Fedor vs Brock? We'll know Friday.....

[tapout 5,000+ posts]

http://mmamania.com/2009/07/28/la-times-reports-that-fedor-emelianenko-and-ufc-are-finalizing-deal/

Almost one year to the day it held its first event on July 19, 2008, Affliction Entertainment folded its mixed martial arts division and returned to the UFC under an agreement that will allow the clothing brand to once again sponsor the world’s top promotion and the fighters under its umbrella.
Affliction indicated that an inability to find a worthy replacement for Josh Barnett — who tested positive for anabolic steroids and was denied a license to compete — led to the decision to cancel its “Trilogy” event, which was expected to take place from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on Aug. 1.

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the critically acclaimed but far from profitable venture.

The end of Affliction MMA — much like the end of Elite XC in 2008 — left a coterie of fighters under contract who no longer have a place to call home.

And at the top of that list of unemployed combatants is perhaps the most prized asset in all of MMA: Former PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko.

Zuffa worked hard to bring the Russian on board after the collapse of Pride FC in 2007; however, talks broke down when the parties could not agree on an exclusive fight contract.

UFC President Dana White and M-1 Global spent the next two years pointing fingers, but a report from the LA Times earlier today suggests that whatever hangups preventing the two promotions from working together in the past may now be water under the bridge.

From the LA Times Web site:

“A long-awaited agreement between the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the man considered the world’s best mixed martial arts fighter, Fedor Emelianenko, is expected to be announced by UFC President Dana White on Friday, a source with information about the negotiations told The Times today. The source, who asked not to be identified because he’s not authorized to speak publicly about the dealings, called negotiations between the UFC and Fedor ‘very civil’ just days after Fedor’s scheduled Affliction Trilogy fight Saturday against Josh Barnett was canceled.”

The UFC has scheduled a press conference for July 31 to cover a bevy of formal announcements, including their new Affliction deal, among other things.

White has already gone on record to state that if acquired, Fedor’s first fight would be for the UFC heavyweight championship, presumably against division kingpin Brock Lesnar.

If the signing of “The Last Emperor” is on Friday’s docket, it could represent not just one of the biggest announcements in UFC history, but perhaps a whole new era in mixed martial arts.

However, nothing is official at this time. In fact, M-1 recently denied the LA Times report as “not accurate” in an SI.com article.

Stay tuned … these next three days should tell the tale, hopefully, once and for all.

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[jerseysfinest08]

idk since seeing lesnar bully mir i think jut from brute strength lesnar might actually win and he'll never let it down he would be: The Man Who Beat Fedor Emelianenko........uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i hate lesnar but you gotta respect him, also kongo and mir may be fighting at 107 and noguiera's twin brother may come to the ufc

 

[WOT]

I think Fedor will fight Lesnar and lose, the guys just to big.

If I was Fedor Id want to start at the bottom and earn the shot, instead of my first fight being a title shot (which I dont think is fair)

 

[MisterGrubbs 5,000+ posts]

Fedor is going to get it handed to him, by the way.

Lesnar is just too ****ing big, fast, strong, and skilled quite frankly. Mainly the first three things.

 

[chaunb3400 10+ year member]

I think Fedor will fight Lesnar and lose, the guys just to big.
If I was Fedor Id want to start at the bottom and earn the shot, instead of my first fight being a title shot (which I dont think is fair)

Fedor has more then earned a shot at the title already //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[jerseysfinest08]

Fedor is going to get it handed to him, by the way.
Lesnar is just too ****ing big, fast, strong, and skilled quite frankly. Mainly the first three things.

idk about speed bro lesnar is still a big boy the only way i see fedor winning would be by submission, lesnar is just a ****ing animal i would like to see a cro cop-fedor 3 cro cop is out to show that he isnt washed up and i dont think he is, i mean he is only in his early 30's still hes not like chuck yet

 

[WOT]

Fedor has more then earned a shot at the title already //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Not in the UFC

 

[chaunb3400 10+ year member]

Not in the UFC

Yea against much better comp imo, the ufc's heavyweight division is a joke, Fedor will destroy anybody in the ufc with ease

 

[Alpine4life89 10+ year member]

this is crazy, i don't know who would win. There's really nothing else i can say.

 

[iknownothin2006 10+ year member]

i just want brock to lose cuz he's an ******* //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[*Ace* 10+ year member]

Fedor by armbar //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[thegreatestpenn 5,000+ posts]

Fedor would either knock out or submit Lesnar by Armbar and this would be the case for I"d say the next 2 years.

But I'm tired of this "will Fedor sign to the UFC" whispering. Fedor is great and may be the greatest MMA practitioner of all time, but he's not even a draw in the US PPV market so the UFC does not need him. And if the UFC does get him, it's gonna take a lot of promotion to convince the public he's worth all the hype.

Fedor does not need the UFC either. He is beloved in Japan and could fight freakshow fights, grappling competitions, and Sambo for the rest of his life and get paid. His management and M-1 global really think they can convince the UFC to co-promote and share profits when m-1 global is a d-league promotion. His management needs to get real and drop the co-promotion stuff. UFC wants to make Fedor the highest paid MMA fighter in history and they are letting co-promotion get in the way.

Crap, worked up about this again, gonna go punch somthing

 

[mihklo 10+ year member]

unless M-1 is willing to move off of its stance on co-promotion this fight wont happen. he could end up in strikeforce, but i cant see them paying him the amount of money that they want. not to mention, who is he gonna fight over there besides rodgers? this whole issue and fedor's management is getting old, and im getting to the point that i could really care less about seeing fedor in the ufc. the HW division is finally starting to look decent again, and with a few more prospects will continue to get better. especially if they decide to pick up a few more of afflictions fighters.

 

[mihklo 10+ year member]

But I'm tired of this "will Fedor sign to the UFC" whispering. Fedor is great and may be the greatest MMA practitioner of all time, but he's not even a draw in the US PPV market so the UFC does not need him. And if the UFC does get him, it's gonna take a lot of promotion to convince the public he's worth all the hype.

Thats what is amazing to me about this whole situation. To me it shows that the UFC is really trying to bring the best in and put on the best fights they can. with them willing to pay as much as has been rumored even knowing what kind of draw that fedor is. and knowing how much more money they will have to spend to market him.

 

[gymfreak101 10+ year member]

I don't think Fedor will sign, I think the announcement tomorrow is about a deal for UFC to be shown on ESPN. Fedor's manager is asking alot for a guy that has no North American audience outside hardcore mma fans. I love Fedor and think he would handle Brock, I don't think Fedor cares enough about his legacy to commit to the UFC's contract stipulatons.