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2008-02-13 08:50:34
Fedor Emelianenko Publicly Responds to Dana White
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Fedor Emelianenko is pissed, and he's not going to take it anymore.
Fedor has broken has silence regarding the UFC and especially Dana White, and has posted a statement on his management's web site slamming the head president of the UFC.
There was a time when the UFC was aggressively pursuing Fedor and trying to sign him to a contract. Fedor is viewed by many as being one of the top fighters in the world, if not THE top fighter in the world. The UFC was anxious to ink him to a deal, as he would immediately bolster what is probably their weakest division in terms of talent, the heavyweight division. Many fans of the UFC saw a Fedor - Couture fight as a dream fight, and the UFC was anxious to ink Fedor to a contract so that they could make it happen.
The UFC was never able to ink Fedor to a contract. Fedor said that the reason they couldn't get a deal done was because the proposed UFC contract was "too restrictive".
The UFC abandoned hopes of being able to sign Fedor, leading Dana White, the head president of the UFC, to bash Fedor publicly. White said that Emeliankenko "sucks" and that he wasn't a top-five heavyweight, let alone being the best in the world. Interesting words considering that the UFC had been trying to sign Fedor just a month earlier.
Many involved in the UFC were disappointed that they weren't able to land Fedor, as he would have created many interesting match-up possibilities in the heavyweight division. No one was more disappointed than Randy Couture, who cited the lack of a possibility of a match with Fedor as one of the reasons for leaving the UFC.
A proposal was floated as well involving M-1 Global (Fedor's organization) and the UFC co-promoting an event that would have Fedor - Couture as the main event. The UFC wanted no part of this idea, likely thinking that this would benefit M-1 Global much more than it would benefit the UFC.
Finally Fedor had had enough, and posted a statement on his management's web site, saying that he had tired of White slamming him in public and should correct his poor attitude. He also goes on to state that fighting Couture is one of his biggest goals and that he hopes the fight happens one day.
Just another major Mixed Martial Arts star who is unhappy with UFC management. "Cro-Cop" recently left the UFC; Couture left; Fedor wasn't signed; Ortiz is leaving; Sylvia is griping. UFC management needs to do something to stem the tide of high-profile defections from their organization or they won't have much of a roster left at all.
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