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Fedor Wants Out Of M-1, Dana White “I Would Sign Fedor”
By CagE | March 6, 2008
I bet you didn’t see this one coming, ESPN the Magazine has announced that Fedor Emelianenko will be a free agent as of next week.
Here’s a statement by Fedors agent, Apy Echteld:
Apy Echteld, one of Emelianenko’s agents, confirmed what a source close to the situation previously told The Magazine: M-1 Global and Emelianenko will part ways some time in the next week, making the Russian a free agent. Divorce negotiations are ongoing right now, with a formal announcement likely for in the next few days. “Officially, yes, Fedor will be a free agent,” Echteld says
Echteld about negotiating with the UFC:
If everybody is willing to put a little wine in the water, then we have something to work with. There is space for this to happen.
Dana White comments:
“I like Randy, I genuinely like to think he’s a good guy,” White says. “As much as we’ve gone back and forth on this, I would sign Fedor and do everything possible to get Randy in the octagon with
him. I’d do anything, because a., it’s a great fight and b., I think Randy would smash Fedor.”
Randy Couture vs. Fedor Emelianenko a possibility?
Topics: M-1, News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) | 39 Comments »
March 6th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
holy shit that would be awesome if randy and fedor were back in the ufc but wouldnt randy have to fight the interim champ first????
dana should let fedor still fight sambo and everyone will be happy unless fedor just really is dodging serious competition. eventually it will look like fedor just wants to remain eating up nobodys.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Couture All the way!!!… I can’t Imagine the man that takes Couture….Champ for all,Champ forever!!!
March 7th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Couture needs to stop DUCKING Nog. Nog/Fedor III again.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:43 am
“DUCKING Nog.”…..lol…You never stop with that do you Robert?…That’s too funny. Dane has a point though, If the fight were to happen in the UFC I think Randy would have to face Nog first. Does anyone else see it differently?
March 7th, 2008 at 3:28 am
I think Randy is past his prime and will get his arse whooped by either of them.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Fedor in the UFC we can only hope.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:09 am
MMA is more important than the UFC… I thinking Fedor joining the UFC would be bad (even though the Randy fight could happen)
Recent weeks have lead me to beleive that the Sport of MMA was going to outgrow the UFC dominance – With new Japanese Shows starting up in the tradition of Pride, Elite XC doing well and a number of Big name Fighters declining to Join the UFC or talking about leaving etc…
The best thing for the sport is healthy competition between a few top tier promotions… with diifering fight rules…
to view MMA confined within UFC paramaters is consticting… & the UFC is prodominently an American promotion rather than a Global one
I miss the Old Pride Days and the Pride rules…
I personally would like to see Fedor & Randy fight in a roped ring with Pride Rules!… in front of 60,000 in Sitama super arena!
March 7th, 2008 at 5:06 am
No, Couture would no have to fight Nogeria first. The fact is UFC has no mandatory rules as I have seen, the rules are made as Dana White makes them up. He usually does what puts money in the UFC’s pocket and that would be Couture vs Emelianenko. (DanP) I like the idea of several dominate MMA entities and fights between them, but as you have seen UFC, the current best in MMA, is very reluctant to do so, thus limiting the chance for the best fighters to fight unless under one roof. (Robert) Nogeria was getting the hell beat out of him til a miracle submission saved him against Silvia. Couture dominated phisically and mentally Silvia and would beat Nogeria will no problem. The only pride fighter who has done anything in UFC is Rampage and his days are numbered. Speaking of Pride’s weakness and ducking “TAKANORI GOMI” will never come to the UFC because he knows B.J. Penn is here. The supposed best LW was destroyed by Penn the last time they fought and after the fight asked Penn to be his Sensei he was dominated so badly. Regardless, Couture vs Emelianenko is the only heavyweight fight worth watching as I am SICK of watching the worthless freak-shows such as Kimbo, Tank Abbott, Bobb Sapp and Brock Lesnar to name a few due to the lack of real quality heavyweights.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:33 am
Couture would beat the snot out of Nog in my opinion….I think it would be best for Couture to come back and whoop Nog’s ass before fighting Fedor. I hope this gets done and we can see a Fedor vs Couture fight finally!!
March 7th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Didn’t Randy say himself that he gave up the belt? Therefore, he doesn’t have to fight Nogueira who is really the champion right now. Then the winner of Fedor/Couture would be allowed to fight for the title. But I would guess Randy wouldn’t even if he won. He says he is ready to retire after that one last notch in his gun.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Im suprised to read about this. Fedor has said he wont sign a contract with UFC because it was too exclusive and he wants to continue fighting in russia. Randy has allegedly signed a deal with HDnet fights starting from when his UFC contract expires so maybe Dana White and Zuffa are going to miss out on this aswell if neither party wants to work for UFC. But i suppose it comes down to money, and since this fight has been hyped up so much without it even been signed then Dana will have to push the boat out and give these 2 some huge paychecks because there is alot of promotions out there with the money to make this happen.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:10 am
also (danP) while i agree that this sport is bigger than 1 promotion i dont think differing rules will be healthy for the sport. You dont see different rules in other combat sports very often and once MMA is more widely recognised and fighters are coming and going with different promotions the rules may become confusing to the casual fan.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Luke, I see what you mean… 1 definitive set of rules would make the sport very clear.
But, I do think the variety makes things more interesting for the spectator and an interesting challenge for the fighters when moving around promotions.
The thing is, there are things I like about both UFC & Pride rules… For instance in Pride it was annoying when the fighters had to be moved cos they might fall out of the ring (but the roped ring made kicks on the ground possible)… Where as Elbows on the ground in the UFC have finished off fighters not used to those rules (Cro cop) and the cage makes kicks to a downed apponent out lawed.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:03 am
D White is full of crap he was on surius ch 123 fight talk every Tues 8am/12noon pt check it out for those who have surius, in january talking shit ,about how fedor was weak he has really fought anybody. Man that’s some Bull for u. now he’s kissing ass saying i would love to sign him. U had ur chance Fedor didn’t wont to sign because he didn’t want to be owned. He’s stated that in other interviews. Unless Fedor signs one big money fight and break the owning thing of 3yrs, The other fighters in UFC better pay attention.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:06 am
They can have a street fight for all I care, I just wanna see this fight finally happen!
March 7th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Genno, it will happen on M.Cuban’s new Fight Promotion thing he working on, He already has couture by helping him with his injuction. Now he’s going to get Fedor. Wacth and wait. (Theory of mine)
March 7th, 2008 at 9:42 am
heres dana chance to fix alot of problems, the hw devision was starting to look weak if fedor comes it could bring alot of fighters back.i don’t know that i beleave this will happen yet i hope dana loosens up a bit on the contract.i agree that randy would have to give up his title witch he already said nog would be champ and fedor and randy could fight.i could also see fedor signing with hdnet or dream they don’t have as many hw’s as ufc but are willing to cross promote so they could find match ups for him.i do beleave this will affect the ufc hw devision if fedor goes else where hw’s know thats a big fight for them out of the ufc if he signs i think alot of them will want to stay in the ufc because thats where the comptition will be.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:12 am
thank god..this fight is going to happen
March 7th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Really excited if Fedor could possibly be in the UFC…But I think Randy would have to fight Nog before he was allowed to fight Fedor because Nog is the interim champ…I’m sure Randy would do that if it meant he could fight Fedor, belt or not. I WANT TO SEE THIS MORE THAN FIGHT EVER!!!!!!!!!
March 7th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I kinda agree with DanP. It sounds like a weird pipe dream, but I’d like to see the current top 15 fighters in each weight class all fight in the UFC. In the meantime, I’d like to see one merger/consolidation of the ‘other’ top 5 or 6 MMA promotions worldwide with the rest of the fighters out there. I think after a few fights/tourneys, you’ll see this new UFC rival be stronger and better seeded worldwide with younger fighters. I’m sure a few real superstars will rise to the top. Any thoughts? besides the fact that no ways will you get the other 5 or 6 top MMAs to merge or sell.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
they only thing i can see is that fedor is probably trying to bait a one fight contract to fight couture. i don’t see fedor ever signing a multiple fight deal with the UFC.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I bet UFC is willing to give him a one fight contract at this point. Keep Cuban from making the play that could put him on par immediately. Plus, they can make nice with Randy at the end of his career. And, get the most wanted fight of all time.
March 7th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
hopefully dana will make it happen 1 fight deal or whatever, randy will not have to fight nog first(it would be nice) .dana makes his own rules and rankings so its whatever he wants to do.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I don’t blame Fedor for leaving M1 because they did not look like they were working to develop the company and banked all of their name on him alone.
I can see him fighting a one fight deal too but I wouldn’t be suprised if he signs on with the UFC because he could probably immediately fight Nogiera for the HW title.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Okay we’ve all been talking about how great a fight this is, but now i want to know who everyone wants to win, not about who they think will win but who they want to. I like fedor, how can u not, but Im goin with the natural on this one because hes one of my all time favoirtes and always comes to fight
March 7th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
i like randy better as a fan but i don’t think he will win this fight,it would not suprize me if he did and it would not suprize me if fedor dominated him.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Brandon i want Randy to win but either way it would happen I think they have to sign Fedor for at least to fights just in case he would win that way the winner has to face Nog.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I want a great fight with Fedor’s hand raised at the end. But I want Randy to bring it to him and make him work for the victory. Thats my ideal outcome for that fight if it happends.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Dont matter who wins.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I want randy to win.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
If Fedor signed with the UFC and I hope he does, then we should get to see a unification fight between Fedor and Couture. Nog would still be the interim champion and would fight Frank Mir. Couture would retire after the Fedor fight win or lose, so if he lost, Nog vs. Mir winner would fight Fedor. If Couture beat Fedor then the Nog vs. Mir winner would be the champ.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
mir doesnt deserve a title shot after the shitty performances he has had lately then a win over someone in their second mma fight he needs atleast another good win before we start talkin crazy like that. if they resign arlovski it should be his or it should be the winner of vera/werdum
March 8th, 2008 at 8:40 am
Give it up man. Arlovski is gone! Don’t you think I know Arlovski would ge the first shot if were still in the UFC? As for Mir, he never lost his belt. He has to forfeit it, because of his injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. He wasn’t the same fighter when he first came back. Now he is back to his old form and more dangerous than ever. In my oppinion the best bjj specialist in the heavyweight division.
March 8th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I’m hoping that the UFC inks Fedor and gives him the first shot at Nogiera for the title.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
[...] reported last week that Fedors manager was claiming that the disputed pound for pound top heavyweight in the world, would likely be a free [...]
March 25th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
let fedor fiht nog in the cage and gve hima little cage experiece cause i doubt randy wants any of fedor in a ring.
April 14th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
i agree with jason hughes, no one wants to fight fedor in a ring! r u matt hughes brother?
March 24th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
[...] Fedor Wants Out Of M-1, Dana White “I Would Sign Fedor” [...]
March 24th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
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