Dana White Speaks: Couture’s Possible Return and The Unlikely Fedor-Couture Rumors
Earlier this week, Dana White was a guest on the Dave Carmichael show, a sports talk radio show in Sacramento. According to many people in the industry, Dave has a good reputation with Dana White and has been able to get some great interviews for several years from Dana White. A few interesting little tidbits came up in the interview that would make the drama queens of the MMA fanbase go on a gossip run through the “bitches in beauty salons”. Specifically, comments were made that hinted at some of the future possibilities in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Let’s speculate and analyze some of these rumors. Dana White stated during the interview that he had spoken with Randy Couture as recently as the night before and that the fans should “stay tuned” for any happenings with that situation. He also mentioned that we should “never say never” when it comes to an eventual Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko showdown. Very interesting.
My first connection between both statements is the fact that in order for White to set a matchup between Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC, Couture would have to once again be on the same page as the organization and his own contract. He would have to agree to actively be fighting for the organization. White didn’t comment on the Couture situation, but stating that we should “never say never” in the concept of a Fedor vs. Couture showdown would mean big things in the arena of Couture’s contract.
Is it possible that Dana White has offered to re-negotiate Couture’s contract? If the champion was going to come back and defend his belt in the UFC, I would think so. White has also stated in the past that he has never said “No” to Randy Couture, hinting at the possibility that Couture could ask for more money or a re-negotiation. Also, this allows Couture to accept a title bout with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a fight that many fans have seen as a potential danger to Couture. This sets up a lot of possibilities if Couture decides to only fight his remaining fights on his contract. There are other speculative possibilities.
Couture could potentially decide that he will retire, but Zuffa could accelerate his contract by creating the Sylvia vs. Nogueira fight for the title. Couture could loom in the background waiting for the UFC to try to “rent” Fedor Emelianenko from M-1 Global for a superfight in the UFC that would have no implications on the title picture. This same scenario could be done in any number of ways as well. We could see Couture simply fighting his two remaining fights and trying to get Fedor for a retirement fight. The possibilities are endless, but in the end, the actual probability of the fight happening is fairly low. With rumors circulating that Fedor could be fighting Barnett in Newark by early next year, surely Fedor’s management will try to field offers by the UFC if they so happen to come knocking.
The one factor that is much different with the current situation is that Fedor is with an organization that has met his every demand. The only factor is a negotiation with another organization is money. We all know that the UFC has money. This may actually go down as a much smoother deal if it actually happens. Of course, the UFC runs many risks by bringing an outside fighter in to fight one fight. There are obviously reasons why Zuffa tries to not do this type of “renting” of fighters. If Fedor comes in, beats Couture, people can arguably say that the best of the best in the heavyweight division isn’t in the UFC. Right now, you can make an argument that the best does sit in the UFC. Simply put, it can tone down the credibility of the strength of the division. I would disagree, but Fedor knocking off the top UFC Heavyweight fighter and having destroyed Nogueira in previous fights, we can only lay claim to Tim Sylvia being a man who could beat him.
Of course, there are many more possibilities. I won’t go through every single rumor or possibility that could happen, but the mere fact that White has even hinted at the possibility that Couture could be back, and then to hint at the fact that it is possible that the UFC may try to “rent” Fedor. Very exciting stuff, although I doubt any of this will ever happen. The most probable item is the fact that Couture could come back to the Octagon. I could see that actually happening for the mere fact that we know the Zuffa details to his contract. I think Couture will try to fulfill his contract. Hopefully we will see Nogueira vs. Couture because I believe Couture is pushing himself as the greatest even though he has yet to take on the granite chin and superior grappling of Nogueira.
Alright I have some problems. First off, you’re entirely overanalyzing the statement “never say never.” This is most definitly not Dana White alluding to some secret plan he has to rent Fedor. You touched on the reasons why the UFC does not and will not borrow a fighter from another organization for one fight. Those are the reasons that won’t happen.
Dana uses that phrase for two reasons; one being the face value of it. Literally M1 is another one of these start up companies that have popped up over the years, most of which have failed. In a few months time the company could be defunct and Fedor could be in the octagon. Who knows what could happen. Never say never. Secondly, Dana is also alluding to the past obstacles he’s overcome in terms of fighters. After all the contract problems with Randy years ago, Randy returned. After the contract problems and personal animosity with Tito, he came back to the octagon. After fan boys cried for years that they wanted to see Pride vs UFC, over the course of a year we saw guys like Rampage, Cro Cop, Minotouro, Wanderlei, Anderson Silva, Filho, and Dan Henderson all get inked by Zuffa.
You also hit on the money M1 offered Fedor. What a lot of people seem to miss is that M1 most definitly gave Fedor a lot more than the UFC offered. Then the question arises: “But the UFC is the biggest MMA company in the world. Surely they could’ve offered him more, no?” In theory, they could’ve. But we’ve got to remember that M1 is basing their ENTIRE business model around one thing so far: Fedor Emelianenko. They are planning their success completely around Fedor much like WCW did with Hulk Hogan back in the early 1990s. That means they gave him a lot of loot. If the UFC offered Fedor a similar amount they would have to offer all of their top fighters a similar amount, thus possibly doubling or tripling the base salary of the top guys. Not good business.
As for Randy’s future, right now it looks like Minotouro or nothing. I see him fighting Big Nog on Super Bowl weekend.
Also, I could see the Fedor-Couture fight happening but it won’t be on a one fight rent basis. Basically M1 would be acting as a glorified management team for Fedor and the UFC could sign him for say 3 fights and pay him say 500k a fight and M1 would recieve say 5% of the UFC’s share of the PPV profits. Something like that.
I stated a while back that the best opportunity that Couture has to face Fedor is to finish out his two remaining fights as the UFC champ. As long as he stays good to his contract, Zuffa will do whatever it takes to make that happen for him. I think Randy can beat Nog, and most of the Heavyweights in the UFC right now. There have been rumors of a “SUPERFIGHT” between Couture and “Rampage” Jackson, but I think that fight is more unlikely than seeing Couture/Fedor. It would just be a bad fight for Randy at this point in his career. If it turns out he is unable to fight Fedor, then I could see him fighting Jackson as a kind of “passing of the torch” if you will, but I think his main goal is fighting Fedor to place himself as the greatest of all time. It would be a shame if Barrnett got ahold of Fedor first (though I really would love that fight) because I think that Josh is another man that could dispell the mistique that Fedor is an un-beatable fighter. Only time will tel, and “never say never”.
Damn shawn…thats a book u just wrote. haha. I think im gonna use it as a paper for school. It was some good stuff though. I dont see Randy fighting in the UFC again…but it was an interesting comment.
Couture is going to fight in the UFC again. After the talks between himself and Dana, and it not coming up completely negative, I think that speaks a lot that both sides are willing to make it work. After the UFC completely shot down Coutures claims of not gettin paid top money, he came out looking like the chump. He looked a little more like a whiny baby who wasn’t gettin his way, so he made some excuses and bolted. He doesn’t want that being his last act in MMA.
Couture vs Fedor, I give it very, very slim odds of ever happening. And, if it does, it wont happen in the UFC. After Couture finishes out his contract (if he finishes out his contract), the only way it would happen is if Coutures goes to M1 for one fight with Fedor, winner takes all.
Dana White can say “never say never’, because he’s just saving face on the UFCs part. If he’s spinning it like they’re doing everything to get Couture back and this and that, if it falls through, it’ll land on Coutures head. That phrase is more of a safety net for the UFC if things fall through. It makes Dana seem like he’s doing everything he can to work with Couture. We’ll see. But, I see Randy fighting Big Nog and one more fight, then deuces, for good (with the UFC anyway).
randy will destroy nog, and after that I could see him fighting tim sylvia, after tim sylvia beats Kongo. Fedor vs couture just doesn’t seem realistic anymore. I think that commie is just running from randy, if he really wanted to prove he was the best, he would have made something work with the ufc
I hate him when people use definitive words like “will” instead of possible words like “can” in terms of MMA. Any fighter at the elite level can beat another fighter on any given night. A massive amounts of internet fanboys keep talking about how Minotouro is a “bad matchup” for Couture and that’s why he tried to bolt from the UFC. Not only does that not make sense because Couture wants Fedor whose beaten Nog twice but it’s not even accurate. We’re talking about elite level, best of the best MMA fighters in the world. This is not UFC 1 where it’s Minotouro Nogueria the BJJ expert vs Randy Couture the wrestler; these are two men who started in those arts and used those skills to turn themselves into complete fighters over the past decade. Randy has certain strengths and so does Minotouro but to say one would beat the other for definite truth isn’t natural anymore in the current climate where the upsets seemingly happen more than the “definite” wins.
I hate it* …
Right on Shawn! I am with you on that “Any Givin’ Sunday” (or Sarurday in this case) analogy. I like the “fighter A would beat fighter B x number of times out of 10″, such as- I believe Randy Couture would beat Nog 7/10 times.
Saturday!
i sure hope randy comes back
There has always been the mis-haps of contract negotiations with fighters and they always come back. Randy will make himself known as the biggest heavyweight in the world if he go’s on to defeat big nog (if that fight takes place) and fedor will be in left in the dark while Randy laps up the limelight as he so should. Thus then leaving Fedor to look the smaller man and not liking it. M1 may want to take the action of showing they have the best fighter in the world and making a SUPER fight happen. But I beleive Randy would smash Fedor and go on to retire as the greatest fighter to show face in MMA
Why are we still talking about Tim Sylvia? Anyway, we should all just face the facts. Fedor is running scared. He knows that the UFC represents a big risk for him. He can still fool himself into thinking that he is brave, even though his management undoubtedly made unrealistic demands. As long as the UFC refused whatever demands they made, Fedor could still trick himself into thinking he wanted to fight the best, that he offered, and the UFC did not answer. We all know he is scared…he is going to an organization that will feed him chimps and rent him out so he can pick and choose who he fights. The UFC would never do that. They would make him fight the best, which is why the sport has taken off…they do not baby anyone like boxing did for all those years when were all getting robbed by Don King (douche). Anyway, the truth is that Fedor is not that good.
I’m not about to jump out and say Fedor isn’t that good. Is he the best in the world? Maybe. Maybe not. We may never really know. But, he ran the show over in Pride. He beat the real Cro Cop, not the UFC Cro Cop, and that holds a lot of weight in my mind.
Some of these comments are specifically why I hate talking about this subject sometimes. But I’ll try to run through my process of why I think the way I do about this subject.
Shawn,
Dana White went from stating he would “never” bring in outside talent unless it was under contract to him, to “never say never” when it comes to a Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko showdown. I fail to see how this is being overanalyzed. My point was being that it is possible that Zuffa will make an exception to their own rule, after all, the Fertittas have more swing than Dana, and Dana may have been let loose to try to make the deal without restrictions. Of course, I’m speculating. The fact is, Dana has went from stating one thing, to now opening the door to another that is completely contradictory of his previous statement.
Now, with that said, you are overanalyzing the M-1 organization. What if it doesn’t go under? Your argument would be defunct. M-1 has some strong leverage in the Asian market, but here’s the kicker, they could have already paid back some of the money they are paying Fedor by working a deal for New Year’s Eve. With a February event in New Jersey looming and the rumors of Josh Barnett vs. Fedor Emelianenko, we’ll see how their promotional machine works. If it is at all in a capacity of that at Spike or with Zuffa, exposure would be huge. Also, the writer’s strike presents great opportunities for Primetime airing of the M-1 event. Don’t count them out completely.
Another problem with your argument is that Dana’s situations with past fighters is not at all the same as past contract problems with other fighters. Fedor is a non-exclusive fighter for another organization, not a past fighter who “retired”. It is well-documented that Zuffa owns retired fighters as in they are still under contract unless they cut them loose. Tito was under the same boat.
Reportedly, the UFC offered the most lucrative deal, even over M-1 Global, but did not offer the demands that Fedor wanted. Hence, M-1 Global got him, probably with reassurance from his management team who is already tied into the organization and also the prospect of expanding MMA in Russia. You should read reports more often, the money offered by Zuffa was the most, money isn’t everything to Fedor, hate to tell you.
Your argument isn’t entirely off base, but you aren’t including the actual facts. I agree that I believe we will see Randy Couture vs. “Minotauro” Nogueira. Fedor vs. Couture, I don’t see ever happening in the UFC unless Dana White actually “rents” Fedor. And by rent, I mean exactly what you stated in your last paragraph, that is “renting”. One fight or three fights, it’s a renting. Fedor is still under contract with M-1 Global, and reaping revenues off of Zuffa to have Fedor fight for the organization. Problem being, there is no way Zuffa will grab him for 3 fights because that would cause M-1 to be without their top fighter to headline cards. One fight tops.
Scotchy,
I agree. That is his best chance, and I hope he does so. I think Randy can do well, but so many people underestimate “Minotauro”. I think Fedor vs. Couture is a long, long, long shot.
Del,
Those are very ballsy predictions. Iron chin and unbelievable submission grappling against a Greco-Roman wrestler isn’t exactly the best matchup for Couture. Kongo vs. Sylvia isn’t exactly a lock either.
James,
The one statement I’m sick of hearing is the running scared line. Watch a Fedor fight and tell me who hits, strikes, moves as ferociously as Fedor in the ring. Nobody does. Quite honestly, it’s amazing he can shift weight and strike with that much speed. Simply put, a proud Russian who wants to do what he wants. Get over it. The UFC can buy him for some fights. Ball is in their court.
I think Fedor is beatable, but not by any UFC fighters. Mark my words. If it happens, if somehow White decides to rent the man, shock and awe of some of the UFC’s elite, that’s what I believe. Either way, some great fights would happen.
It is my opinion that Dana is Re-negotiating with Couture to keep him in the UFC for a while yet.
I think Randy would not even have shown up for the meeting if he genuinely wanted to retire, it is all about the mighty dollar, not about having nothing else to prove.
I believe for the right money Randy will continue, there are still records to be broken if he desires.
If he does re-negotiate it is a precedent set that other fighters may also test.
I think that Couture will wait for his contract to expire. He will negotiate a deal to fight Fedor in M-1 and then Couture and his legal team will deal with the lawsuits that the UFC will file against Couture. I think this is one possibility.
Wow, snooze I lose. You know I had to weight in on this one though. I haven’t listened to the audio, but I did find links that I will provide below. There are 2 (parts 1 and 2) and are each approximately 15 Megs.
Leland, can you please edit my message and shorten the links when you get a chance.
I’m going to give this a listen to and then I’ll respond.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/fwtvmg
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wohy5x
leland I don’t know why you got such a hard on to see Nog beat couture, And if anyone saw how well he fought in the bout against Heath herring will agree with me, he isn’t the same caliber as Randy, sure he fought some big names, and he lost most of the fights, you were probably one of the gabe gonzaga supporters when he was supposedly gonna tear randy a new Ahole, we all know how that worked out. And as far as it goes for Silvia and Kongo, why wouldn’t they fight, whoever wins between those two would be up next after Nog. Makes sense to me
Leland you’re sort of missing what I meant when looking at the “never say never” comment. Dana was asked whether we will ever see Fedor vs Couture and he said “never say never.” This does not contradict his statement that he will “never” bring in outside talent. “Never say never” means if Fedor somehow became free agent again so never say never. He would contradict himself if he went with what I suggested as “renting” Fedor. I don’t see it as a terrible idea but that doesn’t mean Dana feels the same way. Comparing the two statements as contradicting one another is lofty editing.
And my argument would not be “defunct” if M1 became successful. I never used that as a basis for my argument but rather just an example of “never say never.”
Also comparing the differences of retired fighters to non-exclusive fighters is again missing my point. The point there was the fact that contract problems of ANY type have happened in the past and that doesn’t stop the UFC from doing business with such individuals in the future. Again, “never say never.”
While you have a very valid point concerning the reports of the money, until I see contracts from either side nothing is for a fact. Most of what many internet sites report turn out to be true, despite what Dana and co claim, but not all. White doesn’t release the finances of the UFC as it’s a private company and based upon reasons I’ve previously mentioned, I still go with that assumption.
Again my idea of “renting” Fedor to the UFC was pure fanboy speculation. With Fedor under contract to M1 the UFC will never use him. There’s no reason to as he’s not the superstar in the American market as he is in Japan. Just look at the BodogFight he headlined - what was it 13,000 buys or something? All the UFC has to do is wait for someone like Josh Barnett to expose Fedor as human to the world and then everyone can stop talking about it.
I’m not a big fan of Matt Hughes but his quote that “Anyone whose unbeaten just isn’t fighting the right guys” is entirely applicable here. Yes he beat Nogueira and Cro Cop but to sustain the moniker of best in the world you have to continuously beat the best in the world. If he smashes Barnett then I think he’s entitled to it.
“…we can only lay claim to Tim Sylvia being a man who could beat him.” WTF are you talking about??!!
Del,
How can you not be excited about a “Minotauro” vs. Couture matchup? I’m not sure I understand people’s disinterest in that fight. Heath Herring caught him with one kick, and immediately, Nog is lower caliber? Give me a break, that’s a horrible assessment. Heath Herring caught Nogueira, we’ve established that. Nogueira was able to recover and edge out Herring despite being completely rocked. Also, I never stated Kongo and Sylvia would not fight, As a matter of fact, I believe they should fight.
Shawn,
If you take the comment literally, then yes, you could say that they are unrelated, but Dana White isn’t going to allow someone else to do that fight. I agree, if Fedor becomes a free agent, it’s possible, but I don’t think he wants to ever sign with an organization that will restrict him. That’s Fedor’s demands and has always been his demands even before the UFC got involved in his stock. PRIDE has a non-exclusive agreement with him.
My point wasn’t to refute a point that the UFC won’t deal with individuals who have had contract problems, and frankly, I don’t remember what the hell the basis was, so I’ll leave it. I believe I was arguing the fact that Couture’s contract has certain stipulations that he simply cannot escape without fulfilling his contract. Also, if you want to see a contract, there are various articles after the press conferences regarding the terms of contracts. In those articles, it is said that contracts were used as a basis for those articles.. as in they were in hand. Specifically, Adam Swift has an article that specifies exact wording for some of the clauses, which is what I was referring to. Very good article, check it out.
Josh Barnett won’t expose Fedor, but I agree that Fedor isn’t a pull for the UFC, and it is a lose-lose situation in my eyes. Does Couture have that kind of pull? Probably not, especially not in a money making business like the UFC. We are in agreeance there.
I love this subject. Everybody has their own thoughts, and write very long and deep posts on the subject.
Leland- I find your insites very complete and normally agree with you…. but I believe that Fedor will not be able to overpower Barnett which will cause him a problem (much like I believe Couture would) I agree that Fedor, for his size and power, is able to through freekishly fast and still powerful punches, but I think Barnett’s takedowns will neutralize them. I know Fedor proved he can withstand more powerful wrestlers than himself when he tapped Randellman after that VICIOUS suplex, but Randelman (in my opinion) is no where near as smart of a fighter or tactisioner as say Barnett, Couture, or even Fedor. I don’t know the reason Fedor and Barnett never happened in Pride, but it should have. I don’t know if Pride was protecting Fedor, but I think that Barnett could have and would now beat Fedor. I really would like to see the fight, and would not mind at all to be proven totally wrong.
Here’s a breakdown of the radio interview. I broke this down to the host’s questions and then the phone caller questions. I paraphrased for the most part, but anything in quotations is a direct quote from Dana White.
1) Serra vs Hughes - GSP called and asked for fight, Hughes agreed - If this were boxing, they couldn’t pull off a “late” replacement fight - Serra was emotionally invested in the Hughes fight and put off his honeymoon to tape TUF Season VI
2) Liddell vs Silva - mentions it could be a main event fight, but out of respect to champions it is getting 2nd billing - Liddell’s life changed when he got national recognition - admits his fame may have effected his last two fights (read between the lines - proper training)
3) Pride Fighters - Lack of UFC Success - Anderson Silva had a contract (verbal) with the UFC but Pride (back in the day) swept in and “stole” him - “Forget the Russian guy, Anderson Silva is Pound-for-Pound the #1 fighter in the world - (says Jackson and Couture are both there as well - in the world)
4) Fedor (Here are Dana’s exact quotes)- “We bought Pride…I could not wait to get Fedor…I always knew, %100 that Couture would smash him…I wanted to bring him in, but it didn’t work out…but let me tell you what my friend, ok? Never say never. I’ve pulled off a lot bigger things than getting Randy and Fedor to fight in the UFC, believe me, so never say never….(regarding possible negotiations with M-1 ->) I’m not saying that I can’t and won’t and am not making the Fedor-Randy Couture fight. So never say never.”
5) Randy Couture - “I sat down and talked to Randy last night…Like I’ve said, me and Randy have been friends for a long time…Sometimes friends fight and miscommunicate…things happen sometimes…we’ll see what happens…stay tuned”
6) Pride’s Future - Pride is done and the fighters are in the UFC (and elsewhere). Zuffa couldn’t “fix it” and it was so broke (damaged). “It sucks, cuz’ Pride was a brand name….we couldn’t secure a tv deal.” — Taking UFC Global (Japan included) since Pride has failed - We haven’t scratched the surface of where this is going
7) Arlovski - “He’s going to be fighting here soon…I have a good relationship with him and his guys…I don’t think you’re going to see Andre Arlovski fighting anywhere else.”
9) (Boxing) Scoring System - changes - there’s so much work to do in this sport - judges and refs need to both learn more about the sport and how to evaluate it - it will never be perfect
10) Nick Diaz - “Nick Diaz is a real fighter…kind of guys I like…his own worst enemy sometimes…we would bring Nick Diaz back in a second.”
11) TV Contracts - Continuosly taking it to a new level - “Wait ’til you see what we got coming up in 2008. I’m so pumped for this next year.”
12) TUF Season VI - “This season was awesome…wait ’till you (laughs) see what we’re doing in Season VII…Season VII is going to be so sick…we start filming in January…this is no BS hype up…Season VII is going to be the sickest, craziest thing you’ve ever seen. We’re shaking the whole thing up in Season VII. It is going to blow people’s minds.” - They have the coaches in place (based on past announcements dates, look for the announcement to happen at the Dec PPV - strictly my opinion).
Phone Calls
1) Any concerns not signing top talent due to competition (M-1 Global, Mark Cuban, etc) - Doesn’t think there will be a problem - Dana needs guys like this to give the younger talent some experience and eventually they’ll move to the UFC
2) Rings vs Cages - Dana hates the ring (slows down the action) - Plexi-glass (like a hockey rink) was never an option although it was originally proposed when they did the original octagon design
3) UFC & WEC combined PPV’s - Original plan for Pride was to have a “Superbowl” between Pride & UFC fighters - With Pride shut down, don’t be surprised to see UFC vs WEC matches on PPV’s - “That could definitely happen.”
4) Matt Lindland - Under contract elsewhere - Hard to deal with (according to Dana)
5) 5 Round fights vs 3 Rounds - UFC wanted sanctioning 1st and foremost - In doing so made fights 3 rounds and championships 5 rounds - reason GSP vs Hughes is an interim championship fight is to ensure it could go 5 rounds - “Who wants to see St Pierre - Hughes for only 3 rounds?” - would like to eventually have ALL fights be 5 rounders and Championships go 7 rounds
6) UFC Official Rankings - Dana is on the verge of coming up with their own Official Ranking System - thinks that “these guys (internet websites)” are terrible at it.
Guys, I would recommend listening to the audio (approx 30 minutes) or reading my previous post for the breakdown. There were a lot of interesting facts revealed other than just Fedor - Couture speculation.
I believe Randy and Dana will work out their differences and “unfortunately” we’ll see him commenting on UFC PPV’s in the very near future (love his fights, not a fan of his mic work). Dana has proven time and time again that he’ll do whatever he can to take care of his top guys and Randy is a top guy in Dana’s eyes. Much like Liddell, Dana (IMO) will do everything possible to make the Couture/Fedor fight happen. He will not care about the consequences of a Fedor victory because he honestly believes Couture would “smash” Fedor. M-1 Global will be hard-pressed for top flight competitors for Fedor beyond Barnett and the best way to promote itself is to have its marquee guy headline a UFC PPV (wearing an M-1 Global shirt, etc). The risk they run of course, is Fedor actually losing. They will have to weigh exposure vs possibly devaluing their key player (I don’t think $$ is an issue). Normally I’d say there’s a slim chance of this happening, but if Randy wants it badly enough, Dana will do whatever he can to show Couture and the world he “takes care of his talent”. I won’t make a blind prediction until this fight becomes a reality.
Shawn, well-stated, but I am afraid I am going to have ask you to research your facts a bit more. Most of what you claimed as fact is true, but not the part concerning M-1. M-1 is not just one organization. There is M-1 mixed fight and M-1 Global. M-1 Mix Fight has been around since the 90s, so to label it as an “upstart” promotion that will fail soon is incorrect. Aleksander Emelianenko has fought in M-1 and so have other notable fighters like Andrei Arlovski. Vladimir Finklestein, Fedor’s manager, runs the organization. It just has never been popular.
Here’s my take on the rest of Dana’s interview;
GSP/Hughes/Serra - I now understand and agree with it being an interim title match (possible 5 rounds is better for the fans than the final GSP/Hughes fight scheduled for 3 rounds). I respect Serra for making additional personal sacrifice to coach TUF.
Anderson Silva was almost a UFC fighter prior to
joining Pride. Good thing for Franklin that he went to Pride.
Andre Arlovski - Glad to hear Dana be optimistic that he’ll fight soon and remain with the UFC.
Rampage Jackson fight announcement coming soon. C’mon Dana, Forrest vs Jackson.
TV Contracts - Dana is very confident that he’ll land a huge tv deal in 2008. CBS, HBO and ESPN in that order would be my guesses.
TUF Season VII - Words can’t do justice to the way Dana spoke regarding the next season of TUF. I’m excited because of the UFC card in December, but traditionally Dana makes big announcements for the following year at this event. I expect Jackson’s next title fight to be announced and I am probably more excited about what they’re planning for TUF VII.
WEC vs UFC - All I can say is Filho vs Silva.
Matt Lindland - I’d like Dana to sign him just in hopes that Anderson would defeat him quicker than Fedor did.
5 and 7 round fights - I’d love to have seen Evans and Tito go 5 rounds and Jackson/Henderson go 7.
UFC Official Rankings - Once I heard this I immediately contacted the UFC and offered my services in helping develop an official rankings system for UFC fighters (I really did).
This has been one of the most interesting and well thought out threads I’ve read on this site.
2007 is going to end with a bang and 2008 is going to be even crazier.
I will never understand why in the heck a one fight contract wasn’t ever mentioned for Fedor and why that question isn’t posed to Dana. If those Russians were so crazy…the say heck, lets just work on this SuperFight and thats it. It would have been worth it. I believe Randy will finish his contract for the simple reason he doesn’t want to end his career looking like this and complaining about money. And yes its always about money.
Randy is the best fighter in the world! Now that he has finally built some solid Heavyweight punching power, the word is he might leave. Please don’t go Randy. Fedor is a has been. A coward afraid to fight the best in the world. So he signs with some garbage fight group, with no top fighters. Who cares about Fedor, Randy is the 1# fighter on Earth!
UFC is the top of the MMA world. Every top Pride fighters that has tried to make it in the UFC, has failed. And Jackson doesn’t count. He was a King of the Cage fighter before going to the UFC.
griffin is the most logical matchup for jackson, i’m a griffin fan but I don’t think its gonna be like that fight with shogun was, jackson is a killer, and it could be ugly, I predict randy will fight Nog on the february card
i sure hope someone fights in montreal this spring, they don’t realise how much cash this market has