Wow, Tom Attencio pretty much handed over Fedor on a silver platter. Give the man his money, let him fight on other promotions, give him whatever he wants dammit, just let him fight Brock before father time catches up with him and it's too late. COME ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

For one thing, no one knows if Affliction will still expect all the fighters to owe them the remaining fight(s) on their contract, including Fedor.

Then, factor into the equation that Fedor has a problem signing the same sort of contract that Chuck Liddell, Quinton Jackson, Brock Lesnar, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Georges St.-Pierre, "Shogun" Rua, BJ Penn, Wanderlei Silva and countless others do; for some illogical reason, Fedor and his management believe he shouldn't owe the UFC the same exclusivity as the aforementioned names , which is complete bullshit and borderline arrogant. On top of that, Fedor is a shareholder with M-1 Global, and he's not going to give that up to fight in the #1 MMA promotion in the world, who refuse (and rightfully so) to co-promote with M-1.

Yes, this is all completely retarded, but that is Fedor and his management for you. Despite the opportunity to make millions of dollars and become an even bigger name, Fedor thinks he doesn't owe commitment and exclusivity to the UFC. If you want the opportunity and pay to fight on the biggest stage possible, you owe that stage some loyalty and commitment. If GSP, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Brock Lesnar have no problem with it, then there is absolutely no logical reason why Fedor should have a problem with it. Moreover, Fedor and his management feel the UFC should co-promote with M-1 Global, an entity no one cares about. Dana White and the Fertittas are not only too smart for that, but are too professional, and that's why the UFC is the premier stage in Mixed Martial Arts. The NFL doesn't need to co-promote a big game with a minor league or a completely unknown and insignificant entity, and the UFC certainly doesn't need to co-promote anything with M-1 Global.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about Fedor. At this point, it is UFC or bust for Fedor, because he cannot continue to dodge fighting for the top promotion in the world. If he never fights for the UFC, you only have Fedor to blame for it, unless you're one of those who swing from the man's nuts and believe he's completely unbeatable.

Listen, I agree with you on some points, but if this sport is ever gonna reach it's peak and become recognized as a truly mainstream sport, there has to be flexibility between promotions. How else can we really know who the best is unless they fight each other. Imagine two different hockey leagues, both professional, both with amazing players, claiming to have the best player in their promotion. how stupid would that be. That's what we have today in MMA and as much as I love the UFC and respect Dana for what he's done for the sport and continues to do for the sport, I don't like the fact that he won't co-operate with other promotions or at least let these fights happen. Until these fights happen, we'll never know, and Dana does OWN some of the best fighters so these matchups are unlikely UNLESS Dana comes to his senses and agrees to co-promot, or at least be a little flexible with his fighters. I understand it's in his best interest financially not to do so, but as a fan of the sport, there's no other way of knowing unless HE alone agrees to do something about it.

So, even though it is financially sensible to continue running things like he has, Dana White should throw caution in the wind and co-promote with a group of leeches... for one guy? That makes absolutely no sense, and Affliction Entertainment is the best example of why you don't let an idealistic fan (and businessman second) run a Mixed Martial Arts promotion.

And no, we don't have two organizations claiming to have the best players. We have the UFC, and they are 100% right when claiming they have the best. Then you have M-1 Global, an organization of leeches who have ONE guy to make a case for. You don't cease running a successful promotion the way you have for years just to co-promote with a group who only have ONE guy to offer. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and the case M-1 Global makes for Fedor will lose all of its credibility if he runs off to Japan instead of going to the UFC.

Eventually, at least half of the Fedor nut-huggers will see beyond the "woe is me, I don't wanna be exclusive" charade shit. The rest will continue to bitterly and ignorantly slander the UFC while watching and drooling over their PRIDE DVDs.

Whoa Whoa Whoa. Let's calm down. Lol. Fedor's a good fighter. To blame M-1 completely isn't fair. There's a few other fight leagues and the rules differ from league to league. That's a big issue by itself.

Fedor and M-1 are trying to make money, trying to expand, trying to become a viable organization. Now, I don't know how Dana and Fedor can come to an agreement, but they need to in order to allow Fan to realize MMA is a worldwide sport. Whether that means Fedor signs a 1 fight deal, or there's a joint promotion, or there's a fight in the US and a rematch overseas, it needs to be done. It's good for everyone. The UFC wants to expand to other countries- at least I hope it does. Likewise, M-1 wants to draw in more fighters than has-beens and never-was's. So there seems to be some kind of logical ground at which to meet.

To blame Fedor completely isn't fair. I don't swing from anyone's nuts. He deserves some sort of UFC compromise. He doesn't live in the US. He doesn't want to. He's an old school kind of warrior. He want respect for who he is and how he operates. Dana is a prideful guy too. If there can be some sort of respectful collaboration, I'd be a happy fan. If anything, I'd like to see someone gut Lesnar and send him back to WWE where we know his mutant-gorilla ass belongs.

Lesnar has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he belongs in the UFC. The only people who suggest otherwise are merely looking for a way to embitterly comfort themselves, and deny the reality that Lesnar has dismantled two former Champs and one of the toughest lower-level Heavyweights ever in only 5 fights. Regardless of whatever excuses, spin and ridiculous rationalizations people want to put on what he's accomplished thus far, Lesnar is here to stay, and will ground-and-pound his way into any and all Hall of Fames. Brock Lesnar is, undoubtedly, one of my favorites.

Back to the original discussion: the UFC doesn't need Fedor to "allow fans to realize that MMA is a worldwide sport." The UFC have proved it for years, and both PRIDE and DREAM have proved the point as well. Contrary to popular viewpoint, Fedor is not the be-all end-all of Mixed Martial Arts; the sport flourished long before he hit the scene, and will definitely flourish long after he's gone. People who don't respect MMA as a sport will either realize eventually, or continue to suffer the cancer of ignorance. Either way, it doesn't matter, because the detractors aren't hurting the sport.

The UFC doesn't need M-1 Global or any other promotion to help expand to other countries; it already has, and continues to do a damn fine job of it. The ticket sales don't lie, and the UFC does a good enough job selling those tickets with fighters who want to be there AND want to fight the best. M-1 Global needs the UFC a hell of a lot more than the UFC needs M-1 Global. In fact, the UFC doesn't need M-1 at all, and Fedor can't carry M-1 forever.

I will actually be shocked if Dana co-promotes with M-1 Global, but I honestly don't see it happening. Fedor vs. Lesnar and Fedor vs. Couture will likely go down just like Riddick Bowe vs. Lennox Lewis and George Foreman vs. Mike Tyson did: not at all.