It is looking like a tough, drawn out negotiation is currently going on between M1-Global and the UFC. After the down fall of the Affliction fight promotion, Fedor Emelianenko and his managers at M1-Global were left without a place to fight. Now, it has been confirmed by many sources that M1-Global is pursuing a Co-Promotion set up with the UFC as well as other fight promotions. The UFC, being the industry’s leading promotion and known for their hard core almost monopolistic business tactics are most likely not too interested in Co-Promoting Fedor. However, the UFC may be stuck between a rock and a hard place and are probably looking for some middle ground if possible.
The main reason the UFC might be unusually flexible in this negotiation is that MMA fans around the world are extremely anxious to see Fedor, a man who many consider to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world, take on the UFC fighters they have grown to appreciate. Currently there is no real unity in MMA, meaning that while some people claim that Fedor Emelianenko is the greatest heavyweight fighter in the world, the UFC and many others claim Fedor is not the greatest heavyweight in the world. Until Fedor has a chance to fight the UFC’s fighters, all MMA heavyweight champions will be disputed. For this reason, it is very important for the UFC as a promotion to bring Fedor in to the mix. With Fedor on board, many people who question which MMA promotion has the best heavyweight in the world will be silenced.
