In light of recent news that Strikeforce and M-1 Global are in contract renegotiation, I'd like to get some feedback regarding Fedor's current stock value among hardcore MMA fans (i.e., you). Some things to consider:

1) According to M-1 Global, the contract renegotiation has nothing to do with Fedor's pay. M-1 feels that the 50-50 promotional split allegedly outlined in their contract is not being honored. They also contend that M-1 fighters are not getting enough cage-time on the Strikeforce shows.

2) Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has said virtually nothing about the status of Fedor or their relationship with M-1.

While I can appreciate the fact that Fedor and his management team are willing to use their brand power (built solely on the accomplishments of Fedor) to negotiate things in their favor, I wonder if fans aren't quickly losing interest. I also find the parasitic pattern of M-1 Global's business dealings troubling. It seems that any promotion that enters into dealings with M-1 on any level is doomed to failure. M-1 has so far been content to partner with an organization, ask for fight purses that are irresponsible considering the current MMA landscape (which these orgs are foolish enough to agree to and pay), and fight inconsistent levels of competition until the org fails and they move on to the next suitor that has more money than sense.

I'm not saying that M-1 is the only reason these orgs are failing, but they are the common element in a whole series of disastrous partnerships that end in one side hemorrhaging money and M-1 moving along to the next sucker. Where there's smoke there's fire, and all of a sudden Dana White's "crazy Russian" remarks don't seem so improbable.

I had a great deal of respect for Fedor and his team exercising their power and not signing a UFC contract that they were unhappy with, but you can't argue that Fedor's status and legacy will only continue to diminish the longer he remains outside the Octagon. This is especially true if his team is willing to continue cannibalizing other promotions. The fact is that the UFC doesn't need Fedor, and they never have. As fans that's what we want, and the potential is tremendous, but Zuffa is basically printing money right now and Fedor will never be a major factor for casual MMA fans until he's in the UFC.

I have to wonder if things with Strikeforce don't work out and they end up parting ways with M-1, will there be another promoter there to line M-1's pockets? Does anyone see Fedor ever stepping into the Octagon?

Thank you for the post.

I must say that they are really dragging the whole think out into endlessness. Little tired of hearing that Fedor + money + contracts yada over and over. Why dont they simply make a deal that everybody is happy with and shut up and fulfill their contracts in the first place. This bs has nothing to do with MMA as a martial arts sport really and is incredibly boring for the fans.

As far as I understood in the Sirius XM Fight Club, Fedor is part owner of M-1 so that is one of the issues I guess.

I agree with Dent that it is all talk and hardly any action. A true fighter wants to fight and win a title or more. If Fedor wants to prove his status he needs to step into the Octagon with tough opponents. Maybe Fedor should decide for himself what is more important and not just listen to his agents because they just want to earn as much money off of him as they can, knowing he is one of the better MMA fighters and probably the main attraction of SF.

So for me it is also a boring struggle between several organisations that wants to show the rest of the world who has the bigger balls during the negotiations. However he will probably fight in June or so.

But as you say, Fador owns part of M-1 so he might actually be himself the problem, i don't know, maybe he feels he has proven everything in Japan basicly.
And maybe there is just more money in canabalizing other Orgs then actually running a decent one.
Also the question is who are those other owners of m-1? Russion Mobsters? Wallstreet? Russion oil money? Vladimir Putin? and do they actually care about Fedors legacy? And does Fedor care, anymore?

I read something a couple of weeks back that said that Fedor's partnership in M-1 comes to term in the not-too-distant future, so that might change things if he decides not to carry on with them. I'm not sure if that would still leave his financial stake in the company but then he would be free to get new management and/or make new deals without M-1 being a part of it, or whether he would then have no ties whatsoever with M-1, but in either case he may choose to step away from them and escape this co-promoting stuff that's kept him out of the UFC.

I think he still has a very bright future if he wants one. Right now, though, he definately fights too infrequently and then gets injured every time. The recent renegotiations seemed purely like an attempt to grab more cash from SF, but hopefully this June return will go ahead. M-1 blames Strikeforce for that, but without reading the contract we'll never know who is really at fault for the stalling now. However, as Junkie say in their recent article, SF kinda need Fedor's drawing power and some big fights a lot more than Fedor and M-1 need SF right now.

Ultimately, I'm sure that if Fedor and M-1 rocked up the the UFC and said they were willing to do a deal without co-promotion then Fedor would be signed on the spot, so that's hardly a sign that his career is doomed. I'm not someone who says he's been fighting bums recently - yes, there was a spate of those a few years back, but Arlovski and Rogers are very dangerous and even Silvia was thought to be able to give him a fight at the time - but I will agree that he would get far better challenges (and we would get lots more entertainment) if he went to the UFC. The idea of Fedor fighting Carwin for his belt is extremely appealing!

M-1 Global President Vadim Finkelchstein is clearing the air concerning comments he allegedly made about Alistair Overeem and performance-enhancing drugs after the Strikeforce heavyweight champion’s longtime trainer, Bas Boon, recently posted an unflattering account of the Russian promoter and manager on a Netherlands-based MMA Web site forum.

Boon’s post describes Finkelchstein and other M-1 executives as “scam artists” connected to organized crime, questions their managerial ability and gives an unverified account of M-1’s Apy Echteld threatening a Seattle co-promoter’s life.

Boon, a longtime combat sports figure in Holland and head of the Golden Glory fight team of which Overeem hails from, claimed authorship for the post when contacted by Sherdog.com on Tuesday.

“Everything I wrote is true,” Boon told Sherdog.com via e-mail.

Finkelchstein categorized all of Boon’s claims as false and likened them to tall tales.

“This seems like the plot of a particularly hokey children’s detective novel. … Someone taking part in hiring a killer in Russia is something you’d perhaps find in a Nancy Drew novel,” said Finkelchstein through the translation of Evgeni Kogan, M-1 Global’s director of operations. “It seems like the behavior of small children who have some kind of an argument and start threatening each other with all nightmarish things.”

Finkelchtein added that the “hitman” accusations first surfaced seven years ago and that no action, legal or otherwise, had ever been taken regarding it.

Finkelchstein told Sherdog.com on Tuesday that Boon’s campaign against him and his company has been ongoing for years. Finkelchstein said that Boon’s motivation has been recently fueled by his interest in securing a fight for Overeem with Fedor Emelianenko, whom M-1 manages.

“I was very surprised by those comments and the only explanation that I have is that it’s now spring, and it is not clear how spring sometimes affects insane people,” said Finkelchstein, “but this obviously has somehow affected Bas in a way to push him to, essentially out of nowhere, decide that he needs to preoccupy himself (this way).”

Finkelchstein, who has promoted numerous events worldwide under the M-1 banner, said he was most concerned about Boon’s statements that the Russian businessman and his organization had a connection with organized crime.

“That particular accusation concerned me, more than perhaps some of the others, specifically because it’s so blatantly untrue,” said Finkelchstein, who said he’d started working full-time at the age of 14 in Russia. “All of the money which I have earned, I’ve earned through work.”

Finkelchstein pointed to the attendance of former Russian President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at one of his previous M-1 events, as well as members of the Russian government at a recent “Selection” event in Moscow.

“My continuing good relationship with the Russian government is tribute to the fact I’m a respected businessman and have absolutely no ties with crime, whatsoever,” he said.

Still, Finkelchstein was apologetic for comments he’d reportedly made about Overeem, some of which allegedly labeled the fighter a “steroid bully” and claimed that Emelianenko would not fight the Dutch fighter without appropriate pre-fight testing for performance-enhancing drugs. Without addressing any alleged comment specifically, Finkelchstein told Sherdog.com that he had made certain remarks about the fighter off the record that were not meant for print.

“About three or four months ago, I spoke to a journalist who I had a friendship with, who’d call me every day and continuously called me to ask about Fedor fighting Overeem,” said Finkelchstein. “When the conversation happened, it was off the record. I asked why if Overeem was such a great fighter, why didn’t he fight in the states? He hadn’t fought in the states in two years.”

Finkelchstein said he was regretful that the comments had been published without his knowledge or permission.

“I would expressly like to apologize to Alistair for the fact that those comments came out,” said Finkelchstein. “If I knew I was on the record in the public view, I would have never have said anything negative about a fighter. I have no ill will towards Alistair and I know him personally. This was something totally blown out of proportion by the journalist.”

Contrary to recent online reports, Finkelchstein also said that both Emelianenko and his team would not turn down a fight with Overeem if the bout were held in a jurisdiction, stateside or international, where performance-enhancing drug testing is not practiced.

“Testing for performance-enhancing drugs is, as far as I’m concerned, the responsibility of whatever athletic commission in whatever state the fight is going to happen in,” said Finkelchstein. “I don’t think that’s my business at all. I will be perfectly happy with whatever the commission does in regards to that.”

Finkelchstein said M-1 Global would pay close attention to Overeem’s first title defense against Brett Rogers at Strikeforce “Heavy Artillery” on May 15 in St. Louis. Mo.

“Both myself and Fedor are completely neutral when it comes to a fight with Alistair,” he said. “We see him just as we see any other opponent. In terms of practicability, the whole camp is eagerly awaiting the fight between Alistair Overeem and Brett Rogers. Based on the outcome on that, the heavyweight division in Strikeforce will become a lot more clearer and future opponents for Fedor will surface.”