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LAS VEGAS – In case you were wondering if Fedor Emelianenko's recent loss to Fabricio Werdum might open up the possibility of the Russian making his way to the octagon, UFC president Dana White has a simple message for you: It's not happening.
Following Thursday's UFC 116 pre-event press conference, White said he has absolutely no interest in continuing his years-long pursuit of the former PRIDE champ.
"Now that he loses, now they want to say, 'OK, now we'll come over,' because he lost?" White asked. "I'm done playing the games."
Werdum shocked Emelianenko and the MMA world with a 69-second submission win over the Russian that snapped his incredible 27-fight winning streak. Other than a smiley face posted on his Twitter account, White has remained relatively quiet since the June 26 result.
While one might have expected White to gloat in the agony of the "crazy Russians," the UFC exec said he viewed the loss as inevitable and was simply glad to see a hole poked in the mystique of Emelianenko that he believes has been largely built by the media.
"Honestly, when he lost, you guys know there's been times when I have animosity with guys and you lose, and I'm like, 'Ha. Alright, there you go,'" White said. "But to be honest with you, I didn't have any of that for Fedor.
"In my opinion, the media pumped him up more than anything. When he did the fight, they were far from selling out. They did under a million-dollar gate. They had 400,000 people watch it on Showtime. It's not like anybody is really clamoring for [him to come to the UFC]."
The UFC exec said he has not any discussion with Emelianenko's reps following the loss. But White contends now, as he long has, that Emelianenko is not even a top heavyweight, much less a pound-for-pound great, and with the Russian's incredible run over, there's simply no reason to bring him to the UFC.
"To be honest with you, without joking around and no [expletive], I honestly and truly have not believed that Fedor is this great heavyweight that everybody thinks he is," White said. "Yes, back in the day in 2005 and before that, he was beating some great guys who were in their prime, and he was nasty. But to prove that you're the best in the world, you have to fight the best consistently. You have to consistently fight the best.
"It would be like calling the Lakers the world champions and they're playing some college team. It's not the same. I know that everybody can see the sense in that, but people just love to because he's not here they want to say, 'Oh, he could do this and that.' It's all mythology and [expletive]."
Of course, now that Emelianenko is tumbling down most MMA pundits' rankings list, Saturday's UFC 116 heavyweight title unification bout between UFC champ Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Shane Carwin will likely produce the sport's undisputed heavyweight king.
White said that's just what should happen.
"Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, we know all their attributes," White said. "We know how good they both are. I have no idea what's going to happen on Saturday night. I have no clue. So to say that one guy could beat this guy, there's only one way to find out who can beat who, and that's fight, and [Emelianenko and his camp] aren't willing to do it.
"You don't the honor of being called the best fighter in the world when you won't fight the best guys in the world. Now doesn't that make sense?"
So with Emelianenko's run over and the majority of the world's best fighters competing within the UFC's octagon, it's unlikely that any fighter in any weight class will be considered a world No. 1 any time in the near future. It would seem to be the end of controversy for the UFC, but White said he's not expecting a moment of peace.
"I know it's fun because I don't have [Emelianenko] and he's not in the UFC, so it's fun to say, 'Oh, what we he do?'" White said. "And I guarantee you, get ready: (Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair) Overeem will be the next guy now. 'Oh, Overeem would beat them all.'
"Overeem got knocked out by Chuck Liddell at light heavyweight
