Brief results of M-1 Global press-conference

UFCMania reported a brief results of the press-conference. Here are they.

PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko announced that he has signed a six-fight, two-year fight contract with M-1 Global — a new mixed martial arts organization — today at a press conference at Marc Ecko Enterprises in downtown Manhattan.

This information was revealed in the media kit for the event, which was attended by Jesse Holland from UFCmania.com. It was supposed to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET; however, delays pushed the start back to a little after 6 p.m. ET.

In addition, the "mystery" owner of the new promotion was revealed in a press release earlier today and confirmed at the packed New York City event.

Monte Cox — the long-time manager of mixed martial artists such as former welterweight champion Matt Hughes — was named President and CEO of M-1 Global.

Fedor Emelianenko at the press-conference

At this time, no opponent or date has been set for the debut of the Russian superstar under the M-1 banner. However, M-1 is searching for a television partner and is eager to stage an event as early as February 2008.

In the next 10 days, M-1 will reveal its stable of fighters who will join Emelianenko on the new roster. In addition, Jesse is passing along news that Emelianenko’s contract will allow him to fight in the UFC if a deal can be struck between the two organizations.

Furthermore, M-1 representatives indicate that the winner of the bout would earn a $1 million payday.

Other highlights:

• UFC turned down an offer to match Emelianenko up against Tim Sylvia when both were champions in there respective organizations.
  
• Fedor mentioned that his brother, Aleks, was offered a "low ball" contract to fight inside the Octagon. The goal is to sign him to an M-1 contract as soon as possible.
  
• M-1 has in the past followed PRIDE FC rules and will continue to do so until a more universal set of rules can be established (if possible).
  
• Fedor rejects the "number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world" label because he feels he has yet to fight and defeat all the best fighters in the world.
  
• M-1 executives plan to hold a major event in Tokyo as soon as July.
  
• Similar to PRIDE FC, live events under the M-1 banner will have as much emphasis on the event as the fights themselves.
  
• Fedor, as well as any fighter under contract for M-1, will be allowed to compete for other organizations if the timing and profits make sense.
  
• Monte Cox hopes that UFC fighters nearing the end of their contract will consider fighting for M-1 because of Fedor’s presence and the global mentality.
  
• Fedor is humbled by Randy Couture as a fighter but more so as a person. Hopes he can work out his situation with the UFC and would be honored to fight him somewhere down the road.

*UPDATED* Hi folks, Jesse Holland back from the event. Unfortunately the actual "news" was a bit sparse, as the first opponent and event have yet to be established.

Today’s announcement was more of a presentation of Fedor under the M-1 banner. Truth be told there is quite a bit riding on the success of the Russian.

For starters, M-1 is really pushing the global strategy in hopes that someday any fighter from any organization can fight tournament style to find out who is the best in the world.

While it’s a great concept on paper, it does require the cooperation of the competing organizations. And Dana (the CEO of the UFC) and company aren’t exactly known for playing well with others. Still, M-1 executives remain optimistic.

Competition is always a good thing, but if Fedor gets KOed in his first match M-1 is going down faster than the HMS Formidable. M-1 is trying to build a brand, but it will only succeed if Fedor keeps winning.

Stay tuned during the next week or so as this new endeavor starts coming into focus. Right now we can only speculate until the first batch of fighters is announced.

Knowing Monte Cox’s reputation, I’m sure it will be interesting.

Have to agree - the information is quite sparse. Having ring and not having elbow is ok with me. But I personally would really like to see soccer-kicks, knees to the head and stomps allowed. Despite the lack of real information, I still have a good feeling about it, too bad we have to wait for the information a little bit longer. Let's hope that the Thursday's Randy Couture's press-conference will give us some more information on the possibility of the highly anticipated "Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture" fight!