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ember 2007, as White pursued Emelianenko, now a free agent, following the crumbling of Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. Instead, Finkelstein said the UFC presented the nearly unblemished Pride heavyweight champion with a stringent, binding contract –- one that pledged his exclusivity to their organization and prevented him from competing in sambo, which Emelianenko is a national spokesman for in his homeland.
“Many of the terms were oppressive and there really wasn’t any negotiation,” said Finkelstein. “It was a ‘take it or leave it.’ Basically, as Fedor just said, ‘You know what? You’re going to come back to us anyway. It’s either this or we’ll see you later when you come back.’”
Instead, Emelianenko signed a two-year, six-fight deal with M-1 Global in October 2007. White blamed the failed negotiations on his inability to deal with the "crazy Russians."
“Of course, he can’t deal with us because he can’t deal with anybody,” a still stinging Finkelstein said Tuesday. “He wants to have everything in his own control, but we can’t deal with people that want to control everything.”
Reminds me of the article, "Dana White is Ruining MMA."
Regardless of the issues, another attempt to negotiate was made. In November 2007, M-1 Global, in agreement with Couture, again presented a co-promotion opportunity to Zuffa privately, this time for the heavyweight unification bout between Couture and Emelianenko. Zuffa turned the offer down.
Emelianenko has since floated between promotions like the now-defunct Bodog Fight, Japan’s Yarennoka and most recently, Affliction.
To negotiate his second bout with Affliction for February or March, Emelianenko and his managers say the elusive bout with Couture continues to loom on the sidelines.
If round two of negotiations with Zuffa were to take place shortly, Finkelstein said he might be open to a two-fight deal with Couture the first opponent on the ledger. However, Finkelstein seemed less than assured that the UFC would budge from the original offer they made nearly eleven months ago.
“This is unfortunately the only company right now that is attempting to monopolize and essentially do everything themselves,” said Finkelstein. "That’s not what we’re about."
Regardless of the issues, another attempt to negotiate was made. In November 2007, M-1 Global, in agreement with Couture, again presented a co-promotion opportunity to Zuffa privately, this time for the heavyweight unification bout between Couture and Emelianenko. Zuffa turned the offer down.
Emelianenko has since floated between promotions like the now-defunct Bodog Fight, Japan’s Yarennoka and most recently, Affliction.
To negotiate his second bout with Affliction for February or March, Emelianenko and his managers say the elusive bout with Couture continues to loom on the sidelines.
If round two of negotiations with Zuffa were to take place shortly, Finkelstein said he might be open to a two-fight deal with Couture the first opponent on the ledger. However, Finkelstein seemed less than assured that the UFC would budge from the original offer they made nearly eleven months ago.
“This is unfortunately the only company right now that is attempting to monopolize and essentially do everything themselves,” said Finkelstein. "That’s not what we’re about."
Credit Sherdog.com for all above info
On a side note, there is speculation of a reality show looming called "Fighting Fedor."
It will be similar to all the other similar shows with the winner getting a crack at the Russian monster.
If all else fails with negotiations involving Randy and Fedor, this could be an alternate route the two fighters may have to take.
A funny reality it could be...
That is before Couture is too old to have a chance, considering he's probably already rusty from lack of fight time.
This ongoing saga continues to be on the back burner and just may very well be brought to a boil sooner then later.
Check out MMA LIVE on ESPN.com on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time for more details or check out this link for a Fedor interview on the subject...
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