CHESSNOID

It would have been great to see UFC acquire Fedor to fight the UFC  heavyweights.  Of course many American UFC fans who even know about him think Fedor made a poor decision.  There were rumors that the UFC offered him $30 million for 6 fights.  Of course, this was later confirmed to be false.

Why would Fedor not join the UFC if Dana White supposedly offered them everything Fedor wanted?  Fedor seems very reasonable and intelligent.  Many speculate that Fedor’s management made the wrong decisions, but it is more likely that Fedor does have the final say of what he wants or doesn’t want.  Fedor knows that the terms were not what he wanted.

Listen to the videos below.

Dana being himself

Now, seriously, I doubt he offered everything Fedor wanted because otherwise the deal would be made.  One thing he doesn’t offer Fedor is respect.  Dana made claims that Fedor was not up there in skill level and that Sylvia and Arlovski could easily beat him when they were still the UFC champions.  We saw how that ended.

Another thing that most people realize is that Fedor does have options. Dana talks like UFC is the only place to fight.  There are reasons why Randy, Tito, Penn and other fighters talk about why they left and then come back.  The only reason why the UFC pays more now is because of the spot light these fighters put on the money made.

Scott Coker on Affliction Deal, Fedor Emelianenko

Quite frankly,  I don’t think it is a question of money.  Fedor is the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world and for some promoter like Dana to keep opening his trap and talking smack when he isn’t even a fighter is disrespectful.  Imagine if you had an abusive boss like him.  You would quit in a heartbeat.  Also, remember the way he treated Randy Couture when they shortchanged him some bonus money.  Also, when Randy tried to move on, you saw what stall tactics the UFC used.  I know if you are a die hard UFC fan, you only see UFC in a good light.  However, just like everything else, their actions speak louder than their words (lies).

UFC doesn’t need Fedor, but Fedor doesn’t need the UFC.  I would like to see Fedor fight those heavyweights, but I already know he would beat them with ease.  Look at his fight record and see the all the former UFC champions he has beat.  If you listen to any of the respected top MMA fighters opinions, they all say the same thing:  Fedor is the best fighter in the world.  At this point, he has nothing to prove since he considered the best by fans and fighters alike, doesn’t need UFC’s money since he is already rich, and really doesn’t want to get locked up in a perpetual contract.

Time:

According to Fedor, White offered him a UFC deal two years ago. “What they wanted was very rigid,” says Fedor, through an interpreter, during a recent interview in New York City, where he had gone to promote the Aug. 1 fight. In conversation, Fedor is serene, but his narrow eyes are piercing, just like those of one of his biggest fans, Russian Prime Minister (and martial-arts practitioner) Vladimir Putin. “The bottom line was that the UFC was a one-sided offer, and you know, that’s something that can never be acceptable,” he says.

Fedor says White demanded that he fight exclusively with the UFC. Given his stake in his own promotion company, M-1 Global, that would have been a significant sacrifice. Fedor also insists the UFC would have virtually owned him if he won and would have been able to dump him if he lost. “If I was the UFC champion, I would never be able to leave the UFC,” Fedor says. “The contract would just keep extending and extending. But if I lost, they could just kick me out of the UFC.”

Further complicating matters, Fedor also specializes in another form of martial arts called sambo. This judo-like sport was developed for the Red Army after World War I and is now a Russian pastime. Under White’s dictates, says Fedor, he’d have to stay away from sambo. “That’s something I do for the pride of my country and is very important to me,” says Fedor.

TIME asked White to respond to Fedor’s accusations, and he pulled no punches. “Let me put it to you this way. I’ve done fight contracts with all the best fighters in the world,” he said, working his way to the knockout blow. “With big huge superstars — Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, the list goes on and on. Who the f___ is Fedor? Are you serious? The guys who fight for me have a chance to make a lot more money fighting with me than with anybody else. If he signed with us, he’d find his place in history, find out if he really is the best heavyweight in the world. It’s all semantics. It’s all bulls___.” It wasn’t the first time White had used fighting words. At a UFC-fight press conference in April, White said, “Fedor is not the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world … Fedor is at a buffet somewhere in Russia.”

So despite growing pressure from ultimate-fighting fans who want White to sign Fedor, it doesn’t look like the pair will be doing celebratory vodka shots anytime soon. “Fedor doesn’t make or break my business one way or the other, you know what I mean?” says White. “The reality is, I don’t need Fedor.” Still, over the long term, the Fedor-White standoff could leave mixed martial arts much like pro boxing, decimated by warring promoters and fighters, with talent spread across too many divisions for followers to keep count. After all, no sport can keep rolling in the dough if fans keep feeling shortchanged.

My feeling is that the UFC people just hate not being able to buy Fedor like they buy everyone else and that many MMA fans and fighters alike consider him to be the best fighter in the world bar none. That just bothers the heck out of them for some reason. They are making a ton of money already and yet they cry over something they just can’t have because they are little girls.