Fedor / UFC -- FINALLY?

Training
21

[quote]Nikiforos wrote:
slimjim wrote:
Nikiforos wrote:
I agree that Fedor’s legacy is cemented, but the best HW’s, apart from Overeem, Werdum and a couple of others are all in the UFC at the moment. While Fedor vs Overeem and Fedor vs Werdum would be great matches, I think Brock presents the greatest challenge to him at the moment.

Couture would be a good fight too, a rematch with Cro Cop’s always tempting, Carwin, Frank Mir, etc… there are a lot of possibilities. I hope it happens but I don’t think M1 will give up their golden hen easily, something Aleks quite rightly commented on.

Couture needs to retire or juice up again, he looked skinny and slow in the last fight…I realize that Lesnar will make most of the HW division looks skinny and slow, and every time Randy loses we’re calling for his retirement, but Randy did not look like he was good to go in that fight and he can’t fight forever is alls I’m saying.

Other than Mir and Lesnar, the other fighters in the UFC are potentials. None of them have taken the step up in competition to prove that they are ready to challenge for a title. Kongo gets dumped on his ass at will. Carwin and Valesquez still have holes and are relatively unproven. Gonzaga got wasted by Carwin. Interesting matchups no doubt, but they are more ‘let’s see what happens’ than ‘oh wow, that’s an incredible matchup.’ So basically we’re waiting around to see if Fedor fights Lesnar and then Mir? That’s what all the clamoring about Fedor’s supposed ducking is about?

I don’t think he’s ducking anyone… let’s not forget he is a co owner of M1, our Fedor. I just don’t think there’s a need to portray him as this noble soul who is fighting the UFC evil empire… he is doing business, just like the UFC.

If anything, the UFC are the ones who really bent over backwards to make the best fights happen. [/quote]

I don’t think slimjim is trying to present Fedor as noble, he’s just representing the other side of the argument.

Personally, I’d love Fedor to sign with the UFC for no other reason than it basically guarantees 3 Fedor fights per year. I don’t give a shit who he fights, I just want to see him fight.

The one thing I don’t like though is, if he isn’t going to the UFC, stop negotiating with them. I’m sure DREAM or Strikeforce would be happy to sign one off deals if that’s all he wants. Hell, why can’t M-1 actually produce on of their own shows? Set it in Russia (no worries about competitors failing drug tests. lol!), use 8 Red Devil fighters and bring in 8 international opponents.

22

Was I the only one amazed that Fedor was traveling to the US with 35 people from his camp for the affliction fight? Huh? I train at one of the best camps in the country and when our guys travel to a headliner fight, they go with maybe 4 guys. Fedor is traveling internationally with 35! He is like Mike Tyson with his posse.

Think about the cost of 35 people on a round trip from Moscow to LA and then housing them for the event.

$1,000 per ticket for 35 guys = $35,000 just for travel.
$200 a night for 20 rooms (some guys have to share) for 10 days = $40,000 for just rooms at a reasonable hotel in the states.
Meals for 35 guys per at just $75 over a 10 day period = $26,250

Just traveling with this posse is over $100,000. Cut my numbers in half. It is still unbelievable.

The UFC has its issues, but M-1 is living a pipe dream and living off the talent of just one man. Fedor needs the UFC cash card far more than the UFC needs Fedor’s fights. For once Fedor is gone, the UFC will still be putting on fights.

23

Finally, someone who understands me…

24

Was I the only one amazed that Fedor was traveling to the US with 35 people from his camp for the affliction fight? Huh? I train at one of the best camps in the country and when our guys travel to a headliner fight, they go with maybe 4 guys. Fedor is traveling internationally with 35! He is like Mike Tyson with his posse.

Think about the cost of 35 people on a round trip from Moscow to LA and then housing them for the event.

$1,000 per ticket for 35 guys = $35,000 just for travel.
$200 a night for 20 rooms (some guys have to share) for 10 days = $40,000 for just rooms at a reasonable hotel in the states.
Meals for 35 guys per at just $75 over a 10 day period = $26,250

Just traveling with this posse is over $100,000. Cut my numbers in half. It is still unbelievable.

The UFC has its issues, but M-1 is living a pipe dream and living off the talent of just one man. Fedor needs the UFC cash card far more than the UFC needs Fedor’s fights. For once Fedor is gone, the UFC will still be putting on fights.

25

[quote]knutes101 wrote:
Was I the only one amazed that Fedor was traveling to the US with 35 people from his camp for the affliction fight? Huh? I train at one of the best camps in the country and when our guys travel to a headliner fight, they go with maybe 4 guys. Fedor is traveling internationally with 35! He is like Mike Tyson with his posse.

Think about the cost of 35 people on a round trip from Moscow to LA and then housing them for the event.

$1,000 per ticket for 35 guys = $35,000 just for travel.
$200 a night for 20 rooms (some guys have to share) for 10 days = $40,000 for just rooms at a reasonable hotel in the states.
Meals for 35 guys per at just $75 over a 10 day period = $26,250

Just traveling with this posse is over $100,000. Cut my numbers in half. It is still unbelievable.

The UFC has its issues, but M-1 is living a pipe dream and living off the talent of just one man. Fedor needs the UFC cash card far more than the UFC needs Fedor’s fights. For once Fedor is gone, the UFC will still be putting on fights.[/quote]

That’s Fedor. He is the King Shit Supreme. The truth is, he doesn’t need the UFC and the UFC doesn’t need him. The dude is financially set for life. A year or two ago, I heard him say in an interview that he has already proven everything there was to prove to himself, so now it’s strictly about the money.

The guy had a $2.5 million purse for the Barnett fight, doesn’t that pretty much say it all? Who is he going to fight in the UFC? Lesnar who is 3-1? An over the hill Randy Couture? The UFC has some AWESOME talent in the light heavyweight and the lighter weight classes, but the HW division is almost as barren as the one in boxing. If I were Fedor, I would be considering retirement as a valid option.

26

[quote]sexy_animal wrote:
knutes101 wrote:
Was I the only one amazed that Fedor was traveling to the US with 35 people from his camp for the affliction fight? Huh? I train at one of the best camps in the country and when our guys travel to a headliner fight, they go with maybe 4 guys. Fedor is traveling internationally with 35! He is like Mike Tyson with his posse.

Think about the cost of 35 people on a round trip from Moscow to LA and then housing them for the event.

$1,000 per ticket for 35 guys = $35,000 just for travel.
$200 a night for 20 rooms (some guys have to share) for 10 days = $40,000 for just rooms at a reasonable hotel in the states.
Meals for 35 guys per at just $75 over a 10 day period = $26,250

Just traveling with this posse is over $100,000. Cut my numbers in half. It is still unbelievable.

The UFC has its issues, but M-1 is living a pipe dream and living off the talent of just one man. Fedor needs the UFC cash card far more than the UFC needs Fedor’s fights. For once Fedor is gone, the UFC will still be putting on fights.

That’s Fedor. He is the King Shit Supreme. The truth is, he doesn’t need the UFC and the UFC doesn’t need him. The dude is financially set for life. A year or two ago, I heard him say in an interview that he has already proven everything there was to prove to himself, so now it’s strictly about the money.

The guy had a $2.5 million purse for the Barnett fight, doesn’t that pretty much say it all? Who is he going to fight in the UFC? Lesnar who is 3-1? An over the hill Randy Couture? The UFC has some AWESOME talent in the light heavyweight and the lighter weight classes, but the HW division is almost as barren as the one in boxing. If I were Fedor, I would be considering retirement as a valid option.

[/quote]

There are plenty of fighters that could present a challenge to Fedor in the UFC. There’s a few guys who are hungrier, better skilled and more hard working than Barnett IMO despite not having his MMA record. Even the different rules/cage and the fact he would have to fight more frequently would present a challenge to Fedor. Still, I don’t think he is shying away from that. I think he is trying to build his own MMA empire with M1.

27

Oh boy, Strikeforce is throwing its hat into the Fedor ring. If they sign him, I hope the UFC counter programs every one of their shows, and I’m not going to buy a single PPV. I’ll watch it on the internet, but I’m not going to sponsor Fedor’s power trip.

28

[quote]165StateChamp wrote:
Oh boy, Strikeforce is throwing its hat into the Fedor ring. If they sign him, I hope the UFC counter programs every one of their shows, and I’m not going to buy a single PPV. I’ll watch it on the internet, but I’m not going to sponsor Fedor’s power trip.[/quote]

Fedor’s power trip…??

29

[quote]Big_Boss wrote:
165StateChamp wrote:
Oh boy, Strikeforce is throwing its hat into the Fedor ring. If they sign him, I hope the UFC counter programs every one of their shows, and I’m not going to buy a single PPV. I’ll watch it on the internet, but I’m not going to sponsor Fedor’s power trip.

Fedor’s power trip…??[/quote]

M-1’s power trip, his manager’s power trip, whatever you want to call it. The point is Fedor is the face of that group of individuals so he gets the blame from me.

30

I refuse to believe everything the Zuffa hype machine tells us

31

[quote]slimjim wrote:

I refuse to believe everything the Zuffa hype machine tells us[/quote]

I refuse to believe everything the M-1 Global hype machine tells us. They’re trying to save face. I am positive that the UFC did everything in their power to sign Fedor.

32

[quote]165StateChamp wrote:
slimjim wrote:

I refuse to believe everything the Zuffa hype machine tells us

I refuse to believe everything the M-1 Global hype machine tells us. They’re trying to save face. I am positive that the UFC did everything in their power to sign Fedor.[/quote]

Obviously they didn’t do everything in their power. Negotiations still proceeding.

33

Doubt UFC did everything in their power.
I also highly doubt they offered him 30 million dollars for 6 fights.
HIGHLY DOUBT.

34

So what Fedor will get paid 5 million and someone like Brock will get made 500,000? Even if he loses?
Come on…fuckin fighters will protest lol everyone wanna get paid.
Even now I don’t understand how some of these fighters get such low cash out unless they get KO of night or Submission of the night.
I think all fighters in UFC should get paid 100,000 per fight.

Not the undercard…I’m talking main card here.
How on earth can even a newcomer in the UFC only get paid 5 grand to fight?
Events like King of the Cage, Cage Rage…other small MMA organizations…most of the guys had quite a bit of fights in small MMA organizations.
When you make it into the UFC you SHOULD be the cream of the crop and seperate yourself FROM those smaller organizations, which should entail a MUCH higher paycut.

Anyways sorry it was a little off topic but just got it off my mind lol.

35

oh yeah, the UFC payouts for regular, non-main event fighters are a complete joke. These guys are trading in their health big time for payouts that equal a construction worker’s annual salary. When I heard that Frank Mir got $45,000 for the heavyweight belt challenge, I thought…wow, Dana White should be shot.

“He is a hungry young fighter, in fact, he’s fighting for a sandwich”

36

yeah that was retarded man…brock gets half a mill…frank gets 45 grand.
seriously unless your the top guy…and how many fuckin guys do MMA now tryin to be top dog.
it’s very tough to make a living out of fighting…even big muay thai events, kickboxing…unless your WELL known you probably won’t get more than 5 grand per fight. Lots of these guys have multiple jobs though, or run their own school.
But still Frank Mir shoulda got paid 200,000 I’d say.

37

Seems the 30 million wasn’t true and I can’t blame Fedor he still has three fights with M-1 left. In an interview he said we’ll see about the UFC once his contract is expired, with M-1.

38

[quote]slimjim wrote:
The thing is, Fedor is taking a stand against the promotional monopoly that the UFC has on MMA stateside. He is one of the few fighters that could do so, and is apparently willing to take a hit in the pocketbooks to do it.
[/quote]
Says who. This is the biggest piece of shit argument and it gets repeated time and time again by fedor worshipers. It seems pretty clear that M1 is blocking this. There are always a list of excuses and scripted statements about how evil the UFC contracts are, but when it comes down to negotiations it always seems to be about co promotion.

As where many early pride and UFC fighters until the sport caught up to them. To say he was the most dominant HW is easily defended. To say that he is the most dominant HW will soon be a stretch. There simply are not very many interesting match-ups for him outside the UFC. he will quickly become irrelavant in the current HW picture. If he is ok with this, fine. But don’t try and turn this into some crusade against the UFC. It just sounds silly.

There are a career full of interesting match-ups for him in the UFC. I am sad that we will not see at least 5 or 6 fights we won’t see.

[quote]
This is a man who cleaned out the Pride heavyweight division when it was recognized as the greatest in the world. He has no need to fight a 4 and 1 fighter to prove that he is the greatest. If anything, Lesnar needs Fedor to validate his position more than Fedor needs Lesnar.[/quote]
That’s like saying anyone has to beat Sakaraba or Royce Gracie to validate their status as a fighter. Just plain silly. you have to fight the best to be the best. you can’t just decide to quit fighting top competition and say you are still the best. doesn’t work that way.

39

lol well I’m sure Fedor still got lots of gas in the tank…it’s not like he didn’t fight for a decade…he KTFO outta Andre Arlovski just a few months ago.
He WAS supposed to fight Barnett, obviosuly that didn’t go through.
But so far he IS still top dog…of course if he doesnt fight in the UFC blah blah blah…no his legacy will definaetly be known. He really could retire if he wanted to…
I don’t think he’s done his reign yet though…win or lose people want to see him fight…some people want him to lose, some people want him to win and seal the deal on being an absolute legend.
In 5 years if he DESTROYS the WHOLE HW division in the UFC…and the new generation of fighters come 5 years later…he will still be the best…but of course people will hop on the bandwagon that Fedor needs to fight them and win to seal his legacy…it’s a never-ending circle lol.
In conclusion: Hope he just gets in the damn UFC and has some fights.
The end.

40

[quote]dhickey wrote:
slimjim wrote:
The thing is, Fedor is taking a stand against the promotional monopoly that the UFC has on MMA stateside. He is one of the few fighters that could do so, and is apparently willing to take a hit in the pocketbooks to do it.

Says who. This is the biggest piece of shit argument and it gets repeated time and time again by fedor worshipers. It seems pretty clear that M1 is blocking this. There are always a list of excuses and scripted statements about how evil the UFC contracts are, but when it comes down to negotiations it always seems to be about co promotion.

He’s easily the most dominate fighter we’ll see for a long time given the maturation of the sport and the elevated level of competition that mainstream interest has generated.

As where many early pride and UFC fighters until the sport caught up to them. To say he was the most dominant HW is easily defended. To say that he is the most dominant HW will soon be a stretch. There simply are not very many interesting match-ups for him outside the UFC. he will quickly become irrelavant in the current HW picture. If he is ok with this, fine. But don’t try and turn this into some crusade against the UFC. It just sounds silly.

While I am a bit saddened that we may not get to see Lesnar v Fedor, it doesn’t hurt my feelings in regards to his overall standing of all time fighters.

There are a career full of interesting match-ups for him in the UFC. I am sad that we will not see at least 5 or 6 fights we won’t see.

This is a man who cleaned out the Pride heavyweight division when it was recognized as the greatest in the world. He has no need to fight a 4 and 1 fighter to prove that he is the greatest. If anything, Lesnar needs Fedor to validate his position more than Fedor needs Lesnar.
That’s like saying anyone has to beat Sakaraba or Royce Gracie to validate their status as a fighter. Just plain silly. you have to fight the best to be the best. you can’t just decide to quit fighting top competition and say you are still the best. doesn’t work that way.
[/quote]

I’ve told you repeatedly that I hate when people respond in this manner. Simply ridiculous.

How has Fedor not tried to fight the best? His last two fights were against recognized top ten competition and former UFC champions. The fight that just fell through was against Josh Barnett, again one of the top HW’s in the world. Just because North Americans only see UFC fights, does not mean that the UFC belt, or simply UFC competition, is the highest level in the world.

Furthermore, why does Fedor have to sign his life away to compete? Why does he have to give up likeness rights, a non-exclusive contract, and the ability to participate in the promotion (he is part owner of M-1 apparently) ? If he wants to avoid the lockdown such a contract would place upon him, why is that a piece of shit argument? Further, the fact is he is still under contract to M-1 for three more fights. The UFC refuses to co-promote. Fine. But don’t expect M-1 to give up their largest poker chip.

Trust me, all the HW champs from here on out will lose at least 4-5 matches. The competition is ridiculous. Even your hero Lesnar is going to drop a couple in the next couple of years. Fedor hasn’t since a bogus stoppage in 2000. That feat will not be repeated for a long, long time. It won’t be that hard to back up the claim that he was the most dominate HW ever.

Interesting matchups do not equate legitimizing his career. Just because Carwin signed with the UFC doesn’t make him any more legitimate an opponent than Brett Rodgers who sports a similar resume.

I’ve been watching MMA for a long time. While I understand animosity an elitist attitude can engender, the fact is that many of you are blinded by the UFC glitter - much as many were blinded by the same when Pride was viewed as the number 1 org. I appreciate that the UFC is the premier organization at this point in time, but there are plenty of fighters that exist outside the UFC realm that would absolutely wreak havoc on their respective divisions.