Categories: MMA News

Fedor Finds His New MMA Home

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.”

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor