Issue 031
November 2007
Contract circus builds around free agent Fedor
Fedor Emelianenko’s position as a free agent has become increasingly frustrating for fans, as there remains no sight of the Russian fighting any time soon.
Formerly under contract to Pride FC, Fedor fought one fight for BodogFight in his homeland against Matt Lindland in April.
Since then there has been no activity, with fans left scratching their heads as to his position. The management team responsible for looking after Fedor Emelianenko, a man universally thought of as the top heavyweight fighter in the world, have been on a tour of the US looking for potential interest. Vadim Finkelstein and Apy Echteld have travelled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and on to Dallas touting Fedor’s services.
EliteXC, Thethe International Fight League (IFL), Strikeforce and K-1 HERO’s are among
the organisations thought to have met with the management team, as well as Mark Cuban, the owner of the Basketball team Dallas Maverick, who has recently announced his own start-up promotion on his TV network HDnet.
The duo of Finkelstein and Echteld also met with Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), yet discussions failed to yield any result. Dana White described his contract negotiations with Fedor’s management as difficult, calling the heavyweight’s handlers “crazy Russians”.
The UFC seems the most logical destination for the number one heavyweight, though the main factors preventing them signing him are guarantees that fellow members of the Red Devil Fight Team would be signed by the UFC, that Fedor be allowed to fight in Russian Sambo tournaments and that a show be hosted in Russia, with promoting rights being split with his managers. It is thought that Fedor’s team have been offered fight purses of at least US$1.5m by the UFC, the highest of any fighter on the UFC roster.
Fedor’s principal manager, Vadim Finkelstein, is promoter for M-1 MixFight and has long put on successful MMA events in cities such as
St Petersburg. He co-promoted the BodogFight
event that Fedor appeared on, which even drew a ringside appearance from Russian premier Vladimir Putin.
His partner Echteld said “For us it sounds reasonable. We are promoters ourselves; we know how it is to work as promoter, so we think we know how to treat or how to deal with a champion. Fedor doesn’t want to be compared to a nobody who is going to start fighting. He is already champion. I think the UFC has all our points and we expect them to respond to that, not that we have to push and ask for answers.”
Babalu released from UFC Contract
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) have announced that following Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral’s actions in his victory over David Heath at UFC 74, he has been released from his contract.
Sobral caused controversy when he was slow in releasing an Anaconda choke from a heavily bloodied Heath. There was tension at the weigh-ins when Heath wore a T-shirt with Sobral’s mug shot from his recent arrest for battery and trespassing (see Issue 29).
Sobral went on to brutalise Heath throughout the bout, opening a huge cut on the Oklahoman’s forehead during the second round, before securing the submission. However, Ref Steve Mazzagatti had to pry the Brazilian off the prone Oklahoman after he had
tapped out and then passed out. This caused instant outrage with UFC Colour Commentator Joe Rogan saying that he felt Babalu had “purposely punished David Heath” while boos rained down from the crowd. This
led to the Nevada State Athletic Commission withholding Babalu’s $25,000 win purse as criticism came from all angles.
Sobral has released a statement in which he says: “I am deeply sorry for any embarrassment that has been brought upon the sport, other mixed martial artists (especially David Heath), my Academy and most importantly, my family.”
Dana White has not ruled out a return to the UFC for the Brazilian but for now it looks like ‘Babalu’ is a free agent.
Web: www.ufc.com
ProElite have announced
the acquisition of UK’s top home-grown mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Cage Rage. The move comes as ProElite embarked on a spending spreee that saw them buy US-based promotion King of the Cage and Hawaii’s ICON Sport. The existing promoters, Andy Geer and Dave O’Donnell will continue to manage operations of the event. The move will benefit Cage Rage in that aside from added investment and pay per view segments on their shows there will be extensive ‘sharing’ of fighters between the various promotions that come under the EliteXC banner. It remains to be seen what international talent could be seen on UK shows as a result of the acquisition, although Cage Rage can be assured a raise in their international profile as shows have the potential to be viewed live through www.elitexc.com.
Web: www.elitexc.com
James Thompson joins Team Xtreme Couture
Pride FC and Cage Rage veteran James Thompson (14-7) has left Trojan Freefighters to join Team Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
Thompson, who has struggled to win in the UK in two years, despite success in Japan, makes the move stateside to train alongside a multitude of UFC, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and Elite XC veterans.
The 120kg fighter told Fighters Only that “Leaving Trojan was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made because of the friendships I’ve made and the top class training there is at Trojan. However, the deciding factor is the fact that there are no big guys to spar [with] in the UK and that’s what I need right now, so I decided to relocate.”
Thompson also said “I would like to thank everyone at Trojan for all their time and effort and hope everyone understands”.
Charlie Joseph, Head of Team Trojan, commented: “From a purely objective point of view I feel he can only benefit from a move to Randy’s and will be pleased if Randy can help him progress.
“Time will tell if James has the makings of anything greater than what he is now, but for our part we can take pride in the knowledge that we managed him well and raised his profile to a level that I doubt few others could have achieved.”
Web: www.xtremecouture.tv
Tito vs Rashad The rematch
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz (15-5-1) and Rashad Evans (10-0-1 MMA) will likely rematch each other in November.
The pair fought to a draw at UFC 73 in July in a close contest that saw Ortiz docked a point for fence grabbing.
Originally the fight was expected to take place in Cincinnati on UFC 77, but Ortiz’s contract renewal negotiations have pushed the fight back to November 17th in Newark, New Jersey.
A formal announcement has yet to be made but both camps are preparing for the contest in November, indicating the fight is expected to go ahead.
Web: www.ufc.com
Heavyweight Imes scores Gogoplata
Brad Imes, the 6’10” The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 heavyweight runner-up,
scored a rare gogoplata victory over Zak Jensen in the first round of their fight in Minneapolis.
Imes joins Shinya Aoki and Nick Diaz in the small number of fighters who have successfully pulled off a submission victory via gogoplata.
Eastman out with eye injury
Marvin “the Beastman” Eastman is out for at least two months following eye surgery.
He has had to pull out of his clash with Brazilian Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) newcomer Demian Maia on October’s UFC 77 card.
Eastman’s condition was not an injury but the result of a genetic condition that had worsened after years of wearing glasses.
“I had a weak spot on my retina for a long time, and about two weeks ago, it tore a little bit,” Eastman told an internet news site. “It felt like sleepy eye. I went in to check it out last Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., and I was in surgery by 7. It’s fixed now, and I’ve got to chill a month and can’t fight until November.”
Web: www.ufc.com
Eklund debuts as pro boxer
BodogFight and Shooto veteran Per Eklund is to make his debut as a professional boxer.
He will fight Lloyd Hollard of France. The Frenchman has a record of 1-2-1. Eklund will fight in Sweden.
Ranked as the number one lightweight (70kg / 155lb) fighter in the whole of Europe, Eklund has an impressive resume that has seen him defeat top French lightweight and Pride FC veteran David Baron, defeat Rafael Dias via decision on BodogFight and become Strike and Submit European lightweight champion by beating Dave Metcalf.
Fighting out of Hilti NHB, Eklud recently spent an extensive period of time training with Team Quest in California, working with the likes of Thierry Sokoudjou, Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller
and more.
Miika Mehmet to fight in K-1
Finnish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Miika Mehmet is to make his K-1 debut in October.
Mehmet will appear in the East European Grand Prix tournament, to be held in Riga, the capital city of Latvia, on October 13.
Mehmet’s place in the tournament came because of his aggressive striking style. He has an MMA record of 3-4-0, but all of his wins have come via TKO.
BTT falling apart?
It seems that Paulo Filho has followed other former members and left Brazilian Top Team. When asked by a Brazilian news source “Are you still fighting for Brazilian Top Team?” he replied; “For this last fight I didn’t train with them. I am not with them anymore.”
Minotoro to join HCF
Hardcore Championship Fighting, a promotion based in Canada, have announced the acquisition of Antonio Rogerio “Minotoro” Nogueira.
The twin brother of the former Pride FC heavyweight champion has signed a three-fight deal with the Canadian promotion. He will fight in the light heavyweight division.
The 31-year-old Brazilian will most likely debut in November or December in Vancouver. It is expected he will also headline HCF’s January event in Calgary.
Nogueira, who trains out the Black House gym in Rio de Janeiro, has not since February. Instead he has worked toward qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympic games as a boxer. He took a bronze medal in the 201lb weight class at the Pan American Games in Rio
this July.
