the need to defend the UFC b/c you think that their benifiting of the sport through growth outweighs their fighter treatment, antics, treatment of other MMa organizations, and creation of ‘paper’ fighters/champions like brock (If you can call fedor one then the current UFC champ must be with a title fight coming one with a 2-1 record and one win off a loss). That is my take based on your response above.
I would also feel that you dislike Fedor b/c he has not joined the UFC circus or bent to their unfair contracts. I say dislike b/c of your seemingly onesided view and calling him calling him a paper fight and posing like the UFC has actual fighters when by far the majority of all the legit fighting pundits, fighters themselves, and MMA sites/organizations consider Fedor the Best Heavy wieght in the world and many even say the best P4P fighter in the world.
Finally, I’m not worried about some other poster attacking my posts or a warning for stating anything obvious. I’ll just say that I’d like to believe no fighters use “PED”
Anyhow, believe what you like, but anyone who just review a few Dana youtube video (of how he puts down fighters and organizations one day and builds up the same guy the next) will realize that Fedor’s people have A LOT more cred when it comes to who to beleive about who is the problem with Fedor fighting in the UFC.
And regardless any athlete would be a moron to accept a contract that keep you tied down until you lose (he would have been stuck in the UFC making Dana Money for nearly 10 years if he had started his career there) especially when you are recognized by the majority of all the experts as being the BEST (by far) in the sport and possibly of all time.
Jcohl doesn’t like Brock either.
Brock has never failed a drug test, in NCAA, WWE (doesn’t say much, I know), NFL or MMA. I’m a firm believer that it is an unjust action to say to someone “prove you didn’t do X” when if they in fact did not do X there is no possible way to provide any evidence. As this applies to PEDs, the only evidence one can provide is the absence of evidence to the contrary. The French have claimed for years that Lance Armstrong has used and/or continues to use PEDs, three different organizations have tested him 60+ times since his announced return to cycling, and prior to that he was among the most heavily tested athletes in professional sports. Obviously he has nothing to prove his innocence other than negative tests, is it fair to continue to claim he used/s PEDs? If you think not, then I think you have to take the same approach with Brock.
Speaking of that self perpetuating contract with the most stable MMA promotion. Wait… so how is job security a bad thing? And I guess all of the UFC champs (and all of their lawyers and managers) are “morons”…. got it… you gained boat loads of credibility there.
If we’re going to go by the “guilty until proven innocent thing” then, John, prove to us in the Frenzied that you don’t fondle goats in an immoral manner. Prove to us that you’re not hiding dolphins in your basement for perfume research. Prove to us that you don’t download girl on girl on girl on girl on guy on sheep porn onto your phone. See my point?
No unfounded accusations, please.
I tried to warn John, you all saw that, right?
and somehow that is fitting, o my goodness ok BsBiz cheers
John is becoming apopular name here on this site! haha
Anyone with a record like Fedor’s has earned the right for the UFC to come to them instead of the other way around.
and btw jcohl, a 30 person group is not crazy when your the best person in the world in the sport going to compete in a huge sporting event (championship bout worth millions) in another country. Especially considering your group is a co-sponser of the event. At least be realistic before talking “mobsters” and you fuss at me for making obvious statements regarding lesner while you insult a fighter and an entire country… please
lol, well eye-rhyme, I’m done postin. I don’t want to hurt any feelings or start a flame war, just hold a discussion so I’ll let any others have the last word or any futher words on this topic. Peace all.
BTW, your continuing desire to claim that your Lesnar PED comments were “obvious statements” are a logical fallacy and further serve to discredit your statements.
As far as the “mobsters” thing goes, first after making those claims Jcohl noted that he was mostly joking about that whole deal. Second, there has long been speculation that there are some Russian Mob ties with Fedor’s management, and jcohl’s “Russian Mob thing…eh.” state was merely an allusion to that fact.
As stated above I’ll hold off on any more personal commenting. Below is a clip/qoute from fedor about the UFC negotiations that some may find of interest, enjoy.
Fedor’s interview: “I never met Dana White, never spoke to him on the phone, never exchanged e-mails. However, I did read a lot on the Internet about what he said in regard to me and Vadim. I also read e-mails that he sent to Vadim; all of his correspondence was very upsetting. The contract that we were presented with by the UFC was simply impossible, couldn’t be signed, I couldn’t leave. If I won, I had to fight eight times in two years. If I lost one fight, then the UFC had the right to rip up the contract. At the conclusion of the contract, if I am undefeated, then it automatically extends for an as yet unspecified period of time, though for the same compensation. Basically I can’t leave undefeated. I can’t give interviews, appear in films or advertising. I don’t have the right to do anything without the UFC’s agreement. I could do nothing without the OK from the UFC. I didn’t have the right to compete in combat sambo competition. It’s my national sport. It’s the Russian sport, which I no longer have the right compete in. There were many such clauses; the contract was 18 pages in length. It was written in such a way that I had absolutely no rights while the UFC could at any moment, if something didn’t suit them, tear up the agreement. We worked with lawyers who told us that it was patently impossible to sign such a document.”
First, let me thank Justin for pointing out that
A) I’m no fan of Brock Lesnar, and
B) I’m joking for the most part about the whole “Russian Mob/Soviet Red Army” thing.
Yes, I feel that to one extent or another ALL sports agents, managers, lawyers, etc. are on the shady side, not just those representing Fedor or associated with MMA.
After all, I live outside of LasVegas, and have worked the town for years before starting my business, so I know a little bit about the dark side, so to speak.
But no, I do not in fact think that Vadim Finklestein and Monte Cox are members of organized crime, or any enterprise thereof, Russian or otherwise.
Thanks for letting me clear that up.
And in Sin City, you tend to see and hear a lot of sad tales about how men in suits steal way more money between 9 and 5 than guys with handguns bombing into a liquor store before closing time do.
As to Fedor, I feel I’ve discussed him fairly and accurately, and have avoided “Brock-flaming” him, as bigchris2328 calls it. I’ve tried to give credit where it is due in terms of his SAMBO career, Russian national sports standing, and his PRIDE run while calling him to account for things I’ve found inconsistent with his standing as a decorated military veteran, a firefighter, and one of his country’s premiere athletes and sportsmen.
If this strikes his supporters as my flaming him, then that is their opinion.
@John – I tried to respond to your posts as honestly, fairly, and politely as I knew how, without giving undue offense. Some other members of the frenzied would have been far less congenial, but I guess you don’t care about that as you mentioned.
I also repsectfully suggested that you check your facts and know your stuff because mmafrenzy isn’t some fanboy messageboard whereupon middleschoolers cruise by and tag the boards with stuff like, “Rampage is da $hit, yo!”, or something senseless of that nature.
This site is without a doubt the finest of its type I have come across in several years of looking, and I appreciate being a part of it, and I fashion my posts accordingly, out of respect for the sport, myself, and my fellow posters.
As bsbiz said the other day, I may sometimes be “misguided”, but I never slander a fighter without due cause, or course.
And I warned you that Justin would take you to task for that Lesnar/PED post.
Peace, John, and I hope you enjoy your frenzy experience even half as much as I do.
jcohl, cheers on the informed posts. now your up to like 800 posts, 790 something have been very well thought out, and 789 have mentioned your “favorite fighter” brock.
we all know the deal on the fighter payouts/salary contract, but i get the idea john doesnt[im not calling you out]. i dont know the exact legal terms and the way it works out. but here is my take on it.
the fighters do not neogatiate[sp] the contracts on a fight by fight basis. ex. its not like demian maia goes to Dana and says i want to fight so and so for 800k, and if i win i want an additional 800k, if i get fight of the night, sub of the night, or ko of the night i want an additional 500k. plus i want 5% of the total gate the fight made.
the contracts are already at a set length, like 3-4-6 with the show up to fight amount set, the win bonus set, as well as merchandise from the fight set. to take a fight i believe that joe silva or dana call the fighter’s management or himself and say i got an opponent for you at say ufc 115 in “x” amount of weeks. would you like to fight him? the fighter responds, and if they say yes they meet with joe silva and sign the contract.
after the fighter has finished, or is one fight away from finishing his contract, he renogatiates[sp] a new amount of fights with a higher payout for showing up, and winning bonuses.
You are mostly correct. Contracts are negotiated for a set number of fights (or in Kos’ case, a two year/as many fights as I can get in deal) with set amounts of money. Win bonuses are typically the same as base pay. That is typically about all that’s in a contract (outside of the exclusivity clause).
Joe Silva is independent of the contract negotiation side of the UFC. The Silva division comes up with the matchups, the intradivisional rankings, and the fight cards. I think they are a little more in control of things than “Hey, would you like to fight X at event Y?” I don’t think it’s too far from that, though. I think they try to get the fighters lined up and then try to get a date nailed down.
Barnett is done and probably will never get a shot in a good organization again. How stupid are you to have been caught once taking Steroids, get stripped of a title in the UFC and then again for a chance to fight another world champion in Fedor.
Did he honestly think he had a system that would beat the tests, especially in California where tests are strictly enforced.
He really set off a chain of events that screwed a lot of people and i think no one will touch take a chance on him again, i would not blame promoters for turning their back on him.
Fedor will get his fights in the UFC eventually, i do feel more for the guys who are not Millionaires and have invested 3-4 months training with no pay check.
There should be a reasonable sized signing bonus to cover expenses, maybe the UFC does that.