After turning down a lucrative offer from top mixed martial arts promotion UFC, Fedor Emelianenko wasted no time finding his new home.
The top-ranked heavyweight signed a deal to compete in Strikeforce. His first fight for the Showtime-broadcast promotion will be this fall.
“I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level,” said Emelianenko. “Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world. I am prepared to fight any of them.”
As part of the multi-fight deal, Strikeforce has agreed to co-promote Fedor fights with the M-1 Global promotion and management group. Co-promoting with M-1 Global has been a requirement for signing a deal with Emelianenko, and UFC’s unwillingness to co-promote events with the group was the biggest factor in stalling its negotiations with the touted heavyweight fighter.
“How are they going to help us co-promote?” said UFC President Dana White. “They’re going to help us? That [expletive] might work in Russia (but) not here.”
Meanwhile, Strikeforce’s Scott Coker had a different perspective.
“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to work with M-1 Global and Fedor,” said Scott Coker, CEO of Strikeforce. “Fedor has been the reigning king of MMA’s heavyweight division for quite some time now so being able to work with M-1 and Fedor will substantially increase the level of competition amongst the athletes in this weight class.”