Brock Vs Fedor: A Battle of Negotiations Before We See Any Fights

Affliction folding just ten days before its third event and weeks after UFC 100 has led to speculation of UFC signing the silent Sambo warrior regarded by many as the best Heavy Weight and pound for pound MMA fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko 30-0-0-2NC.

With Brock Lesnar (4-1) dominating Frank Mir at UFC 100 to avenge his sole loss to Mir and finally establish a UFC HW champion, naturally, talk has turned to a fight many fans have dreamed of Fedor vs Brock.

Jumping the gun is the phrase best used here, never mind opinions on which fighter would be the victor. There are many obstacles that need to be overcome for this fight to ever occur.

With Affliction said to be completely folding, the first hurdle is nearly gone. Sure some red tape remains as contracted fighters are in a bit of a limbo right now but, Fedor is that much closer to being a free agent.

Next the bids for Fedor would begin, UFC by far has the most money and resources to accomplish this but, they've been here before with Fedor and couldn't come to terms. So Dream and Strikeforce would be second string financially but offer less Heavy Weights fighters to challenge the Russian.

Strikeforce or Dream may pick up some of the fighters, since in the past few years Affliction, Dream and Strikeforce have exchanged fighters for various events, but Fedor may be out of reach for Strikeforce.

However, Dream is comprised of former Pride management team members with whom Fedor's manager has dealt with in the past. Fedor's popularity in Japan would boost Dream for certain. Not to mention the Russians mangers are used to doing business in Japan.

One of the issues when UFC originally sat down with Fedor's people was the difference between Dana Whites style of negotiating versus that in Japan.  Apparently, Dana's rootin' tootin' style wasn't well received.

While UFC can wave more money around than the other two organizations UFC needs Fedor to validate and confirm the belief that they have the best in the world. If Fedor showed up and got beat down by Lesnar then Dana can toot the horn of "I told you so and Fedor is over rated blah blah f-bomb."

If Fedor destroys Brock then UFC has the best Heavy Weight in the world and lose nothing in the process.

But contracting the Russian to a deal that both parties deem acceptable is no small task. One major issue is the signing over of likeness rights (rumored to be for life) so commonly associated with UFC contracts.

Also for Fedor to compete in his beloved yearly Sambo competition did not seem to be something the UFC was interested in allowing. There are other things in the mix for certain but, Dana White could always start a new reality show called " Contracting Fedor" where he chases Fedor across the globe trying to sign him dropping F-bombs around the world.

See in Japan they would give Fedor whatever he wanted just to get the man to fight because they are damn near guaranteed to sellout any venue he appears at.

Regardless of past negotiations the bottom line is if Dana White wants Fedor then he will have to grab his ankles and say please. Since when has Dana ever done that?

We will all have to endure the legal battle before Fedor fighting in the UFC becomes anything more than a fantasy.