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2008-03-11 02:39:31
Fedor a Free Agent Again?
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It appears as though Fedor Emelianenko's affiliation with the M-1 Global group will be a short one.
The rumors are flying that M-1 is on the brink of collapsing and that their biggest name, Fedor Emelianenko, is set to become a free agent once again.
As you probably know, the UFC made a serious attempt to try and sign Fedor last year. It was a multi-million dollar deal that Fedor's group eventually rejected, calling it "too restrictive".
This led UFC president Dana White to verbally assault Fedor, calling him over-hyped and not even one of the top five fighters in the world, let alone the best.
Now that Fedor is suddenly a free agent again, White is softening his words, saying that he would sign Fedor "in a heartbeat" despite his harsh words towards the Russian fighter.
There will be a couple of different promotions looking to sign Fedor. EliteXC will likely make a play for Fedor, especially given their new television contract with CBS.
At the end of the day though, I would expect that Fedor and the UFC will work out a deal that will make both sides happy. This deal makes sense for both sides. Not only will Fedor be able to cement his legacy by fighting in the UFC, but the UFC will also move one step closer to getting their heavyweight champion Randy Couture back into the fold. Couture has given the inability to fight Fedor as one of the reasons why he is no longer in the UFC. If the UFC can sign Fedor, then look for Couture to come back to the UFC. Obviously this would be a huge money fight for the UFC, so you know that they are anxious to bury the hatchet with both sides and move on.
In the end, the UFC is really the only logical choice for Fedor. They are the only promotion that will be able to give him the type of money that he desires, plus it is the only realistic chance that he has of fighting Couture. There is no way that Couture - Fedor will ever happen outside of the UFC.
Both sides need to swallow some of their pride and make this signing happen. If the UFC signed Fedor to a deal, it would immediately re-energize arguably the weakest division that they have; the heavyweight division. Plus, it would lead to Couture likely rejoining the organization. Then we would likely get our dream fight; Couture - Fedor.
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