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Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#301
Feb 7, 2006
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#301
"Why didn't Fedor just sign with the UFC?

To understand him is to recognize that given the circumstances, it was never a choice.

Hearing Fedor discuss the UFC negotiations and understanding his background and motivation, it is obvious that he was as likely to accept the UFC's offer as he was to become a completely different man.

In particular Finkelchtein, Fedor's manager, cited the harshness of the UFC's terms and the organization's inflexibility as two issues preventing an agreement. There were some specifics, such as the widely publicized clause that wouldn't let Fedor compete in combat sambo and the UFC's refusal to sign some of his Red Devil teammates.

"I never met Dana White, never spoke to him on the phone, never exchanged e-mails," Fedor said. "However, I did read a lot on the Internet about what he said in regard to me and Vadim []. I also read e-mails that he sent to Vadim; all of his correspondence was very upsetting. The contract that we were presented with by the UFC was simply impossible, couldn't be signed -- I couldn't leave. If I won, I had to fight eight times in two years. If I lost one fight, then the UFC had the right to rip up the contract. At the conclusion of the contract, if I am undefeated, then it automatically extends for an as yet unspecified period of time, though for the same compensation.

"Basically I can't leave undefeated. I can't give interviews, appear in films or advertising. I don't have the right to do anything without the UFC's agreement. I could do nothing without the OK from the UFC. I didn't have the right to compete in combat sambo competition. It's my national sport. It's the Russian sport, which in his time our president competed in, and I no longer have the right to do so. There were many such clauses; the contract was 18 pages in length. It was written in such a way that I had absolutely no rights while the UFC could at any moment, if something didn't suit them, tear up the agreement. We worked with lawyers who told us that it was patently impossible to sign such a document."

Fedor is a man who fought all of his life to be independent of the system, to belong to himself and to forge his own future. He is where he is because of the people around him.

In his view the UFC offer, which was not open for reasonable negotiation, proposed that he exchange everything that makes him who he is -- his team, his freedom and his future -- in return for more money than anyone else at the time was making and the possibility of fighting in the strongest heavyweight division in the sport."
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#302
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#302


UFC ANNOUNCES RETURN TO COLUMBUS, OHIO

The Ultimate Fighting Championship on Wednesday officially announced its March 1 event at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Entitled “Pride of a Champion,” the main event is slated to feature a title unification bout between current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Pride titleholder Dan Henderson.

“Anderson Silva has been so dominant as UFC Middleweight Champion that people are starting to wonder if there is anyone out there who can dethrone him,” said UFC president Dana White. “Now Pride champion Dan Henderson has stepped up to the challenge. Anderson Silva may be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and Dan Henderson may be the strongest, toughest guy in the middleweight division so there is no doubt in my mind that this will be a battle that goes down in the history books.”

Silva has been a wrecking machine since entering the UFC in June of 2006. He has won all five of his fights in the Octagon and finished each opponent. He captured the title from former champion Rich Franklin at UFC 64 and has defended it three times.

“I’m really motivated and I’m looking forward to this fight because it’s going to be the two best middleweights in the world putting their belt on the line - winner takes all,” said Silva.

Henderson was the only man to hold both the middleweight and light heavyweight belts for the Pride Fighting Championships, although he has since lost the light heavyweight strap to Quinton Jackson in a unification bout in September. The fight with Silva will be his first at middleweight in well over a year and his first since returning to the UFC.

“I know that I can beat everyone at 185 pounds, and that’s what I’m gonna do on March 1st,” said Henderson. “I think style-wise, I’m a bad matchup for Anderson Silva, whereas his previous opponents have been good match-ups. So I don’t think it will be a problem to beat him. I’ll take a knockout or a submission…”
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#307
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#307
Sokoudjou Set for UFC Debut
here is link: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1374
Sherdog.com's Greg Savage recently sat down with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (Pictures), who makes his Octagon debut this weekend at UFC 79 against undefeated light heavyweight Lyoto Machida (Pictures).

In this exclusive interview, Sokoudjou discusses his opponent while Dan Henderson (Pictures) and Ryan Parsons chime in with their owns takes on the 23-year-old sensation.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#308
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#308
UFC No Longer Issuing Signing Bonuses

In an effort that he hopes will help avoid complications during contract negotiations, UFC President Dana White says he’s eliminated signing bonuses for fighters.

The UFC’s CEO made the comments in a recent interview with the L.A. Times, citing the organization’s ongoing problems with estranged UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture as a reason for the policy change. (The piece, which attempts to prove a rift between the UFC and fighters over pay issues, is available at latimes.com.)

The most notable “signing bonus” as of late resulted from Couture’s decision to come out retirement (with a new four-fight deal) to fight then-champ Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 in March.

Couture scored a unanimous-decision over Sylvia and then made a successful title defense over Gabriel Gonzaga five months later. However, in October he resigned from the organization citing a lack of respect from UFC executives, though issues over pay were a major part of the ensuing public feud.

One of Couture’s claims was that he never received a signing bonus — something he was promised during negotiations — and instead said he received an advance on his UFC 68 “locker-room” bonus (White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta said that the supposed advance was, in fact, his signing bonus.)

Unlike signing bonuses, those “locker-room” bonuses have become customary with many fighters. In fact, savvy managers and agents even negotiate the amounts immediately after a fight’s conclusion. Those bonuses help fighters such as Keith Jardine, who earned an “official” salary of just $14,000 — despite beating top dog Chuck Liddell in a major pay-per-view main event in September — earn a respectable per-fight sum.

So, how much impact will the new policy of no “signing bonuses” have in the future. Arguably little. The UFC has already negotiated new deals with the majority of fighters who were part of PRIDE Fighting Championships, which Zuffa LLC (the UFC’s parent company) purchased and disbanded earlier this year. Additionally, aside from a few rare exceptions, the sport’s top free agents (such as Fedor Emelianenko) have already negotiated deals with the UFC or other rival organizations.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#309
Feb 7, 2006
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#309
UFC 82: Evan Tanner vs. Yushin Okami (Exclusive)

Former middleweight champion Evan Tanner (32-6) will return to action against top 185-pound contender Yushin Okami (21-4) at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion” on March 1, 2008, at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

MMAmania.com (www.mmamania.com) has learned from a reliable source that bout agreements are signed, marking the return of Tanner after a two-year self-imposed break from competition.

Talk about getting right back on the horse — Okami is among the best in the division. It certainly is not a “tune-up” fight for Tanner. But that shouldn’t be too surprising since he is well known for taking on the best in the sport and leaving it all inside the Octagon win or lose.

He submitted Justin Levens (triangle choke) after back-to-back losses to David Loiseau (UFC Fight Night 2) and Rich Franklin (UFC 53). Tanner lost his 185-pound title in the fight with Franklin, getting overwhelmed for much of the bout and forcing the doctor at ringside to call a halt to the action.

The self-taught mixed martial artist is currently back in Las Vegas — after a long strange trip outside the cage — trying to get back into top form. Tanner updates his Web site frequently with his latest adventures and training news.

Okami just re-signed a new four-fight deal that ensures he remains in the UFC 185-pound mix. He had a setback earlier this year, losing his only fight inside the Octagon to Rich Franklin at UFC 72: “Victory” via unanimous decision. “Thunder” (or is it now Phoenix?) holds wins over notables such as Jason MacDonald, Mike Swick, Rory Singer, Kalib Starnes and Alan Belcher during his time as a UFC fighter.

He is known as a slow starter who fights his fight each time out. However, Okami may not have that luxury against an animal like Tanner.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#310
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#310
Nick Diaz Turns Down Fight With Shinya Aoki At Yakannori! NYE Event

Nick Diaz was offered a fight with Shinya Aoki at the Yarennoka! NYE event after JZ Calvancanti had to drop due to injuries, but was forced to decline the invitation because he it was deemed that one week was not enough time to prepare.
MMAFightline.com has since learned that Shinya Aoki will instead face South Korean fighter Bukyung Jung at the highly anticipated event.
 
P

PsyDaL

Sicc OG
#312
Apr 25, 2002
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#312
Im likin the ufc 82 card. Hendo vs Silva is somethin ive been wantin to see for the longest. I hope the training goes smooth for them both and none of them get hurt....
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#313
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#313
It's Time for Federal and State Investigations of UFC Contracts

The battle between mixed martial arts fighters and the promotional company Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, is heating up, and very publicly.


Fedor Emelianenko, considered by most observers to be both the top heavyweight and pound-for-pound mixed martial arts fighter in the world, recently gave an interview to Sherdog.com in which he explained his reasons for not signing a contract to fight in UFC. He is quoted as saying:


"The contract that we were presented with by the UFC was simply impossible, couldn't be signed -- I couldn't leave. If I won, I had to fight eight times in two years. If I lost one fight, then the UFC had the right to rip up the contract. At the conclusion of the contract, if I am undefeated, then it automatically extends for an as yet unspecified period of time, though for the same compensation.


"Basically I can't leave undefeated. I can't give interviews, appear in films or advertising. I don't have the right to do anything without the UFC's agreement. I could do nothing without the OK from the UFC. I didn't have the right to compete in combat sambo competition. It's my national sport. It's the Russian sport, which in his time our president competed in, and I no longer have the right to do so. There were many such clauses; the contract was 18 pages in length. It was written in such a way that I had absolutely no rights while the UFC could at any moment, if something didn't suit them, tear up the agreement. We worked with lawyers who told us that it was patently impossible to sign such a document." (http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=10538)


Thursday's Los Angeles Times has an article reviewing the growing number of disputes between top UFC fighters and the Zuffa management. UFC president Dana White, commenting about the dispute which led now-former UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture to announce his resignation from that company, is quoted as saying, "You don't resign from a contract. It's a four-fight deal, and we're going to aggressively protect our rights." (http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ufc27dec27,1,3824043,full.story)


We now have both a top fighter and the UFC president going on the public record stating that UFC fighters are essentially required to sign contracts from which they "couldn't leave" or can't or "don't resign."


Since being accepted as a legitimate sport by most state athletic commissions in the U.S., and with most promotional companies more or less complying with the regulations of these commissions, the business side of the mixed martial arts has largely escaped the scrutiny of government officials. While much needed attention by some of these commissions has been given to the ongoing doping scandals in MMA, and even though much more needs to be done to deal with that particular plague, almost nothing has been done to guarantee the rights of the fighters in the contractual process.


Now numerous major figures in MMA have come out in favor of the formation of a fighters' union, including both Randy Couture and the now-retired legendary referee Big John McCarthy (as he recently did on my show, No Holds Barred).


The time has come for both federal and state agencies in the U.S. to examine the legality of these UFC contracts. Even if they are technically legal, they also must be compared to the federal requirements for boxing contracts mandated by the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which was enacted in 2000.


While that act only regulates boxing, one of the selling points most MMA promoters have made for their sport to be legalized and regulated by the state commissions was that they were more than willing to comply with all the rules and regulations which boxing promoters were required to follow.


The Ali Act reads, “Open competition in the professional boxing industry has been significantly interfered with by restrictive and anti-competitive business practices of certain promoters and sanctioning bodies, to the detriment of the athletes and the ticket-buying public. Common practices of promoters and sanctioning organizations represent restraints of interstate trade in the United States.” (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h106-1832)


In MMA, the situation is actually worse than boxing, as there are as yet no independent sanctioning bodies, and promotional companies like Zuffa do their own matchmaking, designation of champions and challengers, etc.


Of course, the state commissions have been disgracefully lax in enforcing the Ali Act, and efforts to create a national boxing commission of some sort to do so have not been successful.


For MMA, perhaps an appropriate time to examine these contracts will be the expected attempt in 2008 in New York to override a 1997 state law which outlawed “combative sports” such as NHB/MMA.


The issue of the relative safety of MMA has long been resolved by the public record of this sport in regulated events. Now the time has come for the political focus to be shifted onto the “restrictive and anti-competitive business practices of certain promoters” in MMA.


The alternative is to let the structure of MMA congeal into one far worse for the fighters than even boxing is.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#314
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#314
M-1 Global appoints Total Sports Asia as licensing agent in Japan

Tokyo, Japan – M-1 Global LLC, an international mixed martial arts (MMA) organization dedicated to promoting the sport and its athletes worldwide announced today that it has signed an agreement with Total Sports Asia K.K. (TSA) for TSA to represent M-1 Global in Japan. M-1 Global is the newest major MMA organization and announced recently the signing of Fedor Emelianenko, widely regarded as the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world. Fedor Emelianenko is a household name in Japan, having also won the last heavyweight PRIDE event.

In addition to developing a comprehensive licensing program for M-1 Global in Japan, TSA will be tasked with developing for M-1 Global a Japanese language website, mobile website and fan club targeted towards M-1 Global fans in Japan.
“We are pleased to be working with Total Sports Asia. They have a great reputation in the marketplace and have a good working knowledge of the Japanese market. They will be helping us develop our Asia fan club,” said Bob Clark, COO of M-1 Global.

Chung See LIANG, Managing Director (Korea/Japan) of Total Sports Asia said, "We are very honored and at the same time very excited with this appointment. TSA has been in the forefront of brand-building for numerous international sports entertainment companies in Japan and we see this appointment as a stamp of confidence in our expertise and track
record".

“We are also very impressed with the management of M-1 Global and the speed that M-1 Global is growing. The MMA industry in Japan is massive, and Fedor Emelianenko has a huge following in Japan. We are confident that a combination of M-1 Global’s strong management team, Fedor Emelianenko and TSA’s local expertise in Japan will result in a successful entry into and the growth of the M-1 Global brand in the Japanese market”.

Fedor Emelianenko will fight in his first event on December 31, 2007 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan since signing up with M-1 Global recently.

About Total Sports Asia
Total Sports Asia is Asia’s leading fully integrated sports marketing company in Asia with offices in Kuala Lumpur (Head Office), Mumbai, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Dubai. Its innovative and unique approach in providing integrated sports marketing solutions offering services in TV Rights Sales & Marketing, Sponsorship, New Media, Licensing, Event Management and Mobile Content has been the key to its growing success.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#317
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#317
All Fighters on Weight for IFL GP Finals

UNCASVILLE, Conn., Dec. 28 -- The International Fight League conducted weigh-ins Friday afternoon at the Mohegan Sun Arena and unlike the first round of the league's Grand Prix tournament, all fighters made their respective weights.

In fact, almost every fighter came in under weight, showing focus and preparedness across the board. All fighters competing for Grand Prix belts looked very good and even though it wasn't much of a staredown, the seriousness on the faces of Delson Heleno (Pictures) and Jay Hieron (Pictures) had some people rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

IFL fans will get a taste of the new camps as Ian Freeman (Pictures) was on hand to support one of his team members in Alex Cook, who rematches Marcello Salazar from one of their earlier fights outside of the IFL.

Tim Kennedy (Pictures) was the only fighter to use his one-pound weight allowance, and he looked very good for a guy who was in a war with "Mayhem" Miller just a little over two weeks ago. He fights Elias Rivera in a non-title bout.

The IFL held a draft earlier this year to try and beef up its talent pool and the first fighter from that draft, Brett Cooper (Pictures), will make his IFL debut this weekend in a tough draw against Rory Markham (Pictures) in another non-title bout.

The IFL Grand Prix will air live at 9:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, December 29, on HDNet.

Ryan Schultz (Pictures) (153 1/2) vs. Chris Horodecki (Pictures) (153 3/4)
Matt Horwich (Pictures) (183 1/2) vs. Benji Radach (Pictures) (184)
Jay Hieron (Pictures) (168 1/2) vs. Delson Heleno (Pictures) (168 1/4)
LC Davis (Pictures) (143) vs. Wagnney Fabiano (Pictures) (144 1/2)
Roy Nelson (Pictures) (258 1/4) vs. Antoine Jaoude (Pictures) (253 1/2)
Elias Rivera (181) vs. Tim Kennedy (Pictures) (186)
Brett Cooper (Pictures) (169 3/4) vs. Rory Markham (Pictures) (170 1/2)
Marcello Salazar (180 1/2) vs. Alex Cook (180 1/4)
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#319
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#319
^^^^All we know is they have Fedor and the Red devil fight club. And they plan on doing Co promoting with other MMA organizations aswell which is good for the sport. They have a better chance of succeeding in Japan then the ufc aswell.
and
European Plans for M-1 Global
M-1 Global is trying to live up to its name.

After working with former PRIDE staff members on New Year's Eve in Japan and scheduling a U.S. debut for February 2008, the promotion plans to hold multiple shows in Europe.

The German Web site groundandpound.de reported that M-1 Global has scheduled its first German event for April 2008. M-1 Global Vice President Apy Echteld has signed a contract with local promoter "human4guard," which is run by former WKO European Muay Thai champion Human Nikmaslak.

The first event will be a trial run at the 2,000-seat Wandsbeker Sporthalle or the 7,000-seat Sporthalle Hamburg, where Wladimir Klitschko made his first tentative steps in boxing. The second show is likely to take place either at the Kölnarena in Cologne, which holds 20,000 spectators, or the Arena in Oberhausen, which holds 13,000.

Additionally, Nikmaslak revealed that the promotion has plans for six shows in Russia, six shows in Japan and another four events in the Netherlands in the upcoming year.

In order to acquire new talent, which is Echteld's main task within M-1, he is going to employ for the show in Hamburg the same format he used for his 2 Hot 2 Handle "Road to Japan" event last year. There will be five teams -- England, France, Germany, Russia and the Netherlands -- fighting in 165-pound, 187-pound, 209-pound and 209-plus divisions.

Fighters who impress during these "tryout" shows are promoted to bigger events in Holland and Russia. Truly outstanding unsigned talent will be invited to the state-of-the-art Red Devil training center in St. Petersburg to train with the Emelianenko brothers and fighters Roman Zentsov (Pictures) and Amar Suloev (Pictures). They will eventually be offered a long-term contract with the promotion. Think "Ultimate Fighter" without the television show.

Even though it is still a mystery what M-1 Global's first show stateside will look like, it is now certain that the promotion is on a quest to beat the UFC to the punch in Europe.
 
Shogun Locc

Shogun Locc

Sicc OG
#320
Feb 7, 2006
13,049
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#320
Below is my translation of the Fedor Emelianenko interview at yarennoka.com:

How is your conditioning?
Fedor: I think it's good.

----- Did you study Hong Man Choi?
Fedor: I watched videos of his fights and game-planned with my trainer.

----- Do you have any special strategy to deal with the tall Hong Man Choi?
Fedor: My strategy is the same as usual. Strike him, put him down on the mat, and knock him out. That's all.

----- Do you have confidence to knock him down in a stand-up war?
Fedor: Won't know until I try. I can't say that I have confidence.

----- It sounds like you trained intensively on low kicks.
Fedor: No, I trained various things. Perhaps I just happened to be working on low kicks when that Japanese journalist visited my training session.

----- You said you watched video of Hong Man Choi. What is your impression of him?Fedor: Of course he's quite big, he's good with punches and knees, and he's gotten plenty of knockdowns. I think he's one of the better MMA fighters.

----- Did you spar with tall fighters to simulate Choi's height?
Fedor: As you might expect, there aren't many fighters as large as him.. But I did ask my sparring partners to mimic Choi's skills.

----- What kind of fight would you like to display?
Fedor: I would like to show some new things, the same as every time I fight. The most important thing is to give it everything I've got and make sure the fans are happy.

----- For this fight, knee strikes in a 4-point stance will be illegal. What do you think about that?
Fedor: I don't think there's any problem.

----- Stand-up or ground? Which way is easier to beat Hong Man Choi?
Fedor: I'll make that decision in the first few minutes of the fight. Right now I can't really say.

----- Do you think Choi has any secret plan?
Fedor: Many of the fighter's I've faced up until now also said that kind of thing, so there isn't much to be surprised about. By all means I'd like to see if such secret plan can be worked against me in a fight.

----- You have experience fighting a very tall fighter in Semmy Schilt. Does that fight serve as any reference for the Choi fight in any way?
Fedor: Allow me to answer that question after the fight is over (laughter)

----- Do you have any message for all the fans out there looking forward to your fight?
Fedor: Have a happy new year, everyone. And on New Year's Eve at Saitama Super Anena please cheer for me. I'm always thankful for your support. Thank you.
 
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