FanHouse Vadim Finkelchtein

It seems as though as long as M-1 Global is around, Fedor Emelianenko will never fight in the UFC. And according to M-1's president Vadim Finkelchtein the organization isn't going anywhere and is just getting started.

FanHouse spoke to Finkelchtein at Wednesday's Emelianenko workout in New York City about his organization's public appearance in North America and the thought process behind turning down the UFC's latest offer to Emelianenko. Check out the full video interview below.

Of all the smaller mixed martial arts promotions that have come and gone through the years of the Ultimate Fighting Championship dominating MMA, only one has been generally given favorable reviews from UFC President Dana White.

That one was Strikeforce, run by Scott Coker. But this week, when Coker and Strikeforce acquired the services of top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko shortly after he spurned the UFC's offer, White ripped Strikeforce as having made a fatal mistake.

In an interview with FanHouse on Friday, Coker responded to those comments and said he thinks highly of the UFC's business, but that he is confident he made a wise decision by signing Fedor. The interview is below.

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Earlier this week, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said that he would like to "build" to a title fight between current Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem and the organization's newest big man, Fedor Emelianenko.


After hearing these comments, some MMA fans and pundits were left wondering why arguably the best fighter in the world would not receive an immediate title shot when Strikeforce newcomers Fabricio Werdum and Jay Hieron, for example, were granted title shots in their debuts. However, on Thursday's conference call, Coker seemed more open to the idea of Emelianenko challenging for the title right away.

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In comments designed to win back mixed martial arts enthusiasts who are angry that the biggest fight in the sport's history won't take place, Fedor Emelianenko apologized on Thursday that his negotiations with the UFC failed to result in a superfight with UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

On a conference call Thursday to formally announce his signing with UFC rival Strikeforce, I asked Fedor to respond to the fan backlash that has sprung up against him since hs spurned the UFC's offer of a contract that included a heavyweight title unification fight with Lesnar.

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On a Thursday conference call, Fedor Emelianenko is making his first public comments since signing with Strikeforce. The call has started, and you can follow along right here at FanHouse by refreshing this page, or by following my MMA Twitter updates.

Fedor is being joined on the call by M-1 Global Co-Owner and President Vadim Finkelchtein, Strikeforce boss Scott Coker and Showtime Sports VP Ken Hershman. The call has begun and the live tweeting begins below.

It's official: Fedor Emelianenko will not be fighting in the UFC anytime soon. Instead, the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world has signed what is being called "a historic, multi-fight agreement that will see him headline mega-events co-promoted by world championship promotions Strikeforce and M-1 Global." Strikeforce announced the signing via press release on Monday.

"I am looking forward to going back to work and fighting at the highest level," Emelianenko said. "Strikeforce is a top fight promotion that houses some of the greatest fighters in the world. I am prepared to fight any of them."

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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.

M-1 USA Vice President Jerry Millen says M-1 is only asking for what is best for the sport.

"The closest thing to it, you've got a basketball and you're at a basketball court -- and I know this sounds silly, but you go to the basketball court with your basketball," Millen tells FanHouse. "And there's a guy there with a pocketful of money and goes 'Hey man, I'm going to buy your ball and you're going to sit in the bench and watch me play ball with your ball.' To me that's a sell-out."

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.

Today's MMA Twitter mailbag features a whole lot of questions about Fedor Emelianenko, what's next for him now that his fight at Affliction Trilogy is kaput, and whether we'll ever see him fight in the UFC.

Your questions and my answers for our MMA mailbag are below.