After weeks of doubt about the fighter's once-expected participation, Fedor Emelianenko will not, in fact, fight in April during Strikeforce's return to CBS airwaves.
According to a report from MMAFighting.com, M-1 officials today said at M-1 Selection Eastern European press conference that Emelianenko will fight Fabricio Werdum – but not until May.
Strikeforce officials have not confirmed plans for the April show, but as MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported on Wednesday, it could move to Showtime (or be delayed altogether) now that Emelianenko won't be involved.
As part of his contract with Strikeforce, Emelianenko's fights have to air on CBS rather than its premium-cable partner, Showtime, which has a fraction of the audience.
If it does go on, Strikeforce's April show is likely to take place April 17 in Nashville, Tenn., though Tennessee Athletic Commission Executive Director Jeff Mullen told MMAjunkie.com the organization hasn't officially requested the date. A long-expected bout between Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields and UFC veteran/recent signee Dan Henderson would likely take the event's headline slot, and a likely bout between Strikeforce 205-pound champ Gegard Mousasi and Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal could take the co-main-event slot.
Strikeforce Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz on Wednesday said the organization hopes to have the event details locked in by week's end.
As for Emelianenko's involvement, MMAjunkie.com reported on Wednesday that it had been downgraded from questionable to "unlikely." With M-1's confirmation that Emelianenko will fight in May, a recently rumored May DREAM meeting with Alistair Overeem now also would appear unlikely.
Emelianenko (32-1 MMA, 1-0 SF), a longtime PRIDE champion who made his Strikeforce debut with a November 2009 victory over Brett Rogers, and his M-1 management team previously mentioned Werdum (13-4-1 MMA, 2-0 SF) as the Russian's likely next opponent. The former UFC fighter is 2-0 in Strikeforce with wins over Mike Kyle and Antonio Silva.
i wish that Fedor was more active but i am guessing its due to the division being to small that he cant have quicker turn arounds