Blood On The Mat 07.30.09: Now What?

Posted by  on 07.30.2009

Will Fedor be joining the UFC? What’s going to happen to Josh Barnett? Following the demise of Affliction, several fighters are left without a place to call home. Where do they go from here? 411’s Adam Tool attempts to answer these questions and more in this week’s edition of Blood On The Mat!

Welcome back to Blood On The Mat. My name is Adam Tool and if you clicked on this column anticipating the review of Never Surrender that I teased last week, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Simply put, the whirlwind of news that's transpired in the last seven days is too big for a somewhat-professional MMA writer like myself to ignore.



In the wake of the piss-test heard ‘round the world, things are still very much a mess after the fall of Affliction Entertainment and the cancellation of what would've been this weekend's "Trilogy" event. Speculation is running rampant about where Fedor will end up, what will become of Josh Barnett, how will Affliction's demise help the UFC, etc.

Enough speculation about the future, what about right now?


Fuck if I know

Outside of the main event, there are 22 fighters that have spent weeks and months training for this weekend. Their bills and families presumably taken care of for at least a few more months, in lieu of their forthcoming payday (however large or small it may be). Their sponsors have paid up and were ready to be advertised to the PPV audience. Everything leading up to this date, and now…

Nothing.

Some have already gotten a second chance. Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Gegard Mousasi will still face off with one another in a few weeks under the banner of Strikeforce. What's more, Sobral's Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship will now be on the line. This is another in a long line of sound business decisions made by the San Jose-based fight promotion. I'm probably not the only one that was actually looking forward to this fight even more so than the main event, so the fact that it will go on has me finding some positive light out of all this.


Mousasi poses for the cover of Sweater Vest Enthusiast

News also came out on Wednesday that Ben Rothwell and Chase Gormley are going to have their fight go on under the bright lights of the UFC, as the bout has been tentatively added to the preliminary card for UFC 104 in October. There could be move situations like this, as reports indicate that 20 fighter contracts were transferred from Affliction as a part of their new deal with Zuffa. So far though, we've yet to get any solid information on who that might be.


It‘s 167 miles to Chicago, we‘ve got a full tank of gas, a big-ass trophy, it‘s dark, and we‘re wearing sunglasses. HIT IT!

Consider the other fighters though. What about Jorge Santiago? He flunked out of the UFC but has been on a roll since then, most recently having won the Sengoku Middleweight Tournament. This was to be his biggest opportunity yet, a chance to make a return to America and beat a former UFC champion. His opponent, Vitor Belfort, will likely be welcomed back to the octagon with open arms, but Santiago misses his opportunity to re-introduce himself to American MMA fans.


To gi, or not to gi. That is the question.

Speaking of missed opportunities, let's not forget Rafaello Oliveira. The Knoxville-native was looking at the moment that could have defined his career. After fighting in regional shows and amassing a decent 8-1 record, "Tractor" was going to have a main card slot on PPV against one of the greatest lightweights of all time. On paper Takanori Gomi would likely have made short work of Oliveira, but as always this is MMA and anything can happen.


WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Paul Daley and Jay Hieron were getting ready for what had the potential to be an excellent welterweight scrap, and the fight was slated to headline the evening's HDNet broadcast. Now it appears that Hieron may get moved to Strikeforce in a few weeks to face Nick Diaz, but what about "Semtex" Daley? According a report released late Thursday, he's signed a new four-fight deal with the UFC. I see only good things coming from this, as Daley is an exciting fighter that will provide another building block to the UFC's UK expansion.


While you're at it, how about giving Daley's girlfriend a job?

Gilbert Yvel's history of "questionable" behavior (biting opponents, raking the eyes, beating up referees) will likely result in the UFC taking a pass on his services, and furthermore I don't see any reason why they'd want to welcome Paul Buentello back into the fold. Between the two I'd rather see Buentello on the big stage, if only because the guy usually knows how to deliver a great knockout. Of course, Buentello could always try to get his "other" old job back…



Chris Horodecki and Dan Lauzon were slated for a lightweight affair that could've potentially stolen the show. Horodecki could no doubt find work as a child actor, but it'd be great to see him join the UFC. He's just returned from a long layoff so hopefully he can get another fight quickly to try and keep that momentum going. Lauzon should be able to score a Zuffa paycheck himself, since he does have some connections. Although should Dan sign up with the Zuffa empire I would think he would be heading to the WEC's lightweight division, so as to avoid any potential competition with his already established older brother Joe.


The Lauzons present their idea for MMA‘s first tag team match-up

It's important to note that the reports indicating a transfer of Affliction contracts did say that the contracts were being transferred to Zuffa, and not the UFC specifically. Hopefully this means that LC Davis and Javier Vazquez will be heading to the WEC to help bolster their already impressive featherweight division. Now that Mike Brown is establishing himself as a dominant champion, it's going to be important for the UFC's little brother to continue bringing in new prospects in the 145 lbs. weight class.

I feel bad for the fighters left in the cold this weekend. They've worked hard to get where they are and they deserve to get at least a little something for their troubles. Hopefully it's not just a few butt ugly T-shirts. Of course, all of this speculation and ponderation is due to the actions of one man.


It says: "Good luck against Fedor, unless you fail your third drug test and destroy the company you work for!"

At the moment Josh Barnett is public enemy #1 in the MMA world, and for good reason. His failure as a professional fighter has caused unimaginable chaos for the rest of the mixed-martial artists on the card, as well as Affliction Entertainment and their vast array of employees.

How hard is it to not take performance enhancers before your fight? Obviously I'm not a professional fighter and have little to no idea what that lifestyle entails, but this is one rule that Barnett has broken on three occasions now. The first time was back before testing was mandatory, so that was basically a free pass. The second time it cost him the UFC Heavyweight Championship and resulted in an asterisk next to the biggest win of his life. Now he's lost the opportunity to face the world's top heavyweight and potentially revitalize his career.

So where does he go from here? Back to Japan, one would assume. He's already scheduled to appear at IGF GENOME 9 on August 9th and if you've never heard of that show, it's probably because it's a pro wrestling event. See, in Japan they don't care if guys bounce between real fighting and professional wrestling. Obviously that's not the case over here.

As far as his MMA career goes, Barnett will most likely be back to fighting for Sengoku. After all, they really don't give a shit about what substances happen to be in your urine. There's already talk of Barnett facing off with Antonio Silva for the Steroid Sengoku Heavyweight Championship. He's also scheduled to make an appearance at an upcoming Pancrase event, although there's no word of whether he'll be fighting there again or not.

After his test results were made public, Barnett released a statement saying that he was embarrassed. He never came right out and proclaimed his innocence, and he hasn't said a single thing since then. It's probably for the best if he just steps out of the spotlight for awhile and gives everyone a chance to stop being mad at him. However I'd put the odds at being pretty long for "The Baby Faced Assassin" to ever fight in the U.S. again.

If there's one good thing that could possibly come out of this fiasco, it would be the signing of Fedor Emelianenko to the UFC. He's the world's best heavyweight, but most of the top competition fights in the octagon. Rumors have been running rampant these last few days with all sorts of sources claiming that Fedor is close to signing with Zuffa, but let's not get our hopes up.

The fact is that Fedor will probably not be in the UFC anytime soon. The man to blame for that is not Josh Barnett. No, it's this guy:


Can we wrap this up? I have to go tie a woman to some railroad tracks

That would be Fedor's manager Vadim Finkelchtein, otherwise known as the biggest roadblock in the battle to get Fedor in the octagon. Following the demise of Affliction, Finkelchtein issued a statement saying that the UFC would once again have the chance to acquire Fedor, but "only within the framework of co-promotional efforts with M-1 Global." If you don't know who M-1 Global is, it's an independently run company that just happens to also be owned by Finkelchtein.

Since Friday's landscape changing events, the UFC has already presented an offer to Fedor. Fedor's camp has presented a counter-offer, one that includes co-promotion with M-1 Global. The UFC will not co-promote. Finkelchtein will not allow Fedor to fight somewhere without M-1 Global's name on the product. This is the impasse that has remained for the past few years, and will likely remain for many years more.

Outside of acquiring Fedor, what does the UFC stand to gain through co-promotion? Absolutely nothing. The M-1 Global brand has no value outside of Russia, so it's not as if they can help the UFC promote events. The UFC has the brand recognition, the television and live presence, and the fanbase to ensure their events are successful. M-1 Global has none of those things, yet they would expect to have their name right at the top of the poster alongside the UFC.

If fighting for M-1 Global is so important to Fedor (and his manager), why don't they run their own events? They can't because they have no fighters (outside of Fedor and the rest of Team Red Devil), no crew, and no PPV/television deal. The UFC has all these things, so the question remains: what does the UFC stand to gain through co-promotion?

Only one thing. Fedor.


A rare photo of Fedor's intense "foam dildo" training regiment

Here's another question, does the UFC need Fedor? He's unanimously recognized as the world's best heavyweight, but the UFC has done a great job of building that division back up in recent years. They have an undisputed champion that has already proven himself as a tremendous draw several times over, while Fedor has yet to prove his drawing power here in the U.S.

Sorry Fedor fanboys, but it's true. This past January UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson did roughly 350,000 buys. One week later, Fedor vs. Arlovski at Affliction: Day of Reckoning did anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 buys (depending on who you ask, as Affliction has not released buyrate information for either of their PPV events).

Fans are clamoring for Brock vs. Fedor, but the reported 1.5 million buys for UFC 100 proves that they are successful enough as is. I hate to keep harping on the PPV numbers but they don't lie, and they represent the bottom line for any business operating on that type of model. Why do you think Affliction is out of business?

I'm sure the UFC wants him (as we all do), particularly since Dana White, Joe Silva, and the rest of their employees are fans of the sport themselves. When it comes right down to the bottom line though, they really don't need him.

Does Fedor need the UFC? Only if he wants to go down as the greatest of all time. You can accuse me of being a Zuffa fan boy, but the fact remains that a majority of the world's best heavyweights call the octagon their home. Does anyone still want to see Fedor vs. Couture? What about Mir, Carwin, Velasquez, or Kongo? All fresh, and ranked, opponents for "The Last Emperor" to test himself against.

If Fedor is not really concerned with his legacy, then he'll be perfectly happy heading back to Japan and fighting all the tomato cans and cartoon characters he can find. Maybe somebody can put together the eagerly anticipated Fedor vs. Butterbean match-up that fans have been asking for.


After finishing off the craft services table, Butterbean turns on the camerman

Dana White is holding a press conference tomorrow where he plans to announce "lots of crazy things." Fedor in the UFC would undoubtedly be the craziest thing, but I implore you not to get your hopes up. Unless Fedor gives his management team the boot, or Dana goes batshit-crazy, it's just not going to happen.

Feedback is welcome at the e-mail address below, or feel free to use the comment box provided. If you can't wait until next week for more of me, you can always follow me on Twitter.