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Five Ounces of Pain: Fedor's next destination should be the UFC

927 views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  vandalian 
#1 ·
Aug. 16, 2007
By Sam Caplan
Special to CBS SportsLine.com


He's considered by many pundits to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, yet he's still a man of mystery when it comes to casual American mixed martial arts fans.

Fedor Emelianenko is perhaps the best combat sports athlete in the world you've never seen fight on live television. It's a title that might remain intact for some time if his management has its way.

Known to many by simply his first name, Fedor is perhaps the only true dynasty in MMA. He hasn't lost a fight since Dec. 22, 2000, which represents his only career defeat, a loss as a result of a cut against Tsuyoshi Kohsaka.

Relying on backgrounds in ***** and judo, he has become a submission machine, with 50 percent of his victories coming by way of tapout. And while he'll never be confused with a K-1 level striker, Fedor also has heavy hands and one of the best chins in MMA. Of his 26 career victories, many have come against quality opponents such as Mirko Cro Cop, Ricardo Arona, Matt Lindland, and two victories over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

He's also the heavyweight champion of the Japan-based Pride Fighting Championships, which was acquired by Zuffa (the parent company of the UFC) earlier this year. Pride has been idle since its acquisition by Zuffa and it is unknown whether it will be resurrected or will continue to die a slow death. Regardless of Pride's future, Fedor is unsigned and able to negotiate with any promotion in the world even though he still wears the fight promotion's heavyweight crown.

As the No. 1 free-agent in MMA, Fedor has no shortage of suitors. However, the UFC and K-1's MMA promotion, Hero's, appear to be the only viable contenders. Calvin Ayre's Bodog Fight promotion had been seen as a potential destination, but after a poor PPV buyrate for an April event headlined by Fedor and a recent public spat between Ayre and Fedor's manager, Vadim Finkelstein, that bridge might have been burned.

In addition to criticizing Bodog and Ayre, Finkelstein has also been critical of the UFC during interviews with MMA website Sherdog.com, claiming that while the UFC submitted an offer for the most guaranteed money, some of their other terms are "harsh" and that they haven't been "that eager to communicate."

In accusing the UFC of not being flexible, it's believed that Fedor's management wants ancillary requests met such as a commitment to work with Finkelstein's M-1 MMA promotion in Russia; extending contract offers to fighters who train with Fedor under his Red Devil fight team; and allowing Fedor the right to compete outside of the UFC's jurisdiction in contact ***** tournaments held in Russia.

It would be a shame if the only thing preventing Fedor from signing with the premier MMA organization in the world were miscellaneous interests. There's a strong sentiment from some fight fans that the UFC should accommodate Fedor's needs. However, with so many other high-profile fighters on its roster, allowing Fedor to have so many fringe benefits could set a dangerous precedent for future contract negotiations. By offering him the highest guarantee, a case could be made that the UFC is being plenty accommodating.

Out of all the potential organizations that Fedor can fight for, the UFC is where a fighter of his reputation and legacy belongs. While Hero's lighter weight divisions carry much credibility, their heavyweight division leaves a lot to be desired. With the demise of Pride, the UFC now boasts the best heavyweight division in all of MMA.

Unless K-1 signed heavyweight free agents such as Josh Barnett and Brock Lesnar, Fedor would be matched up against inferior competition on a regular basis. In the UFC, fans could potentially be treated to marquee matchups between Fedor and Randy Couture, Fedor vs. Cro Cop II, Fedor vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, and maybe even Fedor vs. Brandon Vera.

If Fedor cares at all about preserving his present legacy and advancing it further then it's in his best interest to supercede his management's wishes and finalize a deal with UFC. If he elects to go to K-1, he'll risk sending a message to MMA fans around the world that he no longer has a desire to prove his mettle against the best competition in the world.

Sam Caplan is a Philadelphia-based sports talk show host and freelance sportswriter. He can be reached via e-mail at SCaplan8@comcast.net. Sam also has a blog at FiveOuncesofPain.com and can be reached via MySpace at MySpace.com/FiveOuncesOfPain.
 
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#3 ·
vandalian said:
If Fedor cares at all about preserving his present legacy and advancing it further then it's in his best interest to supercede his management's wishes and finalize a deal with UFC. If he elects to go to K-1, he'll risk sending a message to MMA fans around the world that he no longer has a desire to prove his mettle against the best competition in the world.
personally, i disagree w/ this sentiment. he knows what he's worth & he has a right to demand what he wants. lets face it, mma is obviously getting much bigger, therefore contracts will follow suit. also, amongst REAL mma fans, fedor is one of the, if not THEE top draw, as far as fighters go. i wouldn't hold it against him for not signing. the ufc would potentially make SO much money off him, it's to their benefit to appease fedor, within reason of course.

but fedor is anything but scared to prove his mettle. he's done that SEVERAL times over already, so it's kind of a ridiculous statemnt on the authors part imo.
 
#4 ·
Good write up, though I think that saying Fedor has to "supercede his management" is a bit of a stretch. I agree with Fedor's management in that he should be able to compete in ***** competitions and I think that it's in his best interests to do what makes him comfortable, that's what keeps a fighter performing best.

The fact is, the UFC Heavyweight division will never be for real until you actually have the #1 fighter in the world in the mix. Dana White knows that.

Personally, I'm not going to recognize a UFC heavyweight champion until he has to survive in a cage with guys like Fedor, CroCop, Barnett, Nogueira and Hunt. Unless you fight the best, I can't call you the best.

If the UFC has any brains, they'll be more leanient on this part of the contract. They can save themselves some money by taking a portion of the table as a price for the clause, but maintain the higher ground by offering compromise.

There are diplomatic ways for the UFC to solve this, it's not just up to Fedor. The UFC is just trying to make sure that they have what they want, regardless how trivial it is, and that's hard for me to be happy about.

Anyway, the rest is nothing that we haven't heard or don't already know. Still, well written and well put together.
 
#5 ·
My opinion on the whole Fedor stall:

I'm neither surprised, nor in favor of Fedor's contract. I can honestly say that I don't blame Dana for this whole mess. It is clear that in addition to the probable enormous amount of money that Fedor's manager is requesting, there is a substantial amount of baggage that comes with it. Many posters from this forum and others are so blinded by the Fedor light that they're not looking at this situation through Dana's eyes.

Imagine yourself back in high school. Desperate to fit in and seeking attention, you discover that the most beautiful/popular girl in all of school has a thing for you...but she has a kid.

Injecting in this M-1 garbage into the UFC circulation and then trying to explain ***** to the general public is not economically attractive. But perhaps the biggest disadvantage of these Fedor clauses is the affect it will have on current UFC fighters. "Hey Dana, if Fedor can go off and compete in different organizations, why can't I compete in a boxing match which would pay me more AND maintain my UFC contract?" Plus, with the "upset epidemic" spreading across the MMA world, who's to say the unthinkable wouldn't happen? God forbid it does, but the head honchos don't want to all of a sudden mumble to themselves, "damn, we all just drained our paycheck into that guy."

I just get upset seeing the all-too-common, "Fedor is worth it Dana, give him the money! It's just *****?!?"

I am not a Fedor hater.
 
#6 ·
Balls in Face said:
My opinion on the whole Fedor stall:

I'm neither surprised, nor in favor of Fedor's contract. I can honestly say that I don't blame Dana for this whole mess. It is clear that in addition to the probable enormous amount of money that Fedor's manager is requesting, there is a substantial amount of baggage that comes with it. Many posters from this forum and others are so blinded by the Fedor light that they're not looking at this situation through Dana's eyes.

Imagine yourself back in high school. Desperate to fit in and seeking attention, you discover that the most beautiful/popular girl in all of school has a thing for you...but she has a kid.

Injecting in this M-1 garbage into the UFC circulation and then trying to explain ***** to the general public is not economically attractive. But perhaps the biggest disadvantage of these Fedor clauses is the affect it will have on current UFC fighters. "Hey Dana, if Fedor can go off and compete in different organizations, why can't I compete in a boxing match which would pay me more AND maintain my UFC contract?" Plus, with the "upset epidemic" spreading across the MMA world, who's to say the unthinkable wouldn't happen? God forbid it does, but the head honchos don't want to all of a sudden mumble to themselves, "damn, we all just drained our paycheck into that guy."

I just get upset seeing the all-too-common, "Fedor is worth it Dana, give him the money! It's just *****?!?"

I am not a Fedor hater.
first off, you have it wrong. TONS TONS TONS of other fighters can go off and fight in abu dhabi and other smaller org's. this is no different from a ***** tournament. also, how the HELL can you call M-1 no financially attractive? are you on crack? M-1 is the only large MMA organization in eastern europe, and probably all of europe in general. boosting this org could set it up for a potential partnership with zuffa and could create HUGE PROFITS seeing as there is no shortage of fighters from eastern europe. look at the top 10 heavyweight rankings. 1/3 of the fighters are slavic guys, and you call this not financially attractive? thats about as far from the truth as could be. imagine if UFC signed a partnership deal with M-1 and boosted it. they are only hitting the tip of the iceberg. with more promotion they could become TRULY global.
 
#7 ·
I don't think all fighters will be wanting to go out and fight elsewhere if Fedor gets this annual ***** extension. If UFC fighters go up to Dana White and bitch about their contracts and how Fedor gets a non-exclusive contract,White should just be like "Are you Fedor? Are you World Champ? No, so get out of my office."
 
#8 ·
PrideFan123 said:
I don't think all fighters will be wanting to go out and fight elsewhere if Fedor gets this annual ***** extension. If UFC fighters go up to Dana White and bitch about their contracts and how Fedor gets a non-exclusive contract,White should just be like "Are you Fedor? Are you World Champ? No, so get out of my office."
LOL nice, reppped brother :thumbsup:
 
#9 ·
I think many of you might want to re-read the first post. The issue isn't money; Fedor's manager stated the UFC's offer comes in highest and he would be guaranteed to be the highest paid fighter in the UFC.

The sticking points are the fringe benefits Fedor wants.

Fighting in ***** competitions could probably be accomodated; although the risk of injury can't be ignored.

However from the UFC's standpoint competing in a rival promotion in Russia is not something I would allow. Nor would I sign his friends just because they are his friends.
 
#10 ·
Z-man-mma-fan said:
first off, you have it wrong. TONS TONS TONS of other fighters can go off and fight in abu dhabi and other smaller org's. this is no different from a ***** tournament. also, how the HELL can you call M-1 no financially attractive? are you on crack? M-1 is the only large MMA organization in eastern europe, and probably all of europe in general. boosting this org could set it up for a potential partnership with zuffa and could create HUGE PROFITS seeing as there is no shortage of fighters from eastern europe. look at the top 10 heavyweight rankings. 1/3 of the fighters are slavic guys, and you call this not financially attractive? thats about as far from the truth as could be. imagine if UFC signed a partnership deal with M-1 and boosted it. they are only hitting the tip of the iceberg. with more promotion they could become TRULY global.
You really think M-1 would be good business? Seeing how NOBODY in the US knows what the hell it is. Dana would have to market it, pay the fighters, set up fights, and deal with all the other bullshit that it takes to run another fight organization. If this whole thing was financially attactive, we would have heard Dana and the Fertitas brothers try to market it in these numerous Fedor interviews.

How is M-1 huge? It's not even on wikipedia yet and the website has trouble translating it from Russian. I can't read anything other than an article talking about their fight on the boat. And who's their biggest figher? Aleksander Emelianenko. And unless you sit on MMA forums or are a huge pride fan, from an average american MMA fan: Who the hell is he???

Let's not forget that most of those average American MMA fans still don't know who Fedor is...
 
#11 ·
zarny said:
I think many of you might want to re-read the first post. The issue isn't money; Fedor's manager stated the UFC's offer comes in highest and he would be guaranteed to be the highest paid fighter in the UFC.

The sticking points are the fringe benefits Fedor wants.

Fighting in ***** competitions could probably be accomodated; although the risk of injury can't be ignored.

However from the UFC's standpoint competing in a rival promotion in Russia is not something I would allow. Nor would I sign his friends just because they are his friends.
:thumb02: :thumb02: :thumb02: :thumb02: :thumb02: :thumb02: If Dana gives in to Fedors demands I will lose allot of respect for dana as a business man
 
#12 ·
zarny said:
I think many of you might want to re-read the first post. The issue isn't money; Fedor's manager stated the UFC's offer comes in highest and he would be guaranteed to be the highest paid fighter in the UFC.

The sticking points are the fringe benefits Fedor wants.

Fighting in ***** competitions could probably be accomodated; although the risk of injury can't be ignored.

However from the UFC's standpoint competing in a rival promotion in Russia is not something I would allow. Nor would I sign his friends just because they are his friends.
Agreed , if you can't see this then you have no bussiness sense
 
#13 ·
Personally, I could care less what any of you think. Fedor has every right to ask for whatever he wants. He could retire now a damn LEGEND if he wanted, and still be making more money a year than dana or Zuffa could offer him.

You want the best MMA fight ever to be in your organization? Pay up buddy. If not, go play in your sandbox with your defeated HW champions.
 
#14 ·
Bottom line is Fedor and UFC need each other.
Fedor needs to be in the best heavyweight division in the world, which is in UFC.
For UFC to make that division the best it can be, they need Fedor.
If Fedor wants the international exposure and access to the Western market -- both of which he deserves as an elite fighter -- he needs to sign with UFC.
If UFC wants a truly great competitor with amazing ability and international appeal, they need to sign fedor.
They need to sit down and hammer this out, one way or another.
 
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