("These barbarian Americans," Fedor thought to himself. "Worshipping laminated rectangles with names on them.")
Strikeforce has been laying suspiciously low lately, leading some to wonder if they’re having behind-the-scenes problems with Fedor Emelianenko or their broadcast partners; Gegard Mousasi‘s departure from M-1 two weeks ago added another wrinkle to the mystery. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker tried to shed what light he could yesterday, telling reporters that the organization would hold an event in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 17th, and that more announcements would come next week. No, it’s not much to work on. But recent reports have also clued us in on the following…
— The middleweight title fight between Jake Shields and Dan Henderson is a done deal for April. Said Shields: "I have a date (and) venue, but they told me to hold that back. Hopefully CBS. I think it’s CBS. There’s a slight possibility of Showtime because they’re still (working it out). I don’t know the rest of the card or any of that yet. But me and Dan’s on, and I’m hoping it’s on CBS."
— Despite initial reports, Fedor Emelianenko will probably not be on the card. According to Vadim Finkelchtein, Fedor will fight Fabricio Werdum in May. If you’re wondering what’s become of Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, he’s booked to compete on K-1′s 4/3 card in Yokohama, and M-1′s Apy Echteld says that Fedor won’t fight him unless he was drug tested leading up to the fight.
— Though he didn’t promise them for the April event, Coker said he looked forward to getting Brett Rogers and Shinya Aoki into the Strikeforce cage in the near future. Coker named Antonio Silva and Alistair Overeem as possible opponents for Rogers, while Aoki may take on Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez.
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But the reports I read were significant that if I were in his place I would have accepted the deal. Six figure contract, plus a guaranteed title fight upon entering. If Fedor & M1 were so caught up with co promotion then why wouldn't they sponsor a UFC event and rake in the cash.
It wouldn't hurt the UFC for M1 to sponsor them even if they had to pay a fee to get it to happen.
But of course since Strike Force is the smaller company, they have to deal with M1's over inflated demands as a co promoter.
Fedor is the best fighter in the world is in question. If he cannot fight the top guys in the world how will we know? The question of whether Fedor is the best will always be in question since his management continues to pad his record. Fedor is the Kimbo of Strike Force.