View Full Version : Fedor wants in the UFC?
“I can tell you the timing of my next bout right now,” said Emelianenko. “It’s going to be June or July.” Fedor further stated, “Of course, I want to compete at home, in front of my countrymen,” “But at the moment, the strongest and most respected MMA organization is situated in America. It’s the UFC. Therefore, I have to go to the US in order to face the strongest opponents.”
In an interview with Sportbox.ru, legendary MMA heavyweight, Fedor Emeliankenko gives some insight as to where he sees his future in mixed martial arts. After dropping three consecutive losses during his Strikeforce tenure, the former Pride champion is now riding a two fight win streak and looking for stronger opposition. However, despite various reports of Fedor possibly facing Cain Velasquez or Josh Barnett, nothing has been decided on just yet, although Fedor did confirm that both options are being discussed.
“I really sympathize with Josh, and we’ve been friends for a long time,” he said. “Perhaps, he is the only fighter whom I wouldn’t want to meet in the ring.”
Will we finally see the Last Emperor inside the octagon?
Anybody want to see it? Think Dana would go for it, if only to try and "show the world" once and for all? I'd like to see it still, see how he fares, put him in with a "mid-card" guy, see if there's any money to be made at all etc
Kris P Lettus
03-07-2012, 04:48 PM
If this was 2-5 years ago then WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..
Now, it's kinda meh..
Fedor is completely washed up.
So it wouldnt be anything interesting to see.
Any of the top guys in UFC would have an easy time with him.
weather vane
03-07-2012, 05:03 PM
I would love to see this.
Savio
03-07-2012, 06:05 PM
Past his prime, Dana would only bring him in to get his ass kicked
Next Big Thing
03-07-2012, 06:10 PM
Fedor's a waste of time at this point and just trying to save face after getting tapped out, smashed out and knocked the fuck out. He had the chance to fight in the UFC and walked away from the deal. He didn't want to fight Overeem when he was the SF champion and was constantly renegotiating his contract terms, but now he wants to fight the best. Riiiiigggggghhhhhhhttttttt.
could everybody not named the right honourable Spilchuk please stop stating the obvious and mention whether we'd like to see it happen or not and if so do what with him etc please that'd be great thanks yeahhh
Shaved Monkey
03-07-2012, 06:19 PM
Apparently Tim Sylvia's been campaigning for a shot back in the UFC too. Make Fedor/Sylvia and the winner gets to hold onto a shred of dignity.
best part of Slyvia's "plea" was all of his talk about these fights between him and Brock and him and Cain that "everybody wants to see". Bless him and his gargantuan cranium
weather vane
03-07-2012, 06:31 PM
I would let Tim Sylvia back too. He is a former champion and what is the harm? Give him one shot to stay in the UFC and if he loses he's cut. If he wins then what the hell, he deserves to be there.
Fedor can still actually draw so I do not see why the UFC wouldn't take him. Put him up against a guy like Brendan Schaub/Roy Nelson or something...
I would love to see Fedor in the UFC. The thing it's not Fedor himself who has kept him out of competing in the UFC but his management. Even Dana has said something similar to that effect.
Crimson
03-07-2012, 08:22 PM
I think they should bring him in. No question. Hype him up , but put him against someone he has a chance at beating. If he gets squashed then no biggie, he wasn't expensive to sign. But if he wins , just keep the ball rolling. In other words good outweights bad
I once thought Randy Couture was washed up.
I want to see him in UFC, but give him a chance to get in a groove. Don't toss him in with Dos Santos or Velazquez or Overeem. Brock maybe... But let him build some momentum off guys like Mir, Nelson, or Kongo.
Next Big Thing
03-08-2012, 06:57 AM
I think they should bring him in. No question. Hype him up , but put him against someone he has a chance at beating. If he gets squashed then no biggie, he wasn't expensive to sign. But if he wins , just keep the ball rolling. In other words good outweights bad
The problem with this once again is his management. If the UFC puts in all this hype for him and gives him a can to crush, it would only be a matter of time before his management pulled the same shit they pulled in Strikeforce and try to re-negotiate and hold out. And if Dana doesn't give in to their demands, they can simply say that the UFC saw what Fedor did to "insert bottom tier heavyweight here" and are too scared to push him further. And all the stupid Fedor marks will agree. He's a big headache and not an appealing draw anymore.
Next Big Thing
03-08-2012, 06:59 AM
I once thought Randy Couture was washed up.
He pretty much was after 2008.
Krimzon7
03-08-2012, 07:24 AM
Who the fuck is Fedor??? Literally and figuratively... Seriously, this guys management is the death of him in the UFC. I could care less about any matchups involving him and any roster guy the UFC has
Mr. JL
03-08-2012, 08:29 AM
The only chance he has to be in the UFC is if he drops his M-1 management.
The guy was beat three times straight and beat up two sub-par opponents.
Like everyone has said before me, he gets into the UFC and maybe wins. Then he'll want to renegotiate his deal. Not worth the hassle.
Krimzon7
03-08-2012, 08:56 AM
Fedor has collected his last Check from Zuffa...
Next Big Thing
03-08-2012, 10:00 AM
I agree with Mr. JL. If he dropped his management I think Dana would be open to working with him. I'm pretty sure M-1 is Russian mob though, so I doubt that will happen.
Jordan
03-08-2012, 01:18 PM
I know Dana loves to talk shit about Fedor, but if they talked face to face and smoothed out the past I have no doubt they would do this. Fedor is the greatest heavyweight fighter in MMA history and I personally do not think that all of his best days are behind him. He suffered three losses, however there is no telling what is going on or was going on in his personal life that could have distracted him. I personally do not think it was the level of competition that beat him, but himself.
I'd say bring Fedor in against Roy Nelson and see what he has, he's only 35.
Funky Fly
03-10-2012, 07:04 PM
There's no smoothing things out with M-1. They're bad for mma.
Would love to see him and Sylvia on a HW TUF :lol:
Funky Fly
03-13-2012, 05:47 AM
Blank stares a plenty on that season.
Pity Party Arnie
03-13-2012, 01:21 PM
The UFC can make alot of money introducing and selling Fedor to the fans. Call him "washed up" all you want, but the man is legendary. Feed Roy Nelson of Cheik Kongo to him for starters, and take it from there. Even if he loses, it will represent lucrative gates for the UFC.
The UFC can make alot of money introducing and selling Fedor to the fans. Call him "washed up" all you want, but the man is legendary. Feed Roy Nelson of Cheik Kongo to him for starters, and take it from there. Even if he loses, it will represent lucrative gates for the UFC.
What will be the point of signing him and having either
a) Fedor gets beat by some past his prime talent
b) Fedor beats some past their prime talent
Neither is impressive....
Pity Party Arnie
03-13-2012, 02:29 PM
Impressive to the UFC is how much $ they can make off his back. I think it's a no-brained for Dana White and the UFC to sign him.
Kris P Lettus
03-13-2012, 02:59 PM
Maybe let him fight Lesnar in a loser leaves town match??
In all seriousness, Any of the top tier UFC HW's (Dos Santos, Cain, Overeem) would smash Fedor now..
Kris P Lettus
03-13-2012, 03:01 PM
I don't think the Affliction shows "sold" Fedor to the US casual fans.. Most people don't know what M-1, DREAM, or Pride FC are, as sad as that is..
weather vane
03-13-2012, 03:06 PM
Anybody can win at any time... He is still a big name and is somebody people want to see in the UFC. I don't see how this is a bad thing at all.
Kris P Lettus
03-13-2012, 03:18 PM
Fedor Wants To Fight In Russia, Knows Best Are In The UFC
Posted on Mar 12, 2012
By Chris Howie
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer
Although it may seem like yesterdays news, Fedor Emelianenko discussed the UFC this week while speaking to Sportsbox.ru and talked about his desire to fight at home in Russia as well as the top promotion in the world:
"I want to compete at home, in front of my countrymen," the Last Emperor stressed. "But at the moment, the strongest and most respected MMA organization is situated in America. It's the UFC. Therefore, I have to go to the US in order to face the strongest opponents."
At one time Fedor was the most sought after fighter in the world but bad management lead to back to back losses in the Strikeforce promotion. It's unlikely at this point that Dana White would even be open to signing the former Pride Heavyweight Champion but it wouldn't be a stretch if the terms were right.
Fedor, who has fought anyone put in front of him, also told the site that he would not want to fight Josh Barnett as the two are good friends:
"I really sympathize with Josh (Barnett), and we've been friends for a long time," he said. "Perhaps, he is the only fighter whom I wouldn't want to meet in the ring."
Leave your feedback on this article by posting a comment directly below! You can also chat about the latest news in the MMANEWS.COM Forums and/or the MMANEWS.COM Facebook. If that wasn't enough, MMANEWS.COM is now on Twitter as well @mmanewsdotcom.
Kris P Lettus
03-13-2012, 03:19 PM
Anybody can win at any time... He is still a big name and is somebody people want to see in the UFC. I don't see how this is a bad thing at all.
Bring back Cabbage!!
Funky Fly
03-13-2012, 03:53 PM
Anybody can win at any time... He is still a big name and is somebody people want to see in the UFC. I don't see how this is a bad thing at all.
He has M1 (AKA the Russian Mob) attached to him. That's a very bad thing.
Also, I like how that article Krispy posted blames bad management as the reason Fedor lost 2 fights back to back. M1 is cancer, sure, but they're not in the cage fighting with him.
I'm confident Fedor can beat the guys he lost to. Unless you're pretty damn good then anyone can beat anyone. Does Overeem, Dos Santos, etc have better odds on beating Fedor? Probably. He can knock out anybody, he can submit, but I feel like he needs better competition. It's like what they say, steel sharpens steel or whatever. He hasn't had great competition and M-1 probably has some say in that and a fighter with a true warrior spirit and a competitive edge will always want to fight the best. Fedor knows the top talent is in the UFC.
MMA fans that weren't wrestling fans knew jack shit about Brock Lesnar. Or maybe most MMA fans watched wrestling too, I don't know but since he came into the UFC and they made a big deal about him and he made a huge impact then every MMA fan knew about him. If Fedor could have the same exposure and make some impact then here comes the money train.
For the naysayers, if he can put on some good shows then everyone wins. If he loses badly then he will be cut and fade away like you wanted. If he does good then that's better for the UFC and entertainment in general.
Funky Fly
03-13-2012, 06:26 PM
I'm confident Fedor can beat the guys he lost to. Unless you're pretty damn good then anyone can beat anyone. Does Overeem, Dos Santos, etc have better odds on beating Fedor? Probably. He can knock out anybody, he can submit, but I feel like he needs better competition. It's like what they say, steel sharpens steel or whatever. He hasn't had great competition and M-1 probably has some say in that and a fighter with a true warrior spirit and a competitive edge will always want to fight the best. Fedor knows the top talent is in the UFC.
MMA fans that weren't wrestling fans knew jack shit about Brock Lesnar. Or maybe most MMA fans watched wrestling too, I don't know but since he came into the UFC and they made a big deal about him and he made a huge impact then every MMA fan knew about him. If Fedor could have the same exposure and make some impact then here comes the money train.
For the naysayers, if he can put on some good shows then everyone wins. If he loses badly then he will be cut and fade away like you wanted. If he does good then that's better for the UFC and entertainment in general.
When Lesnar was getting into MMA around 2006/7 there were way fewer people watching MMA and way less crossover appeal among fans.
As for Fedor, I don't know. He's not young anymore and it's become apparent that he's considerably less than unstoppable when he's in there against someone who knows what the fuck they're doing these days (see his 2 recent losses and the almost loss against Arlovski way back).
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