Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum Likely for June; Strikeforce, M-1 Global Finishing Revised Deal
Strikeforce and M-1 Global are close to finalizing a revised co-promotion deal that will clear the way for the return of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko to Strikeforce this summer, Sherdog today reported, citing sources with both organizations.
“We were renegotiating. I think we’re pretty much at the end of that road,” said Evgeni Kogan, M-1 Global’s Director of Operations. “After the CBS show, we thought that the terms needed a little bit tweaking — nothing major, just a little bit of tweaking. So, we had a round of negotiations with Strikeforce. Everything went positively. We’re pretty much at the end.”
“I think June, July is realistic (for Emelianenko’s return). It’s not 100 percent. Don’t take this as a fight announcement, but I think during the summer.”
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed that a June event, headlined by Emelianenko vs. fellow contender Fabricio Werdum, was possible. The bout, first reported in December, was initially expected to headline Strikeforce’s April return to CBS, then was postponed until May before being delayed until summer as negotiations between the promotions continued.
Emelianenko (31-1) defeated Brett Rogers in November in his Strikeforce debut on CBS for his 27th-straight win, while Werdum (13-4-1) has won back-to-back Strikeforce fights over Mike Kyle and Antonio Silva after being cut by the UFC in 2008.
For the latest Strikeforce news and Strikeforce rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
Tags: Fabricio Werdum, Fedor Emelianenko
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to be honest my immediate thoughts on this were: this is pointless…
surprised only 7 months after his last..i thought it be longer.. good to be called the best HW fighter who only fight maybe once a year..
Brock Lesnar only fights once a year also. He’s ranked no.2, yet he’s one of the best fighters in the world…doesn’t make sense
Lesnar fought 3 times in 2008, yes only once in 2009, but he has a pretty good reason for that. Plus Lesnar isn’t a puppet and have a promoter say when he is or isn’t going to fight.
well he didn’t have almost career ending injury… Fedor only gets credit for beating Coleman.big nog. cro cop in his long career that’s great.. and beat up all leftovers…Brock didn’t derserve the title shot but he prove lot us wrong that he has the freakish talent
I am tired of the posturing of this guy and his M-1 global lackeys. Get over yourself and just fight dude!
I am frustrated coz Fedor his getting older and waiting for those bs contracts for so long. What’s the point if he lose his current fight momentum.
I don’t get why Fedor is still ranked #1 when he is fighting lesser competition. He isn’t doing much for his legacy in fighting Werdum or anyone in Strikeforce for that matter. The really only fight worth interest is Allister v.s. Fedor, but still Allister isn’t that great of a fighter compared to what the UFC’s talent is. Will he be remembered in 100 years when he isn’t in the UFC hall-a-fame? Doubt it.
I doubt anyone cares about being in the UFC Hall of Fame. It’s not like the UFC takes it seriously. As you can tell by their terrible induction ceremony in which Dana White wears a Pride T-shirt and inducts a fighter apparently whenever he feels like it.
Well Zuffa owns Pride so whats wrong with that? I think All Pride fighter who Did very well for themselves should be inducted. I mean does Wanderlei Silva not get inducted because of he UFC performance even though he ruled pride for a while? Does Big nog not get inducted? I mean i understand not inducting Fedor but these other guys should be.
Well right now the hall of fame may not mean much, but in 50 years when the sport becomes as big as soccer (im being a little optimistic) I’m sure fighters being recognized as great as GSP, Anderson and Royce (for his time anyways) would be an honor. and in 300 years Fedor’s name just might be lost due to the fact he feels that MMA should be like boxing were the main event fighter or promoter (in this case M-1 instead of Don King) gets half of the purse. Not only is that backwards, but it totally messes with the quality fights on the undercard and prelims. You would think a fighter of the quality of Fedor would be more interested in a legacy than a paycheck. and granted yes he gets paid a whole lot more at Strikeforce, but look how big and quality the UFC roster is. Strikeforce isn’t even half of that. So of course the Dan Hendersons and Fedors get paid more. It because they are pretty much one of the few top ranked fighters that arn’t in the UFC.
dana should of offered him a decent contract, if he loses or performs badly he can reduce his purse or end his contract, if he becomes ufc champ he has to extend his contract until he is basically over the hill and loses. dana doesnt want him starting a trend, pride had a great standard of fighters and i dont think fedor cares about his legacy and especially with the ufcs hype job, STRIKEFORCE IS GREAT FOR MMA IN AMERICA, LOOK AT THE FIGHTERS THEY HAVE AND WHERE WOULD THEY BE NOW IF STRIKEFORCE WASNT AROUND?
You cannot legally reduce a purse once a contract has been signed unless otherwise specified in the contract which no fighter would agree to. PRIDE HAD a great stable of fighters and still ended up being bought out so what does that tell you?
In response to the comment about Lesnar not being a puppet, I would say that he and anyone else signed to the UFC, by nature of their business structure, is pretty much that, whereas Fedor remains the “puppet master”…
That is the funniest thing I have read all morning, thank you for that!
While anyone under a banner is a puppet in some way, Fedor is not much more than the best escort at a whorehouse. He gets paid well and taken care of but he’s still the one who has to take the punishment for his handlers to get paid. Don’t kid yourself into thinking Fedor runs all this himself.
Best escort at a whorehouse- Brilliant!
You win at analogy.
Wow.
Seems like more and more of us every day are getting tired of the whole “Fedor/M-1 Global” thing, and with good reason.
And as usual, we’re seeing a lot of posts, some of them good, and some of them, well…not so much.
To the poster who referenced puppets, I’d strongly suggest you Google one of the many Internet MMA conspiracy theories regarding Fedor being in effect an indentured servant to the Red Mafia, LONG before you start going on about puppets and puppet masters and Brock Lesnar.
To the poster who referenced that beautiful day in the future when MMA supplants soccer as the planet’s most popular sport, all I can say is that I’m right there with you, brother.
First the Olympics, then the world! :)
Also, I’m hoping to live long enough to see MMA supplant the NFL in the sporting hearts and minds of America.
Now I know how that sounds, and I’ve had some of you say, “never gonna happen, jcohl”, however I’ll ask that you keep in mind that when my grandfather was a boy boxing was the second most popular sport in this country after baseball, and second by only a narrow margin.
In about 60 years or so, baseball and boxing were shoved to the side for the NFL, the NBA, and to a lesser extent professional wrestling.
So, y’know, I keep hoping I live long enough to see Monday Night UFC :)
To the poster who suggested that Dana White didn’t offer Fedor a good contract, all I can say is that if thats your POV, thats all well and good, but those of us who have followed DW’s career since he and the Fertitas took over the UFC know better.
M-1 Global didn’t want Fedor in the UFC because they knew that their meal ticket was likely to get punched, literally, and then taken down and pounded out by Brock Lesnar.
Also, it sounds like Scott Coker is putting a LOT of his eggs in the M-1 Global basket, and thereby giving M-1 Global a LOT of leverage. After having to deal with the Ed Soares/BlackHouse thing, I highly doubt that Dana would have the patience to deal with yet ANOTHER pain in the ba11s manager/trainer/whatever.
Whether or not Fedor wanted to fight in the UFC is irrelevent, because like a pu$$y whipped guy, he lets other do his talking for him, which is a shame really.
To the poster/s who referenced Fedor’s “legacy”, his place in the [UFC] Hall of Fame, etc., all I can say is that its been pretty obvious for some time that MMA isn’t Fedor’s top priority.
SAMBO is.
And he’s as much admitted that in his sketchy interviews.
Fedor fights MMA for the money, and if you believe in this sort of thing, to avoid getting killed, or his family getting killed, by the Red Mafia wannabes over at M-1 Global.
Or is there some other reason the guy hides behind his handlers and avoids fighting the best HWs in the world, when his management keeps trying to convince us that he’s the best?
Also, just because the UFC Hall of Fame isn’t Canton or Cooperstown just yet, doesn’t mean it will always be that way.
Have a little faith, and give the sport some time before you write off the HoF because the induction ceremony isn’t red carpet, or because Dana wears a t-shirt instead of a tuxedo.
@ chrisl – spot on point about Fedor the “escort”, but I wish that wasn’t the case.
Even those of us who don’t buy into the whole Fedor “best eva” myth would like to see the man step in against the top HWs in the sport, and see how he’d do.
I’m also pretty sure that PPV numbers, ticket sales, and other monies would explode if Dana White can ever pull together a Lesnar-Fedor title bout, although honestly I wouldn’t give Fedor much of a chance of winning, let alone finishing the fight on his feet.
Although the case can be made that M-1 Global is somewhat doing their job of representing their fighter’s interests.
This assumes that you don’t buy into the Eastern Promises theory of Fedor’s slave status.
Consider that all of their posturing and nonsense keeps Fedor in the spotlight, long after his MMA performances and opponents warrant it.
They are also scoring some large coin from promoters desperate to try and keep pace with the UFC, although it remains to be seen how that coin is being distributed, and to whom.
Finally, if its is M-1 Global’s objective to try and capture the MMA news cycle, they should bear in mind that when Fedor fight regularly and beats men like CroCop, Randleman, Coleman, and BigNog, it is newsworthy.
Beating guys like Brett Rogers, MW Matt Lindland, and sideshow acts like Hong Man Choi and Tim Sylvia, and then taking half a year off between those “fights”, is not, in spite of what M-1 Global and the Fedor supporters would have us believe.
Finally, Fedor and M-1 Global actually working WITH their promoter to benefit all concerned would also be VERY newsworthy, while dicking around and generally embarrassing their fighter while simultaneously fu<king over said promoter is not.
Sadly for the sport, thats what M-1 Global calls another day at the office…
hell of a read jcohl i enjoyed it.
He’s my hero! But seriously, fedor will not be ranked #1 once Brock or Cain clear out the hw division.(I left out carwin, I don’t buy into his hype). Maybe by the end of 2011 we will have a new #1 or fedor in the ufc.
“Or is there some other reason the guy hides behind his handlers and avoids fighting the best HWs in the world, when his management keeps trying to convince us that he’s the best?”
Perhaps he really is just hiding behind the handlers. Don’t forget that Fedor has a 20% stake in M-1. Plus, it would be a pretty savvy business move for him to send Vadim Finklschtein to do the dirty work and be “that evil Russian mobster guy that won’t let Fedor fight for the UFC,” while he keeps his hands clean and stays in the shadows as be “The respectful, quiet, Russian guy with an evil manager,” even though Fedor himself is actually pulling the strings.
I’m not pretending to know what the real situation is, I’m just bringing to light an oft overlooked possibility of what is actually going on with Fedor/M-1.
I get what you are saying, and have previously considered your theory during one of the frenZy’s previous Fedor-athons, but I find it somewhat hard to believe that a former decorated military veteran and firefighter, not to mention the planet’s premiere SAMBO practitoner and a much-celebrated national sports icon, would resort to such duplicity and douchebaggery when it comes to MMA.
It almost seems…I don’t know…beneath him somehow, in terms of his dignity as a man.
Not to sound like some sort of wannabe FBI profiler, or follower of pop psychology, but from what little we know of the non-fighting side of Fedor, he just doesn’t strike me as the sort of man who would hide behind his handlers and willingly play the part of a stooge for guys rocking bad suits and worse haircuts.
Its been my experience that the sort of men [and women] who serve their country, not to mention serve in a fire brigade, are the types to swerve to such extremes, and traffic in such blatant dishonesty.
I’m not saying that I necessarily buy into the whole “Fedor/Eastern Promises” thing, because I have no hard facts to go on either way, but some things are easier to suss out than others when it comes to the human condition, such as integrity…
First off, I am a huge Fedor fan, but I agree with most of the comments, M-1 is seriously turning into one big pain in the ass. I don’t care where Fedor goes, just as long as we get to see him fight, somewhere, anywhere. M-1 is getting old with their negotiations after negotiations. If I had a nickel for every time M-1 was in negotiations I would have a 1969 Boss 302 parked in the garage, but sadly I don’t. Let get a move on it man, it’s getting old.
If they keep this bull**** act going for any longer Fedor is going to be remembered for negotiations instead of fighting.
That’s a lot of nickles! If I had a nickle everytime I heard someone say that, I’d have around $20 or so.
I never said what type of Boss 302, a miniature scaled down version, around $15. lol.
The problem is this, what can we do to seperate M1 (pieces of crap) and Fedor? IDK man but i am getting fed up with this crap, let fedor fight every 3 to 4 months in strikeforce, dream, UFC, i dont give a ****, just fight already!!
The method by which Fedor and M-1 Global could be seperated depends largely on your personal Fedor POV.
Is he a slave to the Russian Mafia, or is he some sort of SAMBO kingpin using M-1 Global as flaks for his own purposes?
Outside of the ring/cage, is Fedor in fact “The Last Emperor”, or just a stooge for fast-talkers like Vadim Finklechtein?
Until some determination is made regarding the enigmatic nature of the Fedor/M-1 Global relationship, its all but impossible to theorize a way to seperate the two, if you follow…
I find it hard to believe that Dana offered fedor a contract with the magnitude of suckiness that his managers have implied. EVERYONE in MMA wants to see fedor fight guys like Mir, Lesnar, Cain, Carwin, and others. Dana obviously knows this and it would be a super smart business move to get Fedor into the UFC by any means necessary. I think there is something that is being kept under tight raps about the negotiation as a whole and Fedor becoming part of the UFC roster. Do his managers, or even Fedor himself, think that he is not capable of going toe to toe against the top heavyweights and defeating them? I think not. Fedor has done enough inside the ring and cage, in the case of his victory over rogers, to silence the naysayers who think he can’t face UFC’s heavyweights. Fights like his upcoming one against Fabricio are pointless and stupid. Werdum is not a big name in MMA, nor is he the calibur of fighter Fedor is by any means. Give a ****ing title shot right away just because he is Fedor. There is not one fighter in strikeforce at Fedor’s level which is why its so damn retarded for him to be in this organization. If Fedor fights for the money why did he turn down a 30 million dollar contract at UFC? He won’t make anything like that at Strikeforce. SERIOUSLY, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET FEDOR INTO THE UFC?!?!?!
“SERIOUSLY, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET FEDOR INTO THE UFC?!?!?!”
If you ask M-1 (Fedor’s negotiating voice), half the profits of the event. And by that, I mean co-promotion. At the moment, that is the thing that’s keeping him out. If I remember correctly, everything else had been agreed upon or was close to it.
Fedor wont fight in the UFC is because he doesnt care for Dana, doesnt want to be bound to his rules and contracts, doesnt care about the money (he has plenty), and more importantly doesn’t give a damn about what we here in the states think about him…he is completely content with being a superstar in Russia, Japan, and elswhere….he is gonna fight under the terms he wants and thats just how it is for him….and as for Strikeforce and their heavyweights…the top 5 in strikeforce are just as dangerous as the top 5 in the UFC…all pose some serious threats challenges for Fedor…Lashey for example poses the same threat Brock does – champion wrestler, 290 on fight night, out muscle his opponents, double leg take downs, lay on top and ground and pound, lots of power, no submission skills and below average stand up….yeah the UFC has more depth but you are out of your mind if the you think that Fedor is just gonna have a cake walk through Strikeforce….and as far as M1 is concerned, I feel they are doing nothing more than making a mess of Fedor’s career