(Props: Sherdog via MMA Mania)

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker can’t even take one goddamned vacation to Italy without the world falling apart back home. In this video interview, Coker responds to all the recent speculation about Fedor Emelianenko‘s possible signing to Strikeforce (it’s not happening yet, at least), and a reported last-minute attempt to merge Strikeforce with Affliction (not even close). Coker explains that Fedor’s current crop of suitors include boxing promoters and network television, and discusses why he didn’t want to "sell out" Brett Rogers for the Fedor fight.

On the actual reason for Affliction’s demise, Coker says "escalating the fighter purses way beyond the true value, I think sooner or later the natural laws of economics apply to all businesses, and it finally applied to Affliction." How true. And if Fedor ever did sign with Strikeforce? "I feel pretty confident that we could give him four or five different opponents that would make sense for him."

In another Sherdog interview, Vadim Finkelchtein (booooooo!) defends his position on why a deal can’t be struck with the UFC without M-1 co-promoting. Still, Vadim says he respects what the UFC has done, and would probably curse as much as Dana White if he was in his place. Finkelchtein says that M-1 and Fedor are not looking for more money than the UFC offered, but are looking for opprtunities "which will be able to give us development perspective in future," whatever the fuck that means.

He also flexes his Dana White promoter muscle a little bit: "I do not consider Brock Lesnar to be the best fighter in the world…he’s a very good fighter but there are a lot of fighters on his level, and I think we’ll always be able to find the proper opponent for Fedor. But fans want that fight, that’s why we offered to the UFC to organize such a fight." And how’s this for a kicker: Fedor never had a contract with Affliction. The contract was only between Affliction and M-1 Global.