FanHouse Monte Cox

Last week, Strikeforce CEO and founder Scott Coker told FanHouse that he wanted to book a middleweight match-up between Robbie Lawler and Ronaldo Souza for the organization's upcoming fall show, headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers. At the time, Coker mentioned that he had yet to talk to Lawler's agent, Monte Cox, about the fight.

Cox told FanHouse then that it was the first he heard about it, and that it didn't excite him all that much. On Monday, he flat out said he had no interest in making it happen.

Strikeforce is looking to book a middleweight match-up between Robbie Lawler and Ronaldo Souza on the same card that will feature the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers bout later this year on Showtime. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker informed FanHouse of the news at the Emelianenko public workout at the FightHouse gym in New York City on Wednesday.

Coker said that he has yet to talk to Lawler's manager, Monte Cox, about the fight, but is hopeful a deal can be reached.

It has been only one week since Affliction: Trilogy was canceled and the company's promotional arm closed up shop. One week. Seven days. Yet with the drama surrounding Fedor Emelianenko's will-he-or-won't-he saga, it seems like it's been an eternity.

In the time since then, huge contract offer numbers have been bandied about (the UFC never confirmed the offer's value, and Emelianenko's side denied any formal offer was made), Fedor traveled to and left the United States, and the two sides again were unable to meet in person.

In those seven days, nothing has changed. And that only serves to frustrate UFC President Dana White.

Prior to 2007, hardly anyone following mixed martial arts knew much about Vadim Finkelchtein, but by that time, he had already been managing Fedor Emelianenko for almost four years. Today, Finkelchtein finds himself in the center of the biggest free agency story in MMA history, with major news outlets like The Los Angeles Times tracking its progress.

There's an unsanctioned fight Saturday night in Alabama between over-the-hill boxer Ray Mercer and former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, the kind of ridiculous fight that gives combat sports a bad name. But the fight just got even more ridiculous, because just two days beforehand, the promoters have changed it from a boxing match to an MMA fight.

News and notes from around the world of mixed martial arts:

* A heavyweight bout between Tim Sylvia and Paul Buentello has been penciled in for "Affliction: Trilogy," a source close to Sylvia informed Fanhouse on Friday. A member of Buentello's camp told FanHouse that he already signed the bout agreement and Sylvia will be doing the same shortly. Sylvia was last seen losing in 36 seconds via rear naked choke to Fedor Emelianenko at the first Affliction event last July. Meanwhile, since losing the Strikeforce heavyweight title to Alistair Overeem in November 2007, Buentello has won his last two fights in a row.