First of all, M-1 is a promotion first and foremost. They are just most famous for handling the number one fighter in the world. They can and still will make money after Fedor is done with the sport. Clearly changes will be made and the direction of the company will be different but it won't cease to exist. Just because Fedor is the largest part of M-1, doesn't mean he's the only part.
People are acting as if these demands are more than just business moves. Every single fighter that signs with the UFC or any organization for that matter has to terms in which they agreed upon before entering the octagon. This is not any different really. The reason they have leverage is because of who they manage. Did losses, not loss mind you but losses, stop Dana from singing Yvel? Or Nelson? The short answer is no. If you think that ONE loss on Fedor's record is going to nullify a decades worth of work, you need to reevaluate your thought process. Anderson Silva has four losses, St.Pierre has two. Fedor has one legitimate loss. If GSP or Silva weren't in the UFC do you think that their respective losses would stop White and friends from signing them to contracts under different terms than lesser fighters are signed under? I guarantee you that the UFC will still offer everything they did before, maybe with less actual pay then before.
They're right regarding Strikeforce as well. If Coker wants to keep Fedor around he will listen to what M-1 has to say about the situation. Sounds a little harsh maybe but it's business. Not sure why people like Couture haven't gotten any shit for pulling the same kind of thing before. They know that Fedor is still regarded as one of the, if not THE greatest fighter of all time. He still has mileage on him to say the least. They have a valuable commodity and they're going to get the most out of it. Yes, it sucks that we probably will never see him fight the Lesnars and Carwins of the UFC, but it's simple business.
Funny though how you say that you aren't supposed to make demands after a loss. I could have sworn that Werdum did the same thing. Not to mention that Couture only came back after being promised a title shot. Funny how things work.
Dude, you need to ease up off your Fedor nuthuggery and listen to what I am saying. Nowhere did I say this loss nullified decades worth of work, but since you want to play that game, his "loss" to Kohsaka was sweet karma for his fight with Arona and somehow getting the W on that fight. He shouldn't have even moved on in that King of Kings Tournament to face Kohsaka. So, here's the deal, dude. You say that his cut would have been ruled a NC here in America so, therefore, it's not legitimate, well, the rules for Kings state that he HAD to continue or it was a loss, guess what, he couldn't continue, therefore, it's a loss. I say that, in America, Arona would have won that fight via LnP, however, Kings scores the fights based on whether or not fighters attempt to finish the fight. Takedowns mean little to nothing. So, you're fine with the Arona win. You can't have it both ways. He has two losses not one. That's still a great record, but now it's the same as GSP's.
Also, if you look at my posts, I HAVE given Couture shit. I openly came out on these threads stating my dislike for Couture and I didn't understand why so many people nuthugged a guy who's lost 1 fight for every 2 he's won. Coker and Strikeforce have an absolutely ******ed business practice. Rogers loses in his shot at the WAMMA belt and gets an immediate shot at Overeem? This is fucking ******ed. Strikeforce deified Fedor. This basically said that a loss to the MMA god was good enough to get you a shot at our ACTUAL champion. The WAMMA belt is a fucking joke. Both of their fighters have lost since gaining it, and neither one of them lost the belt. Shit, Aoki WOULD have won Melendez's title, but I think it's funny that Melendez isn't the WAMMA champ.
What you're missing here, is that the UFC does NOT need Fedor. They don't need the poison that is M-1. If you legitimately think that M-1 will thrive after Fedor loses a couple more or retires, then YOU need to reevaluate your thought process. M-1 banks on Fedor AND Fedor is part owner. In every sense of the business world, this is considered conflict of interest. If you need further proof that M-1 will tank after this, we're already 3/4's of the way through 2010 and M-1 hasn't held their annual tournament. Which, by the way, the Russians and Red Devil have won the last two years. Why don't you look at promotions who put all their eggs in one fighters basket, EliteXC come to mind? We can go to their next fight, if you want...oh, wait, we can't because once Kimbo lost, they folded like Goulet after taking a shot to the chin. Fedor has NOTHING to offer the UFC that they don't already have. Lesnar, Velasquez, Dos Santos, Nelson, Carwin, they would all destroy Fedor. Don't even cite me crap like HMC and Tim Sylvia, etc...These men are actual athletes who are complete beasts of men. Fedor hasn't fought a meaningful fight since his last win Cro Cop. Matter of fact, Fedor kept grabbing the ropes against Lindland which prevented Lindland from taking him down.
My point, were you to have listened, was that M1 isn't in a position to negotiate. Why on earth with UFC co-brand ONE fighter, especially since that fighter just lost to a man the UFC just cut. M1 doesn't even have a product TO co-brand. They've held one fucking show in three years. They didn't even ALLOW Fedor to fight at that show, instead they booked him in a dumbass grappling contest against someone he should beat 100 times out of 100.
Here's another thought, why would Dana do business with a company that says "1. We would like to receive guaranteed payments. I know that if we agree for percents, they will cheat us." Fuck you, Vadim, your main dude just lost, end of fucking story. Flat out saying you KNOW the UFC will cheat you out of money is the stupidest thing you can do if you WANT them to negotiate with you. What you're missing, armbar, is that Vadim says all of these outlandish comments while making his demands, and expects these companies to really sit down and negotiate with him. He doesn't have a product anymore. There's two fights left for Fedor that anyone really want to see in SF, a rematch with Werdum and Overeem. After that, nobody cares. I didn't care when he fought Sylvia, I didn't care when he fought Arlovski, I CERTAINLY didn't care when he fought Brett Rogers. Maybe you cared because you love Fedor so much, but most MMA fans, did not care. Sylvia is an absolutely horrible fighter who was only UFC champ because of how crappy the division was. Arlovski lost his belt to Sylvia and became basically irrelevant, not to mention that Arlovski fights EXACTLY like Fedor, only he's worse in every category. Brett Rogers....I'll leave that one alone. Fedor hasn't had a meaningful fight against a decent opponent in 5 years. When he did have one, he lost.
