Dana White, Fedor Emelianenko and Sour Grapes

Jesse Holland of MMA Mania breaks from their usual "just the facts ma'am" mold and tears it up in an opinion piece about Fedor:

UFC President Dana White thinks Fedor Emelianenko is a fraud. A flabby relic from the mismanaged days of PRIDE that now hides behind the iron curtain, emerging only to fight hand-picked opponents that pose no threat to a self-proclaimed legacy.

In fact, White is so sure that the Russian heavyweight is at the bottom of the divisional rankings that he was willing to write him a blank check after Affliction MMA imploded under the weight of its own spending.

That makes sense.

Imagine how quickly the men in white coats would come to collect you if you walked onto the lot of an auto auction and told the yard barker: "I've got a check for five million dollars, please give me the biggest piece of shit on the lot."

Ever since the fall of PRIDE, there have been a lot of hard feelings between the UFC and Emelianenko's camp and I suspect a great deal of that has been "The Last Emperor's," ability to escape the Zuffa monopoly.

Men with White's power and ultimately White's greed are used to getting what they want. What do men in power want? Everything. Yet "those crazy Russians" have balked at every attempt the UFC has made to secure the WAMMA champion as their own.

And why wouldn't they, especially when M-1 can have a monopoly of their own? As long as Emelianenko keeps winning, Vadim and the Finkelchtein Express can continue cashing in at the expense of other promotions who need an established headliner.

I've written many times about Dana's love/hate/need/want obsession with Fedor. Just to show you how psychic I am, I wrote at the time of Fedor's decision to sign with Strikeforce:

From the moment the deals were being rumored, I believed that Dana White and Zuffa were so confident that Brock Lesnar would beat Fedor in the Russian's first UFC fight that they were willing to offer lots of terms (loosening the champion clause etc) that they would not have offered if Fedor was going to be facing Randy Couture, Cro-Cop and Big Nog in his three UFC fights.
I think Fedor also is concerned that he might lose to Brock Lesnar -- and there's nothing wrong with that, Lesnar is a beast -- and even a 30% chance of Lesnar winning the first fight is a big risk for Fedor. Especially in his first fight in a cage with elbows on the ground. Fedor's history of getting cut in fights makes a cut stoppage from an elbow an exceedingly likely outcome.

In closing, here's the case for Strikeforce:

No elbows on the ground.
Willingness to co-promote. Remember, Fedor isn't just a client of M-1, he's supposedly a 20% owner -- that's twice the share Dana White has in the UFC. There's also a strong element of Russian nationalism. Fedor's never been seen on national television in Russia. Affliction had just scored a deal to do that. Also, don't forget how "business" is done in Russia. I don't want to speculate, but if I was Fedor, I'd be very hesitant to dump my Russian partners.
Strikeforce's roster of Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem is a very credible roster of foes for Fedor -- they are ranked #8, 10 and 14, respectively, on this month's USAT/SBN MMA rankings. And I'm sure each would enjoy the "Josh Barnett effect" of rising several notches upon the announcement of a signed fight with Fedor.
Non-exclusivity. With Strikeforce, Fedor could quite possibly continue to fight in Japan on the odd New Year's Eve for DREAM, maybe even against Josh Barnett in a fight many still want to see.
Fedor has an enormous amount to lose if he makes the wrong step. Clearly his refusal to sign with the UFC and their aggressive PR will cost him the hearts of many MMA fans. At the same time, most of those fans will tune in to watch his next fight, regardless of opponent, especially if it's on CBS. If Strikeforce manages to book him against legitimate top 10 competition, he will only grow his appeal and be able to demand even more from the UFC if there is a next time.


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Out Four To Six Months, Dana White Says Brock Lesnar Would "Smash His Head"

As reported earlier, Fedor Emelianenko injured his left hand during Saturday night’s bout with Brett Rogers. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told The LA Times that the injuries have sidelined the Russian heavyweight for the near future.
"Fedor suffered a fracture and tendon damage in his left thumb, and a fractured nose in the Rogers fight,” Coker explained. "We're hearing he could be out for four to six months.”

Emelianenko joins UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar on the inactive list. UFC President Dana White wasted no time in giving his thoughts on who would win if Emelianenko were to ever face Lesnar.

"The guy just got his face smashed in by Brett Rogers. Do you know what Brock or [UFC heavyweights] Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez would do to Brett Rogers?" White asked. "It's time to bring this guy [Fedor] in [to the UFC], to see Brock Lesnar smash his head."

Fedor’s camp remains agreeable to the fight, however in what has become a broken record, will only agree to Emelianenko facing Lesnar if the organization is willing to agree to co-promote with M-1 Global.

“If UFC wants to prove it has the best fighters, step up and co-promote,” M-1 Global Vice President Jerry Millen stated. “Fedor just wants to be treated fairly. The UFC business model is to own the souls of their fighters. Fedor doesn't have to do that, and if the fans scream loudly enough, we can make that happen."

But for now, both fighters need to recover from their respective health issues and injuries before thinking about their next bout.


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