M-1 Global News - Page 1

"I think June, July is realistic (for Emelianenko's return). It's not 100 percent. Don't take this as a fight announcement, but I think during the summer. After the CBS show, we thought that the (Strikeforce) terms needed a little bit tweaking -- nothing major, just a little bit of tweaking. So, we had a round of negotiations with Strikeforce. Everything went positively. We're pretty much at the end."

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When it became apparent that Strikeforce's second show on network television would be held without the presence of heavyweight superstar Fedor Emelianenko, numerous theories were put together by a variety of MMA observers. All of them seemed to spell certain doom for the partnership between Strikeforce and M-1 Global, the company that represents Emelianenko and of which he is a partial owner. But Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the relationship with M-1 Global is still in fine shape, and he said he's in the final stages of negotiations for Emelianenko's next Strikeforce co-promoted fight. "I can tell you this: we've been having really good dialogue with M-1 Global and (M-1 Global president) Vadim Finkelchtein, and I think we're in the final stages of buttoning everything up to make that happen again," Coker said. "I think we'll have an announcement soon on that, but I feel very confident we'll be promoting Fedor here in the near future." Rumors have run rampant that the business ties between the Strikeforce and M-1 Global have soured since the two companies co-promoted this past November's "Fedor vs. Rogers" event. Coker admitted there were a few items that needed to be addressed, but he felt the situation was anything but critical. "When I dealt with companies in Japan (during my time with K-1), it's the same thing," Coker said. "You have cultural differences, and you have expectations. When expectations and the cultural differences meet with the cultural differences here and the expectations of an American company, sometimes there's some differences, and there's some things that we needed to button up. "We're at the 11th hour of getting this done, and I think in a couple of days we'll have something to announce." While it's certainly too late to work out a potential late addition to April 17's "Strikeforce: Nashville" show, Coker said he doesn't expect Emelianenko to stay out of commission for too long. "It depends how long it takes to button everything up, but I would say sometime in the later part of the second quarter or beginning part of the third quarter, you'll see Fedor back in the cage fighting on a co-promotion between Strikeforce and M-1 Global," Coker said. "Depending on how long it takes to button things up – I mean, he's going to need what, 60 or 70 days to get ready – that will determine when he fights." And when Emelianenko does return, Coker said it won't necessarily be on CBS. "The rumors that I hear about 'he has to fight on CBS' are absolutely untrue," Coker said. "We have a good relationship with Showtime. Eventually, Fedor will be in the pay-per-view business with M-1 and Strikeforce and CBS and Showtime collectively contributing. There's not a certain media partner that he has to fight on. That's never been part of his contract, so that's all just speculation and rumors." So it appears Strikeforce may be involved in another Emelianenko fight sooner rather than later. And perhaps most importantly for those vested in the future of the California-based promotion, Coker said the financial success of Strikeforce does not rest on the shoulders of "The Last Emperor." "Our company is not built off of one athlete," Coker said. "Our company, we have some amazing athletes on our roster now, and we've got some of the best fighters in the world. I think they can compete against anybody. Fedor is an amazing athlete. I've followed his career for many years. Fedor is Fedor, and he's an amazing asset, but our company is not built financially off of just one guy. "Believe me, my guys are very smart about building a model that works for us and works for M-1 Global. I think that we're at that point where that had to be looked at. We looked at it. We're not going to put all of our eggs into one basket and roll the dice with one guy. We're built for longevity. This is not a sprint; this is going to be a long-distance race."

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If you can sit there and pretend like the name 'Vadim Finkelstein' doesn't sound like some end boss on Castlevania, then you need to reevaluate your childhood. A few weeks ago, Gegard Mousasi left M-1 Global due to reasons that are still unknown (or entirely too complicated to comprehend). Fedor's recent contract negations has led conspiracy theorists to develop complex scenarios in which M-1 Global would take over the Strikeforce brand in international markets. In a recent interview, Vadim Finkelstein of M-1 Global clears the air on what exactly is going on with Fedor, Mousasi and M-1 Global. "The problem isn't there. The fight will take place. We're planning on showing the bout in over 100 countries. For all of that to go smoothly we had to postpone the event. Unfortunately I do not know the date yet. It's most likely going to be in early May. The bout is also postponed because of some other contract issues. Obviously there are always disagreements and technical questions, but everybody deals with those." Fedor's a professional; he needs to know the specific date in order to come out in perfect condition. When he finds out that exact date he will start gathering the camp so that he may come out at his peak. He never stops training though, he always stays in shape. Mousasi has never had a contract with M-1. If that was the case, he would not have been able to simply leave the organization. Where did he go? He still has his contracts with Strikeforce and Dream. M-1 was helping him grow. Mousasi has always been friends with us and Fedor and in return we were helping him go forward. His action was a surprise to me. I plan on meeting with him next week and finding out what's wrong. We used to say that Mousasi is an M-1 fighter, because he was starting in our organization. I'm sure that on our M-1 Challenge and M-1 Selection tournament he will not be the only fighter of that level.

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that Strikeforce will run an event in Nashville, Tennessee on 4/17 with Jake Shields vs. Dan Henderson as the main event, along with Bobby Lashley (and Herschel Walker?) on the fight card. Fedor is not expected to appear at the event. Henderson vs. Shields should be fine and I don't see how Fedor on the fight card would have been a huge plus. Sure, it would be nice to see him fight Alistair Overeem, but I've always counted on that fight happening in DREAM because of the amount of money that K-1 could put up to make that fight happen. A suggestion perhaps - have the fight happen in Japan on the same day as a Strikeforce CBS event and just air the taped fight on the CBS telecast that same day.

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For me personally, Mousasi's break with M-1 Global raises the hope that Fedor Emelianenko himself will reconsider his relationships with them at the end of his current two fight deal with them.Mousasi is his own man, and has said in the past that he's not especially close to Fedor. But fans can hope this is the first crack in the wall that has been keeping the world's #1 heavyweight out of the world's #1 promotion.

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One of mixed martial arts most promising talents will no longer answer to the powers that be under the M-1 Global banner, as Gegard Mousasi announced the end of his business relationship with the Vadim Finkelchtein-led fight promotion. From "The Dreamcatcher," courtesy of Sherdog.com: "After careful consideration, I have decided that it is in my best interest to part ways with M-1 Global. During the time I spent under their wing, M-1 Global, as a promoter and management company, allowed me to achieve many great things. I appreciate all they have done for me. My management is [now] being taken care of by someone close to me."

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Earlier this month, M-1 Global exec Jerry Millen made waves by claiming Fedor Emelianenko would be willing to fight Brock Lesnar for free. UFC president Dana White recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he's prepared to call Millen's bluff. "They'll do the fight for free?" White asked. "That's [expletive] weird because I offered them millions of dollars to take the fight and he didn't take it. Now [Emelianenko] wants to fight for free? When and where? I'd love him to fight for free. "I'll make that [expletive] fight right now for free. Let's do it."

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After my win on Babulu, I’ve noticed that I have gotten more American fans. A lot of people didn’t know me but winning against the favorite in Babulu gave me extra attention. There were some people that weren’t convinced yet but I’m happy to show them my ability. I like to read all the great reactions and that people believe in me. It really motivates me and I feel I’m just making my entrance. I still have a long road to go. In November my second fight for Strikeforce will take place but my opponent is not been determent . I heard some rumors like Kevin Randleman , Paulo Filho and Mike Whitehead . Whitehead would be the most logical pick because he recently won against Randleman. I’ve also heard a rumor that Arona is fighting again and it would be great if Strikeforce can pick him up. We can use a new light heavyweight fighter. For now, I am just just concentrating on myself. On this level everybody is a threat in a fight. It’s better to look at yourself instead of your opponent.

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Amsterdam, Holland — After compiling a 3-0 team record and a 13-2 individual record en route to a Group D title in the 2009 “M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction” (www.M-1Global.com), Team Russia Legion is locked and loaded as it ramps up for its run at the M-1 Challenge Championship Cup. First, Russia Legion must win its upcoming best-of-five series vs. Team England on Sept. 26 during the M-1 Challenge semifinals, which will be broadcast live on Internet PPV via M-1Global.com. While Legion enters the matchup as the odds-on favorite, the never-say-day team of fighters from Britain have nothing to lose and everything to gain, as Legion must deal with the added competing in its home city of Rostov, Russia.

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"Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has no clue why Fedor Emelianenko signed with Strikeforce and decided against testing himself inside the UFC. Like much of the mixed martial arts community, the Russian’s decision left him scratching his head. “I like Fedor as a fighter,” Filipovic said during a pre-fight conference call for UFC 103 on Tuesday. “As a man, I don’t want to insult Fedor, but I don’t understand his attitude. I really don’t understand why he doesn’t want to enter the UFC."

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"In terms of long-term potential, few mixed martial artists carry the value of Gegard Mousasi, a multi-lingual 24-year-old with talent to spare. Currently under contract to Strikeforce and Dream, he denies the UFC made a pitch for his services following the collapse of Affliction’s fight promotion wing in July."

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Really good article IMO. It shows how UFC successfully turned a worthless division into the best one in the world. Also mentions Fedor's possible future.

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The Kansas Boxing Commission today revealed the main event fighter payouts and medical suspensions from Saturday's M-1 Breakthrough event. The Kansas Boxing Commission only tracks the fight purses for main-event fighters (though KBC commissioner Peter Howes said they'll expand the record-keeping in early 2010) so they only revealed that Muhammad Lawal & Mark Kerr made a combined $55,000 and that 5 medical suspensions were handed out-3 for 30 days, Kerr for 60 days and one is indefinite due to a shoulder injury.

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Fedor defeats Mousasi with an armbar and King Mo absolutely dominates Mark Kerr within the first 30 seconds of the fight. Where will King Mo fight next? We'll find out soon enough.

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A full list of the weigh-in results for the event are listed below. Heavyweight (3×5): Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (219 lbs.) vs. Mark “The Smashing Machine” Kerr (263 lbs.) Middleweight (3×5): Lucio “The Spartan” Linhares (185 lbs.) vs. Mikhail Zayats (185 lbs.) Heavyweight (3×5): Jessie Gibbs (254 lbs.) vs. Rob Broughton (262 lbs.) Middleweight (3×5): Karl “Psycho” Amoussou (185 lbs.) vs. “The Iron Bull” John Doyle (184 lbs.) Heavyweight (3×5): Lloyd “Kadillac” Marshbanks (253 lbs.) vs. Michael Kita (230 lbs.) Lightweight (3×5): Daisuke Nakamura (154 lbs.) vs. *Ferrid “The Hurricane” Kheder (159 lbs.) Heavyweight (3×5): **Rogent Lloret (N/A) vs. Alexey Oleinik (234 lbs.) Lightweight (3×5): Eric Marriott (155 lbs.) vs. Tim Bazer (153 lbs.) Lightweight (3×5): Sean “P-Town” Wilson (155 lbs.) vs. Josh Arocho (154 lbs.) Welterweight (3×5): Rudy Bears (175 lbs.) vs. Brendan Seguin (175 lbs.) Female 150 lbs. (3×3): **Andria Caplan (155 lbs.) vs. Mollie Ahlers-Estes (149 lbs.) * Denotes fight changed from 155 lbs. to catchweight of 159 lbs. with Nakamura receiving 10% of Kheder’s purse ** Denotes that due to visa issues, Lloret will be allowed to weigh-in Friday. *** Denotes that bout changed to catchweight of 155 lbs. and that fight has been changed from pro status to amateur status.

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The much-maligned "M-1 Global Presents Breakthrough" card was finalized today, and HDNet officially announced the evening's live broadcast plans. Despite suffering through a a relocation of the event and the loss of an original main-event competitor, "Breakthrough" takes place Aug. 28 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., and airs live on HDNet at 10 p.m. ET (9 p.m. local time).

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While the executives of M-1 Global are no strangers to controversy and criticism, the organization's upcoming "M-1 Global presents Breakthrough" took a hit when original headliner Don Frye backed out of his fight with Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal. While M-1 Global CEO Joost Raimond immediately went on the offensive, issuing a press release that questioned Frye's motives for backing out, "The Predator" remained relatively silent on the subject. That is, until now.

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"This simply isn't going to happen and not just because of the money. UFC has learned the main lesson of boxing's decline: You need to give people the fights they want to see. That can't be done when every fighter is a promotion unto himself, able to avoid taking on an opponent if he doesn't like the terms or his chances. To allow Emelianenko to co-promote with UFC would just be to encourage Lesnar, St-Pierre, Silva, and anyone else who wants more money and more control to hold out for the same rights. And that would be crippling to a nascent sporting cartel."

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Less than 24 hours after MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported Nick Thompson (38-11-1) had suffered a facial cut and was forced out of an "M-1: Breakthrough" fight with highly touted Karl Amoussou (10-2-1), the organization has announced a replacement. Filling in on nine days' notice is veteran fighter John Doyle (8-8).

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