M-1 Global Denies Report; Says Fedor Emelianenko, UFC Not Close to Deal
M-1 Global’s Apy Echteld on Tuesday denied an LA Times report that the UFC and Fedor Emelianenko were close to finalizing a deal, telling SI.com’s Josh Gross that the report was “not accurate” while offering few details on the top heavyweight’s next fight:
“I can give you a guarantee it’s not accurate,” said Apy Echteld of M-1 Global, a St. Petersburg, Russia-based promotion and management company of which Emelianenko is an equity stakeholder.
Echteld declined to comment on negotiations between M-1 Global and the UFC, which are rumored to be taking place Tuesday in Los Angeles. He pointed to a press conference Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif., for “important” news on Emelianenko’s fate.
The Wednesday press conference is being held for Fedor to “discuss the ramifications of the cancellation, comment on his future in the fight game, and respond to questions from members of the media.”
Pictured: Fedor Emelianenko
Tags: Fedor Emelianenko
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knew it was to good to be true
Haha this is getting annoying…
I’ll just wait for tomorrow at noon central time to see what is said. Then I want to hear Dana on Friday. Until then I’ll just hope for the best and expect the worst.
Why do i get the feeling FEDOR is saying YES to the UFC but ****ING M-1 is holding HIM BACK???? or am I the only one to feel this way…
no, i agree with ya there man
I do think that’s a possibility.
He owns half of M-1. I kind of doubt he is saying yes then overruling himself and telling himself no.
Also note, despite my….distaste for Fedor, one has to say that he gets it (this will be a common phrase for those that have seen my MMA pay rants before).
The way to make money in fighting is through endorsements or, to a degree, running the promotion. Your disclosed salary will be lower with the both, but your earning potential is limitless with the latter. The promotion makes millions off the shows, your disclosed is 300k. No one knows how much your take after that is. Such is Fedor’s deal and why everything must be a co-promotion when he negotiates with the UFC.
Disclosed to the commission salary is not where fighters stand to make real money. Mir, in his first fight with Brock, made 4 times as much as his base pay easily. He did it by: 1) winning. 2) sub of the night. 3) sponsorships. He gets it. Wins will drive up your base pay a little bit, but RECOGNITION is what drives up your sponsorships. Taking tough fights, being on the posters (even not winning) is drives marketability.
Since I’ve never seen any sign of a personality from Fedor, I highly doubt his mass marketability. But the promotion is an idea which is both brilliant and a speed bump. He gets it, but perhaps it gets it too well.
First off, let me say that this assinine battle of press releases between M-1 Global and the UFC has gotten like 9 notches past fu<ktarded.
While its true that for a long time I've been one of many who think that Fedor's toughest opponent is his management, I guess in all fairness to Fedor it should be posted here, like it was mentioned in the article, that Fedor owns half of his own, admittedly sh!t-awful MMA promotion.
Maybe he just can't see the sense of signing with "the competition", or maybe there might be some legal issue with a fighter under a UFC contract owning his own MMA promotion??
Although if memory serves, and Justin will know this more accurately than I do, but didn't Ken Shamrock own some sort of smalltime Lion's Den fight league or something while under contract to Zuffa?
I could have sworn reading a few years back when Shamrock was doing TUF and prepping for his sixth fight with Tito Ortiz that Shamrock was running his own shows in California?
Apologies if I'm recollecting that wrong…
I don’t know about Shammy Sham having a promotion before and during doing TUF. I know he “co-promoted” the War Gods event he took part in, but that’s all I know about him being a promoter.
this is how every single “Is Fedor coming to the UFC” story goes. This has been the same rodeo since PrideFC fell. At every turn the UFC is close and then not so close, then really close then nope. He can still do Dream over in Japan, but I think it is still too soon to listen to rumors. He may very well end up in the UFC.
I expect him to go to strikeforce imo… i’m down to see fights between fedor and overeem/werdum/rogers… its a step up from who hes been fighting lately atleast.. maybe when or if he runs through them he could join the ufc lol
I’m thinking that the braintrust over at Strikeforce is way too bright to get mixed up with that dog and pony show that seems to follow Fedor wherever he goes.
It would be one thing for them to sign a fight between Fedor and Overeem, but its not just Fedor.
It’s his manager, his brother, and the 30 other guys he rolls into town with.
Fedor is going to have to face facts.
He will almost always be a welcome addition to any MMA promotion, but Vadim and the rest of the M-1 Global syndicate need to stay their butt-skis back in Bolgorad…
Well if Fedor has to have the word “co-promotion” in his contact he’ll never be in the UFC but if he wants Sambo I think Dana signs him with that condition in his contact.
It’s Official, Fedor is in the UFC.. Trust me, Friday you will find out.
UFC President Dana White will announce the signing of Fedor Emelianenko this Friday. Shortly after the report was made posted, the UFC announced a media conference call with White scheduled for this Friday afternoon.
According to the report, an unidentified source stated that the negotiations between Fedor and the UFC have been “very civil”. The source went on to state that officials are apparently discussing details on the announcement of the deal, although the UFC is declining to comment on Friday’s announcement.
The signing of Fedor by the UFC has been talked about for years, with the Russian heavyweight coming close to signing with the organization in the summer of 2007. Negotiations failed after Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finkelstein, demanded that the UFC work with his Russian M-1 Global promotion and permit Emelianenko to compete in combat sambo tournaments. However, speculation renewed during the UFC 100 post-fight press conference earlier this month, when White said that Fedor would eventually be joining the organization.
“Eventually Fedor is going to be here,” White noted. “I want Fedor. I want him to come of the UFC.”
White also said this past weekend that the Russian heavyweight would fight UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in his first fight in the organization, if they were to come to terms on a deal.
“He’ll fight for the title first,” White stated. “What does he need, a tune-up fight or something? … To argue where this guy sits in the heavyweight division, we can argue that all day.”
Meanwhile, Fedor Emelianenko will address the public with a press conference on Wednesday, where he is expected to address his future plans. It’s unlikely that Fedor would announce a deal with the UFC if the UFC is planning to make their own announcement on Friday.
This all means that Lesnar vs. Fedor would be first up.
poor fedor. I wish him the best. I dont think he should take on the vanilla gorilla on first off the bat.
i have my doubts if fedor is able to overcome Brock’s sheer size and power. I’d be more comfortable with fedor taking on somebody ‘normal’ first: randy?
I agree but Fedor can beat brock, I believe if they fight Fedor will win by KO.
Couture vs. Fedor sounds like a better fight though.
He doesn’t have a choice. Any other fight (i.e. non-title) won’t be acceptable to the world-at-large. Since everyone seems to claim he is hands down the best, who else would you give him immediately?
i agree with you corey. i would rather watch fedor vs. couture.
i dont know about you guys… but wouldnt owning your own mma promotion and then fighting for it be somewhat “conflict of intrest” so while fedor may own part/half/all of M1 global i bet the capacity in which he is part of the company is minimal… in other words hes just an investor, he may put his opinion on the table to the “board” but they dont have to listen…. although… would you have the balls to say no? lol
as for who fedor should fight first IF he comes to the UFC… well everyone is saying how the fight will be fedor vs lesnar/carwin… how about fedor just fights carwin… and the winner fights lesnar for the belt…
if fedor cant get past carwin how will he get past lesnar… and if carwin cant get past fedor there is no chance for him to get past lesnar…
seems like a logical course of action to me…
having a title fight in his contract is understandable, given his previous record… but for the past few years hes been eating digestive cookies rather than 12oz steak so his first fight shouldnt be for the title… he needs to work up his appetite…. lol
on again off again,
i’m pitiful for caring so much
scuze me ….
while i go get a life
at ast they are working on it.
*least*
true,
and we are helping with the promo here.
Fedor (or his peeps) want to make it seem like the UFC “needs” Fedor???
Fedor “NEEDS” the UFC!!! imo! unless he does not care about being the best fighter in the world?? no mo pride, no mo affliction maybe he should chalange Kimbo to a street fight in miami for crack selling rights to the local neighborhood???? IMO he is a Som ****!!!!!
thats true, but it would help UFC if they had him because he is a big name and could draw people and it would help him too because it would help prove he is the best in the world if he does well.
now it clear (to me) he doesn’t care if he is the best in the world! imo