MMANEWSLEAK Exclusive:
Fedor: The Last Emperor Becomes the Lost Emperor
Reports have Fedor claiming that everyone under the sun is avoiding fighting him. Verdum and Overeem are allegedly both avoiding him. Here are a couple of news flashes; Fedor doesn’t say those things, M-1 says those things. Fedor says very few things. M-1 President, Vadim Finkelstein, does all the talking. Here’s the other news flash, M-1 is Fedor’s biggest and most feared opponent.
In addition to the selection of opponents for Fedor, it is M-1’s desire not to trigger the Stikeforce “champion’s clause”, which would extend Fedor’s contract indefinitely. Fedor has only one fight remaining on his Strikeforce contract, but if he wins the heavyweight title, his contract is automatically extended. If he fights anyone in Strikeforce without renewing his contract, other than the Strikeforce heavyweight champion, Fedor burns the remaining fight on his contract and walks away as a free agent. M-1’s desire to obtain free agency and Strikeforce’s goal to keep Fedor in the fold, are hugely competing interests in an extremely complicated dance step.
The contract negotiations between Fedor and Strikeforce have many moving parts; but make no mistake, M-1 and Finkelstein have wasted Fedor’s career. Strikeforce appears to be gaining in popularity on the backs of several of its fighters. The breadth of its media coverage has exploded. Strikeforce was built on the backs of Kimbo Slice, Gina Carrano and Fedor. Kimbo and Gina are gone and Fedor’s light is dimming quickly as other Strikeforce athletes gain in prominence.
The reasons for Fedor’s decline have little to do with his submission loss to Verdum. Fedor’s rapid decline is due to two factors, both on the part of Finkelstein: ARROGANCE and IGNORANCE. Finkelstein has refused to hire American management to negotiate for Fedor. His demands have been ridiculous and unrealistic. M-1 is a fine international promoter, but it’s far from being a manager; in fact, as a manager, its demands to U.S. organizations would have never been tolerated in any of its’ productions.
M-1 and Finkelstein are notoriously difficult to work with. Affliction, EliteXC and Strikeforce have each experienced similar difficulty in dealing with M-1. The UFC has heard the stories and are not anxious to bite that bitter apple; it’s not Fedor, its Finkelstein and M-1. If you somehow get the Russians to a fight, once they’re there, it’s a constant barrage of demands and babysitting. If the eggs are cold at the morning breakfast, Finkelstein takes it as a personal insult dished out by the promoter. Nothing is ever enough for him.
Finkelstein’s negotiations with the UFC have been a similar joke. Failing to recognize the difference between managing and promoting, it’s been widely reported that M-1 demands are to co-promote as a condition to joining the UFC. Nobody has ever blamed the UFC for refusing that demand. What has not been reported, is that Finkelstein is so concerned about being perceived as having sold Fedor to the UFC, that he’s actually asked for a position with the UFC, with a business card that he can take back to Russia to evidence the UFC/M-1 partnership.
We should really feel sorry for Fedor. He’s been a victim here. By all reports, M-1 takes good care of Fedor financially; but make no mistake, Fedor is merely a pawn to build the M-1 brand of promotion. The UFC has refused to take the bait, so Fedor’s career is being drained faster than an Edward Cullen bite victim.
The obstacles M-1 has placed on its negotiations with the UFC are ridiculous. Likewise, the UFC is not anxious to deal with the Russian entourage that follows Fedor. Two years ago, Finkelstein was holding a pair of pocket aces. Now, he’s got an unsuited deuce and a 3, and he’s trying to play hand as if he were still holding the pair of pocket aces. Finkelstein should either fold and let an American management take over or get out of the game and head back to Russia. Either way, Fedor’s light is dimming quickly.
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