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wotmatt
Alan Shore Of Forums
359 Posts |
 Posted - 08/03/2009 : 11:44:30 AM
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FEDOR SIGNS
World’s No. 1 MMA Heavyweight To Fight
In STRIKEFORCE / M-1 Global Co-Promoted Events
First Fight To Air This Fall, Live on SHOWTIME®
NEW YORK (August 3, 2009)–-After a week of intense negotiations and speculation, the hottest topic of discussion in the professional fight world has come to a head as the world’s number one heavyweight and most sought after mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko has signed a historic, multi-fight agreement that will see him headline mega-events co-promoted by world championship promotions STRIKEFORCE and M-1 Global.
Emelianenko, known globally as Fedor, will make his premium television debut this Fall when his first fight under the new agreement airs live on SHOWTIME®. Up until now, Emelianenko’s live fights have aired exclusively on pay-per-view in the United States.
“I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level," said the 33-year-old Emelianenko. During his nine year professional fight career, which included a four and a half year stay with the world’s former top MMA promotion, the now defunct PRIDE Fighting Championship, the Russian native has faced and defeated all comers.
In his last effort, the 6-foot, 235-pound Emelianenko decimated the number two ranked heavyweight at the time Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski with a single punch in the first round (3:14) of the main event of Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” atAnaheim, California’s Honda Center on January 24.
“STRIKEFORCE is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world,” continued Emelianenko. “I am prepared to fight any of them.”
“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor,” said STRIKEFORCE Founder and CEO Scott Coker, a martial arts fight promoter of over 25 years. “Fedor has been the reigning king of MMA’s heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class.”
“With the addition of Fedor and STRIKEFORCE’s new relationship with M-1 Global, SHOWTIME is now the home of the best pound-for-pound male and female fighters in the world,” saidKen Hershman, Senior VP and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports®. “The Aug. 15 Carano-Cyborg matchup on SHOWTIME will clearly determine the best female mixed martial artist on the planet. Then, come this Fall, our subscribers again will witness history when the universally recognized best male fighter—Fedor Emelianenko—joins the already long list of world-class athletes on the STRIKEFORCE roster, and for the first time ever plies his skills live on SHOWTIME.”
Hershman continued: “We are better positioned now than ever before to deliver on our promise to televise the top fighters in mixed martial arts today.”
“I am very happy and excited about the upcoming collaboration with Strikeforce,” saidVadim Finkelchtein, President of M-1 Global. “We are very pleased that we found a reliable partner and I feel that Strikeforce and M-1 can support each other on many things. This will create big opportunities for both parties to test their fighters against worthy opponents.”
Though his official professional record is 30-1, Emelianenko is considered undefeated. The only blemish on his record is a December 22, 2000 fight that was stopped after 17 seconds and declared a TKO in favor of his opponent, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, due to a cut Emelianenko sustained in the opening seconds of the matchup in Osaka,Japan.
Amongst those on Emelianenko’s list of impressive conquests are former PRIDE Heavyweight Champions Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira,Mark “The Hammer” Coleman, and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic as well as former UFC Heavyweight Champions Kevin “The Monster” Randleman and Tim Sylvia, whom Emelianenko submitted with a rear naked choke only 36 seconds into their main event showdown at Affliction: “Banned” on July 19, 2008.
Despite his extensive experience, Emelianenko’s debut under the new STRIKEFORCE-M-1 venture will, interestingly enough, mark his first start in a cage. To date, all of his bouts have taken place in a ring.
After co-promoting two events live on SHOWTIME in 2007 and 2008, STRIKEFORCE in March 2009 signed a multi-year agreement to stage live MMA events on the premium cable television network.
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wrestlingontap
Denny Crane Of Forums
USA
671 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2009 : 5:18:36 PM
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Fedor Deal Info From MMAWeekly.com
- THE FEDOR-STRIKEFORCE DEAL; UFC COMMENTS
Joost Raimond, Chief Operating Officer for M-1 Global, said the deal to sign Fedor Emelianenko to Strikeforce was completed Monday morning, just before a press release was sent to media outlets. Details of the agreement were finalized in recent days.
Emelianenko, the top-ranked heavyweight fighter in the world, will make his debut for the San Jose, Calif., based promotion sometime in the fall, his first time fighting inside a cage. Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz told MMAWeekly.com that Emelianenko is contracted for three fights.
The news came as an abrupt about-face to earlier reports that Emelianenko and his team were in the process of fielding offers from multiple promotions, including a lucrative proposal from the UFC, which clamored for the Russian’s services last week.
UFC president Dana White had just landed in the United Arab Emirates for the 2009 Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling Championships when he heard the news.
"Fedor is a (expletive) joke, he turns down a huge deal and the opportunity to face the best in the world to fight nobodies for no money!" White commented to MMAWeekly.com via email through a UFC representative.
Raimond said Strikeforce met M-1 Global’s chief demand to co-promote events which Emelianenko fought on.
“It was a good opportunity,” said Raimond. “(The co-promotion) is a substantial part. The whole set-up for the deal is to have co-promotion partners, and of course, Fedor is an important part of that construction. But the co-promotion deal is of great importance.”
Raimond declined to say whether the financial side of Emelianenko’s deal with Strikeforce was comparable or better to other offers.
“All the assumptions flying around about the offer are assumptions made by various people, and are quite unsubstantiated,” he said. “The financials behind his deal are based on a large number of factors, which include the co-promotion and co-branding activities, and Fedor is a part of that total deal.”
When asked whether Emelianenko would fight on CBS this fall, Raimond said, “It would seem that way, yes.”
However, he amended his statement shortly after.
“The timing for that cannot be confirmed,” he continued. “But of course, because of the broadcasting deals Strikeforce has, these things all become very possible.”
Kelly Kahl, Senior Executive Vice President for CBS Primetime TV, said he “wouldn’t rule out” a Strikeforce show on CBS late this year. He said his network had no direct hand in the Emelianenko deal, but stood to gain from it with options the network held to broadcast Strikeforce events.
“This was, quite frankly, a straight Strikeforce deal,” he said. “I don’t believe anything was represented on the part of CBS. Strikeforce and, I would assume, Showtime, get all the credit.”
In the press release issued Monday morning, Strikeforce stated Emelianenko’s first fight would be broadcast on Showtime. Afromowitz said a press conference announcing details on the new relationship was forthcoming.
Raimond said the new deal included plans to co-promote shows with Strikeforce overseas in Europe, where M-1 has conducted most of its shows. He said other M-1 fighters were Strikeforce bound as well, but did not name any names.
“We have a much more international view on the entire business, and Strikeforce is very U.S. domestic oriented, and we have always been much more internationally minded.”
Emelianenko, who returned to Russia Wednesday following a press conference in Anaheim, Calif., said he was happy to have a home again.
“I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level,” he said.
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Fedor signs with Strikeforce
