Video interview with Fedor Emelianenko, Gracie Rickson

Pancrase.org made a video interview with Fedor Emelianenko right after the press-conference.

In the interview he says that he won't be moving to the USA (because he loves Russia), that he is not afraid of darkness anymore, and that besides Randy Couture, he would also like to fight Rickson Gracie, because he said to know how to beat Fedor.

It is not a new information.

Despite Rickson not having fought since May of 2000, the fighter’s name is still being aired by the world’s biggest MMA events. The hope was for a fight between Rickson and Sakuraba at K-1, but as the Japanese fighter has already been scheduled for another fight, another name has been mentioned to keep the forums abuzz around the world: Fedor Emelianenko.

The rumor started going around on Tuesday before a press conference in which the Russian announced his new home, M-1 Global. After Fedor had said he would love to fight the American wrestler Randy Couture, his agent, Vadim Finkelchtein, was quick on the trigger when he added the name Rickson to the list of possible adversaries for his client's debut in the new event.

“We would like to fight Gracie (Rickson), because he is always saying how he knows how to beat Fedor, although there are several on the list of the ten best," fired Vadim.

© graciemag.com

Even though this fight would make a lot of sense for M-1 Global (I will post a few articles about the action strategy of the new MMA organization), I don't think they are real. Rickson Gracie is almost 49 years old, weighs 185lbs (84kg), has MMA record of 11-0-0 and surely wouldn't want to worsen it, but most importantly he doesn't really want to be beaten up by Fedor Emelianenko - nobody wants that.

Of course, at the end money will decide (and M-1 Global has some), but I don't think that it is a legit proposal. I believe it is only a correct, political way of saying "Shut up!". Rickson Gracie has been for a long time saying that he knows how to beat Fedor Emelianenko; now Fedor and his manager, Vadim Finkelstein (Vadim Finkelchtein) decided to stop it. "Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it."

M-1 Global Management Team announced by Sibling Sports

Sibling Sports announced the M-1 Global Management Team.

“We are pleased with the high level of talent that we have been able to assemble to lead our new organization,” said Monte Cox, M-1 Global president and chief executive officer. “Our leadership team has a great blend of experience and skills that will help guide our organization in the years to come.”

Vadim Finkelchtein was appointed to the M-1 Global Executive Committee. He is also president of M-1 Mix Fight and will continue to manage Fedor Emelianenko, the world’s greatest MMA fighter. Finkelchtein, 43, will be responsible for providing strategic guidance to the entire team. He will also help stage M-1 Global events in Russia.

“We are elated to partner with Vadim. Not only is he the founder of M-1 Mix Fight, but he is also a very successful Russian businessman. He owns and manages Russia’s first and only sports-entertainment center located on water. Located in St. Petersburg, right across from the famous Hermitage museum, the center is located on board the ‘Letuchii Golandez,’ (or Flying Dutchman), a replica of the 1748 sailboat ‘Amsterdam.’ It contains four levels, and includes an exercise room, beauty salon, restaurants, cafes and hotel rooms,” Cox said.

Bob Clark was appointed chief operating officer. Clark, 51, will be responsible for directing and managing day-to-day operations. He was also appointed to the M-1 Global Executive Committee. Clark also serves as president of Sibling Theatricals, Inc. and director of marketing for Sibling Entertainment Group, Inc. Prior to joining Sibling in July 2007, he spent the past 9 years working for CarMax, a Fortune 500 company and one of the Fortune 2007 “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

Joost Raimond was appointed president of M-1 Eurasia. Raimond, 42, will be responsible for directing and managing day-to-day operations in Eurasia. He was also appointed to the M-1 Global Executive Committee. Prior to joining M-1 Global, Joost provided legal advice and management consultant services to Too Hot to Handle, M-1 Mix Fight & Pride Europe. He also owns his own project management and consultancy company – WORX. He specializes in health and fitness projects and focuses on sourcing fabrication of consumer or commercial products in the Far East and establishing production and QA/QC systems.

Apy Echteld was appointed vice president of fighter development. Echteld, 46, will be responsible for match-making and helping to identify fighters for M-1 Global to sign. He was also appointed to the M-1 Global executive committee. Echteld has been an accomplished martial arts trainer since 1979. In 1997, Echteld joined forces with Vadim Finkelchtein to create the Russian organization M-1 Mix-Fight, which is recognized as the largest MMA event in Europe.

Brian Patton was appointed vice president of M-1 Global. Patton, 41, will coordinate with SFX Media & Events to secure sponsorships and endorsements for both M-1 Global and our fighters. He was also appointed to the M-1 Global executive committee. Brian will continue in his current position as a faculty member at his alma mater Greenville College. Brian is also the business manager for Matt Hughes, 9-time UFC Welterweight champion.

Dennis Spencer, executive vice president of SFX Media & Events, was appointed to the M-1 Global executive committee. “He brings us over 30 years of experience in professional sports and sports television. Spencer, 54, will serve as our liaison with SFX Media & Events and he will help negotiate television and other media contracts, sponsorships and endorsements for M-1 Global and our fighters,” Cox said.

“We believe we have a world-class management team,” Cox said. “I look forward to working with this great group of leaders to help M-1 Global make its mark and contributions to the great sport of mixed martial arts.”

I hope this is not the list of "internal partners involved", which M-1 Global was going to announce this week. I hope we will hear something about the secret investor, even though it looks quite improbable. This whole information contains interesting details in one place, but come on, the titles of involved people was accessible from this page for quite a time now.

Secret Investor of M-1 Global

In the previous entry I told you about a mystical Russian investor. Who might he/she be?

Thanks to the person in the comments section from the last post for pointing me to one name of the possible Russian businessman - Alisher Usmanov. I am not saying that it's him, or that there is any Russian businessmen involved at all - this all is just pure speculation, done for the reason of speculating and argumented by the lack of real information! :) So that article is given, so you would get to know what kind of person one of these "oligharchs" is. The last thin I want is to read and listen to the opinions about "Red Russian mafia-mobs are coming and they will conquer our beloved country". The article gives an idea and describes you the type of people, who might be coming to MMA.

There is also another thing I have to say. One user at a Sherdog's forums claims to have send an e-mail to M-1 Global and to have received a response from the Brian Patton, the Vice President of the M-1 Global company. Here is what he (Brian Patton) had said.

Jack,

I received a press release today and we will send it out this week. It actually announces the internal partners involved. I am sure it will be released to our email list first.

I do understand your concerns and I understand the lack of patience and the jump to criticism from the general public-it is human nature. I believe the end product will put people at ease but they are not going to get all the info they want as soon as they want it. We have been moving at lightspeed and there are some very important decsions ahead of us that we have to weigh all options before making.
Thanks again,
Brian

This information is totally unconfirmed, but I guess we will see during this week, if it was true.

Monte Cox interview (MMA Madness)

Here is another interesting interview of Monte Cox by the MMA Madness. Once again he answers about the conflict of interest.

MMA Madness: What will this mean for the fighters you currently manage?

Monte Cox: Well, we’re going to make a deal where, if a guy wants to fight in M-1, that I manage, the M-1 board will negotiate an offer for him. If the fighter accepts the offer then I’m going to have to place him with somebody else. I’ll pick a promoter. I’ll pick someone that I trust who will do a good job for him. Anyone that’s going to come over – I just can’t do anything. I hate it because these guys are all my friends. But that’s fine. We’ll do that for them. On the other guys, we just don’t know yet. I leave it up to the fighters. I don’t know if you know – I do no contracts for my guys. So they’re free to go any time they want.

Some details about organizing the fights.

MMA Madness: Who is going to be doing the matchmaking for M-1?

Monte Cox: I will – I’m the CEO. So I’m in charge of the matchmaking, with help from Joost [Raimond] and Apy [Echteld] – especially for foreign fighters. But as far as American fighters and such, that’ll be me.

It's nice to see how they (M-1 Global) position themselves and what kind of expectations they have.

MMA Madness: One of the huge advantages the UFC has is that they are able to do a live event every single month, so they stay in the public consciousness. How does M-1 compete with that realistically?

Monte Cox: We’re not going to be the UFC. We can’t be. Anybody who says they’re going to come into this and we’re going to be just like the UFC after ten weeks – I wouldn’t put any money in that stock. We just have to do what we can do. My job is to put on a good event, an exciting event, at the same time promoting Fedor and make money doing it. And as long as we do that, we’ll be around. But we’re not going to be the biggest thing in the sport right away. We know that.

But the most interesting quote is below.

MMA Madness: How did you become involved with M-1 Global?

Monte Cox: One of [Maxwell’s] backers is Russian and is friends with Fedor’s manager and said, ‘Hey, do you know anyone who knows MMA?’ And Mitchell said, ‘You know, I’ve worked with SFX [Media and Events] before and I think they’re doing something with MMA.’ And they [SFX] were working with Elite. So he [the Russian backer] called them [SFX] and they were working with Brian Patton. Brian Patton does endorsements for Matt Hughes. And Brian goes, ‘Well I’m in MMA but the guy you want to talk to is Monte Cox.’ So that’s the way it came around. That’s how they called me. In the beginning you’re like, ‘I’m not sure how this is going to go.’ It was just amazing and things just started clicking. I went out to Amsterdam. I met all the guys and they seemed knowledgeable and sincere. Then they signed Fedor [Emelianenko] and I’m like, ‘I’m in. Let’s do it.’

Aleksander Emelianenko, ex-Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, president of Russia Vladimir Putin, Fedor Emelianenko. Saint-Petersburg, April 2007

Did you notice that? There is some kind of mystical Russian investor, who seems to play a significant role in the history of M-1 Global, and nobody even heard about him, let alone knows something about him! When M-1 Global rumors started to fly around, I was half-jokingly proposing the idea that there is some kind of rich Russian oligarch, who decided to put some money into the MMA field (similar to Roman Abramovich who bought the Chelsea Football Club, an English Premiership football team), and doesn't want to advertise it (that's the Russian habit, it doesn't mean that there is any illegal stuff going on). So it might be a realistic scenario after all?..

Interview: Monte Cox becomes major player in mixed martial arts

Quad-City Times has published an article about Monte Cox. The article starts like this.

His dinner with Mark Cuban was just the tip of the iceberg.

In the past whirlwind week alone, Bettendorf’s Monte Cox has broken bread with the maverick Dallas Mavericks’ owner, participated in another dinner check totalling $4,600, jetted from Amsterdam to Frankfurt to New York City, and been courted by representatives of cable TV giants Showtime, HBO and HDNet.

Monday, he sat for interviews with the Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine and even chatted by phone with the newspaper for which he once was sports editor, the Quad-City Times.

After that, Cox stood in front of a news conference in New York attended by 150 news organizations. That’s where he was introduced as president and CEO of M1 Global, a new and significant player in the fast-growing world of mixed martial arts.

And continues just like the typical article about the fellow countryman would do. And I wouldn't even pay your attention to it, if not the next quote.

With a $200 million start-up budget and a contract with sports marketing industry giant SFX Media and Sports, Cox said M1 Global will challenge the biggest of those groups. "When we get a TV deal, we’re No. 2 in the United States," Cox declared.

So now we at least know the budget of this venture. But it would still be nice to know the owner of that money...

Andrew Simon became the CEO of HDNet Fights

HDNet has named Andrew Simon CEO of HDNet Fights, the high-definition network’s new venture into Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Simon will lead the strategic direction and overall execution of the network’s Mixed Martial Arts initiative. He will also oversee development of all HDNet Fights branding and sponsorships.

Simon will work alongside Guy Mezger who was recently named general manager of HDNet Fights. Mezger, a former MMA champion, will handle all fighter relations and matchmaking for HDNet Fights.

"Andrew brings a proven track record in sales, marketing, video-on-demand, pay-per-view and strong MMA experience to our network," said Mark Cuban, chairman and co-founder of HDNet. "Andrew’s strengths as a leader in the media industry combined with Guy Mezger’s unparalleled reputation in MMA, creates a powerhouse team for HDNet Fights. We’re thrilled to have them on board."

"I jumped at the chance to help build an MMA organization that treats the athletes and sponsors with the respect they deserve," said Andrew Simon. "Mark has set the standard for treatment of athletes in the NBA, and we will do the same for MMA."

Andrew Simon comes to HDNet Fights from Cox Communication in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. During his tenure at Cox he was recognized with multiple industry awards including Top 40 Under 40 from In Business Las Vegas, and numerous CTAM and ADDY awards recognizing excellence in leadership and cable marketing. Prior to his tenure at Cox, Simon held management roles with MGM Mirage (formerly Mirage Resorts Inc.) and Deloitte Consulting.
Simon is a graduate of Cornell University, with an MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA.

Might have something to do with M-1 Global. Or not. :)

Randy Couture and Dana White (UFC) press-conferences

MrSunshinevegas has an audio (link 1, link 2) from the UFC's Dana White's press-conference, which happened the same time as Randy Couture's press-conference I talked earlier

• Randy Couture in his own press-conference didn't really say anything interesting about the things that would belong to the scope of the RussianMMA web site. The things that concernes RussianMMA can be said in one sentence (it's my vision, not the exact words) "We with my lawyer think that we don't need to fight in the UFC and that we are free after nine months, but we won't talk about any future plans."
  
• Couture only talked about how his resignation was not about the money, at the same time spending the majority of his time speaking about money issues. I won't comment that...
  
• Everything else came from the UFC's press-conference, with some of Data White's (CEO of UFC) quotes written below.
  
• "Problem with Fedor [Emelianenko]'s management/negotiation team was that it was never about Fedor, it was all about his management, about what his management would get and had."
  
• "Not ever once during the negotiations for Fedor did they ever give a shit about what Fedor was gonna get. That's why the deal fell apart. They are full of shit and that's the bottom line with the Fedor deal."
  
• "The are full of shit about all the numbers too, and that's what caused a lot of Randy Couture's stuff in my opinion."
  
• "His [Fedor's] manager is a fucking liar and the deal was all about him and not about Fedor so believe when I tell you: good luck to him wherever they go, because I don't want him to fight in the UFC."
  
• "Fedor sucks. Fedor isn't even top5 Heavy-Weight, let alone pound-for-pound."
  
• Dana White also talks about the competition (IFL, M-1 Global, ProElite), Monte Cox, MMA business in general, Pride FC and why it went down, predicts some future of the MMA scene, the idea behind the success of the UFC (builded UFC brand and made superstars like Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell) and other stuff.

Dana White is just being himself. Trying to play down his failures (to sign Fedor Emelianenko) and trashing his opponents. Here are only some of the contradictions or just funny observations:

• He lies about the time of the conference, when saying that it wasn't intentional to keep it at the same time with Couture's. Randy Couture announced the time of his conference about one week ahead of the time. UFC's announcement came much later. Usually UFC's press-conferences are a few hours sooner than this time.
  
• Dana White said that he isn't listening to Randy's press-conference and is not sure if he will be, but one can easily hear Couture's conference all the time at a background (Dana White's mic was the only one always turned on).
  
• Dana White doesn't seem (or is just showing it) to know much about the negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko's managers. It's interesting to go back and check what Fedor Emelianenko and his negotiators had to say about talks with the UFC.

If you want to read more about both of the conferences, you better start from here

Aleksander Emelianenko and Gilbert Yvel fighters' information

I must go back to my previous post about the rumoured fight between Aleksander Emelianenko and Gilbert Yvel. I have read some opinions of people who say that Gilbert Yvel is "a can". Obviously these people are new to Mixed Martial Arts. These people really have to look at his record (which is 31-11-1), notice that 27 of his 31 wins came by (T)KO and that a few years ago he won Cheick Kongo (as well as many other well-known fighters). Watching this Gilbert Yvel highlight also helps.

To see what kind of fighter Aleksander Emelianenko is, you really only have to look at his fight against Ricardo Marales.



As you can easily see, Aleksander is excellent striker, with an extraordinary power and sense of distance. He is also accomplished Sambo-champion, so his ground skill is also at a high level.

Aleksander Emelianenko and Gilbert Yvel make an excellent match in sense of entertainment. So if this fight will come true, we can expect very excitement match.

Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel, M-1 Global

According to the co-owner of the Dutch MMA site FightTalk.nl, Aleksander Emelianenko (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Alexander Emelianenko) will be fighting Gilbert Yvel in February in Chicago (USA) in the first event organized by a new M-1 Global organization.

Aleksander Emelianenko

In should be noted that Aleksander Emelianenko was supposed to fight Gilbert Yvel in a M-1 - Russia vs. Europe event in July 2007, but Yvel withdraw from a fight due to injury and was replaced by Jessie Gibson (1-0-0 at that time).

Aleksander Emelianenko's last fight was two weeks ago in the Canadian HCF (Hardcore Championship Fighting) organization against Dan "The Bull" Bobish, which was won by Aleksander via Tapout (Guillotine Choke) at 1:09 in R1.

This is very interesting information because it is well known fact that Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel (31-11-1), a Dutch Muay Thai fighter, known for his bad temper (he was disqualified three times for Biting, Eye Gouging and KO'd the referee), is not allowed to fight in the USA. It has also been widely known information that Aleksander Emelianenko can't even enter the United States because of his past criminal record. And now we are told that both of these fighters will fight in the USA...

According to the same source, M-1 Global seems to came to an agreement about everything with the needed Athletic Commissions and therefore they both can appear in a ring. This is also big news, because as far as I know, Mixed Martial Arts is forbidden in the state of Illinois (where Chicago is) and this agreement is showing a great lobbying skills by the new M-1 Global organization. After this, the incredible insider information that M-1 Global might have reached an agreement with the ESPN, is not that unbelievable, is it?..

According to the rumours, the second M-1 Global event is organized in Japan. The third one might be in the Netherlands.

Fedor Emelianenko in ESPN interview

Ryan Hockensmith from ESPN The Magazine spoke with Fedor Emelianenko and his representatives. Here is the article with new or most important information bolded.

Fedor Emelianenko wanted to fight in the UFC. He wanted to fight Randy Couture. He wanted to come to America and prove his pound-for-pound worth. And, one day, he may get his chance to prove he's the world's best, as most believe.

It just won't be in the UFC, and it won't be against Couture.

In a one-on-one interview this afternoon, Emilianenko and his representatives placed the blame for a UFC deal falling through on the UFC. Emelianenko confirmed, as White has said, that he never once spoke directly with White.

Emelianenko's manager, Vadim Finkelchtein shot down the rumor that his side demanded Emelianenko's signing be packaged with a slew of Red Devil fighters.

"It was something we initially asked about but it was not a requirement," Emelianenko said.

Finkelchtein went on to blame the UFC's negotiating team, which he believes did a poor job communicating with White.

"White had no idea what was going on between Emelianenko and our attorney," he said. "Afterwards, we spoke with White and we realized that he wasn't familiar with a lot of the terms in the negotiations."

Emelianenko spent the day in New York City announcing his new plans to fight in startup organization M-1 Global.

M-1 president Monte Cox admitted he's investing heavily on Emelianenko.

"He's the biggest name fighter in the world," he says. "It [would be] a big deal if he fights somebody in a phone booth."

M-1 wants to put Emelianenko in the ring in February at a site in the U.S. still to be determined.

Cox mentioned Ben Rothwell, Josh Barnett and Jeff Monson as potential opponents. He stressed the fact that Emelianenko wants only big-named fights.

M-1 Global are unsure whether Emelianenko will be fighting on pay-per-view and mentioned HBO, Showtime and HDNet as potential homes for M-1.

Regardless of where he lands, Emelianenko expressed his pleasure in signing with M-1and has put the UFC behind him and is confident the best fights of his career are ahead.

"With M-1, I can move forward and have the best opportunity to fight the best," he says. "I'm aware that a lot of fighters want to fight me, and I'm not nervous at all."

If this is true, we can once again see that Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) talks nonsense, when saying that Fedor Emelianenko and his manager made impossible demands and required taking other fighters from the Red Devil Sports Club.

Jeff "The Snowman" Monson's interview on Fedor Emelianenko

Jeff "The Snowman" Monson, who was mentioned by us as one of the possible fighters in Fedor Emelianenko's first fight, was interviewed by the RogueMag.com.

Here is what the author of the article and Jeff Monson himself had to say:

For the star of the show, even though he is not fighting- the Snowman was full of praise for Hextreme events for their hospitality. When asked on whether he will fight E. Fedor the great on a possible M-1 card in February, he was in the affirmative. "Yeah, it looks a go- and I can’t wait to have a shot at what most call the best guy out there. It’s a good possibility at the moment but we will get this fight soon I hope!, first time when I was supposed to fight him it didn’t happen but this time the possibility is great, and I am very excited!", we can’t wait and I hold my breath as this is written. Judging by his clean shaven head, with his HEADBLADE razor, the fight purse and ratings will be no doubt as big as his biceps. Massive!

Randy Couture's press-conference

Randy Couture's press-conference will be today. You can watch it here.

We will hear what Randy Couture has to say about his contract with UFC, as well as about his future plans. I am sure he will also say about a situation with Fedor Emelianenko. He might even announce that he will be joining M-1 Global after his contract with UFC expires in about 8-9 months. Or he might even grant his support to M-1 Global by the means of his Xtreme Couture fighting club. They have a lot of good fighters there, so it might be a huge news!

When I look at the Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture's situations, I can help but think about their relationship.

I mean Couture left UFC by making an official announcement. One of the mentioned reasons was that Fedor Emelianenko joined M-1 Global and they will not be able to fight each other in the UFC. But the thing is, that the information about Fedor joining M-1 wasn't confirmed at that stage yet. It was only circulating as a rumour. So the question is, how can Couture be so sure about Fedor not coming to UFC, that he even decided to quit UFC?

I have only one explanation: he has been told about this by a new MMA player itself! Why would they do it? The only reason for them to do that - is to ask him to fight for them! I don't know if Randy accepted it, but I think we can all be pretty sure that he at least received an offer!.. And since Couture said that he left UFC and not MMA... that means we all have quite a good chance of seeing Fedor vs. Couture fight!

A bunch of insider's information from M-1 Global camp

Here are some highly reliable rumours/information I promised you a while ago. The information came directly from the source inside the M-1 Global camp.

You can see some of the rumours and predictions I posted. As you can see, they have been very accurate, but of course it's your call whether you think information below is trustworthy. So let's start, shall we?

Some of the information was already revealed by the Sherdog, but fortunately I have more than that. :) My own opinion will be in cursive.

• The first opponent of Fedor Emelianenko will be announced very soon. Currently there are some good candidates. The negotiations are going on with both free-agents and fighters with a contract in other organizations.
  
• It is doubtful that Fedor will be fighting a supertop opponent (like Josh Barnett or Randy Couture) in his first fight.
  
• Veteran Jeff Monson is considered (so no decision was made yet!) as the first opponent for Fedor.
  
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, a young fighter from Africa (that's what was read in the official information for his first Pride fight), who shocked a PrideFC world by KO'ing both Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona in the first round. His candidature was cut, because of Sokoudjou's small experience in MMA. He must fight and win some more, to get a shot against Fedor. I think that it is still realistic to see Sokoudjou fighting in M-1.
  
• The name of Ben Rothwell was also mentioned as one of candidate for a fight. Although there are doubts that he is well enough known in the USA - something that is needed from Fedor's opponent.
  
• It was planned to organize a few events a year, with every event in a new country. So originally there were plans to have one event in Russia, one in Japan, one in Macao (which is the independent part of China and is considered to be Las Vegas of Asia).
  
• About Japan. There was an opportunity to make an event in Saitama for this New Year's Eve, but the decision was made not to do it, because American partners weren't sure that they were able to make everything "right" on time. It's quite optimistic to see, that they are trying to make things right! The problem with Japan is that they have a very tight schedule which makes it almost impossible to make a fast start; they have a TV filled a month forward, and you have to book a stadium a significant amount of time ahead, especially for the special days like New Year's Eve. The talks about TV, made me realize, that M-1 or their Japanese partners might already have an agreement with a Fuji TV, just like the gossips told a few weeks ago. This info is unconfirmed and should not be trusted blindly.
  
• Negotiations are going on with Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi so hopefully we will see him fighting in M-1 Global.

And now two freeking big news! There was a lot of talk among journalists about the problems with IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and marketing. You can read one typical opinion here.

1. First to the problem of IPR. The library of PrideFC fights (where Fedor's most interesting fights took place) was bought by UFC. So the questions arised on how M-1 Global will market Fedor Emelianenko, if they have no rights for his fights' materials and UFC will probably by very reluctant to give/sell them these rights? The big news is that Fedor Emelianenko has all the rights for the materials of his own fights! According to the source, Fedor was so respected in Japan and Vadim Finkelstein with the fighters of his Red Devil Sports Club had such a great relationship with Pride, that they were able to trust each other and pretty much dictate/say what they wanted to be included in the contract. Wow - that's all I can say! :)
   
   It's so unbelievable information, that I personally have difficult time believing it. Especially in the part of UFC not having any rights for Fedor's fights' materials at all! So we are talking about the exclusive rights for the fights and not about the non-exclusive (in which, both parties could have used them)! It's up to you to believe it or not, but it came from the same reliable source as many times before that... The whole IPR thing is so interesting and complex that I definitely need to write a post about that. It's a shocking news, but on the other hand, Finkelstein and Fedor have already shown their business-savvyness when they made a nontransferable contract with PrideFC, so Dana White had to renegotiate it when he wanted to have Fedor in UFC... Another point is that RedDevilShop already sells DVDs with Fedor's fights in Europe (France, etc) and these DVDs (or similar) were distributed among participants of the press-conference. I doubt that they would have done it if they wouldn't have rights for it. M-1 has also already shown many Pride fights in their time slot on the Russian National TV channel. So they must have some rights at least in Russia.
   
   
2. And now to the second big chunk of information about the TV contract, which closely relates to the problem of marketing. M-1 Global has said that getting a TV contract will be essential for the business, and that it will dictate and influence all other decisions. Journalists have been talking about a marketing aspect of hyping Fedor and M-1's dominance on the American market. They have been whining about how difficult it would be to get Fedor's face recognized by the general public, even with HBO, Showtime or with Mark Cuban's HDNet. Only these three channels were mentioned in the articles, and journalists were concentrating on them. But the surprise is that there is also other alternatives... Are you ready to hear it? Ok, here I go: ESPN! According to the source, ESPN "are in". I won't bet my head for 100%, because it can also mean that they only are in the negotiation process, but I am pretty sure that it was about a real contract! Can you imagine the opportunities this brings? A channel which is available in over 100 million homes in the United States and over 150 countries and territories via ESPN International!.. Introducing Fedor Emelianenko and to get people to know him will happen, exaggeratively speaking, in no time!

When the time comes, remember, that you first heard this information on RussianMMA.blogpost.com! :)

P.S. Here you can see a list of fighters, who are available for M-1. It's quite extensive list, just like the source from M-1 (when talking about the number of ongoing negotiations) has told me.

Introduction of the staff

Hello everybody! This site has grown very fast and because of all the materials, gossips and exclusive insider's information, I think it's time to introduce myself, so you would know who to blame for all this. :)

My name is Mikko Vedru and I am the creater of this news site/blog. I was born in the USSR/Russia, but am currently living in Finland, the country of Santa Claus, saunas and Nokia (no, it's not Japanese company).

My last year was spent in the USA, studying and getting to know American people and their culture. To be honest, I was truly astonished by the low level of Mixed Martial Arts knowledge of local people. Sure, they knew about UFC and many even watched it regularly, but they knew little or nothing about the non-UFC MMA organizations and fighters. They knew nothing about such great Russian fighters as Emelianenko brothers, Igor Vovchanchin, Sergei Kharitonov, and others. Andrei Arlovsky and even Oleg Taktarov, the old UFC legend, who recently decided to make a comeback, are much better known. The majority of the people never even heard about PrideFC, let alone other MMA organizations...

But can you really blame them for not knowing Russian fighters, if there is no way of getting this kind of information? Can you blame Americans for not speaking Russian and not being familiar with the Russian culture? I don't think so. It would be easy for me to blame "stupid Americans" and be happy with that. But I chose the pro-active position. I decided to create this site, which would provide English-speaking MMA fans with the information about Russian Mixed Martial Arts scene and about Russian MMA fighters.

I hope to give you regular updates on the Russian MMA, with interesting news, trustworthy rumours and insightful analytics.

I am very careful with the information and sources it come from. If I am telling you that the information came from a very reliable source, it also means that. It is not my way to present my own crazy ideas or the unconfirmed information I read from the Sherdog, as a reliable information. I am very picky about that!

And to make it clear: I am in no way associated with M-1 Global or any other MMA organization. All opinions presented in the articles are the personal views of their authors. At this moment, I am the only author of the site, so everything you can read here, represents my own personal opinions.

I would also like to ask you a few things:

• Participate in discussion. Don't hesitate to comment my articles of rumours, to tell me your opinion about something, or criticize me for something I didn't do well. If you found some interesting information/article, please, share it with me! I am not a Google to crawl every single site on the Internet and I need your help!
  
• If you liked the site or an article, tell your friends and people you know about it, and give them a link.
  
• If you really liked my page, please add the link to it in your blog/links-area (if you have a "My favorite MMA sites" section or alike).
  
• Want to contribute to this site or just need to ask something? Write: russianmma@gmail.com . I will answer as soon as possible.

I have heard that having a picture with the ladies works extremely well in this thingie called Internet. This trick is not forbidden by the Nevada Athletic Commission, so I decided to give it a try! So let's rock it!

I want to wish you welcome! It's going to be fun, trust me! :)

Opinions on M-1 Global press-conference, Mitchell Maxwell

It was very interesting to see reactions of people (both journalists and fans) to the M-1 Global press-conference.

Reactions are different, from hopeful, positive and excited to confused and pessimistic.

This article also touches the problem with a conflict of interest when the CEO/President of a M-1 Global, Monte Cox is also a manager of the fighters. Nice topic, but if the journalists would read some interviews of Monte Cox, they wouldn't have to write about it...

FightLinker.com noticed that Mitchell Maxwell from M-1 doesn't have any clue about the Mixed Martial Arts. Yeah, I remember how he was struggling with the "MMA" word during the press-conference. But my questions is: "So what?". I mean that yes, it sounds like an excellent way to screw up the new organization. But let's give it a second thought. What is his position and role in the company? We can easily see that he is a Chairman on the board of directors of the M-1 Global. It isn't his only job, since he does the same thing in the New Denver Civic Theater as well as sits on the board of Sibling Entertainment Group Holdings, Inc. He has a lot of projects and it's not like he will be making all decisions in M-1.

Mitchell Maxwell during the M-1 Global press-conference

I think people don't quite understand what the Chairmans of the Board of directors do. Let's see the definition

Chairman of the Board
The highest-ranking officer in a corporation's board of directors. Presides over corporate meetings. Sometimes has executive authority over a firm, sometimes does not.

So he is basically the person who conducts and manages the meetings, making sure that everybody's opinions are heard and taken into account. Yes, having experience in the field of operation is a nice thing for the Chairman, but it is definitely not required or absolutely needed. Sometimes this experience will only make it more difficult to have a realistic view on events/decisions. His job is to manage smart and experienced people, without the obligation from his part to share his own bright ideas about MMA or execute them. That's the job of the CEO - Monte Cox in this case, who has a lot of experience in Mixed Martial Arts industry.

P.S. Later today I will post some exclusive information from M-1 camp about the fighters and a TV deal. Remember to come back later to read it! Done!
P.P.S. Sherdog has posted an interview/material about Mitchell Maxwell.

Mistranslations during the press-conference

Just watched the press-conference and noticed a few mistranslations here and there. I feel like I have to clear up a few things from the journalists' logs. I will first quote what journalists typically wrote, and then will give a correct translation.

Fedor also said he respects Randy not just for his fighting qualities but also his human qualities.

Actually Fedor said that he respects Randy not for his fighting qualities (a little earlier he was talking about how much Randy lost), but mainly for his human qualities. This changes a lot...

He said that Pride champions were truly international champions

He said that Pride truly tried to have international champions, without looking at nationality or country of origin. He didn't say that Pride succeeded in this task.

He said that Pride champions were truly international champions, but now Pride is gone and they would like to create a new project that may be even better.

Actually, he didn't say "new project" but was talking about "a new Pride".

I deeply respect him and have been watching him since his first fight. I admire him greatly. Once in Prague (Czech Republic), he saw me and I came away with a warm feeling, and it will be an honor for me to fight him.

Good translation otherwise, except that he was talking about a Pride event and not about the city of Prague.


At least one other point was also missed. It was said that the M-1 is in a contact with fighters. Translator made believe that they were talking about Russian fighters. Well, actually they were talking about European fighters and about how much good contacts they have with good fighters all around the Europe.

Otherwise, it was a good translation, so I am not taking my words back. :)

So here you go, now you can point a finger at the journalists and give them some real feedback "OMG! You got it all wrong, are you stupid or something?!" :)

Actually, I would be grateful if you would tell as many journalists as possible about these mistakes. It would be awkward to read later some deep-thought articles, that are based on a false information...

Video of M-1 Global, Fedor Emelianenko press-conference released!

Fedor Emelianenko signs with M-1 Global. Complete video from the press conference from the Marc Ecko Enterprises showroom in New York City.

Articles and comments about press-conference

411mania posted a M-1 Press Conference Coverage with photos and text. Some things I wanted to comment.

The conference opened up with Mr. Mitchell Maxwell, the president and CEO of Sibling Entertainment and chairman of M-1 Global. Mr. Maxwell and Sibling are well known veterans of the entertainment industry and have produced several Broadway and off-Broadway plays as well as independent films and successful theaters and restaurants. Mr. Maxwell stated plainly that his goal in MMA is to take the foundation that has been established, and to take MMA to a mainstream level throughout the world. Maxwell stated that this could not have happened without the world's greatest fighter, Fedor Emelianenko. Maxwell acknowledged that although the M-1 promotion is an underdog, the underdog does often win (including the American Olympics team defeating the Russians, he joked as Fedor smiled). Maxwell also stated he wants to bring theatricality to the sport of MMA

So we will actually see the old good Pride style of shows: with fireworks, explosions, memorable entrances and drama? Hurray to that!

Monte Cox is one of the most successful fighter managers, and has produced a record seven world champions in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Cox has also staged well over 400 events which included some top names in MMA. Monte stated that while working on his "Extreme Challenge" event 10 weeks ago, he was called up by M-1 and stated that both he and Fedor were soon on board. Cox said he wants to get the word out about Fedor, and that he is looking for the best opponents for the M-1 event.

Therefore this conference's goal was to let people know about a new organization and new possibilities and to find new partners, rather than to inform us (MMA fans) about every single detail of the future bouts/fighters/plans. That's understandable (they have to keep people excited, interested and warmed up), but a quite inhuman. :)

Vadim thanked the press for coming, and said that M-1 is a new global company, but has 10 years of roots in Europe. He went on to say that M-1 is as popular in Europe as the UFC is in the United States.

Actually, even more so. UFC has at least some competition, while M-1 is such a big market leader, that there are not even close comparison. Completely different weight classes.

And the positive thing is that all this "we are open to fight other fighters and cooperate with other organizations" is actually true. M-1 has been for years working in Russia with the same mentality and it worked well, with respect to other fighters and organization, not trying to kill everybody. That's an excellent argument against these people, who doubt if this strategy works in Mixed Martial Arts. It does. It might need the good will of the market leader, it might work only with the Russian mentality, it might not work in this case of M-1 Global. But theoretically it has been proven to be working and it might also work globally as well.

Finally, Fedor Emelianenko spoke after thunderous applause from the entire room.

Fedor is GOD!.. :-))

Mitchell Maxwell stated that M-1 did not announce its upcoming stable of fighter signings yet because they want to keep in contact with the media and also because "today is Fedor's day." Maxwell said that M-1 will announce its stable within the next ten days. In addition to those fighters, Maxwell feels that M-1 will make the sport of MMA more fan friendly, with pomp and circumstance coming to the events.

Positive!

Maxwell added that Fedor's contract allows him to offer the UFC champion 1 million dollars above what the UFC would offer for a fight, as well as 1 million dollars over the purse of that fight. In 2008, Maxwell said M-1 will hold events in America, Europe and Asia, and that they are very serious about globalization.

Does anyone still thinks that Fedor is ducking and is all about money?.. Oh, I am sorry, I forgot about Sherdog-ers...

Monte Cox acknowledged that a lot of M-1's success rests on Fedor, and that they want to make him a household name.

"No shit, Sherlock!" :) Just wondering if Fedor has a share in a new company. He must have!..

He said that finding opponents for Fedor will be easy, and their job now is to get his name out there.

Just like I said: this press-conference was designed to inform other organizations and fighters that M-1 Global is here and that Fedor is available.

"There are three things that bring a man or an organization down: women, greed, and arrogance. We don't have any of those."

Well, they have female translators, and a good ones! :)

Asked about the rules in M-1 global, Monte Cox said that there are currently no rules set up for the promotion. They only know that they will need a uniform set of rules that can be used in any country, but at this moment they are not sure of what the rules will be. He said in the coming week they should have an idea.

That's bad... If they will have a rules, which are approved in every single country/state, then we will have no stomps, elbows, knees to the head on the ground, slams, soccer kicks...

Mitchell Maxwell talked about the birth of M-1 global, explaining that one of Vadim's old friends in Russia is a business associate of his, and brought up Fedor's negotiations with the UFC at one point. Maxwell asked for two weeks to go back the United States and put together a team, and that is how the relationship formed. Maxwell also stated that it was important to have a formal announcement of the M-1 global organization as well as Fedor's signing.

Interesting... So basically M-1 Global was born only because UFC's Dana White blew the negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko and Vadim Finkelstein...


At the same time, www.M-1Global.com has changed the blank space in video window to the photo from the conference. I don't know when the press-conference should finally be accessible, but the M-1's admins are obviously doing something...

Video interview with Fedor Emelianenko on Sherdog.com

Sherdog.com editor Josh Gross spoke exclusively with Fedor Emelianenko Monday in New York, where it was announced that the PRIDE heavyweight champion had signed with M-1 Global.

Why did Emelianenko choose M-1 over the UFC? Hear why as the champ shares some insight into his decision.

Video Length: 1:28 min
Video Size: 14.10 MB

I am really surprized with the level of the translator! She is actually translating exactly what Fedor is saying!.. I am shocked... :)

I don't know how much you guys know about this issue, but usually all the translations are pretty much made up. I still can't forget the translator of the post-Mark Hunt fight. Somebody asked a question about Hunt's visibly close attempts to get Fedor americana'd and kimura'd. The translator said something about how Fedor Emelianenko was struggling, but was able to overcome such a strong opponent as Hunt was. All this created a lot of conversations of the Internet about how irresponsible Fedor is and how weak he must be if he considers kick-boxer Hunt a tough opponent in grappling/wrestling... Well, that was a total crap, to be honest... Actually Fedor said, that he had no problems with Mark Hunt at all, despite the "visibility"; that his level of wrestling is very good and he is able to control situation so well, that nobody, even during the training, was ever able to get Fedor kimura'd...

So here is the major lesson for you folks: don't trust translators, trust RussianMMA.com! :)

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!

M-1 Global and Fedor's new web sites

M-1 Global has opened their new Internet site. And besides a small glitches here and there, it's looking very good. They haven't tested it yet, since they even have the e-mail contacts visible on their site, but after a few days they will realize what kind of mistake they truly made. :)

I highly recomment to read "About Us" section, so you would know the background of the people participating in the M-1 Global organization.

Feels like the whole site is dedicated to the greatness of Fedor Emelianenko. Beginning from the news section and continuing to all the site's graphic content.

They have an EckoTV section, which doesn't work yet. I guess and hope that in a few hours it starts to show the press-conference. Up until it falls down because of too many people watching it. :)

One of the biggest "problem" of Fedor Emelianenko is that he is largely unknown in the USA, and that he doesn't speak English, which makes Marketing much more difficult. It is nice to see, that M-1 Global realizes this, and tries to improve the situation by making an Internet home page for Fedor Emelianenko with a blog, where Fedor already posted his opinion about brother's fight in Canada.

It's also great to see the efforts in creating a public awareness for the name of Red Devil Sports Club by establishing Red Devil Shop (still a little rusty with some pages not working).

I think you should also visit a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section and read what Fedor (I was talking about the site almost completely dedicated to Fedor, remember?) had to say:

Why did you not sign with the UFC?

The UFC has greatly helped the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and for that they should be commended. But this sport is bigger than the UFC and I wanted to do something different that would put the focus back on the athletes. I wanted to play a role in something larger than one company; I wanted to create a way where the best fighters in the world can fight each other regardless of their affiliation.

Was it because of your family wanting to stay in Russia?

Russia is my home and where I train but I am willing to go anywhere to fight the best fights. I have many supporters all over the world and with M-1, they will be able to see me in person as I plan to fight around the world.

What did the UFC offer you? Was it not enough money? Are you receiving more money with M-1?

Money is always an issue, but it was not the only issue. I wanted a voice and a say in my future. I want to have a say in where the sport is going. M-1 allows me to have a voice in the future of the sport. Money is important to feed and cloth my family, but my signing was about respect and competition. There are many great heavyweights all over the world and I want to fight them. M-1 Global will create these match-ups and bring them to MMA fans all over the world.

Did you not sign with the UFC because of Dana White?

No, I have actually never met the man. The UFC’s primary focus appears to be the US. Some of the best fighters are not in the US and I want to not be limited to fighting within one structure.

Would you fight Randy Couture if given the chance?

Yes, I want to fight Randy. He is the UFC Champion regardless of his resignation.– he is the second best fighter in the world (laughing). No, I have a great deal of respect for Randy. He is a great champion and a great ambassador for the sport. The fans deserve to see this fight and to not wait years for it to happen. I see no reason why I shouldn’t be able to fight Randy by the end of 2008. It is good for the fans, good for the sport, and good for the fighters.

Very good beginning, I must say! Not excellent, because we haven't heard anything about the events and fighters in a new MMA organization. But I definitely have a good feeling about it!

Fedor Emelianenko Pre M-1 Global Press Conference interview

AllAboutMMA.com published a Pre M-1 Global Press Conference interview with Fedor Emelianenko.

AllAbout MMA: Has it been difficult for you not fighting for so long?
Fedor Emelianenko: Yes , I hoped to fight earlier this year. There where several options given to me. We spoke with IFL and Elite and of course with the UFC. I trained a lot just to keep my body in shape. The best thing of not fighting is that I developed new techniques .

AAM: Can you tell us about the fight with Lindland? Some people say you cheated when you grabbed the ropes.
FE: If they think I used the ropes to win, it is their opinion. It did not help me to win.

AAM: A lot of fans would have liked to see you fight in the UFC, why did that not work out?
FE: Actually I never spoke to the UFC myself. It went through my managers, Vadim Finkelchtein and Apy Echteld. To make a long story short, at the end of the day I am glad I did not sign with the UFC, because I have been given much more better conditions by M 1 global.

AAM: What is the main reason that you have chosen to sign with M-1 Global?
FE: I will have the chance to fight everywhere in the world and fight everybody who wants to fight. M-1 is willing to work with any other organisation.

AAM: Do you feel that you will have the opportunity to fight against top fighters in this organization?
FE: Yes I know for sure.

AAM: Can you tell us a little more about the future plans of the M-1 organization?
FE: M-1 will be a world wide organisation, and will present high class MMA events.

AAM: Will you still compete in