Fedor Emelianenko Free Agent Soap Opera Gets Even Stranger...

by The Prophet, ProphetFighting

When we last talked about the soap opera surrounding the consensus best MMA fighter on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko, and the efforts of several promotions to sign the most sought after free agent in the sport we thought the saga was near a conclusion. Every indication was that Emelianenko would sign with the Japanese K-1/Heroes promotion for a ton of money and the acceptance of a bunch of non-financial stipulations. In an orderly universe it would have ended there, but apparently (with apologies to the late Karen Carpenter) "we've only just begun".

Late last week Fedor's camp led by his straight out of central casting Cold War era James Bond villain manager Vadim Finkelstein traveled to Las Vegas to meet with a group of UFC bigwigs including company president and reigning "King of the F-Bomb" Dana White. Early indications were that a spirit of compromise was in the air, the two parties would meet each other halfway, the UFC would back up the Brinks truck and Fedor would be fighting inside the octagon for the near future.

After the negotiations ended, however, nothing had changed. Fedor's people talked about the intransigence of the UFC's position. Dana White called Fedor's people a bunch of "(f-bomb) crazy Russians". Fedor's camp tried to spin it that there were still a bunch of organizations negotiating for his services but it was clear to anyone but the extremely gullible that he was on his way to fight in Japan.

The plot has thickened again, however, with the appearance of a new suitor for Fedor's services who not only has deep pockets but an impressive track record working with all sorts of crazy foreigners. On Sunday, it was confirmed that "Dancing With the Stars" contestant and Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban was in negotiations with Fedor's people. Seems that Cuban was impressed with the ratings that MMA was drawing on his HDNet TV network and he's now interested in becoming a serious player in the MMA world. As Sherdog.com put it in their report on Cuban's involvement, Fedor would be "the Dirk Nowitski" of a new MMA promotion.

Personally, I'd love to see Mark Cuban get into the MMA game. The UFC is vulnerable but none of the second tier organizations have enough of a clue to mount a legitimate challenge to their market dominance. Furthermore, based on Cuban's comments I'm thinking he'll be promoting the sport as a serious athletic endeavor not the sort of "EXTREME CAGE COMBAT WARFARE" hype employed by some of the also rans in the MMA game. From that standpoint alone, it could be the best thing that could happen to the sport.

Of course the real reason I want to see Cuban involved in MMA should be obvious. I can't even fathom how entertaining the inevitable Mark Cuban v. Dana White feud would be. Neither guy is ever at a loss for words, and both guys love their media coverage. The Cuban v. White war of words could potentially be more entertaining than anything either guy could promote in a ring/octagon.

It should be entertaining at the very least and you can stay up to date at ProphetFighting.com.