M-1 Global: Fedor To Attend June 16 Strikeforce, Open to Overeem Bout

Fedor Emelianenko and his M-1 Global management team are planning for an extended stay in Los Angeles prior to world’s No. 1 heavyweight’s headlining bout against Fabricio Werdum at Strikeforce M-1 Global “Fedor vs. Werdum” on June 26 in San Jose, Calif.

Pending visa approval, Emelianenko will arrive in Los Angeles just prior to June 16, said Evgeni Kogan, M-1 Global’s Director of Operations. Kogan said the Russian heavyweight will arrive in the U.S. earlier than his usual schedule in an effort to spend more time with stateside fans.

In addition to attending Strikeforce “Los Angeles” on June 16 at the Nokia Theatre, Emelianenko has also been slated to appear with EA Sports at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), an annual video game conference held that same week for the industry’s leading trade professionals at the L.A. Convention Center. EA Sports will release its “EA Sports MMA” video game, featuring Emelianenko, the Strikeforce promotion and a considerable portion of its fighter roster in late 2010.

Meanwhile, Kogan said it’s unlikely that the 33-year-old Emelianenko has watched the recent performance of Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem, who stopped Brett Rogers with strikes in his first title defense at Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” on May 15 in St. Louis, Mo.

“Given the usual rituals of Fedor’s trainers, they don’t like him watching (potential) future opponents, or anything violent for that matter in preparation to his fight,” said Kogan.

In Overeem’s post-fight address to the St. Louis crowd, the 30-year-old Dutch fighter stated that M-1 Global had turned down offers to have Emelianenko fight him.

Kogan said those accusations were “categorically untrue” and that Overeem and his Golden Glory team are continuing to “rumor monger” to secure a fight with Emelianenko.

Kogan, who joined M-1 Global’s staff last winter, said that, to his knowledge, an official offer to face Overeem has never been presented to the management team.

“If (Overeem) can point to where Fedor turned down a proposed fight, we’d like to hear it,” said Kogan.

Following the heavyweight champion’s strong performance on May 15, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker voiced his intentions to sit down with M-1 Global following Emelianenko’s bout with Werdum to discuss a title bout. Kogan said his organization, which is co-promoting the June 26 event with Strikeforce, is completely open to talks with its U.S. partner for a potential Overeem-Emelianenko bout.

“His camp is definitely not looking past Werdum,” said Kogan. “They consider him a dangerous opponent. That being said, we have nothing against Overeem as an opponent and we’re completely open to discussing that fight after June 26, if Fedor does well.”

Kogan confirmed that the multi-time Russian Sambo champion hasn’t veered from his usual training regimen in his hometown of Stary Oskol, which is located in an isolated region of southern Russia. The rep said Emelianenko is in final week of the most arduous part of his training.

Strikeforce “Los Angeles” and “Fedor vs. Werdum” will both air live on Showtime.

Dana White Doesnt Want Rogers To Knockout Fedor

Fedor-Rogers Locked for Chicago

Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers are set to meet in a heavyweight main event for Strikeforce on Nov. 7 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, just outside of Chicago, the promotion announced Wednesday.

The event will air on CBS, marking the sport’s return to the major television network since the airing of EliteXC “Heat” in October 2008.

Subscribers to Strikeforce’s Insider newsletter will be able to purchase tickets starting Friday during an official pre-sale at Ticketmaster.com. General sales begin Monday.

The Sears Centre Arena holds 11,800 seats and has hosted IFL events in the past.

Fedor Vs. Mousasi Exhibition, August 28th

Fedor to Strikeforce; UFC Responds

Fedor Emelianenko has signed a multi-fight agreement that will see the world’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight compete for Strikeforce, the promotion announced Monday.

Emelianenko, who became a free agent after Affliction Entertainment canceled its Aug. 1 event two weeks ago, will make his debut on Showtime under a co-promoted Strikeforce/M-1 Global production this fall. Emelianenko was to have faced Josh Barnett at Affliction “Trilogy” on Aug. 1, but Barnett failed a pre-fight test for an anabolic steroid and was refused licensure by the California State Athletic Commission.

"Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world," said Emelianenko in a press release. "I am prepared to fight any of them."

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told Sherdog.com last week that he plans to match the stoic Russian against the likes of Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and the promotion’s heavyweight champion, Alistair Overeem.

“I feel pretty confident that we could give him four or five opponents that would make sense for him,” Coker told Sherdog.com in an exclusive video interview.

Emelianenko, along with his promoters and management team at M-1 Global, had negotiated with the UFC last week, but could not come to an agreement over co-promotion.

"Fedor is a f---ing joke," UFC President Dana White responded Monday after learning that Emelianenko had signed with Strikeforce. “He turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies for no money!"

White also addressed fans: "I feel sorry for the real fight fans. I wanted to make the deal, but it takes two and it is very obvious Fedor doesn't want to fight the best, and doesn't give a sh-t about the fans!"

This article was updated at 3:52 p.m. EST and 7:35 p.m. EST with quotes from Dana White that the UFC's PR Director Jennifer Wenk sent directly to Sherdog.com.

Fedor Emelianenko Signs With Strikeforce, Will debut In Fall 2009

NEW YORK (August 3, 2009)-After a week of intense negotiations and speculation, the hottest topic of discussion in the professional fight world has come to a head as the world’s number one heavyweight and most sought after mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko has signed a historic, multi-fight agreement that will see him headline mega-events co-promoted by world championship promotions STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global.

Emelianenko, known globally as Fedor, will make his premium television debut this Fall when his first fight under the new agreement airs live on SHOWTIME®. Up until now, Emelianenko’s live fights have aired exclusively on pay-per-view in the United States.

“I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level," said the 33-year-old Emelianenko. During his nine year professional fight career, which included a four and a half year stay with the world’s former top MMA promotion, the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championship, the Russian native has faced and defeated all comers.

In his last effort, the 6-foot, 235-pound Emelianenko decimated the number two ranked heavyweight at the time Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski with a single punch in the first round (3:14) of the main event of Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” at Anaheim, California’s Honda Center on January 24.

“STRIKEFORCE is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world,” continued Emelianenko. “I am prepared to fight any of them.”

“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor,” said STRIKEFORCE Founder and CEO Scott Coker, a martial arts fight promoter of over 25 years. “Fedor has been the reigning king of MMA’s heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class.”

“With the addition of Fedor and STRIKEFORCE’s new relationship with M-1 Global, SHOWTIME is now the home of the best pound-for-pound male and female fighters in the world,” said Ken Hershman, Senior VP and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports®. “The Aug. 15 Carano-Cyborg matchup on SHOWTIME will clearly determine the best female mixed martial artist on the planet. Then, come this Fall, our subscribers again will witness history when the universally recognized best male fighter�"Fedor Emelianenko�"joins the already long list of world-class athletes on the STRIKEFORCE roster, and for the first time ever plies his skills live on SHOWTIME.”

Hershman continued: “We are better positioned now than ever before to deliver on our promise to televise the top fighters in mixed martial arts today.”

“I am very happy and excited about the upcoming collaboration with Strikeforce,” said Vadim Finkelchtein, President of M-1 Global. “We are very pleased that we found a reliable partner and I feel that Strikeforce and M-1 can support each other on many things. This will create big opportunities for both parties to test their fighters against worthy opponents.”

Though his official professional record is 30-1, Emelianenko is considered undefeated. The only blemish on his record is a December 22, 2000 fight that was stopped after 17 seconds and declared a TKO in favor of his opponent, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, due to a cut Emelianenko sustained in the opening seconds of the matchup in Osaka, Japan.

Amongst those on Emelianenko’s list of impressive conquests are former PRIDE Heavyweight Champions Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mark “The Hammer” Coleman, and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic as well as former UFC Heavyweight Champions Kevin “The Monster” Randleman and Tim Sylvia, whom Emelianenko submitted with a rear naked choke only 36 seconds into their main event showdown at Affliction: “Banned” on July 19, 2008.

Despite his extensive experience, Emelianenko’s debut under the new STRIKEFORCE-M-1 venture will, interestingly enough, mark his first start in a cage. To date, all of his bouts have taken place in a ring.

After co-promoting two events live on SHOWTIME in 2007 and 2008, STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the premium cable television network.

About STRIKEFORCE
STRIKEFORCE (www.strikeforce.com) is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its “Shamrock vs. Gracie” event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose’s HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, STRIKEFORCE has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with “Shamrock vs. Gracie.” In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of STRIKEFORCE, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

About M-1 Global

M-1 Global (www.m-1global.com) has been one of the leading Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organizations in the world for over a decade. M-1 has promoted over 150 shows worldwide since 1995.
Billed as the “World Cup of Mixed Martial Arts,” the M-1 Challenge is a full season of MMA events that showcases some of the best up and coming MMA fighters in the world. Broadcast to over 90 countries around the world, including HDNet in the United States, the M-1 Challenge pits teams of five fighters representing their respective countries against each other for international bragging rights and the title of M-1 Challenge Champions. Fighters who succeed on the M-1 Challenge’s international breeding ground will earn the opportunity to participate in major MMA events presented by M-1 Global and their promotional partners such as STRIKEFORCE.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

M-1: Fedor Not Offered $30 Million

M-1 Global is denying a report that Fedor Emelianenko turned down a six-fight $30-million deal this week to join the UFC’s heavyweight ranks.

CBS Radio host Carmichael Dave reported Wednesday that Emelianenko had turned down an agreement that would have paid him $5 million per fight. However, Joost Raimond, CEO for M-1 Global, called the report “completely ludicrous” and said negotiations never even reached the point where the number of fights contracted for Emelianenko was decided.

“I can say that the guaranteed -- and the word ‘guaranteed’ is of great importance here -- the guaranteed offer made by the UFC is less than what Fedor made before,” Raimond said. “The five-million (per fight) is way, way, way out of range. Half of that is even way out of range of what they offered.”

Raimond was not present at the meeting that took place between UFC and M-1 management in Los Angeles earlier this week, but he said he was debriefed shortly afterward. M-1 and UFC officials, including president Dana White, reconvened the next day via teleconference call, where M-1 presented a counteroffer that included co-promotion. No written contact was ever presented.

M-1 President Vadim Finkelstein and Emelianenko were en route to Russia Thursday and could not be reached for comment. UFC officials told Sherdog.com that White is also traveling and their earliest comment would come Friday during a media conference call.

Raimond confirmed that M-1 Global had been presented with the possibility to receive a cut of pay-per-view profits in addition to Emelianenko’s guaranteed pay, but he said no other profit-sharing incentives were presented.

“And there were a number of provisions attached to that offer that made it very much less interesting,” Raimond said.

Many of those provisions involved the branding of M-1 within the UFC organization, according to Raimond.

“We made it clear that Fedor, now and forever is part, even part owner, of M-1 and those two cannot be separated,” Raimond said. “If the rest of M-1 is excluded from any kind of deal, it makes the deal difficult.”

Raimond said a title shot against heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar –- in Emelianenko’s first fight or otherwise -- was not specified during the talks. (UFC President Dana White has publicly stated the Russian would challenge for the title in his first bout with the promotion, though.) Raimond also confirmed that the UFC conceded to allow Emelianenko continue to compete in sambo, of which he is a national champion and spokesman, and noted during the meeting that the fighter was free to wear M-1 clothing.

“That’s like telling someone they’re allowed to eat,” said Raimond, suggesting it wasn’t a significant concession.

Raimond noted that the M-1 team was disheartened to learn that “unsubstantiated rumors” had been disseminated, and that Internet readers were willing to believe them at face value.

“Sometimes the fans don’t realize that there is a business to run and all these statements, ‘These M-1 idiots, why don’t they just give Fedor to the UFC because they’ve offered him the best money?’ This is a completely unsubstantiated rumor that the UFC has offered the best money for Fedor ever. This is just not the case.”

Raimond emphasized that negotiations with the UFC had been fruitful, even though the fundamental disagreement over co-promotion between the two organizations remains.

“We had a very professional, productive and respectful meeting with the UFC,” Raimond said. “I think both parties walked away (knowing) even though a deal wasn’t made, that a very decent meeting was had.”