man that everyone wants on their
show, the flegmatic Fedor. No sooner had The real prize to be had in
Affliction closed the door than discussions
between Dana White and Vadim Finkelstein,
this debacle are the services
Fedor’s manager, began, with the view of
putting together the fight that everyone
of Fedor Emalienko.
wants to see—Fedor vs. Lesnar for the UFC
heavyweight strap. The fight that would see
a single, uncontested world heavyweight
champion emerge. Alas, negotiations quickly
fell apart, partly due to the intransigence of
Finkelstein, but no doubt Fedor’s manager
About face: Fedor turns
down the UFC’s offer and
opts for Strike Force
has his reasons. Luckily, Fedor is not yet on
the benefit line, since he has signed with
StrikeForce. It is perhaps this organisation,
an emerging competitor for the UFC, who
has come out on top of the Affliction fiasco.
Ken Hershman, Vice president of Showtime,
the Californian organisation’s broadcast
partner, summed up their delight at the
new acquisition perfectly when he told the
press “Showtime is now the home of the
best pound-for-pound male and female
fighters in the world”, referring, of course, to
Fedor and Gina Carano. When considered
alongside their other powerful arm, the
FEDOR IN THE UFC
THE SELF DEFLATING RUMOUR
Following the cancellation of Affliction Trilogy, it was Fedor’s feel sorry for the real fans! I wanted to make the deal but it takes
manager, Vadim Finkelstein, who started talk of the Russian hea- two and it is VERY obvious Fedor doesn’t want to fight the best
vyweight competing in the UFC. “We are ready to conduct ne- and doesn’t give a [expletive] about the fans.” Fedor will no
gotiations. Of course, it still doesn’t imply we are ready to accept doubt appreciate his thoughts on the matter.
any conditions they’ll throw at us. We want to talk to the UFC
about having Fedor compete against some of their fighters”...
Dana White and Zuffa jumped at this opportunity to once again
take up negotiations, which had failed so many times in the past,
going as far as making what Vadim called “a generous offer”. But
Finkelstein would only accept to negotiate under the condition
of co-promoting his star’s future fights in the UFC. A proposition
that Dana White quickly swept from the table with palpable
annoyance: “Maybe that shit works in Russia, but it doesn’t work
here.” Translated into Russian that is equal to a single word: Niet!
But it wasn’t until he learned of Fedor’s signature on the Strike-
Force contract that the Boston native let his fury fly: Fedor is a
[expletive] joke, he turns down a huge deal and the opportunity
to face the best in the world to fight nobodies for no money. I
68
FightSport UK 12 FINAL.indd 68 21/08/2009 12:04
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